In general, the Nonya food is fairly authentic, the service was impeccable. The ambiance was relaxed as soothing music played in the background. The lighting in the restaurant was a little on the harsh side, and that made the stainless steel food warmers look a little clinical.

The buffet spread was well laid out, and the decorations and accessories to decorate the spread was quite well done.

Let me go through some of the items that were available:

Appetisers:
- Nonya Achar
- Babi with Chin Char Loke
- Satay
- Sambal Tebun (sambal cucumber)

Of these I felt that the Nonya Archar was most authentic. It was thick and dry with lots of roasted ground peanuts. Nonya style does not feature lots of vinegar. It gets 2 thumbs up! The veggies were crunchy, and the chilli was spicy, but acceptable to most palates.

The Babi with Chin Char Loke
This is another one of my favourites (and I do make it at home).
The Chin Char Loke in this dish wasn't a lot. Which was okay for me, although I had preferred there to be more. But to accommodate non-nonya tastes, whom may find Chin Char Loke to be pungent and rancid, it was well accompanied by thinly sliced shallots, chilli padi and lime.

If you do not know Chin Char Loke is a slightly fermented little shrimps. Most individuals are unable to accept this fermented smell, but when mixed in with all the other ingredients - it does taste heavenly. MUST TRY!

Main Course items
- Ayam Buah Keluak (chicken buah keluak)
- Itek Sioh (coriander duck)
- Chap Chye (Mixed veg)
- Bawang Kepiting (pork ball soup)

There were many others, but I didn't try it out.

Ayam Buah Keluak

As my maternal grandma hails from Penang, our style of Buah Keluak is cooked with pork - not with chicken as local nonyas prefer. It is always a must try for me, to always guage a restaurant's standard is with this dish. With a little trepidation, I took only 2 pieces of the famed "black fruit" (which is actually poisonous if not treated properly and is commonly used as a rat killer in most parts of Indonesia).
The Buah Keluak was not sufficiently ripe, and were small in size. Hence they didn't taste good. It had the unripe sourish bitter taste. But since I didn't like people to think I was wasting food, I swallowed it all and washed it down with Lime juice.

Itek Sioh
Duck cooked with ground coriander is another of my favourites and I practise making this 4 times a year. They had meticulously removed the additional duck fat, making this more palatable. It was this eye for detail, that made me try this. The taste was lacking though, unlike the version that I had at their flagship outlet in Joo Chiat. Similarly the duck pieces were too large and that made eating them difficult. Improvements to their coriander spices should rectify this.

Nonya Chap Chye
This is one of the dishes that was well done. It was able to bring out the sweetness of the cabbage, intermixed with the crunchy bamboo shoots. This dish would only be done better at home. If you're looking for a good pot of chap chye, and you're juz to lazy to do it. This is the place to eat.
Why is chap chye difficult to cook? it involves many ingredients and its a labour of love. Despite the low cost factor, to do well with this dish is no easy task. Each home will have their own version of chap chye. There is no single "authentic" version. Some will not have lily buds, others will include beancurd sticks etc.

Bawang Kepiting
The soup was clear, and free of any "blood sediments". The pork balls were juicy and springy at the same time, yet had enough fat in the meat to make them "melt in your mouth". Although I would have added more bamboo shoots in the soup, it was overall a great pot of soup. An excellent yummy tummy filler with a bowl of rice.

Visit Chilli Padi at Heng Mui Keng to enjoy more delicious food including their kueh pai tie, Hee Pioh soup, Udang with Nanas, Ikan Asam Pedas etc