Review : Dulukala Peranakan

We were craving for Peranakan food but really didn't know where to go, short of heading to Joo Chiat's Kim Choo. Guan Ho Soon used to be our favorite but fell out of favor because their standard dropped drastically these 2 years. 

We came across Dulukala after googling for Peranakan which had very good ratings but hub was very hesitant about going to beauty world plaza. He had no choice but to concede when there were no better alternatives (Ivins at brinjai park had such bad reviews).

The small restaurant was located at 4th floor of beauty world plaza and it was already quite filled up by the time we reached at around 645pm. Luckily we could get a table because they somehow didn't get our reservation.

Looking at the menu, we knew that one of the attraction has got to be the relatively cheaper pricing. The dishes are mostly around the $10 range, some higher some lower. 

We ordered the fried fish with stuffed sambal which was my hub's fave type of fried fish. $9 for 2 meaty fishes, and tasted quite fresh and succulent. I was gobbling down my rice and the fish at the start because of a minor nausea which resulted from drinking the iced lemon tea on an empty stomach.

And oh ya, gobbling down the fried squid in own ink too. We thought cooking squid in its own ink was Spanish but this Peranakan does it REALLY well. The flavor was brought out by the addition of sweet onions. Sedap!

The otah came along with the first 2 dishes and had whole fish chunks in it, the kind we like. 

For veggie, we ordered the lady's finger fried with anchovies, simple yet flavorful. Hub told maid that she too can recreate this dish very easily. Well...

Finally the reason why I crave for Peranakan - ayam buah keluak! For the uninitiated, the buah keluak nut is actually poisonous but can be made edible by fermenting it for 40 days. Thereafter they still had to dig out the flesh, mix it with spices then stuff it back into the nut before cooking with the chicken. So much work goes into the dish and it shows. The taste is robust without being overpowering, and Dulukala does it well, just the way I like it. Some versions are way too watered down. I can finish one bowl of rice on this and it's gravy alone! 

We ended our meal by sharing a chendol which was rather mediocre and didn't have enough red beans. But after such a satisfying dinner, we couldn't complain. And without burning a hole too, 5 dishes 2 drinks and 1 dessert cost us about $56 only. I am thinking when I can go back again even as I'm writing this!