IVINS Peranakan Restaurant (Binjai Park)

Ivins Peranakan Restaurant has long been in one of my places to visit and I finally understand why the place has been highly recommended by many. It is hard to beat places that serve hearty portions at an affordable price nowadays. We had a few of their signatures such as the Beef Rendang, which is served piping hot in a claypot and the meat is tender to the bite. The Ikan Masak Assam is tangy and spicy but the real standout star is the Sotong Hitam of stir-fried squid in a sweet black sauce.

Had a Peranakan feast at Ivins Peranakan Restaurant at 19/21 Binjai Park and we ordered:
▪️Garam Assam Fish Head ($27 - 3 to 4 pax)
▪️Ayam Buah Keluak ($8.20)
▪️Babi Pongteh ($7.50)
▪️Nyonya Chap Chye ($6.20)
▪️Fried Ngo Hiang ($6)
▪️Sotong Hitam ($7.20)
▪️Egg Fuyong ($5.70)
▪️Terong Goreng Chilli ($5.50)
▪️Chendol ($1.50)

One of my favourite dishes of the night is the Garam Assam Fish Head which is 1/2 fish head served in spicy tamarind gravy. The gravy has just the right balance of spicy, tangy and sweet notes, and it goes s ppl o well with rice.

Ayam Buah Keluak is my all-time-favourite in any Peranakan restaurant and I love digging out and savouring the flavourful flesh of the buah keluak.

The sauce of the Babi Pongteh is a tad sweet for me, but the braised pork belly literally melts in your mouth. The Chap Chye is decent as well.

Two of the dishes were unexpectedly good. Sotong Hitam features stir fried squid with black ink sauce and cut chilli and this is actually full of flavour with a hint of smokiness. The squid is tender as well. The Terong Goreng Chilli looks like a simple eggplant topped with chilli but the chilli is actually very aromatic and it is not too spicy.

Overall, I enjoyed the food and it was pretty satisfying. Do note that each item is quite small, so if the group is large, you might have to order double portions of each item.

We usually come here for nyonya food. Affordable prices with good portioning. Sometimes they have kuehs fresh in store, the kaya salat was the best for me.

The 𝐚𝐲𝐚𝐦 𝐛𝐮𝐚𝐡 𝐤𝐞𝐥𝐮𝐚𝐤 ($7.50/ $11.80) included generously sized chicken pieces floating in a tangy broth, encircled by 4 big buah keluaks. We originally found the chicken to be a little dry and found that the flavour did not thoroughly infuse the meat; this was our least fav dish of the meal. That said, we brought home the leftovers and both the chicken and broth was so much more tender and flavourful the next day! I guess it just needed more time?

Insta: cafehoppingkids

Interesting texture. It is closest to jelly, but it is like of like Chee Kueh also. Pretty good, can have more corn

The kuehs are all 3bucks, the Christmas cakes go for A lot more

Gula melaka layer wasn't as good as Kueh salat, but the sticky brown rice layer was better than the sticky rice layer for Kueh salat. Overall again not too shabby