Nyonya Restaurant Review

10/05/2008 0 Comments

Imagine taking cuisine from the Straits of China, crossing it with Malay influences, and throwing in some Indian spices for good measure. You would have the spectacularly unusual and tremendously flavorful food of Nyonya.

Jamie and I took in “The Waterfalls” this weekend, despite the damp and cloudy weather, and enjoyed a boat tour of Lower Manhattan extending around the southern tip of the island, and then heading over past Ellis Island to the Statue of Liberty, and back. Along the way, we took a close look at all five of the waterfalls, certainly the best way to see them.

Our appetites stimulated by our sea-faring adventure, we headed over to Nyonya for some stellar Malaysian cuisine.

We began with the Malaysian take on “Roti” – “Roti Canai“. Essentially a buttery, feathery napkin of stretchy, lightly crispy thin bread, with a deceptively small bowl of yellow coconut curry with chicken (watch out, folks, there’s bones in that chicken!) A bit tough to eat, the combination of flavors is marvelous, with the nutty, spicy curry beautifully offset by the delicate roti. Certainly nothing like the whole-wheat version of naan bread that I’m accustomed to, this roti is in a league of its own.

We next moved to Nyonya Young Tofu. Again, nothing like any other dish I’ve had anywhere. A fine, almost creamy-flavored fish paste is stuffed into fried tofu, eggplant slices, and bitter melon and cooked. These morsels are then settled in a broth of your choice, either clear fish soup, or curry broth. We went for the curry soup, and this was radically different from the curry that accompanied the Roti Canai. Much more orange, much spicier, almost grainy with complex spices far beyond the usual cocktail that makes up your everyday curry.

And for those of you who’ve never experienced bitter melon, there could hardly be a better way to enjoy it than in this fantastic concoction – the intense bitterness is beautifully offset by the curry soup, and the fish cake stuffing. Having packed their bags for uncharted waters, your taste buds may never return from this culinary tour satisfied with the same old stuff in the same old way again…

We next moved on to Chow Kueh Teow, their signature pan-friend noodle dish. Described as “Malaysian famous stir fried flat rice noodles with shrimp, chive, squid, bean sprouts, eggs, soy sauce and chili paste,” this definition probably leaves out about 43 ingredients, including kaffir lime leaves, sambal, galanga, dried shrimp, etc., etc.

I have long since learned to trust a quality restaurant’s “signature” dish. (If you want to get a better idea of what I’m talking about, try the “signature” short ribs at Tribeca Grill, for example.) At any rate, these noodles did not disappoint. Nourishing, warm, redolent of coconut and ginger, these have to rate among the best pan-fried noodles I have ever had anywhere.

All in all, an excellent meal well worth the trip to patchwork remnants of what was once the proud center of Little Italy. You would be hard-pressed to have a meal even approaching this quality at any restaurant on either side of Canal Street. And for novelty and freshness of flavor, this cuisine is nearly unparalleled in the City.

Nyonya

Malaysian
194 Grand St. (b/w Mott & Mulberry St.)
New York , NY 10013
(212) 334-3669

Signature Dishes

Roti Canai
Roti Tellur
Nyonya Young Tofu
Chow Kueh Teow

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