Little Kitchen @ Nyonya 娘惹小廚房

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Does anyone know how does Penang was bestowed the UNESCO Heritage title in year 2008? I was told the guideline in conferring is tedious and under many studies for many rounds. However, I was lucky to have Mr Loh of Little Kitchen @ Nyonya briefly told me the main 4 criteria. That is the Main Gate, the Partition, the Staircase and the Floor Tiles. These 4 items have to be maintaining it well as per the guidelines.

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A brief history about this place… Little Kitchen @ Nyonya was established in 2006, 6 years ago. It’s located in Lebuh Noordin, a straight of houses that were built in 1927, and it named eclectic shop houses which are from 1880 to 1940s (18th to 19th Century).  Before it was turned into Nyonya restaurant, they were mainly into Bird Nest business. A box of Bird Nest Tart can sell at RM50, pre-order 30minutes before and you can have a nice and delicious tart. This Bird Nest business was operating since 20 years ago, even today, they are still operating.

Little Kitchen @ Nyonya used to operate ‘Personal Dishes’ like what Hong Kong people call it Speakeasy/Private Kitchen (私房菜). Then after, they decided to move into Nyonya dishes reason mainly because the chef, is Mr Loh’s mother and she’s a Peranakan heir; secondary in their previous place was rented, and the owner decided to increase their rental.

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Mr Loh and his family believed in quality food for their customers, thus, many of the dishes are in small serving.  Even the chili that is needed for blending also required using Grade A chilies. So, from there you could imagine food quality is a thumb up for it.

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Anyway, this place was discovered by my sister-in-law, where she was accidentally came across an article that written by Guang Ming Press. With that, she recommended to us and brought us there for a family lunch.  It was absolutely a place where you shouldn’t be missed; the authentic Nyonya taste, and the antique plates and bowls honestly gave you a special touch and a remarkable meal too.

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Mr Loh also taught us what drink that serves in Nyonya restaurant. Normally it serves Nutmeg Tea or Ginger Tea with Brown Sugar. Of course, Chinese tea like Pu-erh (普洱), Oo Loong (烏龍) are serving as well.

The dishes here is going to divide into 2 types, 1 for the adults that can take on spicy food and the other 1 is for the kids.

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Enchi Kabin – Nyonya Fried Chicken (胭脂炸雞)

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Namchut Fish, of which to me is more of deep frying fish and the condiment is more of like Nyonya’s Salsa sauce.

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Stir Fry Vegetable, according to Mr Loh, such vegetable is hard to get and it’s only available in their restaurant. I just can’t recall what is the name of the vegetable.

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Salted Meat and also called “Kiam Bak” (鹹肉)

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Nyonya Lobak (鹵肉), which consists of Chicken Lobak and Boar’s Liver Lobak (豬肝鹵肉). Honestly, this is one of the best Lobak that I ever tried.

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Jiu Hu Char (Fried Cuttlefish with Turnips, 扁魚炒沙葛), this is such an authentic food that almost every Nyonya family or Hokkien would know how to cook.


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Fish Maw Soup (魚鰾湯), a simple soup that is consists of Chinese cabbage and carrots. It’s a nutritious soup for the children.

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“Kiam Chai Ark” Soup (Salted Vegetable Duck Soup, 鹹菜鴨湯) is another soup choice that Little Kitchen @ Nyonya is offering.

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Let’s introduce the spicy type of dishes for the spicy lovers…. Sambal Ulam (Leafy Heabs). The spiciness of the chili categorized into 3 categories. If you could take on the spiciness, they will recommend category 3, otherwise, category 1 is sufficient.

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Cincalok Stir Fry Meat (鹹蝦醬炒豬肉). This is my very first Cincalok dishes, in fact, have never have a chance to try this. It really could taste the shrimp freshness. Cincalok is made of fermented tiny shrimp, the shrimp in the pinkish colour Cincalok are readily identifiable and the taste is salty (source: Wikipedia).

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Acar Hu (Pickled Fish in Turmeric Vinegar Sauce, 阿扎魚), it’s a tiny fish that deep fried it with hot oil and cook with turmeric and vinegar sauce. This is definitely an appetizing dish.

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Sambal Petai (三巴蝦炒臭豆), Petai’s binomial name is also called Parkia speciosa. It has some kind of antioxidant functions for the bladders.

 

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Assam Belai Fish (阿三魚),it’s a sourish, sweet and spicy soup base of curry. It’s almost similar to Penang Assam Laksa (檳城阿三拉沙).  In fact, this is one of the best Assam Belai Fish that I ever tried. If you love this, shouldn’t miss this in fact.


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Sambal Fried Vegetables.

 

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Address & Contact Number

Little Kitchen @ Nyonya 娘惹小廚房

No. 179, Lebuh Noordin
10300 Penang
Tel: +604-261 6731 / +6012-508 9338


Comments

Anonymous said…
Hi MyLoveMyFood,

Great discovery of the Origin of Nyonya food which I have been looking around for sometime now. The food looks great, tempting and origin in nature. Without further ado, I'll make a trip to this Nyonya restaurant tomorrow for lunch. Thanks again for recommending this restaurant.

Food lover.
Tony Johor Kaki said…
wow this restaurant looks so beautiful and the food looks inviting too. The owners take so much pride in keeping their place and their food top grade. Your photos do bring out their beauty very well too. Thanks for sharing. This is on my must visit list now ;D
ck lam said…
Great review of this restaurant! Thanks for sharing, will love to drop by with the family :)
ck lam said…
Thanks for sharing this lovely place. Will love to drop by with the family for a meal :)
Anonymous, thank you. Hope you have visited the place.

Hi Johor Kaki, thank you!

Hi CK, I bet you'll love the food! Do check it out when free.
Wow I love everything about this place, for its design, architecture, decoration, plates to food.

How's the pricing?
You sure ordered a lot. :P
Wow I love everything about this place, for its design, architecture, decoration, plates to food.

How's the pricing?
You sure ordered a lot. :P
Babe_KL said…
Wow I'm so in love with the crockeries! So beautiful
搵食能手 said…
I will go to Penang tomorrow and I must visit this little kitchen. I love the atmosphere so much. Do you know the business hour and is any reservation required? Thanks a lot!
Hi 搵食能手, yes, it's advisable to make a reservation. Cuz, the space is limited. As for the biz hour, can't really remember, if am not mistaken is sometime 1130 to 2pm for lunch. And 6pm to 10pm for dinner. Hope that helps!
Baking Diary said…
Awesome looking place, love the nyonya furniture and decor and of course the food! will take not of the address and visit when I am in Penang.:D
Darren from Australia said…
This was without a doubt the culinary highlight of my holiday in Penang. The food was stunning and we were treated like guests in a family home. The decor is gorgeous too. Ten out of ten, not to be missed.
Anonymous said…
Nice environment but over-priced meal for a nyonya food. Too small portion and expensive. This only cater to tourist. A tourist trap.
Anonymous said…
totally agreed with the above comment, the price and serving attitude is rated very poor. not value for money
Anonymous said…
Totally Over Rated & Over Priced!!! (Double charged) Not recommended at all. There are tons of nyonya food restaurants in Penang which are far more better than this one. Servings are terribly little and the chicken was overnight left over. Nothing to shout about.
samsong said…
The price itself is already a tourist trap. Cheapest is RM88 per head. Mr. Loh is a very rude and dishonest person. He will mark up the price for tourist who aren't aware of the pricing. Small portion of food. Not worth dining in. There are other Nyonya restaurants for you to choose in Penang. Do not be deceived by the outlook of the place. Definitely not worth the price you pay for!!