Dulukala Peranakan Restaurant

With the Little Nyonya craze going on, it was a good time to introduce my friends to peranakan food, still a largely unknown cuisine here. Thanks to the drama, interest was at an all time high, and thus, a group of 7 made their way down to Upper Bukit Timah road.

Dulukala means "last time" and the food aims to be as homely and as "last time" and "grandma's style". The menu was quite extensive, and i took charge of the ordering, and asked for the more well known and well loved Peranakan dishes. We proceeded to wait a really long time of about 45 minutes before the food all came in a row.

Ayam Buah Keluak can be prepared spicy or not that spicy. This here is the spicy version, and spicy it was. The gravy was fragrant of a multitude of spices and the nutty flavour of buah keluak, and ends off by bullying your sinuses with an overpowering sharp chilli sting. Chicken meat was tender and well soaked in the gravy. The buah keluak was a first time for many people including me. The taste was nutty, slightly bitter and pungent and reminded me of dark chocolate. Not as bad as many people say. I pretty much like it.

Nyonya Chap Chye. This is the dish that one can have with rice alone and feel happy and content. Tastes so much of grandmother spirit. A bunch of vegetables stewed till soft yet not to the extent of disintegration, served with the gravy infused with the lovely sweetness of fresh vegetables. Not something to jump about for, but something to savour slowly with freshly cooked rice.

Chinchalok omelette had all the girls going mad about it. A very nicely fried omelette, crispy outside and soft and moist inside, mixed with abundant fermented shrimps, which tastes salty yet shrimpy and very delicious together with the full flavour of the eggs. This dish was emptied in 1 minute.
Ikan Assam Pedas is a must try, with the fish having soaked up the sour and spicy essence from the excellent assam gravy. Not as spicy as it looks and sounds but just nice to complement the other flavours such as the fish's fresh sea taste, and the tanginess of the assam. The ladies fingers and brinjals were also grilled before being cooked with the dish, so they taste pretty great too.
After all the spiciness, comes this Bakwan Kepiting soup. 4 large crab and pork meatballs served in a light and clear cabbage soup. The bakwah were bouncy and very tasty. However i didn taste any crab meat at all though. Soup was subtly sweet and tasty and as Shoe said, the soup was a quiet complement to all the spicy dishes around.

My favourite was the Babi Pongteh. Very fatty thick pork cuts cooked in a delicious gravy made from tau cheo (fermented bean paste). The pork was stewed to perfection, tender and full of the gravy's savoury taste. The fat layer just melts in your mouth with a sweet meaty flavour together with the savoury strong flavour of the gravy. Irresistable with rice, i ladled a lot of the gravy over my rice and enjoyed it tremendously.

Beef Rendang was served with huge chunks of beef in a very thick rendang gravy. The rendang was creamy with fresh coconut milk and full of spices with just a little spiciness to round it off. Beef chunks, although huge, were tender and absorbed the fragrant essence of the gravy. Another must try dish here.

Food: Peranakan dishes tasting of homecooked goodness. Well worth the wait. As Shoe said, 有幸福的感觉。

Cost: 7.5/10 it really depends on the people sharing. Dishes range from $5-$12, but servings are too small really.

Location: 5.5/10 Familiar for the Bt Timah cluster students, but unfamiliar to most others.

Ambience: Homely feel; the people serving you are part of the family which owns the restaurant.

Address: 144 Upper Bukit Timah Road #04-04 Beauty World Centre

Tel: 64652036, closed on Wednesdays