Spice Up Your Palette @ Seri Nyonya Peranakan Restaurant

Beside touring the historical sites, finding food and deciding what to eat is the next best thing you need to do while visiting Melaka. Just when you are ready to drop the “junk street food” from Jonker street, it is time to allow yourself to patronise the city’s heritage and authentic Peranakan cuisine. You will be spoilt by choice no doubt, but choose wisely so some local’s great recommendation will not let your palette down. mylifestylenews drops in to find out one of the city’s best Seri Nyonya Peranakan Restaurant……

In the 15^th century, the Princess Hang Li Po of China arrived in Malacca (as known and called before) to be wed to sultan Mansur Shah. Their union was the beginning of many inter-marriages between the Chinese men from her entourage to the beautiful local Malay women. Descendents of these unions later became known as the “Peranakan” people. This unique blending of cultures meant a melding of the best of Chinese cooking techniques and the Malay use of spice and herbs, creating one of South East Asia’s most original and exotic cuisines.

The complexities of Peranakan dishes meant hours of painstaking preparation in the olden days, when women would gather in the kitchen just after dawn to work on the midday meal, making it a ritual not just for cooking but also for bonding. Spices were to be roasted then pounded with plump chilies, galangal and shallots into smooth pastes, lemongrass bruised, lime leaves sliced into thin, hair-fine shreds. These days modern appliances make Peranakan cooking far easier, without compromising on taste.

As renowned for its Peranakan cuisine as it is for its historical attractions, a visit to Melaka would be incomplete without sampling the city’s plethora of ambrosial culinary offerings. Peranakan cuisine also known as Nyonya food is the heart and soul of Melaka. In Seri Nyonya Peranakan Restaurant, you are temporarily transported into another world renowned for its authentic home cooked meals. Located on level 3 of Hotel Equatorial Melaka, you may indulge in the authentic Peranakan dishes amongst the Peranakan antiques as set in a typical Peranakan house.

The variety and colors of Nyonya food is rather fascinating, this resulting fusion between Chinese and Malay ingredients and recipes was adopted from the past local ways of living. Nyonya dishes easily spice up your palette with the spicy and sweet taste and it is best accompanied by fragrant steamed rice indirectly to help satisfying your hunger and to bring down the heat.

There are certain dishes that are a must try in Peranakan cuisine, just like the Italian, every mama has their own secret recipe to make it right and become more individual. In Seri Nyonya  Peranakn Restaurant, we highly recommend you do not leave out the following off your culinary itinerary.

<Itik Tim>

A steamed soup redolent of spices, salted vegetables and tender duck meat, Itik Tim was derived from a clear soup made on family reunions and special occasions, spices were added to the leftovers to create a new, equally delicious dish.

<Otak Otak>

Fragrant with lemongrass, lime leaves and coconut cream, Otak-Otak usually consists of thick fillets of fresh fish or seafood, marinated in a spice mix, then wrapped in banana leaves and either grilled or steamed, yielding a delicious creamy-spicy fish mousse.

<Deep Fried Fish>

Mackerel or seabass are often used and served with spicy sambal paste. It is delicately spicy and tangy.

<Stirred Fried Prawns in Tamarind Juice>

Tamarind juice and chilies are used to bring the flavor of the shrimp to life and to maintain a distinctly bold and balanced flavor. Tiger prawns are best used if possible.

<Egg Omelet>

A classic home comfort food with beaten eggs, cincaluk (fermented yet salty small udang geragau pinkish shrimps or krill, sometimes served as a condiment together with chilies, shallots and lime juice) and various vegetables.

<Ayam Pongteh>

It is simple, yet delicious, this dish of succulent braised chicken with mushroom and potatoes in a savory sauce of preserved soybean is best served with a dollop of fiery sambal on the side.

<Asparagus with Sambal Tumis>

The rich umami flavor in the sambal sauce is from the use of belacan, Malaysian fermented shrimp paste and lightly stir-fried asparagus.

<Ice Cendol>

An all time favorite South East Asia dessert with jelly noodles made from rice flour with green food coloring derived from pandan leaf served with thick palm sugar syrup, coconut milk, grass jelly, creamed corn, kidney bean or red bean and covered with a mountain of shaved ice.

Tried & Tested:

Location: 4.5/5

Ambience: 4/5

Design & Decor: 4/5
Food & Beverage: 4.5/5

Service: 4/5

Highlights:

Peranakan Deco
Itik Tim
Ice Cendol


Flaws:

Small Food Portion Serve

Seri Nyonya Peranakan Restaurant

Hotel Equtorial Melaka
Level 3, Bandar Hilir 
Melaka , Malaysia
Tel: +6 06 282 8333