BIBICHIK RESTAURANT,
No 17, Jalan SS2/30,
Petaling Jaya,
Selangor.
Tel: 03-7873 6769
Business hours: Noon to 3pm,
6.30pm to 10pm daily.
FANS of Peranakan cuisine need not travel far to find good Nyonya food.
Located in the heart of SS2, Petaling Jaya is BibiChik Restaurant, a family business, that has been serving authentic Nyonya cuisine to customers for two decades.
BibiChik opened in January 1996 after a family member decided to venture into the restaurant business in an effort to preserve their Peranakan roots.
The Nyonya dishes served here are a delight to the taste buds and offer homely and appetising food, bringing to mind mum’s cooking.
Diners can delight in the variety of Nonya dishes.
The family business, managed by Katherine Yeong and her partners, has stood the test of time.
Yeong attributes their continued popularity to the restaurant’s home-made dishes.
“Some customers who come here have Peranakan roots and they miss the food. In addition, most of our dishes are made from scratch, including the sambal and sauces,” she added.
Among their signature dishes, perut ikan (top pic), is a traditional Nyonya dish prepared with garoupa fish stomach. This speciality is cooked with 13 types of finely chopped herbs and definitely leaves an impression.
The dish is both sweet, salty and sour, reminiscent of asam-style broth and goes very well with plain white rice.
Honey sotong for the seafood lovers at BibiChik restaurant
Honey Sotong – squid coated in crispy batter, drizzled with a sweet sauce and sprinkled sesame seeds – is also popular and a favourite with children and the elderly.
The honeyed sweetness from the sauce and the crunchy savouriness of the batter go well together.
Another noteworthy dish is the Lemak Nanas Prawns. In this creamy favourite, diners will find large prawns, pineapple, winged beans and other ingredients in tantalising coconut milk broth.
The aromatic broth complements the prawn’s sweetness while the beans are still crisp as they are added in last.
Some of the dishes that diners should try are the grilled otak-otak and steamed otak-otak.
Other notable dishes are Mango Fish, Petai Prawns, steamed and grilled otak-otak and crispy brinjal.
On Saturdays, patrons can enjoy oldies performed by a live band while dining.
This is the writer’s personal observation and is not an endorsement by StarMetro.
