Peranakan food, durian, fireworks – what's not to love?
Halal restaurant Peppermint at Parkroyal Collection Marina Bay is offering a feast for the senses in conjunction with the nation's 59th birthday.
Savour The Straits Peranakan Buffet, which runs till Aug 11, showcases a smorgasbord of drool-worthy dishes and on Fridays and Saturdays, dinner is extra-special with a mao shan wang durian buffet.
As if the explosion of flavours weren't enough for the diners, the skyline lights up with fireworks from Padang as the National Education show 4 and National Day Parade previews take place.
Peppermint chef de cuisine Leon Yee and chef Gaik Lean of the famous Auntie Gaik Lean's Old School Eatery in Penang, which has been awarded one Michelin star since 2023, are the masters behind the peranakan spread.
Having tasted the rich flavours of the dishes – from Nasi Ulam and Ayam Buah Keluak to Black Angus Beef Belly Pongteh and Assam King Prawns – it was hard to believe the stories of how the two chefs started their culinary journeys.
Yee, 36, shared how he used to stand on a stool to watch his grandmother cook. The first dish he cooked was the humble instant noodles with egg.
Penang nyonya Gaik Lean, 70, started with cooking for workers at a Motorola factory in 1975.
"I also learnt from Aunty Gaik Lean. For a long time, I added soya sauce to my prawns and wondered why I could not hit the note – until Aunty Gaik Lean showed me how the deliciousness came from tamarind and not a single drop of soya sauce," revealed Yee, who stepped up to his current role in 2022.
Although the duo demonstrated how they made the Sambal Udang and had the diners drool in anticipation, I was waiting to tuck into the Nasi Ulam and Beef Rendang.
These two dishes are to me are an indication of a chef's expertise in cooking peranakan food and those I tasted at Peppermint passed with flying colours. The rice was fragrantly herbed and the rendang rich with a good balance of heat and spices in the thick gravy coating the fork-tender pieces of beef.
But the stars of the evening turned out to be the Black Angus Beef Belly Pongteh and Assam King Prawns.
I don't remember ever eating anything that specifically uses beef belly, so my first bite of the Black Angus Beef Belly Pongteh felt like a revelation. The gelatinous beef pieces, which had been clearly stewed for a long time, were steeped in the delicious saltiness of taucheo with a hint of sweetness.
The Assam King Prawns looked incredibly attractive with the sheen of caramelised tamarind juice enveloping the crustaceans, which had the firm bite of well-fried fresh prawn. Sour, sweet, salty, spicy – the prawns, just like the Egg Belanda, had my favourite combination of flavours.
I resisted the Pulut Hitam With Fresh Santan just so I had room left for the king of fruits.
The pungent, sweet and creamy flesh of durian was all the dessert I needed. Peppermint also offers a barbecued version of the fruit, served with a drizzle of gula Melaka.
The durian buffet is available only during Friday and Saturday dinners at $128++ per adult and $64++ per child aged between six and 12.
My only disappointment was in myself for having only one stomach for both peranakan food and durian.
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