Babaganoush restaurant is a place that’s famous for serving Peranakan food, although its name is derived from Baba Ganoush,
a middle-eastern dish. It’s eggplant puree, basically. I’m puzzled as
to why this particular establishment chooses to call itself after a
middle-eastern dish, but I decided not to lose any sleep about it and
just get down to eating.
The interior of Babaganoush has a distinctive Baba and Nyonya (or
Peranakan, if you will) motif to it with the traditional Malay-Chinese
fusion of cultures…
There’s a nice period cabinet made of wood…
…and the best thing about this place is the wash basin area, which is decorated to look like a wooden hut. Nice!
I ordered Baba Cincao Kalamansi (RM 2.00)
for the drink. It’s very unique, I haven’t had a cincao (black jelly)
drink served this way before. The drink has a tart and sour bite to it,
which is surprisingly refreshing.
The appetizer we ordered is Chicken Hgoh Hiang
(RM 4.50). It’s described as “minced chicken with mushroom wrap in bean
curd skin”. We also detected prawns and hints of chestnut in this dish.
I was told that it’s not usually served so decoratively, it’s
speculated that the chef saw me taking photos, so the presentation was
given a higher priority.
The main dish that I had is the recommended Oat Chicken
(RM 5.50). The menu description says its “sliced chicken meat stir
fried with curry leaves, chili and oats”. It comes with rice.
I have to say that I was very impressed with this dish. The
oats were very generous and it provided a sweet and coarse texture to
the dish. The chili complimented everything well, lending a bite of
spiciness to it. The baked oats smells delicious and this is one dish
you don’t want to miss. Highly recommended!
Babaganoush does not seem like a pure Peranakan food establishment,
but they have unique fusion food on their menu. I would go for the Oat
Chicken again, it’s great!
