Spice Peranakan, Biopolis

After Wong Ah Yoke of the Straits Times gave Spice Peranakan a glowing review last year, this place was apparently packed with crowds for a couple of months, no mean feat given its ultra-remote location in Biopolis. Haha, behold the power of the WAY effect. Since I try to avoid wasting time queuing at media-hyped new places, I waited till the initial frenzy had dissipated before checking this place out. The restaurant serves decent-priced set lunches - $15 gets you a meat / fish dish, a vegetable dish, steamed white rice, a dessert, and a soft drink or coffee/tea.

My friend Mel and I both had the Ayam Tempra– braised chicken in a tangy-sweet and subtly spicy dark soya gravy, with soft brown caramelized onions. This was good stuff with deliciously gooey gravy sweet from the onions and sugar (apparently very easy to cook too! I append a recipe here for WY to consider. )

Vegetable dishes were chap chye - a light mixed vegetable stew of cabbage, carrots, beancurd skin, black fungus and mushrooms; and sayur lodeh - mixed vegetables stewed in a mild coconut curry. Unfortunately these were very ordinary due to insufficient taste and body in the stock. The dessert of pulut hitam (sweet black glutinous rice pudding with coconut cream) was passable but nothing very much to shout about.

All in, I think Spice Peranakan is probably good enough for a decent bite if you’re in the area, but not worth making a special trip to Biopolis for. This wouldn’t be challenging my faves for Peranakan food, Chilli Padi and Peranakan Inn (both in the Joo Chiat area), anytime soon.

Spice Peranakan
20 Biopolis Way
#01-01 Centros
http://spiceperanakan.com/