Haven't had much experience with Nonya food before but inspired by recent tv series, Little Nonya, had a gathering with ex-colleagues here. Maybe it was a Monday night therefore less crowd but the service was attentive, the food flavorful & exquisite, the ambience quiet (with only us to up the decibels!)

We 4 ladies enjoyed Ayam Buah Keluak, Babi Pongtay, Cheh Hu, Otak Otak, Nonya Chap Chye, Ngoh Hiang + Durian Chendol, Sago Gula Melaka Pudding & Bubur Cha Cha. The Babi Pongtay was soft & melt in mouth... the Ayam Buah Keluak was very tasty & the chicken so tender, the meat just fell from the bones... I'm still salivating thinking about it.. tho' not a fan of durian, the sweet meat was abundant in the chendol. Bubur Chacha tad too sweet, otherwise everything's perfect.

Went there once on Valentine's Day with family. Food was really good. So I went there again last Saturday. Ordered Cincalok Omelette, Lady's fingers, Ngoh Hiang, Satay Babi Goreng, Durian Pengat, Apom Apom Balik Durian (durian pancakes). I had tried all these in my previous visit, and I was so disappointed. The omelette wasn't as fragrant or fluffy, the Lady's fingers was about the same, the Satay Babi was a different darker less appetizing colour and without much coconut fibre, the Ngoh Hiang was so-so, and the desserts were about the same if not slightly worse. I could make the Durian Pengat at home if it were this standard.

Thought I had found a nice place, but what good is it if standard is horribly inconsistent and you never know what you are going to get. Food on Valentine's Day being better than that on a normal day is just plain weird, considering it should be the other way around and a normal day should be not so busy for them.

Also the restaurant had bad ventilation, could just smell all the different food odours hanging in the air.

Not worth the value for inconsistent standards.

Terribly disappointed, won't go there again as it's out of the way, unless someone drives me there and I do not have a choice.

Had dinner there with my family recently as we had heard much about the food there. We ordered Bakwan kepiting soup, hee peow soup, Ngoh hiang, cincaru omelette, satay babi and chap chye. The food was yummy but found the soup expensive. There was a good assortment of desserts to choose from, we decided to order the durian pengat, sago gula melaka and the durian pancakes. I must say the desserts were very yummy too, especially the durian pancakes. Would recommend this place to try the home-cooked food and delicious desserts though we found the prices a more expensive than other places serving similar Peranakan food.

I learnt about PeraMakan when they had a stall at the HGW Big Eat Out charity event. My colleagues who were at the event were raving about the rendang and food in general but I was so stuffed that I simply had no space in my stomach for anymore food especially Peranankan which can be quite rich (esp the gravies).

Now I've not had much Peranakan food here in Singapore (although I used to really enjoy the now defunct Soul Kitchen helmed by Damien D'Silva) but my friend suggested Peranakan possibly since that you-know-what show seems to be on everyone's mind these days.

My friend and I - let's just call him Robert Zhang - had lunch here yesterday (Sunday) - he says that it tends to get very packed here on Fridays and the weekends so reservations are advised.

We ordered the ayam buah keluak ($16) and the portion was really quite sizeable and a little too much for the 2 of us. The black nut gravy was rich, very "pang" and enjoyable - although I remember Soul Kitchen's version to be slightly better (but in any case that is a thing of the past). The sotong panggang ($14) was also good - juicy grilled sotong marinated in spices and served with a side of achar. We each ordered a soup - I had the bakwan kepiting ($5) - minced pork balls filled with bamboo shoots and crab meat - while Bob had the hee peow ($7) - cabbage, fish maw, prawn and pork balls in a rich fish and chicken broth. The hee peow came with 3 balls (prawn, pork and fish balls) and both our soups were a rich hearty no-MSG (as with all dishes here) almost milky chicken broth. Excellent stuff.

I especially liked my drink - lime juice with aloe vera ($4.50) - very refreshing, not too sweet, and best of all came with nice chunky fresh aloe vera cubes.

The best part of the meal for me had to be the dessert - I was torn between the burbur cha cha, chendol, sago melaka and their house specialty durian pengat ($6) - Penang-style durian mousse served chilled with sweet potatoes and yam. Oh man this was heaven in a glass. The durian mousse was excellent - especially the consistency - and I am not sure about this but it sure tasted like there was some coconut milk (and possibly even some gula melaka, I dare say?) mixed into it. Sweet potato cubes (didn't find any yam?) were at the bottom of the glass to signal the almost-end of the dessert. This is a must-try if you dine here. A must.

Top marks for service here - there was luuurve not only in the cooking but the thoughtful service extended to us. I liked that the waiters here were gentle and genuniely helpful and had initiative. One example - Robert was nursing a very bad cough and without being asked a waiter brought me a glass of cold water and served Bad Boy Bob a glass of warm water for his cough.

A casual chat with the owner who was present that day and it turns out that The Little Nonya has definitely had a positive impact on business, not to mention orders for babi pontek has rocketed because a certain character in the show was always cooking it (?).

I like this place - unassuming, thoughtful service, good homely cooking, reasonable prices. Little wonder why the slogan of this place is "great food cooked with love" (or something like that) - after all it is a great deal of effort to cook Peranakan.

And say that the food at this establishment is better than Blue Ginger. There, I said it!

I went to PeraMakan for lunch today to catch up with some of the legal service folks who are on secondment and in school. The proverbial Beauty amongst the Beasts had to cancel on us as she was on MC. Boo hoo. We went ahead anyway.

The restaurant itself is at the Keppel Country Club main clubhouse. Park at the driving range carpark (aka the visitor's carpark) and it is a 4 mins stroll to the place. Covered walkway all the way.

The set up of the place is pretty decent. Generally, nice setting and decor and nothing to fancy. One nice surprise there was a familiar face from amongst the wait staff - Steven from the Academy of Law restaurant at the old (& new) Supreme Court. He recognised the group immediately as we all used to patronise the Academy restaurant in the pre-Jimmy Chok days. Of course, having a former SAR helped the cause too I suppose.

Ordered the beef rendang, nyonya chap chye, sotong panggang and the otak-otak. It is pretty decent fare for Peranakan food in Singapore. The rendang was tender and the otak-otak was baked to perfection. But the highlight of the meal was dessert.

The restaurant has a durian promotion in the next couple of months. There's durian gateau, durian cake, durian puffs and etc. But we ordered the durian "pengat" and I must say, it is one of the best I have ever tasted. I don't quite know how to describe "pengat" but imagine it to be some sort of durian paste. When it was served, we thought, aiyoh, die lah... how to finish. But lo and behold, several minutes later, we were all contemplating seconds. I might just come here for the "pengat" alone.

For those of you who know what it is, it does not come with glutinous rice and it is not as viscuous as you thought it would be.

Service was great. Water came quickly, menus came almost immediately and food came on time. After splitting the costs, I paid $20 for my meal and it was one of the more satisfying meal I've had this week!