Auntie Gaik Lean’s @ Penang (Dec 2024)

Peranakan cuisine, the result of an amalgamation of cultures, found its roots/origins in the three Crown colonies. Once upon a time it was to be found only in the family kitchens of the Babas and Bibiks. Now you can enjoy Michelin-grade Peranakan cuisine here in Penang.

Back in her twenties, Auntie Gaik Lean first learned her trade cooking at Motorola’s kitchen. Eventually she established her own business, supplying meals to the canteens of various multinational companies including Intel, Seagate and Dell. From those early days until the present, she remains dedicated to using locally sourced ingredients and crafting her rempah from scratch for every recipe. This commitment to using the finest ingredients to create authentic flavours is reflected in her culinary ethos.

Upon returning from Singapore in 2013, Auntie Gaik Lean’s son Adrian opened the restaurant. Through the years, the restaurant garnered a string of loyal supporters. The restaurant occupies 2 shop lots in Lebuh Bishop Penang, offering a colonial style dining environment with glass shopfront and classy decor.

In December 2022, the restaurant received a remarkable accolade, being one of four restaurants to be awarded a star in the inaugural Michelin Guide Malaysia. While it is not the first Peranakan restaurant to receive the star (Candlenut in Singapore was the first), but it is still the only that remained true to the style of the cuisine. (Candlenut has moved away and offers “modern” Peranakan.)

The menu in Auntie Gaik Lean’s offers a great number of Nyonya dishes, such as the classic Jiu Hu Char, Kiam Chai Ark, Asam Hae and many more. The family came to Penang on a cruise and came here for dinner. Adrain arranged the dinner menu for us.

Baba Delight (Kuih Pie Tee, Lor Bak, Cucur Udang & Acar Awak)

We started with an assortment of Peranakan appetisers served with Acar Awak 开胃沙律 (in that small saucer), a fusion of Chinese pickles and Malay spices. These appetisers represent the Peranakan cuisine, a potpourri of different cuisines integrated in a harmonious way.

Kuih Pie Tee 小金杯, little pastry cups filled with shredded jicama sautéed with dried shrimps and oyster sauce, was a new addition after the renovation, perhaps after frequent requests by patrons.

Lor Bak 卤肉卷 is a Hokkien specialty, similar to ngoh hiang. The ingredients are similar to one my mom makes. They disappeared very quickly because everyone missed mom’s cooking.

Cucur Udang 蔬菜虾煎 is inspired by the Malay snack and resembled Japanese kaki age.

Nasi Ulam

Nasi ulam 野菜饭, the resplendent, colourful Nyonya rice salad, is must-have when one is in Penang. The rice is a luxurious mix of finely-shredded herbs, edible leaves, and flowers with flavoured rice. Because of all the work required to shred the ingredient to such fine consistency (nothing can be done with machinery like food processor), this rice dish is seldom offered these days. Toasted shredded coconut lends a rich, nutty flavour, whilst the dried shrimps and salted fish provide the savoury umami hit.

Jiu Hu Char

The name jiu hu char is taken from the Hokkien name for the Malaya Peninsula, which was once referred to as 州府 or jiu hu. This stir-fry potpourri of vegetables is similar to the filling in the kueh pie tee – shredded jicama, dried mushrooms, shredded chicken, dried prawns served with lettuce wraps and their homemade sambal belachan.

Eaten similar to a popiah, but instead of the spring roll skin, you use a leaf of lettuce as the wrap. Remember to put some of that hot but flavourful sambal for the kick.

Curry Kapitan

A Straits Settlement style curry chick that has its roots from Portuguese, Chinese and Indian cuisines, with local Malay ingredients. Rempah is a complex paste of spices used as the foundation of many Malay, Indonesian and Peranakan dishes, and curry kapitan is one of my favourite style of curry rempah. The chicken has been cooked to perfect tenderness and the mild curry blended well with the poultry. Only complain, they should use a better and larger chicken.

Terung Sambal

This delectable signature dish, terung sambal 参峇茄子, is based one of her mother’s recipes, woke up my taste buds in the best way possible. Soft tender deep-fried eggplant (aka brinjal) slices were topped with a sweet and spicy sambal, which was the soul of the dish.

Otak Otak

Freshly made otak-otak was a favourite among us. Fish paste with a blend of spices that has a custardy texture. Delicious.

Egg Belanda

This is a rather homely dish of sunny side up fried eggs cooked in a tamarind sauce.

Assam Prawns

This is like Cantonese tiger prawns in black soy sauce, but with a (sour) twist. They added tamarind juice to instead of vinegar to raise the flavour profile of the sweet black sauce. I have to say the prawns were really fresh, something you would have to pay an arm and a leg for in Singapore.

Wild Grouper Curry Tumis

We ordered this dish the last time I was here, but it used golden pomfret back then, and I didn’t have the chance to take a photo. This time, they used the wild caught grouper, which is better fish for the assam as it can withstand the cooking in the tangy, spicy stock.

Sambal Petai Sotong

Next dish, sautéed stink beans (aka petai, an ingredient that would not be found in Western tables because of its strong taste) with sambal belachan (fermented prawn paste chilli, another ingredient with a strong taste). The super fresh sotong (squid) played second fiddle here , but it was cooked perfectly a la minute, not hard and chewy. The chilli used was different from the eggplant, and that’s the beauty about Peranakan cuisine – all the rempah and chilli are always different and meticulously put together.

Kiam Chai Ark

Kiam Chai Ark 咸菜鸭汤, aka Sup Itik Tim, is Nonya soup that has its roots in Teochew/Hokkien cuisine. The Teochews, Hokkiens and Nonya all have their own versions of salted vegetable duck soup, but the main ingredients are salted mustard green (kiam chai), tomato and duck. The most time consuming part is to remove all the fats from the duck that emerge from all that simmering. The soup is super yummy, with the flavours of the salt from the kiam chye and the natural flavour of the duck blending into the soup to give you that punch of flavour.

Pulut Hitam with Dried Longan and Fresh Coconut

We finished the meal with pulut hitam (black glutinous rice with coconut milk). Not too sweet and full of the coconut flavours, and yet not jelat (overwhelming rich).

This was a good meal, very satisfying in a lovely environment. The service was attentive and portion was sufficient to be shared. Locals claimed that there are equivalent Peranakan restaurants around, but for a foreigner on a short trip here, Auntie Gaik Lean’s will not be wrong.

Auntie Gaik Lean’s Old School Eatery
1 Bishop St, Georgetown, 10200 George Town, Penang, Malaysia
Tel : +60 (017) 434 4398 (Reservations through the WhatsApp account)

Visited Dec 2024

Michelin Penang Guide 1 Star 2023, 2024, 2025 (updated)