Nyonya & Baba (VivoCity)

Disappointing food. Felt embarressed as I was treating an old friend and felt like the portions were too miserly. The baby poteh was like eating frozen pork cooked. SO hard. not the melt in your mouth feeling. the squid was so so. The kangkong was so so. Something wrong with the chili mixture. the rest of the $68== meal for 2 at lunch was barely passable. very expensive for lunch for two with so small portions.....

Service staff were attentive though.

(short review) Came here with my parents. In all, the service and ambience were good, though the food itself lacks a bit of shiokness. Babi ponteng was ok - 5.5/10 - It tasted.. normal at best. Not bad, but nothing special. Sambal kangkong was 8/10. Honey crispy chicken was 6/10 - though the sauce was acceptable and the meat was pretty fresh, the cooking seemed to be slightly uneven, leaving some inconsistencies in texture. The yu piao soup was great! 8/10 Otah, however, was a letdown. It costs something like $6 and it's pretty bland. Perhaps it's the intention all along, but I don't think that works. Ngoh Hiang was 2/10 - At $8 for a roll of 5 pieces, this isn't a good buy. The filling is very loosely packed - and there's quite little meat thrown into the mix. Chap Chye - completely average 5/10 Chendol - 9.5/10. With the exception of the frozen jelly that wasn't thawed at all, this chendol is simply awesome!

I had the chance to lunch here one day with another friend. It is not often to find a peranakan restaurant in the heart of a shopping mall so it is a pleasant surprise to find one here.

We were seated promptly, as it was a relatively slow weekday crowd. Ordered our drinks which was promptly served with prawn crackers and archar for starter. However, the cracker tasted stale (in chinese 'lao-hong'), either the crackers were left out for too long or the container was not air-tight enough.

We ordered Ayam Buah Keluak (Chicken), Bayam Titek (stir fried chinese spinach), Nyonya Ngo Hiang (Fried spring roll). The Ayam Buah Keluak was yummy, with the right amount of buah keluak spices mixed. The Ngo Hiang had good filling and was fried to the right consistency. A plus point - the oil used to deep fry the Ngo Hiang was 'fresh'.

I felt the vegetables were slightly old, which means the stem part was 'fibrous' and therefore took away the crunchiness of having fresh stir fried greens.

Overall, service was fair - though I felt that as there is only a small crowd, the wait staff could be more attentive to the customers' needs.

Quite a nondescript restaurant tucked away at one corner of Vivocity. Surprisingly, the tables inside the restaurant were full even though we arrived at 6pm on Saturday, so we were given a table outside of the restaurant which wasn't a great experience with all the noise from the performances at the empty space next to the escalator. Plus, people were walking by and looking over at our food :( Service was very good and the food was cooked amazingly fast (quite suspicious hmmm).

The chicken tasted like tom-yam and was just so-so. Nonya mee is quite good if you like hokkien mee with lots of gravy. Also, the Nonya mee has a "lighter" taste than hokkien mee usually sold at foodcourts. Chap chye is quite good and the gravy is good with the rice. You can give the ngoh hiong a miss.

Price of each dish (IIRC):

Black nut chicken - $12
Nonya mee - $10
Nonya chap chye - $8
Ngoh hiong - $8 (apparently there is crab meat inside but I think this is a rip-off!!)

Elderly folks might like this place because the food here are cooked till it is very soft, so it'll be easier for them chew.

I've eaten here a couple of times before. went with my family of aunts & uncles(all adults) & we ordered the medium size for all the dishes. We had the curry fish head, Nyonya ngo hiang & kang kong+ some other dihes. all were nothing exciting. not ad but not that good either. I think their location is also not exactly the best. with the many restaurants & eateries in vivo, I'll rather go somewhere else to have my meal.

Had dinner here on Friday. Ordered the curry fish head, assam sotong, kang kong and ngio hiong.

Dishes are average, you can have better peranakan dishes at other resturants for the same price. No real "kick" in the flavour of the dishes; the ngio hiong also did not came out crispy as it should. Wanted to order the desserts after the meal...but they only have a limited 3 selections; a bit disappointing.

I was a bit mystified as to why this ground floor establishment at the one end of Vivo’s restaurant row hadn’t been reviewed yet while every other one has been reviewed multiple times. Why, ah?

Is it because they don’t have a view despite their location next to the water? Is it because they’re located opposite HSBC whose branches are usually located away from the maddening crowd? Is it because their muzak is really Vivo’s muzak which includes ear shattering conversation killing public announcements? Is it because of their unattractive frontage, kitchen entrance facing the restaurant entrance? Bad Feng Shui? Is it because they’re next door further down from Tung Lok Signatures, and no one gets past this stylish restaurant, putting its neighbour out of view for someone musing their next gastronomic adventure walking along restaurant row? Is it because everyone had enough of traditional nyonya/peranakan and is seduced by the more stylish ones at Vivo? Why, ah?

Their menu and their maître d'hôtel at the hospitality desk look attractive enough. No turn off there. Must be the food…

Nyonya ngo hiang ($8/roll), deep fried beancurd skin filled with seasoned minced pork, prawn, water chestnut and carrot, served with chilli and sweet sauce. Although well endowed in size and content, I was struggling to discern the “ngo hiang”. The skin was not crispy, the sauce came in three components – 1 assam chill, 1 sweet chilli and 1 sweet honey like sauce – nothing outstanding here. Definitely like the Penang ngo hiang better.

Ayam buah keluak ($12/$18), their signature dish, comprising pieces of juicy chicken stewed with black nut gravy providing a balance of spicy, sweet and the unique aroma of the nut. This was ok but their chicken certainly wasn’t juicy as described, more the typical overcooked frozen variety. It was the sauce that saved this dish from oblivion.

Nyonya chap chye ($10/$14), a traditional nyonya delicacy prepared with an assortment of different vegetables and herbs like cabbage, mushrooms, glass noodles (tang hoon), black fungus, dried beancurd and bean paste. Again ok, but nothing to write home about.

And by the way they charge for the welcoming but not complimentary (i.e. they charge without your request) towels, keropok and archar ($3.50). A very annoying habit some restaurants do.

All in all, nyonya, baba, so so.