Nyonya - Malaysian??

[Pan]

Saturday night, I tried to go to Hoomoos Asli, which turns out to be closed for renovation - I have some hope that they'll reopen someday, because the establishment put up printed messages, including a request to email them for news on when they will reopen. Anyway, I decided to give Nyonya another try, for the first time in several years. Of course, on a Saturday night, they were very crowded, and we had to wait a few minutes for a table for two. I ordered classic Malaysian dishes only: Roti Canai, Beef Satay, Kangkung Belacan, and Hainanese Chicken Rice. I told our waitress to have them make our food - particularly the kangkung - very spicy and Malaysian style, with plenty of belacan in the kangkung. I followed that up by saying that I had lived in Malaysia for 2 years, and she should tell the kitchen that this table is Malaysian. She claimed that everything is cooked the same Malaysian way for everyone, we shouldn't worry. Well, the Roti Canai was good, and the Beef Satay was tender, with a very good wood-fired taste, though the peanut sauce could have had a LITTLE spiciness. But the Kangkung was BARELY THE SLIGHTEST BIT spicy, and WATERY, with very little belacan - what Malaysians would call "tawar" (= "tasteless"). The waitress forgot about our Hainanese Chicken Rice, and when it came, it was all skinned white-meat chicken, which has never happened to me before with this dish, either in Malaysia or New York. But you know what? Because we dipped the chicken so much in the hot sauce, that was the spiciest thing we had that night, which is pathetic.

After that, another waitress relieved the first waitress. When she brought the check, I complained to her about what had happened, and she was sympathetic and nice. She spoke with the first waitress and found out that my request for Malaysian style everything had been transmitted to the kitchen, but that waitress #1 was from China and didn't know what Malaysian style actually meant - and neither, apparently, did the kitchen. Waitress #2 spoke Malay and was from Penang (the city, not the restaurant), and she said the next time I come there, I should ask for her or another Malaysian. She also told me that 95% of Americans want only white meat chicken and even something like 80% of American-born Chinese want only white meat chicken, in her experience. All of that shows what Nyonya's clientele is like - i.e., not like me.

As for me, I don't intend to ever go back to Nyonya on my own accord. Yes, you can undoubtedly have a good meal there, if you get the right waitress or whatever, or if you don't know how the dishes are really supposed to taste or don't care. But Malaysian? Not really. For now, I'll stick to Skyway.

[Lau]

ive always thought this place was terrible if you've ever been to malaysia or singapore then you know just how subpar the food is here (ive tried it at like 4-5 times)....never understood why if got good reviews

[Gastronomicon]

I agree. Nyonya is crap and is designed for Westerners who are clueless about Malaysian/Singaporean/Peranakan cuisine. It's gotten so bad that it's gone "upscale" and I mean that in the most pejorative way possible.

[currymouth]

We were there on Saturday also and yes, it was packed, and yes by now we all know it's a far cry from KL or Singapore but we quite enjoyed our meal. The roti canai was really fresh as well as the ladyfingers belacan, we also had the 1/2 garlic chicken, pork buff and the Indian fishhead curry, which was really good that night. Both my wife and myself are quite familiar with the cuisine and always ask them to prepare it Malaysian style, with various degrees of success. So I always ask for an array of sambals and peppers and customize my plate to my taste.Look it took me 3 visits for them to even let me order the laksa when they first opened and over the years the dishes have morphed into what they consider to be NY friendly. Is it right? No, but when I want to introduce friends who are not familiar with the cuisine and perhaps don't have as an adventurous palate as we do, Nyonya does fine.

[DarthEater]

Well you can not fault them for the white meat when you never specified it when you ordered. By default they would give you white meat unless requested. Where the waitress is from should not affect the food because they are not the ones cooking. It wouldn't be fair if I dismissed my waitress in an Italian restaurant if she was from California, or if my waitress was from Brazil in a BBQ joint. I agree its never spicy enough which is why I always request for an extra side of hot sauce.

[Pan]

Excuse me, but if I ask for everything Malaysian style and impress upon the waitress to tell the kitchen that my table is Malaysian, they shouldn't bring skinless white-meat chicken "by default." It's not unfair to expect them to make Malaysian food Malaysian-style upon request in a supposedly Malaysian restaurant. And as I said before, in no other Malaysian restaurant in New York have I ever had to specifically request a normal mix of chicken meat in that dish, so it didn't even occur to me to think of making a special request for normal chicken.

Also, you don't seem to have understood that I don't give a damn where Waitress #1 was from, as long as I could get Malaysian-style food (remembering my order would also help). The waitresses at Skyway are from Hong Kong and don't speak Malay, and it doesn't matter, because the kitchen cooks things in a style that, though it could be spicier for certain things, is recognizably Malaysian. That isn't the case at Nyonya - and that's the point. There, apparently, it DOES matter where your waitress is from!

[currymouth]

Why the hostility? No one is denying the fact that Nyonya is not the quintessential Malaysian Restaurant so your point is made. The issue of where the waitress is from and if or how it affected your meal is in my opinion is a non issue because in all the years that I have eaten there and talked to the owner, and haven't we all ,I was told the same thing. Guess what? Many years, many meals and many waitresses later , I still have to customize my dishes. The whole, "ask for me and I'll make sure the kitchen makes it Malaysian Style" is a stock answer used to appease those of us who are not Malaysian but want to believe we know this complex cuisine and not look like fools in front of our dinner companions.

[DarthEater]

Well, so now you know to be more specific when you order next time. They are not mind readers. You seem pretty outspoken, sending back the chicken to swap out some pieces is an option. Anyways, I do like Nyonya. While I do agree its not the best, its still good. I give Skyway less credibility for serving instant roti, plus a couple of times my Hainanese chicken had dry rubbery skin but I won't be crossing them off. Those are just a few discretions that i'm willing to overlook because I know it does have its strengths.

[Pan]

There won't be a next time. And currymouth, the so-called "hostility" is that I had an annoying experience that shouldn't have happened, and for which I don't accept any responsibility on my part or excuses on the restaurant's part. It has nothing to do with you.

I consider the chicken in Skyway's Hainanese Chicken Rice undercooked, I don't like their Rojak, and their Nasi Lemak is inconsistent. But I still consider their food generally to be the best Malaysian food I've had in New York.

[Pan]

Oh, about sending stuff back: The place was so slammed, and our service was slow. Sending stuff back just wasn't worth it to us, especially since it was far from obvious that it would really improve the results much. I mean, when you specifically ask for the kangkung belacan to be REALLY spicy with PLENTY of belacan, etc., etc., and they bring watery stuff, do you really think there's a way to get them to do it right?

[currymouth]

Oddly enough, some of the best kankung belacan can be had at the original Fatty Crab downtown.Done almost as good as any vendor in KL.

[Miss Needle]

I think Nyonya's strongest offerings are the noodles and noodle soup dishes -- oh, also the roti canai. I prefer my roti thin as opposed to the thicker ones. The other dishes can be hit or miss. I can't speak for the kangkung belacan because the last time I had that there was over 10 years ago. But it was pretty spicy and full of the shrimp paste. Perhaps it's because I'm Asian. Perhaps the place has gone downhill. When the place first opened, their beef rengdang was awesome. Now it pretty much sucks. If you get over the Queens, you should try Taste Good as I think it's better than Skyway.

[Pan]

I agree that it would seem to have deteriorated. Years ago, I used to have pretty good food at Nyonya, though never at as good a general level as Skyway. By the way, I prefer the old-style thicker Roti Canai, but I did like the rendition I had at Nyonya the other evening.

[currymouth]

Pan. I do feel your pain and understand how crushing it can be to receive less than you were hoping to get , been there, not only with Nyonya but also with Shriphaphai, Kuma inn and honestly with Skyway also. Don't know if you cook but pick up "Cradle of Flavor" Home cooking from the spice islands of Indonesia,Malaysia, and Singapore. By James Oseland. A friend give me that book several years ago and I have been using the recipies from it ever since.

[Pan]

I have cooking skills and definitely have good sources for recipes, but I rarely cook. You know the deal - kitchen area in the living room, small apartment, live by myself, lots of inexpensive food around. And I'm usually pretty satisfied with the food I eat out. Thanks for your empathy, though. I appreciate it.

[currymouth]

I hear you, I lived in Manhattan for many years and in retrospect, would not attempt some of the preparations { Toasting the belacan} necessary for most of the classic recipies in a city kitchen.

[lanadai]

Everytime I go to Nonya and order Hainanese chicken I get a mixture of dark and white meat and I've been going there since college, 10+ years. Maybe it's because I'm Asian too.

[Pan]

Yes, probably. And I call that bullshit. I can't change my appearance and shouldn't have to jump through some kind of ridiculous hoops to get proper food. And since I have a choice, I try not to go to places where that kind of bullshit is necessary.

[Gastronomicon]

The cuisine is the cuisine, period. If they start monkeying with the dishes based on diner's appearances, then the restaurant is basically a bullshit purveyor. Hainanese Chicken Rice *ALWAYS* comes with the skin regardless of whether it's white or dark meat. And if the meat tastes like sandpaper or gritty, then the chicken is overcooked, probably because they tried to do it without the skin (the fat from the skin is what keeps the chicken moist during cooking).

[monkeyfish]

I do have to agree that the flavors seems to have been made more bland over the years. But I still enjoy eating there.
I will have to try skyway though.

[Gastronomicon]

If you want to try really good stuff, try Taste Good out in Elmhurst. As a point of information, the Singapore embassy to the UN has been known to have Taste Good cater official functions. And we Singaporeans are picky lot when it comes to our food, our embassy staff being no different... ;-)

[Pan]

I think I'll go back to Taste Good soon. There are many menu items I haven't ordered yet. :-)

[Gastronomicon]

Do a search on Yelp.com for pictures of the food with names of the dishes at Taste Good. Might be of help to you on deciding what to order!

[Pan]

Maybe, but probably not. I have lived in Malaysia and know quite a lot about Malaysian food.

[Gastronomicon]

Yes, I understand. I've lived over there for over twenty years myself but until you see the pictures, you don't know what's good--the pictures are quite indicative of what you'll find, taste-wise. While Taste Good has uniformly delicious food, there are a few oddities which are quite yummy but not quite what you'd expect if you're expecting traditional regional fare. Hence the suggestions of pictures as a guide.

[Pan]

Thanks, I appreciate that clarification.