Sedap Malaysian-Style Goreng Pisang At ‘Mod Kampong’ Café; Bananas From Owner’s Farm

The farm-to-table concept in posh fine-diners isn’t unique — but in a casual setting? Now that's pretty rare. Located at Galaxis, an office and retail space at One-North, Crazy Nana specialises in goreng pisang made with bananas sourced directly from farms (including the cafe owner’s) in the Batu Pahat district of Johor. They also serve familiar favourites like nasi lemak and mee siam, as well as coffee and tea to cater to their main customer base of office workers.

Opened in April, the cosy 20-seater is owner Betty Lim’s first foray into F&B. However, the 66-year-old Malaysian-born Singaporean PR is no stranger to entrepreneurship – in the ’80s, Betty started a garment manufacturing and export business before moving on to property development and farming (she still runs both businesses, which are based in Malaysia, today). 

When the pandemic halted business travel, Betty, who lives in Singapore, had to adjust to a slower pace of life. It was during this time that she started to miss her late mother’s signature goreng pisang served with a special kecap manis (sweet soy sauce) and chilli padi dip. 

After a failed food hunt to satisfy her craving, Betty started to contemplate opening her own banana fritter eatery instead. Why not? She thought. She had a farm with banana plants, a love of food, friends who are experienced cooks and confidence that many would enjoy the “good old taste” of the type of food she wanted to serve. She even had the perfect name: Crazy Nana (“because I’m crazy about bananas,” she says).

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Farm to table 

“I used to visit material mills in Taiwan for my garment business and during our free time, we’d go sightseeing at nearby fruit farms and I was very impressed [by their sophistication in farming]. I love the quality of their passionfruit and wanted to try growing it in Malaysia. I had empty land [in Batu Pahat] that was bought for future property development, which I used to start a passionfruit farm with Taiwanese partners,” shares Betty. Her farm, which opened in 2019, now grows banana, watermelon and rockmelon as well. Most of the harvest is sold to supermarkets in Malaysia.

Her 871,000-sqm farm in Batu Pahat supplies most of the fruit and vegetables used at Crazy Nana, including banana, cabbage, eggplant, okra and chilli. Fresh produce is delivered to the eatery every two days. Some of the bananas used for Crazy Nana’s goreng pisang are sourced from a network of twenty smaller producers. “Sometimes the fruit is not available for harvest yet, so we have to get them from other farmers,” explains Betty.

Not your usual pisang

In Singapore, the more common varieties used for goreng pisang are pisang raja (a large, almost juicy and sweet banana) and pisang kepok (known for its starchy and mildly sweet flesh). Crazy Nana opts for varieties that are favoured by fritter stalls in Malaysia – pisang nipah (shown in pic), an angular, starchy banana that is particularly popular in Sabah, where it’s widely grown, as well as the large, curved pisang tanduk (‘tanduk’ means horn in Malay). “These [varieties] remind me of the goreng pisang that my mother used to make. They’re sweeter and more fragrant,” declares Betty.

Meet the team

The eatery is co-owned by Kim Foo, 63 (second from right), who’s been friends with Betty for about a decade – she used to provide marketing services for Betty’s property business. “I was happily retired but I was convinced to join the partnership as I trust Betty and I know she has a savvy mind for business. I’ve always wanted to open a little food retail shop too,” she says. “As the Singaporean partner, I take care of the financial things like licensing and registration. I’ve also learned to make coffee and help to take orders at the shop.”

The kitchen is run by two Malaysian cooks – the more experienced Jackson Ong, 38 (extreme right) focuses on R&D while Ng Chun Yao, 27 (extreme left) cooks daily at the eatery. Jackson worked as a junior chef at Crystal Jade Kitchen for seven years before setting up a laksa eatery – where Betty was a regular patron – in his hometown Batu Pahat about 15 years ago. Jackson’s Malaysian joint is currently run by employees while he works full-time at Crazy Nana. Chun Yao was a canteen stall assistant on the National University of Singapore campus prior to joining the team.

Modern kampong vibe

The casual eatery sports an inviting decor with a black-and-white banana leaf mural and simple wooden furniture that exude a relaxed, tropical vibe. Order at the counter and the friendly staff will bring the food and drink to you. Filled with just four small tables, most customers order food for takeaway, though we found the bright, air-conditioned space to be rather comfortable for dining in too if you manage to grab a seat. Business has been “okay” according to the tight-lipped owners, and Betty aims to open “several outlets by the end of the year” while asserting, “we’re not in a hurry, we want [potential franchisees] to be convinced of the product first”.

Signature Pisang, $3.80 for two pcs; $6.90 for six (8 DAYS Pick!)

Thickly sliced pisang nipah (pisang tanduk was not available during our visit) are coated in a “secret” batter and deep-fried until golden, then neatly stacked on a piece of banana leaf with a sprinkling of crushed peanuts. The batter is impressively light, crunchy and not too greasy, while the almost creamy banana filling is sweeter and starchier than most fritters we’ve tried. We enjoyed how the sweet soy sauce dip with chopped peanuts and chilli padi (“it’s the traditional Malaysian sauce for goreng pisang,” says Jackson) added an addictive, spicy kick to the snack. We also found the banana fritters here to have a thinner and smoother batter than both Malay- and Chinese-style goreng pisang in Singapore.

Banana Mini Wraps, $3.80 for six pcs

Banana Sago Milk (Chocolate), $4.50

Think chocolate banana slushie, thickened with mashed banana paste and sago to give the dessert a velvety mouthfeel. With a creamy base of coconut milk, vanilla ice cream and milk, the concoction was a little too lemak to finish on our own – we recommend sharing this with a friend.

Fried Mee Siam with Egg, $5.90 (8 DAYS Pick!)

Nasi Lemak with egg and chicken wing, $7.50

A fairly standard plate of nasi lemak. The rice is fluffy but not as coconutty as we’d like. The chicken wing, which we found a bit too small for the price tag, is satisfyingly crispy, with moist, well-marinated meat.

Bottom line

With its thin and smooth application of batter, the goreng pisang here feels more refined than most other fritters, while the delicious banana filling tastes fresh, sweet and moist. The fried mee siam, punctuated with a robust rempah that’s heavy on hae bee, is worth a try too. Prices are on the high side, given the eatery’s location in an office area, though we appreciate the finesse in presentation and attention to details, especially the yummy sambal. Worth a visit if you’re in the area.

The details 

Crazy Nana is at #01-17 Galaxis, 1 Fusionopolis Place, S138522. Open daily except Sun & PH, 8am - 5pm. More details via Facebook or Instagram.

Photos: Aik Chen