NYONYA DELIGHTS

PENANG IS ALREADY CHOCK-A-BLOCK WITH RESTAURANTS, so it takes guts to open one. It takes even more guts in my mind to open a NYONYA restaurant, seeing as that is the sort of food many Penangites eat at home! That is why there really aren't that many in town.

KENNETH YIP is the brave lad who is proprietor of the SRI BATIK NYONYA CAFE in New World Park. It's the little place next to Star View, the interior an eclectic mix of Chinese and Peranakan artefacts - he loves his antiques, does Kenneth - and despite all odds has survived and is now well on its way to becoming one of Penang's stalwarts.

When I first reviewed it for Star Metro North's Gourmet Guide a few years ago, he was based in Bukit Jambul. That one has since closed down as he has decided, wisely, to concentrate on one good one instead of two mediocre ones. This said, it was not fantastically brilliant then, and throughout the years as I've gone back either as a guest or a reviewer it has had its ups and downs. HOWEVER, I am glad to see that he has persevered, and been prepared to listen to comments (primarily from me!) about the quality, taste, and authenticity of his dishes, and it is definitely on the up and up.

One of his best is his Lemak Perut Ikan, but it really should be eaten with rice as it can be quite tart. However, the other day he asked me to try a few new dishes: Yam Pork, Kiam Hu Kut Tng and his very own home-made nyonya sausages.

Hate to think of the state of my cholesterol but they were all really quite palatable, particularly the soup - delish, full-bodied and fragrant with "dan lau kiam hu". And big chunks of belly of pork ... hmmmm ... And he's FINALLY got his Prawn Sambal Goreng right, flavourwise, as it really was not very good before, and I took him to task over it several times. It's almost there - really delicious combination of coconut and belacan with a hint of bruised lemon grass - although it was still a tad too creamy for my taste - can be a bit "jelak" so he has to tone that down slightly.

I also like his RED BEAN ICE BLENDED, a concoction he came up with which is very tasty and refreshing. And oh btw - he's moving across the way to bigger premises still within New World Park so well done to him for staying the course, and I really wish him all the best.