Located at: 1 Utama Mall, Bandar Utama, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

Visited on: 02nd October, 2022

The tagline at Peranakan Place is ‘authentic Nyonya cuisine’. So, what exactly is Nyonya cuisine? Let’s start with what Peranakan means. Peranakan refers to an ethnic group in Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore that are native-born but are of mixed ancestry. While this ancestry may be linked to Dutch/European (Kristang Peranakan), Indian (Chitty Peranakan) or Arab settlers (Jawi Peranakan), the term is often generally used to refer to Chinese Peranakans. More specifically, Malaysians and Singaporeans refer to Straits-born Chinese, i.e., those born in Peninsula Malaysia (Penang, Melaka and Singapore), as Peranakans. A Peranakan male may be commonly referred to as Baba, while women may be referred to as Nonya. Thus, the existence of Nyonya cuisine.

With that history lesson out of the way, let’s now move on to the food!

One thing you’ve got to try when you go to an authentic Nyonya restaurant is laksa. And that we did. Peranakan Place’s Nyonya Laksa – Nyonya-style noodles, fried bean curd, fish cake, prawns and bean sprouts in gravy (MYR 14.90) was SO delicious. Some of the best laksa that I’ve had, without a doubt. The broth was mildly spicy and full of flavour, with plenty of the condiments that the menu description mentioned. There were two types of noodles in it, vermicelli and a slightly thicker variety. The vermicelli was my preference as it allowed the flavour of the broth to shine through. There really was nothing to fault in this dish.

Their Cantonese Fried Noodles – a mix of kuey teow (rice noodles) and yee mee (egg noodles) with vegetables, prawns and sliced chicken (MYR 15.90) unexpectedly came in a sort of egg-drop soup as well. And this was delicious, too. Obviously less spicy than the laksa, but so full of flavour – more than we expected – and, again, with plenty of everything that the menu promised. This place certainly dished out food for both belly and soul!

We tried their fresh Dragon Fruit Juice (MYR 9.90). Although we enjoy eating the fruit at home, we don’t usually make juice of it. This juice was great! Naturally rich, refreshing and undiluted.

If you’re looking for some mouth-watering Nyonya cuisine while in Malaysia, Peranakan Place definitely won’t disappoint. They’ve got four branches around the country that you could choose from – 1 Utama, Nu Sentral, iOi City Mall and Jonker Walk.

Yummy Rating: 4.5 / 5.0