Nyonya @ NYC.

There actually is a handful of Malaysian cuisine restaurants in Manhattan itself, or perhaps more than that, but I have never been to anywhere else except Nyonya. Nyonya is located in between the lil' Italy and Chinatown in New York City; so as far as location is concerned, I think that is a strategic one. Plus, I think this restaurant has an extensive menu. Don't believe me? Go see it yourself in a minute.

Nyonya Malaysian Cuisine, one of the most well-known Malaysian food restaurant in the Big Apple.


The first time I visited this restaurant was actually on 2002. Over the years, nothing much has changed. Why change when it is so good and homey to fellow Malaysians?

I wasn't sure whether could I take pictures of the interior design of the restaurant, so I quickly made a snap shot. This is a view at the rear of the restaurant, where you'll see a wall painting that is supposed to depict Penang Nyonya hawker flare during the old times.

So, what does this restaurant offer?

The cover of the menu.

"A taste above the rest."

Appetizers. Don't you notice achat, nyonya lobak, nyonya popiah, kerabu, etc etc etc. The most popular item on this page will be roti canai. From what I observed, almost every table will order such item.

Casserole (with clay pot), soups, rice dishes ...

Malaysian style hawker noodles? You name it, you get it. I can be there everyday just to try all these out ... Too bad, I don't live there. =`(

If you don't want noodles, you certainly can order these dishes and have rice instead. Very Malaysian 'dai chao' （大炒）style.

Check out the items, you'll be amazed ...

I can even get sizzling hot plates in this restaurant. That is such a rarity you know?

During this visit to NYC, we went to Nyonya twice. The first day, we had nasi lemak and curry mee with yong tau foo. The food was great, but no picture taken (too excited when the food was served, so totally forgot about my usual habit). The second time, we ordered two dishes instead to go with rice.

Malaysian style Belacan Kangkung! Ahhh, I miss this dish so much! To us, this is a well-done dish. Not too oily, not soggy, moderately spicy, very crunchy. Pieces of dried shrimps were evenly mixed with the vege throughout. The taste was great. My mum never masters this dish, so I never dare to try. I bet it takes great skill to master this dish.

Sizzling Nyonya Tofu. I was anticipating the hot and sizzling in action when this dish was served, but for some reasons (that I am still puzzling), it didn't turn out that way. The food was hot, but no more sizzling. Aiks. Oh well, doesn't really matter as long as the food taste great, right? Yeah, it was good. I could never have my tofu fried till golden brown like that. I always love beancurd this way, that they will be slight crunchy on the outside, and silken soft inside, cook with delicious gravy. So, any masters out there willing to share the trick with me? =)

The downside of 2-people dining is that you can't order more dishes. There are so many dishes that I wanna try, but we can only try 2 at a time. That's the reason why we never go to anywhere else except this restaurant, where great food surprises await.