My supervisor assigned me to write a review on a newly opened Nyonya restaurant at a hotel, nearby my university. I was more willing to do the assignment than anything else.
It’s called King’s Cafe, wholely owned by King’s Hotel. The food consultant is Kenny Chan himself. Kenny Chan is a “peranakan” who acted in “Baba dan Nyonya”, a once very famous comedy during the 90’s.
I tried the assorted traditional kueh, mainly the “Kuih Kochi”, “Kueh Talam”, “Kueh Sirap” and “Pulut Udang”. Nothing special, since you can get all these kueh in any night market or road side stall. By the way, I prefer my “Kuih Kochi” to be purple colour, it somehow tastes nicer and smells better too.
Those were my appetizers. The chef later dished out a few plates of authentic Nyonya dishes so that I could take pictures of the food. The first dish to come out was “Mee Siam”, similar to “Laksa” but isn’t very spicy. Served with half boiled eggs, “taufu”, “taufu pok”, prawns, beancurd skins, cucumbers and delicious curry soup.
The soup is called “Bakwan Kepiting”, basically is clear soup boiled with cabbage and carrot, garnished with fried onions. Chicken and crab meats are used to make the meatballs. The meatballs are springy, firm and juicy.
Up next was “Nyonya Ngoh Hiong” and “Sambal Belacan Udang”. “Ngoh Hiong” means spring rolls and is made using chicken and prawn meats. As for the “Sambal Belacan Prawns”, the picture has said it all. I enjoyed the prawns a lot actually, especially the “stinky beans”.
Next was the “Asam Pedas Fish”. Spicy and sour, although not as good as this one and another in the town, it is still worth giving it a try.
“Ayam Pongteh” is another authentic and one of the popular Nyonya dishes. Every Nyonya restaurant you go, you are sure to see this dish on their menu. “Taucu” sauce is used to cook the chicken, together with potatoes and mushrooms.
The last but not least dish was the “Lemak Nanas Udang”. Coconut milk, curry powder, pineapples and prawns are the main ingredients. A little sour and mild spicyness, goes well with rice and very appetizing.
After all the photo taking session, it was lunch time. I nearly had to finish everything all by myself. It was suffering to eat so much food at one go, you know. -lol- However, the cafe’s manager, chef and Kenny joined in later. The feast didn’t end there, desserts were served right after the meal.
I had a bowl of “Pulut Hitam” and “Chendol“. The “Pulut Hitam” had dried longan in it. Something different from the usual ones.
It was almost 2 hours later when I finished my assignment and I went back home with a super big cheeky grin on my face. -grins- I should bring my dad to this restaurant, so that he can compare with “Bibik Neo”, his favourite Nyonya restaurant.
Jason is a happy guy now.
