MY first encounter with kerabu bok nee, a Nyonya salad of black fungus, shredded chicken, toasted coconut, sambal belacan, lime juice and other ingredients, was at Sri Nyonya Restaurant in Petaling Jaya more than 20 years ago. The taste and texture of it stayed in my mind all this time, and I even made my own version of it.

However, it still doesn’t measure up to the kerabu bok nee (RM22) I had at Sri Nyonya this week. (This Penang Nyonya restaurant is still around after all these years, having changed its location twice.) I was struck by how everything was so finely cut and shredded, including the dried shrimps and bunga kantan, tossed together with lime juice and sambal belacan. It made a delicate, piquant salad with all the right Nyonya nuances. I loved it.

I’m always on the lookout for a good nasi ulam, which is not easy to find in Kuala Lumpur and Petaling Jaya. That bite at Sri Nyonya satisfied my craving for it. While it did not have all the requisite fragrant leaves that this dish demands of them – kadok, kunyit, mint, kencur, limau purut – and bunga kantan, it turned out well. The fine blend of fried salted fish, dried shrimps and kerisik coated each grain of rice, and while I expected the rice to be tinged yellow because of the turmeric, it had a reddish hue possibly from the sambal belacan stirred in it. All in, it was a flavourful rendition of nasi ulam (RM30 for two).

Perut ikan (RM25) is another Nyonya speciality that is difficult to make not only because of the hard-to-get pickled fish stomachs, but also the preparation of the myriad fragrant leaves and roots needed to cook it, together with long beans, eggplant and pineapple. While the dish at Sri Nyonya had the right sourness, it lacked the punchy fragrance of kesom and turmeric leaves.

The choon piah or Nyonya spring rolls here were sumptuously filled with bangkuang, crabmeat, tofu and chopped prawns. There is the crunch of crispy popiah skin as you bite in, sinking into the generous and delicious filling. A tangy chilli sauce comes with the spring rolls.

The ikan gulai tumis was a robust asam curry that was sour, hot and fragrant, topped with shredded bunga kantan and fresh mint. In it were pieces of fresh white pomfret, ladies’ fingers and eggplant. It was a feast of a fish curry that everyone enjoyed.

Hong Kay or braised coriander chicken should have been a flavourful chicken stew with the aroma of ground roasted coriander seeds. None of this was apparent in the rather bland version served here.

The aroma of fried sambal belacan preceded the paku sambal as it was brought to the table. The pucuk paku stayed green and crunchy and tasted so good.

We finished with kuih bengkar, which was more like a cake than the sticky, coconut-ty kuih that we like.

Sri Nyonya is a pork-free restaurant in a quiet residential area with easy parking. It is at 14, Jalan 22/49 46300, Petaling Jaya. Call 03-7875 1031 for reservations. – September 5, 2020.

*Eu Hooi-Khaw has been writing about food for the longest time, covering all aspects of it from restaurant reviews to cooking and recipes, as well as the healthy side of it. She has written for major newspapers and magazines and published the cookbook, entitled Fresh Ingredients’. Her writings are available at hooikhawandsu.com.