Peramakan - 26 March 2007

It was a fun and slightly raucous dinner last night with the old "gang". Jason is leaving Singapore soon, so it was a "farewell" dinner as well as an opportunity to have a gathering for the "viva-gang". We don't meet for Chinese New Year, Christmas rarely. But everyone someone is here (usually Jason or Sharon :p), we will meet up and catch up. It has become almost a yearly affair or alternate year thing.

I suggested Peranakan food since it is something local and not widely available back in Canada.

After reading rave reviews about Peramakan at Joo Chiat, we decided to try it out.

Hmmm...the place is tiny, probably only able to seat between 25 and 40 people, with nondescript tables and chairs. The centerpiece to denote its peranakan roots is the display cabinet filled with traditional designs of crockery.

1st row: assam sotong, ayam buah keluak, beef rendang
2nd row: chap chye, fish maw soup, sambal kangkong
3rd row: garlic kailan, meatball soup, ngoh hiang
4th row: oxtail stew, sambal brinjals, satay ayam panggang

Food-wise, it is pretty good. We ordered quite a lot of dishes to share. Beef rendang, ayam buah keluak, assam sotong, sambal kangkong, satay ayam panggang, fish maw soup, meatball soup, oxtail stew, sambal brinjals, ngoh hiang garlic kailan and chap chye.

The highlights for me were:
*Beef rendang - spicy and tender meat
*Ayam buah keluak - it is black, so black it looks scary. It is very different from the usual style of cooking which has more tangy gravy in the yellow/orange color. The chicken is very tender and could just melt in your mouth. The black gravy is actually thick with the buah keluak paste. The dish comes with 2 nuts, additional nuts at $1.50 each. Heaven for those who loves the nutty taste of the buah keluak
*Assam Sotong - nice tangy assam gravy with squids which are not rubbery
*Satay Ayam Panggang - grilled chicken with satay peanut sauce. Tender soft chicken with a rich peanuty sauce

The rest of the dishes were quite normal. The oxtail stew was not too bad. All the meat were done nicely, very tender and not too hard and chewy at all.

Location:
Peramakan 92 Joo Chiat Road (near Joo Chiat Complex)