Kebaya Dining Room @ Penang

Trying to introduce to my overseas colleagues the traditional food of Penang, and this stop is all about Peranakan food.

Built in the late 19th century, Seven Terraces was a contiguous row of Anglo-Chinese terrace houses located just behind the Goddess of Mercy Temple. The architecture of these shophouses, with classical decorative details imported from England, was similar to the traditional urban house models common in southern China. The five-foot-way, a covered walkway that connects these shophouses on the ground floor, was another feature at Seven Terraces that is characteristic of most heritage shophouses in Penang.

Peranakans are Straits-born Chinese that came to this part of the world around the 15th century, purportedly with Admiral Zheng Ho’s fleet. They came and never returned to their hometown of Fujian, Teochew and Canton, and married the locals and blended into local communities. However they did not forget their roots, and retained many customs and traditions with a Malay twist. Like the kebayas, the embroidered clothings of the Nyonyas (female Peranakans). And like these beautiful clothings, the cuisine took on local spices.

Kebaya Dining Room, the Nyonya restaurant in Seven Terraces, had undergone reinterpretation and reconstruction of Peranakan food under Chef Zac (Cordon Bleu trained) and Chef Kent. Firstly, they are not even Babas (male Peranakan). And they learnt the techniques from Nyonyas employed by the owner of Seven Terraces, Chris Ong.

The concept of the “Tok Panjang”, a term used by the Straits-born Chinese in Singapore and Malacca (in Penang, it’s called “T’ng Tok” or 長桌, a wholly Hokkien term meaning the same) is an elaborate, sit-down celebratory meal, usually held for birthdays, weddings or some auspicious occasion. In this case, a gathering of like-minded people celebrating the opening of a new office and a new era.

Armed with their inherited secrets, Kebaya applies very innovative cooking methods using traditional Malaysian flavour profiles, Vietnamese lightness, Thai spiciness, and traditional French cooking styles. So don’t expect Peranakan food that sticks to tradition.

Wrap Your Own Popiah

Fresh blue swimmer crab. Romaine lettuce. cucumber, omelette julienne, crispy garlic and dried sole with stir fried jicama

This dish is very popular when it comes to gatherings. Love ones gather around the table wrapping your own Hokkien-style popiah (think of spring roll but not deep fried). Guests were given fresh spring roll skins and a platter of filling options: stewed jicama, blue swimmer crab meat, aka 遠海梭子蟹 or in Teochew 蠘 (cih4), julienned plain omelette, cucumber strips, etc. Customise with chilli and sweet soy sauce for the ultimate good eat.

Otak-Otak

Seabass cooked with garlic & turmeric, and baked in crispy puff pastry

House made otak-otak using shredded sea bass cooked with turmeric and garlic, and then baked in crispy puff pastry, served with a lightly-spiced, coconut milk-enriched dip. Too much work for the humble otak-otak, and then forgotten the most important part – the banana leaf wrapper.

Sambal Goreng

Sautéed French beans, baby corn and cashew nuts with lemongrass & belachan-infused coconut cream

Sambal goreng is Malay for stir-fry in chilli, which is what this sayur (vegetable) dish is all about. A potpourri of vegetables that include French beans, baby corn and cashew nuts, in a lemongrass-scented, belacan-infused, coconut milk-enriched gravy.

Masak Lemak

Sweet potato shoot’s sautéed in our spice paste, topped with homemade sweet potato chips

Madeira vine leaves masak lemak, topped with sweet potato chips – my favourite dish today – it has the consistency of creamed spinach, but with a mildly spicy, but coconut-rich gravy which I absolutely adore.

Masak Lemak – sweet potato shoots in a coconut milk-infused spiced gravy, topped with crispy sweet potato chips.

Grilled Eggplant

Chargrilled eggplant with dried shrimp sambal and crispy baby whitebait

Hong Bak Lamb

Prime New Zealand shank sous vide for 48 hours and served in its jus

Hong Bak is basically quite similar to tau eu bak (soy sauce pork belly) but there is some variations to ingredients, seasoning and steps. However this is definitely not hong bak, there’s no soy sauce. 8-hour sous vide “Hong Bak” lamb shank is marinated with sand ginger 沙薑 (aka “cekur“), a local rhizome that gives the sauce an earthy taste. The fork tender lamb is a favourite among customers, but I find the sauce too lemak (“too much coconut milk”) for my liking.

Gulai Tumis Pomfret

Peranakan staple curry of Golden pomfret fillets with momotaro concasse, ginger flowers and Vietnamese mint

Gulai tumis pomfret is pomfret fillets cooked in a sour-sweet-spicy gravy infused with Japanese Momotaro tomato concasse, garnished with shredded torch-ginger flowers and Vietnamese mint (aka laksa leaves). Tomato concassé is a tomato that has been peeled, seeded (seeds and skins removed), and chopped.

Very good rendition of this Peranakan classic with fresh pomfret fillets. Extremely delectable, and perfect with steamed rice. I could not help but have another serving of the carb.

Prawn Geng

Wild caught prawns in a curry of turmeric and lemongrass

I have not come across this Peranakan term “geng”. This is a turmeric and lemongrass curry with fresh wild prawns. However there’s kaeng lueang (แกงเหลือง), directly translated, means “yellow curry” in Thai. This dish is called kaeng som or “sour curry” in southern Thailand. And it was quite appetising given the acidity.

Pisang Goreng’s Ice Cream

Banana fritter-infused ice cream with fritter cake and pretzel sable

Not your traditional banana fritter. The ice cream was infused with banana fritter served on a small piece of banana cake and pretzel sable. It reminded me of a brownie with ice cream, except it’s banana flavour.

If you are looking for traditional Peranakan food, this is the wrong restaurant. The taste may be similar to Peranakan, but the food is at best fusion. And it was fusion food in a very confusing way, like some amateurs fussing around with recipes. Not recommended, but not so bad that I would blacklist it.

Kebaya Dining Room at Seven Terraces
14A, Stewart Ln, Georgetown, 10200 George Town, Penang, Malaysia
Tel : +60 4-264 2333

Visited Jul 2024

Michelin Penang Guide Selected 2024