definitely the most unforgettable peranankan food (also maybe I havent had it for some time?). Very impressed with the dishes in the restaurant. Every dish is tasty & I especially love the 'yu piao' soup. waaaaaaaaaa . think i can drink the whole bowl of soup by myself.
the chendol is also very smooth & delicious.
what can I say, this place got standard.
even my japanese boss & colleagues are nodding their heads!

There are 2 sides to good ol Katong. One side comprises of seedy KTV pubs with unsavory influences. The other is practically bursting with all kinds of delicious eats (Katong Laksa, Boon Tong Kee Chicken Rice, Puteri Mas Durian Puffs and Tau Kwa Pau just to name a few).

Kim Choo is one of the few institutions left in Katong which has withstood the test of time. Housed in a refurbished shophouse, the restuarant is split into 2 quarters- an air conditioned one for dine- in customers and a non air conditioned one selling a mind boggling array of knick knacks including but not limited to nonya kueh, nonya dumplings, otah, cakes, pastries, biscuits and sauce mixes.

The owners take great pains to ensure that the restarant's interior stays true to its Peranakan roots. Pretty Perakanan tiles and Peranakan crockery/baskets line the counter and walls. The 2nd floor even houses a Peranakan museum.

As we were only feeling peckish that evening, we ordered 4 dishes to share. Portions are generous and reasonably priced. Better still, the restaurant does not impose GST and service charge.

Achar (SGD2)- The obligatory appetiser. A little too watery for my liking.

Tofu with braised sauce (SGD6)- Chilled discs of silken tofu drizzled with a lip smacking oyster sauce and generously sprinkled with lashings of fried shallots, sliced chilli and Chinese celery. A simple yet refreshing treat for a warm evening.

Satay Ayam (SGD12)- Boneless chunks of marinated chicken smothered in a rich peanut sauce. In other words, satay sans the stick. The accompanying sides of chopped cucumber and onions served as effective palate cleansers to offset the heaviness of the sauce.

Chap Chye (SGD6)- Although this dish contained the right ingredients, the cabbage was a tad undercooked and had not fully absorbed the essence of the fermented bean gravy. I was a little disappointed.

Hee Peow Soup (SGD12)- A hotpot laden with yummies like pork balls, fish maw, cabbage and button mushrooms. The soup base tasted weak and failed to impress. However, I throughly enjoyed the delectable yummies hidden within.

Rice: 70 cents each

Wet tissues: 20 cents each

Beverages- Good variety. Choose from local favorites like lime juice, sour plum drink and water chestnut drink (SGD2 each)..or drown your weekday sorrows with a bottle of beer. Ps: Adam's Ale is charged at 30 cents a cup.

"Grocery" shopping at the second quarter after dinner is an absolute must- I ended up lugging back SGD77 worth of home-made sugee cookies, cashew nut cookies, kueh bankit, love letters and open faced pineapple tarts. (I tried the pineapple tarts this morning and give two thumbs up!). Nonya nazis would also give their stamp of approval to the restaurant's highly acclaimed nonya zhang (rice dumplings), otah and kuehs.

Overall, this place is highly recommended for folks looking for a comprehensive introduction to Peranakan food and culture. Service staff are very helpful and proficient in English. Unfortunately, the restaurant's dine-in dishes remain at best palatable (perhaps due to the owners' over diversification into too many product offerings?). Nonetheless, kudos to the owners for their labour of love.

Visit my blog for pictures =)
http://waragaw.blogspot.com/2009/10/peranakan-101.html

Read so much about it that I had to pay it a visit. I'd always like their nonya chang so was hoping their baba food can match up to their chang.

Chap chye - barely pass
Ayam buah keluak - FAIL big time. The gravy did not have the smell from the nuts and I think the rempah was not fried till fragrant before the assam water was added in. The light orangy color, lack of nutty smell and insipid taste just made me so disappointed.
Ngoh hiang, babi pongteh - pass

Hmmmm....think I will stick to their nonya chang henceforth

Have tried both Blue Ginger and Ivin’s, and I have to say Kim Choo trumps them both. (Of course it can’t compare to the authentic feel in Malacca, but the food is definitely worth a visit.)

The boyfriend specially drove to this haunt at Katong (we don’t live near, at all), and we took ages to find a lot and all that so were both considerably grumpy. Good thing the food was worth the while.

We had Ayam Buah Keluak, Sambal Kangkong, and Ikan Assam (the fillet), and three bowls of rice between the two of us. That’s the first indication of a good meal – abandoning diet plans and load on carbs. Also shared a chendol thereafter.

The chicken dish was the best. Flavours were intense, and the meat was soft and tender. They used the thigh meat for this dish – lip-smacking goodness. The kangkong had an interesting taste with the dried shrimps being all crunchy. Assam fish was more average, I would say it’s about the same standard as good zi char stalls.

Don’t expect much ambience, though there are pretty Peranakan ornaments all round. Lots of families come here to eat, so it won’t be a romantic sort of place. Good for larger crowds though, that way you can sample a wider variety of yumminess.

I had an opportunity to go all the way down from the West to the East again, and decided to bring my WTB(Wife-To-Be) down to sample Kim Choo's Peranakan food. In my last review, i was raving about the Babi Pongteh, and i finally managed to get a picture of it.

The standard appetizer is the Achar. Im not an Achar fan, but i find it unique. I have had other Achars before, but this has a good blend of sweet-sour and a tinge of saltiness in it. I like its spiciness, but i think my WTB found it a tad too spicy.

My WTB agreed that the Babi Pongteh was something to rave about. She noticed that the sauce is fragrant and not too salty. The pork was also braised long enough such that it was tender and had absorbed sufficient sauce within it.

The Beancurd with braised sauce is a nice addition to an overly tasty and oily meal. But nothing too special. Just cold beancurd and probably some oyster sauce+sesame oil+dark sauce mix, topped with garnishings such as parsley, spring onions & fried onion bits.

The sambal ladies fingers is also commonly found in many zi-char stalls in the kopitiams. Nothing fantastic.

Oh yah, for this short period, they give free nonya cakes to take away if you pay by citibank card...