Home Dining

Traditional Malaysian cuisine from Malacca served in a relaxed garden setting

Host Sharon

$55.79 per guest

ABOUT THEEXPERIENCE

I grew up in Malacca in the 70's. Malacca is the birthplace of the Baba and Nonyas - the Straits Chinese - and was ruled by the Portugese, Dutch and English. Today Malacca is a UNESCO world heritage site. My great grandmother was a Nonya. All my Father's family are Malacca born of Portugese descent. From a young age, I sampled the incredibly rich flavours of both the Nonya's and the Kristang people - the name for the Malacca Portugese.

The collective name for this cuisine is Peranakan. Few Peranakan restaurants exist as the food requires a lot of care and time in preparation.

Peranakan cuisine sets itself apart from Malaysian cuisine by its complex mix of flavours which are a hotch potch of many different influences - Goanese, Portugese, Chinese. Many of the traditional dishes can only really be sampled in a home setting.

ABOUT THEMENU

The menu shows some options for Peranakan meals.
Starters
Top Hats – crunchy julienne vegetables served in a crispy top hat shell
Otak Otak - parcels of savoury seafood soufflé wrapped in a banana leaf

Main Courses
Curry Nenas – prawns and chunky pineapple cooked in a lemongrass curry
Beef Rending – chunks of tenderloin braised in a thick coconut gravy
Babi Pongteh – cinnamon infused pork belly stew in a dark gravy with potatoes and shitake mushrooms
Ham Hock Kapitan Curry - A fiery Goa-inspired pork dish served on the bone
Banana blossom salad- stamen from the banana flower flavoured with shrimp paste ,fresh chillies and star fruit
Dessert
Sago Gula Melaka – a sago pudding bathed in fresh coconut cream drizzled with local palm syrup

There are other dishes that I prepare which are either seasonal or would be on an alternative menu - i.e.
Kari Buah Keluak - Mysterious earthy mangrove nuts served in a spicy chicken curry.
Devil curry- Roasted pork cooked in fiery chillies, shallots, candlenuts and mustard seeds.

ABOUT THELOCATION

We live in an old low rise condominium spread over a large area. We have a ground floor unit with a garden in front of the patio. There are many plants in our garden and a 1 km path leads around the buildings with a drop on one side to the city centre which can be viewed through a sloping forest. Its is very quiet apart from the chirping of cicadas ( tonight we saw fire flies moving through the garden ).

We have a table set up on the outdoor patio with aircon and fans blowing from indoors to avoid it being too warm.

Our neighbourhood is in Bangsar, an affulent suburb to the south west of the city centre, relatively close to the main Sentral station which is the arrival point for most people from the airport. We are also 10minutes by taxi from KL Hilton/Le Meridien/St.Regis hotel.

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