of mojitos and other madness: baa baa black sheep

just in case people don't know, dia actually comes from a peranakan heritage...technically its one quarter peranakan blood, as my grandma was straits born and married my grand father who was from china. that makes my dad half baba and since my mom's side wasn't straits born, that makes me one fourth baba. one quart or one eighth really didn't matter because i am still proud to be a part of the heritage *grin*

having been brought up enjoying home cooked peranakan food (which is the best by the way), most makan places outside almost always do not quite satisfy. usually, it is the case where dishes are not as lemak, or are lacking a particular ingredient or simply, they don't make the dish! but i am glad to say, we have managed to find one quite kick ass makan joint who has managed to achieve close to the same home cooked flavour that i grew up with.

peramakan. aptly named, they started off in a small 6 table outfit in joo chiat but have grown to occupy a nice space over at keppel club. just goes to show how good the food is that they had to expand! everything on their menu is authentic and all very good. the family has been there a number of times already and we have already established several must-haves:

1. rendang - the beef rendang is awesome. we have had it almost every time we makan at peramakan and every single time, it still wows everyone. tender and stewed in an amazing lemak sauce...one could just have this with rice and be satisfied!

2. sayur nangka masak. who would have thought nangka (read jackfruit) would go with prawns! cooked with lots of asam, the nangka gives the dish so much flavour that i personally think the main highlight is the soft tangy nangka and not the prawns! a truly refreshing dish, with huge fresh (really easy to shell without getting those fingers dirty!) prawns.

3. satay babi goreng. satay with a twist, barbequed pieces of pork simmered in thick gravy and not on a stick. i do still miss the yummy peanut sauce but done the peranakan way, the gravy was still shiok.

4. bakwan kepiting. no meal would be complete with this soup. pernakan managed to do a pretty good job with the meat balls and soup...but i think a bit more crab meat in the meat balls would really make the dish outstanding. other than that, the soup was hearty and the meat balls, with a dash of belachan still managed to hit the spot.

5. jantung pisang kerabu. okay, i admit. this was new to me, but a favorite of my mom. not like any other prawn salad, this one was rich yet refreshing. think fresh thick slices of prawns nestled in fresh veggies, drizzled with a tangy lime assam dressing with lots of cut onions and shallots and topped with a rich coconut milk dressing. sedap!

6. ngoh hiang. another pernakan classic. deep fried till crispy, filled to the ends of the roll with minced meat, water chestnut and other yummy things, this was awesome with the plum sauce. the achar accompanying the dish was good too!

7. apom balik. no matter how full we were, we always have room for the apom balik. cooked only when ordered, it is served hot off the pan. the pancakes were crisp on the outside but moist and fluffy on the inside. biting into each one, be it kaya or durian, would immediately make one go ah! this is truly truly outstanding! big nod of approval from my nephew (who had two of these by the way...)!

8. durian pengat. i'm not a durian person so i can't really give my take on this, but based on the durian guru (pak law), this was good. tremondously rich blend of actual durian with durian paste, it surprisingly didn't smell as much as i thought it would!

this is not the end of the must have list. it is just what we had that night and hence all that i managed to photodocument! there are definitely more and i will endeavour to make the list as long as it deserves to be with more visits soon to peramakan!