Ivins

doing it the nonya way.

in view of the arriving exams, we decided to give sushi tei a miss and instead headed down to ivins along upper thomson road where traditional peranakan food was order of the day for Family.



first up, desset! haha.. as mum could not resist kueh salat that they were selling over at the counter. an irish- friendly luscious green slabbed on top of blue-tinged glutinous rice- one of the better kueh salats i have tried.. be sure to get yourself a box (of two) when you are around that corner.

along came soups -actually the dishes came more or less at the same time- bakwan kepting (crabmeat-infused porkballs soup- my particular favourite) and hee peow soup, provided a warm fuzzy feeling for a drizzly day. i could be just happy with a bowl of bakwan kepeting and white rice. very low- maintenance.. hahaha..


ayam buah keluak (chicken in black nut curry, above left) was a scary looking dish that tasted better it looked wheras the babi tauyu (pork in thick sauce, left) reminded me of braised pork that chinese usually sandwich between mantous. drizzle some of that fantastica gravy over a spoonful of white rice and you think "truffles? what truffles?"- bliss.



nonya chap chye- which i believe needs no formal introduction. though somewhat bland COMPARED TO AYAM BUAH KELUAK, the problem was easily solved with a dap of sambal belachan.



itek sioh (braised duck marinated in coriander and tamarind sauce) which was a dish safei.e.boring Family would not have ordered if not for jimmy. its funny how whenever we have peranakan or indonesian, after ordering the safe dishes (read: tauhu telok), jimmy would come along, mix those bahasa muscles of his and order something really exotic sounding (see: itek sioh) of course, his choices are always spot-on and this itek sioh is definitely something to have if you are sick of ordering ayam curry and beef rendang.. haha

i know talking about prices would crass-ify the entire experience but it was amazing how 'inexpensive' the total dinner bill came up to. apart from dad's $2.20 lime juice (which was gone in two gulps), the rest of the dishes averaged between S$4- S$5.. and there was no service charge! indeed, we suffered from 'diner's guilt' and left behind the change for it was nothing compared to the pleasanr dining experience we got.