HarriAnns Nyonya Table • Stubbornly Handmade Peranakan Dishes & Kueh

HarriAnns_Nyonya_Table_Handmade_Peranakan_Kueh

For many people when they think about Nyonya laksa in Singapore, they think immediately of laksa in Katong such as Janggut, 328, or George.

Today, I tried the Nyonya laksa at HarriAnns @ Suntec City which I like as much, if not more.

The laksa sauce was thick and rich, nearly creamy with fresh coconut milk (not suntan). The complex flavours from the grainy blend of ground spices, aromatics, and dried shrimp bursted through the gentle natural sweetness of the coconut milk. A mild spicy sting trailed the sweet umami savoury flavours.

The toppings of shelled prawns and taupok added their texture and flavours to the dish. Chopped daun kasum or "laksa leaves" complete the dish with their delicate fragrance.

HarriAnns came a long way from its pushcart days in Tiong Bahru in the 1950s. The Nyonya founder Mdm Chia came to Singapore from Malacca. When her husband passed away in an accident, she resorted to selling handmade kueh and glutinous rice to raise her family. They later moved into Tiong Bahru Market, then Tiong Bahru Food Centre in the 1980s. In the third generation now, HarriAnns now has several outlets in shopping malls. They still operate the nostalgic Tiong Bahru hawker centre stall.

But, some things don't change at HarriAnns because Alan and Sharon the third generation owners want their food to be "stubbornly handmade" like grandma served them since their humble pushcart days.

I had their pulut tai tai, also known as pulut tekan or "pressed glutinous rice". The glutinous rice and coconut milk were cooked to the tenderness and compacted to the density that I enjoyed. Not overly sweet, with handmade kaya providing the additional sweet highlights to every bite.

Traditional ondeh ondeh.

Pandan juice infused soft chewy mochi balls filled with molten gula Melaka and covered with a furry white coat of shredded sweet coconut pulp.

Besides traditional kueh talam, HarriAnns have their own interpretations of the dessert in dainty bite size but they all remained "stubbornly handmade".