Food review: Tok Panjang offers Nonya food made simple

SINGAPORE — While tok panjang is a Peranakan term that refers to a lavish spread of dishes laid out on a long table during special occasions, it is also the name of a new cafe that, ironically, scales down the Peranakan dining experience by offering quick service fare.

THE VIBE

Created by Bob Seah, who is behind the House of Peranakan Group of restaurants, and his son Russell, the cafe captures the Peranakan spirit of Katong nicely. It exudes a home-style vibe with walls painted that distinct turquoise-teal shade the older generation of Peranakans love, and tables lined with batik fabric. A panel of artwork depicting chap ji kee cards (a game favoured by Nyonyas back in the day) crowns the pass that faces the dining room. Diners order and pay at the service counter and then pick up their food when their number is called.

WHAT TO ORDER

The good stuff is mostly in the menu of small plates, such as ngoh hiang (S$5.50), kueh pie tee (S$6.50 for four pieces) and pork belly buns (S$8 for two pieces). The ngoh hiang (loosely packed with meat and water chestnuts wrapped in bean curd skin) had a creaminess to it that was wonderfully contrasted with crunchy water chestnuts. And we liked that it was boldly seasoned.

Meanwhile, spoon-tender slices of braised pork belly sat between soft, fluffy buns, which we consumed with relish. The pool of gravy that was left on the plate, redolent of dark soy sauce and little else (just the way my mum used to make it), was just what we needed to dip the buns in as we ate.

The kueh pie tee was another winner, packed with a filling of bangkwang (jicama) that had been cut into rough batons rather than pushed against a grater. In this way, the filling gave good bite even after being stewed in tau cheo (soy bean paste), garlic, dried prawns and lots of dark soy sauce. A sweet curl of a halved prawn and a dab of zingy chilli cuka (vinegar-spiked chilli sauce) topped each delicate pastry cup to give it a lovely contrast of flavours.

WHAT NEEDS IMPROVING

The assam laksa (S$8.90) is listed as one of Tok Panjang’s specialities and it would hit all the high notes if not for its too-thin gravy. It has all the elements of a great assam laksa: Lots of fermented prawn paste, just enough spice and ginger flower and a generous amount of flaked Kembong fish. But as the bibiks would say, “chai-air” (too watery).

On the menu are great value-for-money rice sets (S$11.90) that come with a small bowl of itek tim

(salted vegetable duck soup), chap chye (stewed vegetables) and a choice of main course like beef rendang, babi pongteh and sambal prawns.

While the beef rendang was excellent — tender, succulent and full of nuanced spices — everything else on the tray was weakly flavoured. The prawn sambal was particularly dismal, with lots of sliced onions but hardly enough chilli to qualify it as a sambal.

THE VERDICT

There are hits and misses, but the hits make Tok Panjang worth revisiting. Annette Tan

Tok Panjang

Where:

392 East Coast Road

Telephone:

9663 3392

Opening hours:

Daily 9am to 9pm, closed on Monday