Blue Ginger

They say a prophet is not recognised in his own town. We talk about Peranakan food and people would rave about this one here and another there. Tucked at a shop-house along the main road of Tanjong Pagar there is this place that serve wonderful Peranakan cuisine. Right in our own backyard. Some folks may have forgotten about them. There were enough varieties to keep us busy but as there were only a few of us that day so we kept things simple.

We started with the sambal cuttlefish kang kong. These days not many give you cuttlefish. It was good.

The ngo hiang tasted as good as those home-made ones. These are of course minced pork and prawns seasoned with five spice powder rolled and wrapped and fried so that it turned into a crispy golden brown on the outside. Nice!

Beef Rendang - tender beef cubes cooked in rich coconut milk with ingredients like lemon grass, ginger and curry powder. Rendang is an absolute favourite for me, a true great.

Bakwan Kepeting is a fine soup to go along. This is a traditional dish of minced pork and crabmeat made into a ball with slices of bamboo shoots but they come only in individual portion.

Of course, for Peranakan, Ayam Buah Keluak is a must. It is braised chicken cooked in lemon grass with tumeric and galangal (blue ginger) added and the most important ingredient other than the chicken is the buah keluak - an Indonesian black nuts for the unique flavour. 

It is the most time consuming dish to prepare because you have to scrub every nut and soak in water for two days. Later you have to pound it and blend it with other spices. The rempah (pounded spices) alone is made from at least seven different ingredients. If any one offers you this dish, show some respect and eat it.

Sambal Bendy - a must try! Ladies fingers in a hot and spicy shrimp paste. Simply fabulous!

A meal here is not complete if not washed down with the chendol. The green stuffs are chendol, a pandan-flavoured jelly with lots of red beans, freshly squeezed coconut milk and added with gula melaka. Heavenly!

Blue Ginger.

Jio me when you are here. Give me a buzz and let's do the rempah.