I’ve only eaten Peranakan food for probably less than 10 times despite living in Singapore most of my life. I even had to create a new blog category for this review. Indocafe is my first time having Nonya food in a not too casual setting. The restaurant is located in a colonial looking house on Scotts Road and it is definitely not a no frills place unlike most others I’ve been too around the Katong area. I feared that it may be gimmicky but the food turned out to be the best Nonya food I’ve had so far!

Here they serve ala carte buffet for $58.80++ or à la carte items. As some of the dishes I wanted weren’t included in the buffet menu, I decided to go à la carte.

Might have ordered too much but I can eat.

Signature Kueh Pie Tee – $18.00++

Pastry cups with sweet turnips, fresh crab meat and served with homemade chili dip

I have to admit that prior to today, the only other Kueh Pie Ti I’ve tried was from the same source over and over again so I don’t really have much to compare to. However, that same source had pretty good shells and it did set a high benchmark. I was sceptical that anything could be better but this one proved me wrong – it’s significantly better! Or maybe, it was just my personal preference for a less moist filling and a crispier shell. The shell has crunchier and tasted fresh without any stale oil smell. The filling was on the dry side – which I liked, and had crab meat, which is something I did not except but welcomed. I could have eaten many of these if I didn’t order so many other dishes.

Itek Tim – $8.00++

Also known as salted vegetable duck soup, this was the only item I wasn’t so pleased with tonight. Perhaps this salted vegetable used had a different taste. The soup tasted different from all other salted vegetable duck soup I’ve ever had.

Ikan Gulai Tumis – $32.00++

Creamy garoupa fish curry sautéed in rempah past

This was recommended by the staff and the sauce over it was spicy curry. The seasoning/ sauce was fragrant and addictive.

Signature Beef Rendang – $26.00++

Slow-cooked Wagyu beef cheeks with special blend of spices

I was pleased to see this on the menu with the word “signature” because I had been wanting to have rendang for quite some time before this meal. The rendang sauce was everything I expected from it – very flavourful and subtly spicy. The wagyu cheeks soaked up the flavours well but wasn’t as tender as it potentially could be. Still, it was good overall.

Chap Chye – $13.00++

Stir-fried mixed vegetables with pork skin and shrimps

I’ve tried this dish at other restaurants but never liked it. This one was different somehow. It was way more flavourful and I liked it! I like how it was served with flame below so it doesn’t get cold too soon. I can imagine that it would be gross if it wasn’t warm.

Buah Kelauk Fried Rice – $16.00++

I never liked ayam buah kelauk but I decided to try this fried rice because I tend to love any fried rice, be it Thai pineapple rice, Chinese Yang Zhou fried rice or Japanese teppanyaki garlic fried rice. I’ve never had Peranakan fried rice before so this is new to me. This was nice.

Chendol Panna Cotta – $12.00++

If I had more room I would get more dessert (everything looks good). The panna cotta was an interesting twist to the classic chendol.

While prices here are generally higher than other eatery style Peranakan restaurants, I found the food here to be distinctively better and almost everything was a hit (except the Itek Tim). I also liked the quiet and classy ambiance. I would come here again for sure!

*****