[Penang, Malaysia] Lunch at Ivy's Nyonya Cuisine

One of the more established Nyonya restaurants in Penang, MICHELIN Bib Gourmand-listed Ivy’s Nyonya Cuisine was started back in 2007 by a 4th-generation Penang-Peranakan Baba, Dragon Tan, and his Teochew wife, Ivy Chan, who’s in-charge of the kitchen and produces all the Nyonya dishes using her husband’s family heirloom recipes.

Located in a 3-unit, 2-storey shoplot along Kedah Road, Ivy Nyonya Cuisine recreates the ambience of turn-of-the-20th-century Peranakan Penang.

Our lunch spread today:

  1. 𝘏𝘰𝘰 𝘗𝘦𝘰𝘩 𝘛𝘩’𝘯𝘨 - fish-maw soup with minced chicken meatballs, cabbage leaves and carrot.

  2. 𝘉𝘦𝘦𝘧 𝘙𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘨 - the classic dry beef curry adopted from Indonesian (specifically, the Minangkabau from Sumatera) cuisine. Traditional Nyonya culinary culture do not include this dish.

  3. 𝘐𝘬𝘢𝘯 𝘊𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘶 𝘚𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘢𝘵 - torpedo scad with sambal stuffing. This was the best dish at lunch today: whole fishes were carefully slit lengthwise, and a chili paste (consisting of red chilis, shallots, garlic and fermented shrimp paste/belacan are stuffed inside the slits, then pan-fried.

  4. 𝘑𝘪𝘶 𝘏𝘶 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳 - shredded jicama with dried cuttlefish, served with spicy green chili paste and Chinese lettuce leaf-wraps.

We skipped the Nyonya kueh desserts, procured from one of the Penang’s most well-established Nyonya sweet-makers, Li Er Cafe, owned by Ivy Tan’s cousin, Li Er. But we had some really good, traditional white coffee, slightly sweetened.

Address
Ivy’s Nyonya Cuisine
100,102, 104, Jalan Kedah, 10050 George Town, Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +6013-433 7878
Opening hours: 11:30am-3:00pm, 5:30pm-9:00pm daily, except Mondays.

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