Wednesday, October 1, 2008

NYONYA

Under food:



Nyonya



194 Grand Street



New York, NY 10013



(212) 334-3669







Nyonya has been a mainstay of the rotation for the longest time. We are seriously convincced that this Malaysian restaurant is the best of its kind around.

I typically get the satay tofu (fried tofu with bean sprouts, cukes and peanut sauce) and the pad thai. Sometimes, the kitchen makes the sauce extra spicy, so be forewarned.





Satay tofu. A crunchy pocket of deep fried tofu encloses cukes and bean sprouts. It is topped with a rich peanut sauce. Yum!












Pad thai. Rice noodles with shrimp, tofu, egg and pad thai sauce, topped with peanuts and fried shallots. Also served with bean sprouts. I like it when the kitchen gives the noodles a nice sear.







DJKung has his own roster. For the past few months, he's been getting kangkung belachan, fried fish fried rice and yuen tai pork.










Kangkung belachan. Stir fried water spinach with shrimp paste. Water spinach is a hollow stemmed vegetable with a very mild taste. I don't think it has any relation to spinach. Meanwhile, shrimp paste is made of dried and fermented shrimp. It is a popular ingredient in Southeast Asian dishes.

Yuen tai pork. Simmered pork hocks in a star anise/five spice sauce. Served with steamed bread. It tastes a lot like the filling for siopao.








Fried fish fried rice. I think it does come with bits of chicken. The fried fish flakes are crunchy and salty. This chinese-style fried rice is hearty and hits all the right notes: salty fish, sweet peas, creamy scrambled egg and that nice wok sear on the rice.




Other dishes that we get: roti chanai (Indian pancakes with curry sauce), satay beef, beef rendang. Once in a while, we get the house special crabs---very messy, very good.

We cannot say enough about this place. I don't think the food is adjusted for the American palate, so the flavors are intense. (Southeast asian food commonly has sweet, salty and spicy elements).




Nyonya is cash-only, and there is an ATM across the street.


***


On a later visit, DJKung ordered their fried chicken wings. It rates as a 7 to 8 on his fried chicken scale. Their chicken is tied with a pandanus leaf and deep fried, and comes with a sweet citrus-y sauce. The pandanus leaf infuses into the chicken to add a floral flavor.