Age-old recipes for Nyonya specialities

Klang Valley folks tend to think of Malacca as the place to get authentic Nyonya food, as it’s the birthplace of this rich and unique culture.  

These days however, the abundance of restaurants serving this delicious cuisine is conveniently found in our own neighbourhood. 

The Red Door Restaurant is one such dining outlet, opened since January and is already gaining a reputation among food lovers. 

The owner and cook Mina Chew offers a menu of Nyonya specialities created from her grandmother’s age-old recipes.  

“My grandmother was a Nyonya and an excellent chef,” said Chew. “She passed the recipes down to my mother, who in turn, taught me to cook the dishes.” 

The restaurant is simple, with a style of its own. Two floor-to-ceiling replicas of ancient Chinese red doors with gold studs flank the entrance, as the restaurant’s namesake, which Chew said was a reminder of her Chinese roots.  

Red Door is simple but classy

Inside are solid, heavy teak wood tables and chairs imported from Chiangmai, Thailand. 

The menu is limited but every dish is worth sampling. Authentic home-cooked fare is offered, prepared with fresh ingredients.  

Chew offers different types of rice to go with the dishes such as Nasi Minyak that is similar to chicken rice but cooked with quality chicken stock, ginger and pandan. 

However the great tasting Blue Rice is a must-have. The rice is painstakingly made the old fashioned way by extracting the blue dye from the clitoria flower, which grows in abundance in Chew’s garden.  

The flowers impart a light, lovely fragrance that makes it good enough to eat on its own!  

A claypot of Fish Head Curry comes heaped with vegetables including brinjal and ladies’ fingers.  

The Ikan Kurau fillets are flavourful served in a rich curry with a blend of spices like cinnamon, mustard seeds and curry leaves. 

Chew’s Beef Rendang is made from a blend of tamarind, lemongrass, red onions and gula melaka (palm sugar). 

An outstanding dish is the Assam Prawns, which is most appetising with its sweet and sour notes of tamarind and pungent onions.  

Chew’s Otak-Otak is delicious. Within the piece of banana leaf is a mouthwatering aroma of fresh, shredded limau purut (lime leaves).  

Each mouthful yields artfully blended ikan merah with chillies, onions, coconut and a pinch of turmeric. 

Don’t give the desserts a miss, as the range of Nyonya kuih is homemade daily and make a tasty sweet finish to your meal. 

Chew’s Pulut Inti is by far the best we had tasted, and are so popular that diners frequently pack some to take home for dessert.  

Each is cut open into quarters so it opens up like a puff of cloud, albeit a very indulgent and tasty one.  

The pandan leaf unfolds to reveal a delectable mountain of grated coconut cooked with gula melaka atop a mound of glutinous rice.  

The fragrance is enticing and it tastes just as good, as the rice has a soft, chewy texture that is ideal. 

Another popular choice of dessert is the Steamed Ubi Kayu topped with lots of freshly grated coconut and gula melaka.  

However, there is always a choice of three types of Nyonya kuih available daily. 

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