The best Peranakan restaurants in Singapore

We suss out Singapore's best Peranakan kitchens, and leave with bellies – and hearts – full

By Natasha Hong | Posted: Tuesday August 20 2019

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Peranakan cuisine is getting increasingly hard to find. Thankfully, there are a handful of restaurants that are keeping the culinary tradition alive – from comforting, traditional dishes to Nonya-inspired modern creations. In some cases, you'll actually be dining at someone's home – it doesn't get more authentic than that. 

Photo: Indigo Blue Kitchen

Restaurants, Peranakan

Indigo Blue Kitchen

Orchard

The traditional Peranakan dishes found at this restaurant aren't prepared based on written recipes passed down through generations. They are, however, recreated from memory – specifically, Les Amis Group chairman Desmond Lim’s grandmother’s cooking. “Vivid memories and my palate help determine what each dish should taste and look like,” says the restauranteur. “I want the food to be a reflection of what I grew up with.” One example is IB’s Nonya Poh Piah ($16), a communal dish that hearkens back to the days of his family crowding around the table to wrap their own spring roll. And everything, right down to the dough, is painstakingly handmade to reflect his grandmother’s original recipe. It took Demond over five years of consideration before deciding to open a Peranakan restaurant. He wanted a space where he could share and preserve Nonya cooking while paying homage to his grandmother. “I've noticed that in the last two to three years, there has been a revival in Peranakan cuisine in Singapore,” says Desmond. “So the timing is right for us to finally start.” TRY THIS The nostalgic IB’s Nonya Poh Piah ($16) that comes jazzed up with prawns and chunks of mud crab.