It was a Friday evening and we had company. My partner was tasked with selecting the venue and as usual he looked to me. No, this time you choose, I told him. To be fair, right?
My partner is the eat-rice-with-dishes-man. And after spinning in his head, he came up with Ah Tuan Ee's Place@The Curve.
Honestly, I was not thrilled because we have been there before (years ago) and I was not impressed. But I did not object. Who knows, this time it might be different.
I don't mean to sound condescending, but I have been to a few nonya restaurants and I came away disappointed. And I don't mean to sound pompous but I think I can cook better (cue trumpets blaring loudly in the distance, please).
So there we were and as usual, he left the ordering to me.
I selected the Gulai Tumis, Assam Prawns, Ah Tuan Ee's Golden Taufu, Inchi Kabin Chicken and Steamed Bendi with Sambal Hae Bee.
The Gulai Tumis was the only dish that I enjoyed. The taste is quite close to my late grandma's asam pedas.
The Assam Prawns we had to send back because the prawns were not fresh. The texture was powdery. The second one served was all right. Not bad, I sapu most of the onions.
I like steamed ladies fingers eaten with sambal belacan. This sambal hae bee is something that has been run through the blender and it was just OK. Not the sambal that I was expecting.
The Golden Taufu was ordinary, something that you can find in most Chinese restaurants.
As for the Inchi Kabin Chicken, I'm afraid it was over fried until it was hard and dry.
My partner was disappointed with the food and so was I. No more nonya restaurants for me, thank you.
I had never eaten at this restaurants after hearing funny remarks several years ago. Somehow they still enjoyed good business to survive. Maybe your taste standard is very atas.
ReplyDeleteI can recommend you to try 'Tanjung Bungah Restaurant" which is along the same row as Chow Yang at SS2. They even serve real "Perut Ikan Curry" besides good Inchi Kabin and Nyonya desserts. Guaranteed good as you can see the prominent crowds queuing for dinner.
I know you have high standards when it comes to food, so I trust you on your recommendation. I'll try to visit that restaurant and see if my faith in nonya restaurants can be restored.
DeleteThe decor looks ok, but the food was obviously not wort it!
ReplyDeleteIt was very pricey!
DeleteNo good? I love the name and the food looks very good. I guess th etest of the pudding is in the eating. I was rather disappointed with the one I went to in Melaka too, one time favourite of mine...and another one in Penang wasn't great either:
ReplyDeletehttps://suituapui.wordpress.com/2011/04/08/great-expectations/
Maybe those who can cook peranakan should not go to such restaurants, bound to compare...and bound to be disappointed.
There is one in Penang that is good but I forget the name as I was there a long time ago.
DeleteI have been to this eatery both in SS2 and The Curve a very long time like you and did not return. I agree with you that you can cook better from the photos of the delicious dishes you whipped out. I must learn from you and send back food when I find them to be not fresh instead of enduring bad or not fresh food. So this reinforced my decision not to return to eat at this place.
ReplyDeleteI normally don't send food back (after hearing horror stories what they do to your food) but my partner was the one who did it.
DeleteAh Hong Chee, if you set up business, am sure your business will be much much better than their's...
ReplyDeleteNo lah...too much work running a restaurant...
DeleteFried chicken did looked burnt and dry.
ReplyDeleteGeez. I bet both of you will definitely strike this place out and never to go back. You have them a 2nd chance but still came out disappointing.
Yup, no more.
DeleteThe day PH says that the nyonya food is good, we must head there straight away since you're such an authority on nyonya food! ;) I haven't eaten enough nyonya food to know which is good. At least they were willing to replace the not-fresh assam prawns for you coz that's quite an expensive dish to replace (seeing that the prawns were quite big ones).
ReplyDeleteLOL! No lah, I am not an authority but I come from a nonya family so my taste is more "sensitive" hee..hee... The prices here are quite steep, but it would be OK if the food measured up.
DeleteYum.
ReplyDeleteErr...not really.
Deleteu can become the Master Chef of nyonya food for being able to cook and criticise nyonya dishes ;-)
ReplyDeleteLOL! No lah, I just know how it should taste.
DeleteI remember you commented in my post that your Nyonya restaurant experiences were mostly disappointed >_<
ReplyDeleteYup, still disappointed. LOL!
DeleteI love Nyonya food but they are usually very pricey!
ReplyDeleteYes, possibly due to labor cost as nonya food is quite labor intensive what with all the rempah2.
Deletei'm a fan of nyonya cuisine (being from malacca), cos i love the deep flavours in the recipes. but i guess you're right that the best nyonya cooking is found in homes. i think that has to do with how painstaking some of the ingredients are to prepare, and the use of fresh spice mixes whenever possible ...
ReplyDeleteYou are right, home cooked nonya food is the best!
DeleteActually the fish, prawns and chicken are all the right choices for the dinner, just that the prawns turn out to be powdery and the chicken hard and dry.
ReplyDeleteI love Nyonya food, just that I cannot eat spicy food too often.
Some of the nonya food is not spicy which you might like.
DeleteYou didn't send back the chicken?
ReplyDeleteNo, because it was already late and it could take some time for the fresh one to come since the restaurant was busy.
Delete