Their descendants – the Straits-born Chinese – were called Peranakan (Malay for descendants) and also Baba (for men) and Nyonya (women), who adopted a unique culture that blended Chinese and Malay customs.

One of the biggest benefits is the Peranakan or Nyonya cuisine, which uses Chinese ingredients mixed with distinct Malay spices or cooking methods.

A lot of these dishes are more pungent and often use more coconut milk and the spice galangal. You can find these in dishes such as curry kapitan (chicken curry), nyonya laksa or otak-otak (grilled fish cake).

Peranakans have settled mainly in either Penang or southern states such as Malacca; both places offer slight variations to their cuisine.

Yet if you’re in Penang, there’s plenty of Peranakan culture to soak up, and plenty of good Nyonya food, too.

Check out our recommendations for five of the best places to get some authentic experiences.

Richard Rivalee Restaurant

From ambience to taste, Richard Rivalee’s restaurant at Times Square, M Mall, would be our Nyonya restaurant of choice in Penang.

Rivalee, of Thai and Straits Chinese heritage, is not only the restaurant’s “designer chef”, he is also an award-winning couture designer who counts among his clientele foreign royalty, Malaysian star Ning Baizura, as well as Hong Kong actress Petrina Fung Bo-bo.

The restaurant has great ambience and is set out like a typical Peranakan dwelling with several small rooms, seating a few tables each and decorated with kebayas (traditional Nyonya dress) and other cultural references.

Rivalee inherited the recipes from his grandmother and, although there are also some Thai influences in the menu, his Nyonya dishes are pretty much on the dollar. The lemak (creamy) nyonya laksa is excellent. The nasi ulam – a very labour-intensive herbs rice – is another highlight, together with the otak-otak which is creatively presented as a sandwich.

Kebaya Dining Room

Kebaya Dining Room, situated in the carefully restored heritage hotel, Seven Terraces, in George Town is probably the swankiest Peranakan cuisine restaurant you can find in Penang.

Where Rivalee had a cheerful disorder about it, Kebaya is elegant and clearly upmarket, with a bar, special cocktails, and even a pianist. The waiters are careful to highlight that the set menu doesn’t offer traditional Nyonya food as much as reinterpretations served in modern presentations. The otak-otak, for instance, is more of a chicken pie served with otak-otak sauce.

Even so, they do have some recognisable traditional fare on the menu, such as the jiu hu char (shredded jicama, carrot and cabbage fried with cuttlefish) and the wing bean kerabu. And, if it’s not too busy, after dinner, you can even sneak into the courtyard (normally accessible only to guests) and get a feel of traditional Peranakan architecture!

The Little Kitchen @ Nyonya

The Little Kitchen @Nyonya on Noordin Street in George Town is probably one of the best-kept Nyonya secrets in Penang – a lot of the locals we spoke to didn’t know of it. Which is just as well, because the restaurant is actually the front living room of the family that lives there, so there are only about four tables.

One of the great things about a meal there is the interesting history lesson on the Peranakan culture from owner Baba Jay, who also takes you through the set menu choices with interesting stories. You’re also taught how to make nasi ulam, a dying art, for your dinner.

The kitchen is overseen by the matriarch of the family and is as authentic as they come. The family even grow their own herbs in the garage next door. The tastes here are milder than other Nyonya places, but no less delicious.

We especially loved the choice of four types of sambal belacan in varying degrees of spiciness: “foreigner”, Malay, Chinese and Thai. The house itself is very well preserved from the early 1900s.

Perut Rumah Nyonya Cuisine

If you’re out and about near Armenian Street admiring the street art in Penang, Perut Rumah Nyonya Cuisine is a convenient stopover for a meal. Housed in one of the many restored shoplots, the spacious restaurant is also highly rated among the foodies.

Decorated with old tiffin carriers used to carry food before the days of plastic boxes, and other Peranakan memorabilia, stepping through the doors is almost like stepping back in time. Similar to Richard Rivalee, the restaurant is divided into smaller dining rooms so it doesn’t feel too crowded.

The restaurant offers quite an extensive à la carte menu so you can try most of the traditional dishes such as pie tie and perut ikan, which are not available everywhere because Nyonya cuisine is a very labour-intensive art.

The curry kapitan, nasi ulam and the soy sauce stewed pork are highly recommended. The service may sometimes be a bit impersonal, but the food more than makes up for it.

The Legend Nyonya House

The Legend Nyonya House, also situated near some of the wall murals in George Town, is another prominent local favourite. It’s easy to find, since it’s on the busy Gat Lebuh Chulia.

The exterior looks like another boring restaurant, but the owners have managed to present a very Peranakan ambience inside with the furnishings and colourful tiles.

The restaurant operates on mainly set meals, but there are a lot of set choices that would allow for a wide variety of traditional fare, including assam tumis pomfret or assam prawns, inchi kabin (Nyonya fried chicken), and Peranakan staples such as the jiu hu char and otak-otak.

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