Nyonya Cuisine - Perut Rumah

PERUT RUMAH

Perut Rumah literally means "Stomach of the House" - the kitchen. Importance of kitchen in Peranakan (Babas) also referred to as Perut Rumah or "Stomach of the House" which cannot be under-estimate as it is where the centre gravity and activity situated.

Perut Rumah is a heritage bungalow opposite Gurney Hotel in bustling Kelawei Road which has turned into a restaurant. (It’s on your left when you travelling on Kelawei Road heading down to Tanjung Bunga, you will see UOB bank on your left. Keep driving for another 100 meters and you will see a stone pounder signboard on your left.)

Perut Rumah has a well-maintained Nyonya style interior. It has an antique chest of drawers and a display cupboard with a proud collection of Nyonya antiques. These collections are purely antique and not replicas.

There is so much to choose from the menu and we ended up ordering several dishes that most Nyonya food lovers are familiar with.

Jiu Hoo Char - traditional and popular dish that we used to eat. It was cooked using strips of bangkwang (yambean), carrots, mushrooms and dried jiu hoo (squid). The taste was good when wrapped with lettuce together with some sambal sauce (personally feel that the sambal a bit salty).

Loh Bak(Assorted Deep Fried Rolls) - Most common traditional food in Malaysia. This meat roll was made from minced meat and was wrapped in yuba (soya bean skin). The loh bak was a combination of crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside. 

Sambal Petai (Stink Bean) - common amongst all the Malays and it's one of my favorite food. It's fried with sliced onion, prawns and sambal. The texture of the prawns and beans was crunchy which not many people can cook with this type of texture.

Inchi Cabin Chicken - The preparation of this meal was excellent and it had a really crunchy skin and juicy meat.

Tu Kar Chor (Black Vinegar Pork Trotter) - is a traditional confinement food for the Cantonese. Chinese believed that the dish would boost post natal immunity to the body and heat’s up the body of the women. It has a pungent vinegar smell and usually served with eggs and pig trotters. 

Otak-otak -  the fish was cut into fillet and placed onto a “Kado” leaf. On top of the fish was a custard made from egg, turmeric, coconut milk and spices. It was then wrapped into a banana leaf and steamed to perfection.

Operation hours: 11.00am to 3:00pm; 6:00pm – 10:00pm (7 days a week)
Address: 17 Jalan Kelawei, 10250 Georgetown, Penang