Nyonya Food Melaka The Tranquerah Damansara GLO Kuala Lumpur

The Tranquerah located at Damansara GLO Kuala Lumpur is imbued with an old world atmosphere, which makes for an enchanting and authentic Nyonya Food Melaka dining experience. The focus in The Tranquerah which was awarded by Malaysia Tatler Dining - Best Top 5 Nyonya Restaurant in KL & PJ 2015 and it is renowned as one of the restaurants to go for its Nyonya delicacies.

The Tranquerah Damansara GLO Kuala Lumpur Address

LG09, Lower Ground Floor, GLO Damansara, 

No 699, Jalan Damansara

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

There is a huge difference between the different Peranakan Dishes that are available, you can check out the details on Wikipedia but the 2 most popular are the Nyonya Melaka and Nyonya Penang that are often mistaken as the same by many. The Nyonya Penang has a sourish tone like the popular Assam Laksa, while the Nyonya Melaka has a richer flavour like the Buah Keluak dishes and the Ayam Pongteh.

The menu at The Tranquerah is specially curated by the Nyonya celebrity chef, Florence Tan, which serves authentic Malacca Nyonya Cuisine. A few of their signature dishes are Ayam Buah Keluak, Ayam Pongteh, Gerang Asam Fish, Udang Masak Lemak Nenas, Tamarind Prawns, ltik Tim soup and Pai Tee.

One of the most popular delicacies in the Nyonya Melaka dishes is the Buah Keluak. Little is known about this ingredient as one of the delicious ingredients. We were told that this Buah Keluak (Pangium Edule) is poisonous and needed to be treated in the right way to enjoy this delicious offering.



Buah Keluak is a rather mysterious fruit. The whole plant is poisonous, and yet the seeds are painstakingly prepared and eaten as a Nyonya delicacy. The fresh fruit and seeds contain hydrogen cyanide and are deadly poisonous if consumed without prior preparation. The seeds are first boiled and then buried in ash, banana leaves and earth for forty days. The method relies on the fact that the hydrogen cyanide released by the boiling and fermentation is water-soluble and easily washed out. Check this out on Wikipedia.

So naturally our first dish that we reviewed is the Keluak Pasta (soon to be introduced in the standard menu). From the look of it, our first thought was a black pepper pasta, but once it reaches our mouth, you can taste the Buah Keluak which has a slightly bitter nutty taste that’s almost reminiscent of a good single origin dark chocolate with an added spiciness from the use of some black pepper to prep it out a little. A great taste to start our review.

Next, we sampled out the Keluak Fried Rice (RM16.90). Strong taste of the Keluak, quite similar to our pasta but for those that prefer rice this would be ideal. Since it was fried compared to the pasta, it has a wok fried fragrant which encapsulate each grain of rice.

and the last dish of this Buah Keluak delicacies is the Ayam Buah Keluak (RM33.00). Pictured above is the half portion of the Chicken. (normal is 6 pieces). To eat this, you take out the Buah Keluak and have it deshelled. Next, you dig out the delicious black flesh from the shell. Mince, it a little and you can either mix it back to the gravy or eat it separately with a bowl of white rice. Love the strong taste of the Keluak fruit which has being intertwined with the tamarind chicken gravy.

Another authentic Nyonya Melaka dish is the Sambal Udang Petai (RM45.00). Strong flavours of the belacan paste with the right blend of spiciness together with the firm bouncy texture of the prawns. The belacan is specially ordered from Melaka, which has a strong pungent taste which is superb. Needed a second helping of steaming white rice to scoop up all the gravy from the dish.

After which we had the Pucuk Paku Masak Lemak (RM18.00) which is cook with 100% Santan with fresh turmeric and chilli padi. Love the creamy texture that was well cooked with the young Paku.

and the final dish is the Cincalok Fried Chicken (RM28.00). The chicken is marinated for over 24 hours to ensure the deep penetration of the marinade into the chicken meat. You can taste the full flavours of the cincalok with a deep crispy crunch of the fried chicken. Pictured above is the half portion of the fried Chicken. (normal is 6 pieces).



and for dessert, we had the Melaka Cendol - Gula Melaka used at the Tranquerah is also sourced from Melaka. Love the bountiful of cendol that comes with each bowl of this cold dessert.



After dessert, we had the Melaka Coffee Gula Melaka (RM6.50)



and another twist of it with Butter (RM8.00). This is one of the old school of drinking coffee during the 60's era, where butter (instead of milk) is added to the black coffee to give it a milky taste to end the night.

For today, we really have gotten a great new knowledge about the Nyonya Melaka Food, we did enjoy the new found authentic taste especially the Buah Keluak dishes that are offered at the Tranquerah.

The Tranquerah Damansara GLO Kuala Lumpur Address