Food Review: Baba Low's Nyonya Fare

Baba Low's is a rather popular eatery serving nyonya-peranakan fare in a no-frills setting. 

Tucked away in the quiet, almost forgotten section of Bangsar at Lorong Kurau, this eatery has been popularly blogged about.  As such, I was rather surprised to see it being advertised on a discount site; and thus snapped up a few vouchers. 

The décor is absolutely old school kopitiam except for the 42inch flat screen TV blasting the Malaysian-Japanese badminton finals of the Thomas Cup.

We ordered several of their signature items to try. 

Nyonya Laksa - a deceivingly small bowl, with lots of goodies such as shredded chicken, hardboiled egg, tofu puffs, fishcakes, beansprouts and a refreshing mound of shredded cucumber ontop of a generous serving of yellow noodles.  The gravy was creamy yet not cloying, with a moderate spicy kick.  We enjoyed this immensely.

Popiah Peranakan - a watered down version of the famous Ipoh popiah.  The stewed turnip was nice, but the whole ensemble somehow lacked punch.  I didn't particularly like the thick flour skin, preferring the wafer thin version.

Nasi Campur with Bendi sambal and Ikan Asam Pedas.  This may not look like much, but it was very tasty.  The ladyfingers was tender and sweet, and the sambal was superb.  The asam gravy was a nice balance of spicy and sour.  However, the fish was a malnourished specimen, barely "skin and bones". 

Nyonya Fried Noodles - an extremely salty plate of what tasted like hokkien noodles, with an overdose of thick soy sauce.  Nothing remotely nyonya about this;  it could have been a decent, ordinary plate of fried noodles with just half the level of saltiness.

Chap chai - braised mix vegetables; again too much black soy sauce in this rendition.  I'd say give it a miss. 

Cendol - I must say Baba Low's cendol has to be one of the best one we've had.  The texture of the shaved ice was like powdery snow.  The gula Melaka was fragrant and intensely sweet, the cendol was fresh and springy.  I am not a fan of the big azuki red beans but hubby liked it and gave his stamp of approval.  This was almost as good as our favourite cendol in Melaka. 

All in all, it was a good meal; certainly value for money with the discount vouchers.  Portions are also very reasonable.  However, just be forewarned that the eatery is very warm and rather stuffy, and there is no aircondition.  We brought our kids there and by the end of the meal they were almost drenched in sweat.  And this was over dinner.   

Baba Low's, 11 Lorong Kurau, Off Jalan Maarof, Bangsar.