Restaurant PeraMakan (Owen Road)

Restaurant PeraMakan (Owen Road) is a Peranakan restaurant at 119 Owen Road, near Farrer Park. It serves Nyonya home cooking, the mix of Chinese, Malay and Indonesian flavours that Peranakan families have passed down for generations.

Executive chef Kathryn Ho started PeraMakan in 2004 to keep traditional Peranakan recipes alive. She is a fourth-generation Nyonya with family roots in Malacca and Penang. The brand has moved several times since then. The Owen Road shop once traded as Tingkat PeraMakan before going back to the PeraMakan name and menu. A second outlet, City PeraMakan, is on Hong Kong Street.

What to order

The restaurant singles out its sambals, beef rendang and chap chye when it describes its food. Ayam buah keluak, chicken cooked with the dark, earthy keluak nut, is also praised in reviews. Mains come with free-flow steamed rice, so it works well for sharing.

• Starters: kueh pie tee, ngoh hiang, otak otak and satay.
• Soup: bakwan kepiting, a clear chicken broth with meatballs of pork, fish and crab.
• Meat: rendang with beef shin or lamb shank, babi pongtay and ayam goreng.
• Seafood: ikan garam assam, a sour tamarind fish dish, plus sotong masak hitam, squid cooked in its own ink.
• Desserts: chendol with gula melaka, durian pengat and sago gula melaka.

Eating alone on a weekday? The Nonya sampler set gives you one main, two sides and blue-pea rice on a single order. It is only offered on weekdays.

The setting

PeraMakan describes its cooking as comfort food that tastes like home, and calls its dining room a cosy space. Owen Road is a neighbourhood street rather than a tourist strip.

PeraMakan also hosts private events, such as birthdays, company lunches, family reunions and small wedding dinners. The team plans a menu of Peranakan favourites for each booking.

Good to know before you go

• Book by phone or WhatsApp. Contact details are on the official website.
• Pork is on the menu, in dishes such as babi pongtay and babi assam.
• Vegetarians have a plant-based section, with a soy and mushroom rendang and several vegetable dishes.
• For private events, book about three weeks ahead. A deposit is needed to confirm.
• The restaurant also offers catering and sells its own sauces and condiments.

Getting there

The restaurant says Farrer Park MRT station, Exit D, is the nearest. If you drive, there is parking at Block 10 Gloucester Road.

Nearby

The shops and temples of Little India are within walking distance. The big Mustafa Centre department store is also close by. For more meals in the area, see our list of restaurants in Little India and Jalan Besar.

You can also browse more Peranakan restaurants or read our guides to Peranakan food in Singapore.