“Richard Rivalee is committed to serve authentic Peranakan Cuisine with passion to fulfil your taste buds”, so says the foreword of its beautiful glossy menu and its inviting entrance from Bangkok Lane. The interior décor is just as beautiful, a hidden baba and nyonya gem in Pulau Tikus. No surprise as Richard is not only a chef, he is also a fashion designer!
Richard himself came to take our orders. The friendly boss suggested 4 kinds of rice on a platter including the blue pea flower rice and the must have nasi ulam.
We decided to go with his suggestion of otak-otak, the appetizing perut ikan (fish stomach in assam curry), jiu hu char (jicama fried with cuttlefish), babi pongteh, five-spiced lor bak and the achar hu (pickled fish).
Service was rather fast and good despite all the tables being taken. The jiu hu char was well-cooked (Richard says it takes nearly 4 hours!) and it had the “yesterday’s jiu hu char” look. The jicama was slightly dark brownish soft and not crunchy – mind you, that is a good thing! The otak-otak and babi pongteh were standouts. These dishes were oozing with a good mix of herbs and spices.
While waiting for our desserts of bubur cha cha and bee koh moi, the boss surprised us with a plate of colourful nyonya kuih. The bee koh moi had some “burnt” fragrance (also a good thing!) and a nice touch of dried longans.
RR clearly captures the essence of baba and nyonya cuisine, besides its warm peranakan ambience and more importantly, a passion in its food presentation.
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