Eng Hoon Street is the up and coming neighbourhood according to local Singaporeans. The street is lined with the first lot of world famous Singapore public housing from 1950s. Public housing in Singapore is a scheme pioneered by their government to control housing prices. The buildings are built in great quality, unlike the common perception of them being low budget in the rest of the world. To this day public housing is still being developed and only offered to eligible Singapore nationals in the primary market.
Eng Hoon Street housing are all two to three storeys high. There are shops on the ground floor, mostly small businesses. The street itself is very quaint and carries a great sense of close knitted community. Many famous eateries scatter in the back streets of the area, including a couple of Cantonese restaurants that we didn’t visit.
My lovely colleagues took me to House of Peranakan Petit which is a place getting lots of raving reviews from bloggers online. It is on 42 Eng Hoon street.
I must admit I had never tried Peranakan/ Nyonya cuisine before. It is a cross between Malay and Cantonese with a Western twist. It originates from areas such as Malacca in Malaysia where I visited 3 years ago and thoroughly enjoyed.
The decor is signature Peranakan. The combination of mint and pink is very iconic in Peranakan homes. You could see a strong Chinese influence come through the designs of utensils and clothes on display.
Peranakan/ Nyonya cuisine is strong flavoured, uses lots of dark sauces and goes extremely well with rice. We had duck (ayam buah keluak), ribs, curry fish head and a vegetables stew (chap chye). While the meat and fish dishes were delicious (I ate more rice than usual), it was the veggies that struck a chord with me. It was so similar to a Cantonese dish 羅漢齋 that I could see fellow Cantonese Singaporeans find comfort in.
To finish off, the three of us shared two desserts.
Pulot hitam – Black glutinous rice with coconut cream. This one is served warm, much like the Cantonese sweet soup. It reminded me of the Thai dessert which uses black glutinous rice as well.
And my personal favourite Gula Melaka – Sago pudding with coconut ice cream served with the aromatic molasses. That was truly a highlight.
House of Peranakan Petit is a restaurant I would definitely recommend. In fact the whole Eng Hoon Street has much more to offer so make sure you get yourself over there next time in Singapore!
