Decided to have a change of cuisine for my birthday and we went Peranakan. Well, I liked Peranakan food too just that it’s a little heavy for me. The friend chose Indocafe located at Scotts road. Honestly, have passed by this place a few times but just never crossed my mind to try it. So glad we finally got down to visiting the place finally. The place was pretty empty when we visited so service was quite fast. And here are the dishes we ordered

Itek Tim $18 (serves 2)

Salted Vegetable Soup with Duck, Preserved Plums & Pickled Mustard Greens

Supposed to serve 2, but this bowl could actually serve 4. And the friends really liked this. It was so hearty and flavorful and you could taste the slightly salty taste from the pickled vegetables in the broth. It had a good balance from the sweetness of the duck and other root vegetables too, so it was a really good soup to warm the stomach

Ngoh Hiang $16

Five-spiced Marinated Minced Pork w Prawn, Water Chestnuts, Spring Onions, wrapped in Soy Bean Curd Skin

A must-order in a Peranakan meal, we all agreed that the ngoh hiang here was average. It’s not bad but it didn’t wow us either

Wagyu Beef Rendang $28

Slow-cooked Wagyu Beef Cheeks in INDOCAFE’s special blend of spices

The beef rendang won our hearts hands down with its tender meat and thick and fragrant rendang sauce. So good we ordered a bowl of white rice to go along. The friend said she will come back specially for this

Udang Assam Goreng $28

Wok Fried Tiger Prawns w Tamarind Sauce & Premium Dark Sauce

I thought the prawns were decent too. Stir-fried well and coated evenly with a sweet sauce. The freshness and succulent texture of the prawn was worth mentioning, probably more than the sauce itself

Ikan Masak Merak $32

Pan seared Cod Fillet served with Homemade Sweet Sauce

The execution of the cod was done really well with the skin crisp and flesh so soft. And the sauce was also appetizing enough to go with a bowl of white rice

Nonya Chay Chye $14

Braised Mixed Vegetables w Prawns in Fermented Bean Curd Sauce

I really liked chap chye. I would order it everytime I dine at a Peranakan place. The chap chye here was well cooked and the taste of the dried shrimps / fermented bean curd sauce wasn’t that strong as compared to some places. I finished the entire chap chye broth

Assam Laksa $12

Noodles in Tangy Spicy Fish Soup served with Traditional Accompaniments

The assam laksa was a surprise, in a good way. It did remind us of how good Assam laksa should taste like just that they added some coconut milk in it. It was tangy, sour yet well balanced. The friends ended up drinking most of the laksa broth

Chendol Coconut Ice cream $12

Pulut Hitam with Coconut Icecream $14

And finally moving on to desserts. The dessert menu is more restricted. I was looking forward to some Peranakan kuehs. But we ended up with only chendol icecream and pulut hitam. Well, personally preferred the chendol icecream to pulut hitam. I find the latter a little too watery for my liking

I thought the food here was decent and prices pretty reasonable too for the location and cuisine. Though it might not be the easiest to get to, but it’s a pretty quiet place cos by the time we were done with our meal, the restaurant wasn’t fully packed

INDOCAFE – The White House

35 Scotts Rd, Singapore 228227