World’s Longest Penakan Buffet
Nonya food is indeed exquisite and what better way than to celebrate it with a bang on the last night of the Singapore Food Festival. Thank you so much to the wonderful people of the Singapore Tourism Board for inviting me to this wondrous culinary feast fit for royalty.
Seen here is my favorite of favorites, the Nonya Laksa. I love its taste and the richness of coconut gravy. I didn’t find it as spicy as I thought it would be, like most laksa recipes in Manila restaurants. Toastbox is one restaurant that serves super spicy laksa, not that I don’t like spicy because I do, but the real Nonya Laksa is just superb. Looking at the picture I know it’s not much to look at. However, the picture doesn’t do justice to the taste.
It looks like pasta but it’s not. I believe the noodles are made of buckwheat and the thick sauce is made of coconut gravy. It’s not sweet, but savory and slightly spicy. I had three bowlfuls of this glorious dish. Nonya Laksa owes its savory taste to a fish-based broth that is simply heavenly. Mind you, all dishes Nonya are NOT easy to prepare. That’s because Nonya cooking requires meticulous preparation of ingredients and several cooking processes before the final saute.
No, they didn’t slice and dice the famous chef. It’s not even a namesake, but a homophone of his name. In Kapampangan, pork is called Babi, which is the same word and meaning in Malay. One distinct ingredient of this dish is cinnamon. Babi Chin is mostly aromatic. Pounded along with onion and garlic, the resulting paste is truly remarkable.
And here’s the rest of the wonderful buffet.
This is Babi Assam Goreng or pan-fried pork belly with Assam, a souring agent. I remember this because I once commented that in Filipino the word for sour is ‘asim’.
I love this Longan drink. It’s sweet, delicious and healthy.
Kudos to the wonderful cuisine of the Peranakans! I will come back to Singapore and try it all again, really soon!
October 14, 2009
· 
Arpee · 
3 Comments
Tags: babi assam goren, babi chin, longan drink, longest peranakan buffet, nonya laksa, peranakan buffet, peranakan cuisine, peranakan food, singapore food festival · Posted in: food tours
3 Responses
i’ve tried only a few laksa and the noodles looked like the one in ur photo. just curious, how does one distinguish the wheat from rice noodle (color, thickness, texture?) my first taste of peranakan food happened 8 years ago in malacca. thanks for the nostalgia!
waaaahh..gutom na tuloy agad ako..love this post..sana magkaroon ng isang ubod ng laking food festival dito sa pinas pos puro buffet..yam yam..
from experience, wheat noodles are more “springy”, almost like pasta, it’s full to the bite. perfect example would be tasty dumplings (http://arpeelazaro.com/2007/12/10/siomai-vs-kuchay-dumplings/) rice noodles, which usually comes in strips, are less springy and, for me, feel like egg noodles. not as full but heavy on the belly, like puto. rice noodles are more delicate and seem like they mash more easily when you stir them too much on your plate. i like rice noodles in ho-fan. wheat noodles, i like for anything with soup or thin sauce.
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