Best of Peranakan Cuisine at Terazza Brasserie, Grand Dorsett Subang

Best of Peranakan Cuisine at Terazza Brasserie, Grand Dorsett Subang

This month of June, you can get your fix of Pie Tee, Pineapple Prawn Curry and Cendol at Terazza Brasserie, Grand Dorsett Subang! Oh, did I mention its a buffet? Which means theres much more than that!

Terazza Brasserie itself is a very pleasant place to dine, with warm lighting, cozy chairs and a spread of food that will satisfy you at any time of the day.

Mohammad Faizal, Chef de Cuisine at Terazza Brasserie, has been cooking up a storm there for the last 3 years. He constantly challenges himself to learn to cook new cuisines, and learnt about Nyonya cuisine from his previous superior, a born and bred Malaccan.

Chef Faizal explains that Nyonya Cuisine is influenced by Malay and Indian cooking, but the difference is the use of wet ingredients like lemongrass and galangal, versus dry powders.

Oh, and its a lot less spicy too.

Dilly and I started off with the Nyonya Kerabu Mangga (Mango Salad), which was deliciously tangy.

The difference between this version and lets say, a Thai Mango Salad, is the abundant use of Belachan (shrimp paste). The shredded mango slices were tossed in a slightly spice lime dressing,! littere d with dried prawns, chillies and onions.

The Pie Tee (Top Hat) was filled to the brim with minced shrimp, and the cup itself was handmade.

Chef Faizal says getting the batter just right is an art and takes a lot of practice, especially the accuracy in measuring and deepfrying.

The Popiah (Spring Roll) was generously stuffed with shredded sweet turnip, beansprouts, carrots and some cabbage, served with a sweet and spicy homemade chilli.

We moved on to the mains, and sampled pretty much all the Nyonya dishes on offer. Remember, these are served in addition to regular items on the buffet like soups, salads, western dishes, sushi rolls and a selection of desserts.

The Nyonya Assam Fish was similar to the Malay Assam Pedas, but milder and with Kaffir Lime leaves for added fragrance.

The mackerel was fresh and tasty while the sour gravy complemented the fragrant Nyonya Fried Rice.

A famous Peranakan dish is the Pongteh Ayam, a tasty made with! Tau Chu (preserved soy bean).

Now, everybody makes it differently, and here Chef Faizal actually includes candlenuts, galangal, shallots and lemongrass along with the Tau Chu to make the paste. The chicken is braised and allowed to release all its natural juices into the gravy. I found it a little on the oily side, and the Tau Chu flavour overpowered everything else.

The Pineapple Prawn was my favourite Nyonya dish.

The prawns themselves were nothing to shout about, as the danger always is with buffets that the prolonged heat overcooks most things. So yes, the prawns were overcooked, but the rich, coconut gravy with all the flavours of lemongrass, ginger and galangal more than made up for it.

If you love squid like I do, then the Nyonya Sotong will surely satisfy. The squid ink is used to add flavour and also tint the spicy sauce a dark colour.

There was also a giant Grilled Red Snapper, with a Assam sauce on the side.

Dilly tried this, and wasnt too impressed with the fish. Eventhough it was fresh, it tasted like it had been sitting out for awhile, which was a shame because looking at it alone was so impressive.

We also tried a couple of other dishes from the buffet selection, like the Beef Rendang, which I had second helpings off.

The beef was incredibly tender, and the sauce cooked down to the texture of moist, desiccated coconut. The Chili Crab was also very good, the sauce thick and sticky, the crabmeat sweet and moist.

Finally, we finished off the evening with a classic Nyonya Cendol, with red beans, gula Melaka and coconut milk.

My happy plate

Wash all that down with a healthy drink from the Soursop promotion and what you get are two very satisfied ladies!

Remember, the promotion is only running for the month of June, so get yourselves downthere and get your fill of Peranakan cuisine!

Thanks Stephanie for the kind invitation, the team at Terazza Brasserie for you excellent service, and Chef Faizal for the yummy food. Oh, and Dilly for being my dinner date!

CONTACT

GRAND DORSETT SUBANG HOTEL

Jalan SS12/1, 47500 Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

www.granddorsett.com/kualalumpur

Tel: (60) (3) 5031 6060 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (60) (3) 5031 6060 end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Fax: (60) (3) 5031 8686
Email: kl.reservations@granddorsett.com

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