Tom Jason’s Nonya House was where we visited for Peranakan food during our latest trip to Penang! Having tried Mama’s Nonya Cuisine and The Little Nonya Cuisine during our last Penang trip, we decided to give Jason’s Nonya House after reading through some pretty good review. This, we did not regret…
About Jason’s Nonya House Penang
Jason’s Nonya House is located at 10b, Lebuh King, George Town, 10200 George Town, Pulau Pinang, Malaysia, a short walk away from our stay at Prestige Hotel Penang.
There were two reasons why we wanted to visit Jason’s Nonya House this time.
Firstly, Jason’s Nonya House has a pretty good rating of 4.6, even with more than 200 reviews. That was a pretty good baseline for us. Secondly, we have also heard from our friends that not only is the food from Jason’s Nonya House authentic and affordable, there is a homely vibe to it.
When we arrived at about 8pm on a week day, the restaurant was actually full. We had to wait for 5 minutes outside the restaurant while the tables were being cleared and cleaned before we were seated. A full house is always a good sign. After we were seated, we were promptly given the menu…
On first glance, there were simply too many Peranakan classics that we wanted to try at Jason’s Nonya House! There was the Loh Bak, Kapitam Ayam, Nonya Ayam, Pork Trotters and more. However, this time, we settled for the true classics of Peranakan cuisine
– Claypot Tu Tor Thng (RM 35) aka Claypot Pig’s Stomach Soup
– Ayam Buah Keluak (RM 45) aka Chicken with Tamarind Gravy and Buah Keluak Nuts (seeds of Pangium edule)
– Sambal Hebi Eggplant (RM 20.90) aka Sambal eggplant with dried shrimps
We also had some homemade cold barley (3RM) to cool off the spiciness of the dishes. This eventually came in quite handy.
What We Had at Jason’s Nonya House Penang
As expected, our homemade barley arrived first. It was not too sweet, had the barley sediments at the bottom of the cup. You could taste the “homeliness” from each sip. This made us anticipate our dishes for the evening…
First, the Tu Tor Thng (Claypot Pig’s Stomach Soup). It arrived in a traditional claypot, still boiling on its surface – indicating that it had just left the stove seconds ago. We could smell the peppery aroma of the soup as we scooped to try it out. It was rich, peppery without any hints of oily-ness. This means that the pre-preparation part of removing excess fats and unwanted bits was done rather thoroughly. Soup was good but for us, the highlight was the Tu Tor (pig’s stomache). Although it was cut to thick slices, the stomach was actually tender. There was a slight chew to it, but no need to struggle whatsoever. The fact that it was able to present such thick slices, meant that they were pretty confident with their cooking technique (which requires boiling for a couple of hours) and that there was no need to “dilute” any weird funky tastes with thinner slices (which requires proper cleaning and removal of impurities).
A true Peranakan delight.
Next, the Ayam Buah Keluak. Although, it was not the best version we’ve had (the best was from Peramakan), it was still good. The tamarind gravy used was spicy, flavourful with slight textures (but not too much) of the spices used. Though it was slightly salty, it was a definite clincher. One could have the spicy and appetising tamrind gravy of the Ayam Buah Keluak, accompanied by the blue pea rice from Jason’s Nonya House, all day long. The chicken was also tender, infused with the taste of the tamarind gravy. The part that was lacking was probably the buah keluak. It was generous and you could pick up lots of the fruit using the metallic scoop and gloves provided. However, it lacked the strong nutty flavour that has earned its name of the “Asian Truffle”. We’d probably try out another house signature instead of this dish during our next visit – yes, it is that good that we will revisit when we head to Penang the next time.
Lastly, the Sambal Hebi Eggplant. The stir-fried dried shrimps was another “rice stealer”. Fragrant and enticing. You could finish your first bowl of rice within seconds if you’re not carefully “rationing” the rice. But for us, the highlight of this dish was really the eggplant. The eggplant was hot and tender on the inside yet there were tastes of wok hei on the outside. This meant that the eggplant was probably steamed and maybe even slightly fried or stir-fried, before the entire dish is put together. The additional work probably explained why this dish arrived last. But definitely worth the wait. Fans of eggplant will definitely love this dish!
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All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Jason’s Nonya House. The food was excellent and the prices were affordable – for Singaporeans at least. The setting within the restaurant was also rather homely, with pictures and decorations indicating that you have entered someone’s home and not a restaurant. That is another plus of dining at Jason’s Nonya House. Staff was earnest and checked in with us on how the food was when each dish was served – the reply: “Fantastic!”.
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