We Found A $38.90++ Hotel Buffet With Halal Peranakan Food—Worth It Or Not?

Nyonyas And Gentlemen has halal Peranakan buffet in Katong

My family and I are huge fans of Peranakan food—it’s usually something we reserve for special occasions. While I’m familiar with Peranakan restaurants such as Pangi Nut and Violet Oon, I was surprised that I’d never come across Nyonyas And Gentlemen, tucked within Village Hotel Katong.

The restaurant, rated at 4.7 stars from 600 reviews at the point of writing, offers a modern twist on traditional Baba-Nyonya dishes, with creative fusion items such as assam pedas risotto. For this review, we tried their weekday lunch buffet at $38.90++ per person, available from Monday to Thursday between 12pm and 2:30pm.

Food at Nyonyas And Gentlemen

The food spread is fairly extensive, with the usual buffet lineup, including a salad counter, starters, hot mains, desserts, and a DIY station.

There are five assorted salads at the salad bar, but we noticed a few flies hovering around, so we gave it a skip. For appetisers, there’s a solid variety to choose from, including chicken wings, fish cake, spring rolls, lemongrass chicken, fish fingers, and fried chicken bites.

As for mains, the daily line-up features Peranakan classics such as Beef Rendang, Ayam Buah Keluak, Chicken Pongteh, and Fish with Rojak Flower Sambal. Nothing too surprising here, as these are the staples you’d expect at a Peranakan buffet.

One of the rotating dishes we tried was the Penang Char Kway Teow, featuring flat rice noodles stir-fried with prawns, cockles, Chinese sausage, eggs, bean sprouts, and chives. It leaned towards the sweeter side and lacked the wok hei you’d typically expect from a good plate of CKT. It was also served warm instead of piping hot, so it didn’t quite hit the mark if you’re craving a freshly fried plate.

We then tried the Ayam Buah Keluak, featuring tender pieces of chicken meat coated in a thick gravy that’s been mashed with black nut paste. It had a rich and savoury flavour, with a soft, almost rendang-like consistency that clung to each bite. I liked how the buah keluak brought an earthy depth to the dish, rounded off by a subtle tang from the asam.

Other main dishes on rotation at the buffet include Nyonya Curry Chicken, Chicken Stew, and Fish Asam Pedas. When we visited, we also spotted Ayam Masak Merah and Nyonya Chap Vhye.

The Ayam Masak Merah stood out for its aroma, which hit us even before we dug in. A herbaceous fragrance filled the dish, thanks to pandan leaves, lemongrass, and kaffir lime leaves, which helped lift the heavier tomato-based gravy. On the downside, I found the chicken a bit dry.

As for the chap chye, it leaned more sweet than savoury, with a noticeable fermented flavour that gave it a “funky” taste. While the soft cabbage soaked up the sauce well, I felt that the dish’s fermented notes overshadowed the natural sweetness of the veggies.

What stood out to us at the buffet was the DIY station, where diners can mix and match ingredients to build their own rojak, laksa, nasi lemak, and even Vietnamese pho bowls.

We started with the laksa and, upon the first sip, noticed that the broth wasn’t the most robust. That said, there was still a noticeable santan flavour that we enjoyed. The prawns were fresh with a slight chew, but the noodles were a letdown—stiff and slightly undercooked.

I also spent some time at the DIY kueh pie tee station, where I filled crispy kueh pie tee shells to the brim with sweet turnip before topping them off with egg, crushed peanuts, coriander, and a drizzle of sweet sauce.

Moving on to desserts, we were treated to an assortment of 10 sweets during our visit, including Durian Pengat, Lemongrass Jelly, Kuih Bingka Ubi, and Kuih Ketayap.

We tried the Kuih Bingka Ubi, which was soft with a slight chew and a light coconut milk flavour. That said, we wished the crust was more caramelised—an indication of well-made kueh bingka. We much preferred the Kuih Ketayap, comprising thin pandan crepes rolled around a sweet filling of shredded coconut and gula melaka.

On the drinks front, there’s a coffee station available for hot drinks, while sweet drinks such as orange juice and sodas have to be ordered separately.

Ambience at Nyonyas And Gentlemen

While Google Maps places Nyonyas And Gentlemen within Katong V mall, the restaurant is actually found in the hotel section of Village Hotel Katong. When we arrived at 12pm on a Monday, there wasn’t much of a crowd, though guests from the hotel and a nearby conference slowly streamed in over the lunch hour.

The restaurant is quite spacious, with the main area housing the buffet line, while a smaller section at the back offers cosier booth seating with natural light streaming in from the windows. The layout caters to couples and smaller groups, as well as larger groups of 10 or more.

The restaurant is about a six-minute walk from Marine Parade MRT Station.

Nyonyas And Gentlemen – Eatbook review

My bill came up to almost $100 for two people after GST and service charge, making this a fairly pricey lunch option. While the food was enjoyable overall, it does feel more like a splurge than an everyday dining option. The spread offers a decent variety of Peranakan dishes that sit comfortably alongside other similar restaurants in terms of quality, though there are more affordable alternatives if you are just after a simple fix.

I liked that the DIY stations added a bit of interactivity to the buffet experience, letting diners customise parts of their meal. That said, some dishes could have been served hotter. A couple of the meat items were also slightly tough, which affected the overall enjoyment.

Overall, it’s a decent buffet with a good variety, but it comes at a price tag some would consider premium.

For more Peranakan food spots in Singapore, check out our Peranakan food guide. For affordable Peranakan dishes and $1.50 kueh in Orchard, read our Nya Nya review.

Address: 25 Marine Parade Road, Level 4, Katong V, Singapore 449536
Opening hours: Daily 6:30am to 9:30pm
Tel: 6241 4850
Website
Nyonyas & Gentlemen Restaurant is halal-certified.

Photos taken by Nivian Chiang.
This was an independent review by Eatbook.sg