Delightful Peranakan outing

By Helen Ong

 

The interior has a mix of furniture with large backdrops.With the rejuvenation of George Town has come the restoration of many of Penang’s old buildings. This includes the 140-year-old Logan Heritage in Beach Street, which now houses a few new F&B outlets.

One such is the Pinang Peranakan Restaurant, opened by the enterprising Sherina Lim last year. The former economy rice seller has designed the large outlet set on the ground floor to take advantage of the heritage aspects of the building.

The floor tiles, for example, are probably original, and blown-up images act as impressive backdrops, giving the impression that one has indeed stepped into a typical traditional Nyonya house. The furniture ranges from more formal marble-topped tables with high-backed chairs to casual stools arranged around smaller tables.

The kitchen is now headed by Chef Kheong who came on board recently. “Our neighbours were Baba Nyonya,” he explained, “and we used to love the smells emanating from their kitchen!” Drooling after the food wasn’t all he did; he also learnt how to cook many of the dishes from them.

However, like some of the newer Nyonya restaurants in town, some of the food here has been “fused” with other regional dishes, and served in a more contemporary manner.

Take the Four Seasons starter, for example. Instead of a large centre platter, it’s presented as four portions on each individual plate: Otak Otak, Jiu Hu Char, Lor Bak, and a kerabu of sorts. I rather like the modern take, as it allows you to sample different dishes without overindulging. The Tu Tor T’ng, a tasty soup made from innards, is also served in small bowls.

 

Steamed Fish Nyonya Style... goes very well with rice (left). Tu Khar Chor... quite yummy. (right)As Nyonya food is usually hot and spicy, it’s better eaten with plain white rice, so the main course remains more traditional with a variety of dishes served together: the Tu Khar Chor, trotters braised in black vinegar, was very palatable, as was the Steamed Fish Nyonya Style — fresh, firm tautay (white pomfret) over which a spicy, slightly sweet assam pedas rempah has been poured. The Hwan Choo Heok (sweet potato leaves) fried with sambal was good.

Chef Kheong is also introducing some local Chinese dishes into the menu: his home-made taufu with minced pork was good, and the Chean Bak (fried pork) will be popular with those who find Nyonya food a tad too spicy.

Nothing rounds off a meal better than a good pudding, and their home-made Bubur Cha Cha takes some beating, as does their Chendol. “We use real gula Melaka,” explained Sherina, referring to the thick, dark coconut syrup that is a must for this sweet, “and fresh santan”.

All in all, it was a very positive experience, and one that I would definitely like to repeat. Chef Kheong will probably need a bit of time to experiment and come up with the dishes that are his forte, so it’s somewhere I look forward to returning to in a few months’ time.

Restoran Pinang Peranakan
4 Logan Heritage
Beach Street
10300 Penang
Tel: +604 261 2269
Opening Hours: 11am-3pm / 6-10pm and closed on Wednesdays.

Logan Heritage - the Pinang Peranakan Restaurant by night.