Cover Nyonya Supperclub is run by Sharon Ann De Souza at her home in Kuala Lumpur (Photo: Wee-Liam Foo)
Nyonya Supperclub is run by Sharon Ann De Souza at her home in Kuala Lumpur (Photo: Wee-Liam Foo)
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Sharon Ann De Souza prioritises technique and tradition over speed and commercialism at Nyonya Supper Club, setting her apart from other Peranakan cuisine offerings in Kuala Lumpur
To dine at the Nyonya Supperclub run by Sharon Ann De Souza at her home in Kuala Lumpur requires advanced planning and some luck. First, you’ll need to gather a minimum number of 8 interested diners (this normally isn’t the difficult part). Then, you’ll have to send Sharon a message to ask for her next available date. Depending on how busy she is, you could be waiting for weeks or worse, months. If you’re visiting Malaysia from another country and would like to try Sharon’s cooking, please book ahead.
Sharon is from Malacca and half Kristang (her dad has Portuguese roots), half baba nyonya (her mother’s side). For those new to “baba nyonya” or “Peranakan”, this is a community unique to the Straits Settlements of Malacca, Penang and Singapore, and they are the descendants of 15th century Chinese migrants who intermarried with local Malays. Males are termed “baba”, whilst females are known as “nyonya”, thereby giving Peranakan cuisine another name of “nyonya food”, which amalgamates flavours and traditions of both cultures. You’d be surprised to know that Sharon only learned to cook as an adult, when she became a mother, as that was the turning point when she (and her mother) decided that it would be important to connect her son to his heritage through food.
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Above Photo: Wee-Liam Foo
Photo: Wee-Liam Foo
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And thus began a series of informal dinners, where Sharon would practice her cooking on her friends. In time, Sharon, who is also an economist and former banker, left her corporate role and her initiative grew into the supper club as we know it today. It will be the ninth year of Sharon’s Nyonya Supper Club this year, but her vision has remained as crystal clear as when she started: preserve and champion Malacca’s version of Peranakan cuisine (distinctively southern, rather than northern i.e. Penang) in Kuala Lumpur, but in the way that her grandmother and mother used to make it.
Based on the success of Sharon’s weekly supper clubs and recognition by those who have been, you might almost expect her to start commercialising her operations. But Sharon prefers to prioritise technique and tradition over speed and commercialism, and that sets Sharon apart from most, if not all, other Peranakan cuisine offerings in Kuala Lumpur.
Above Photo: Wee-Liam Foo
Photo: Wee-Liam Foo
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When we got a chance to have a chat with Sharon, we asked her thoughts about what “authenticity” meant to her, in the context of nyonya cuisine. According to Sharon, “what’s authentic to me is that I abide by traditional methods in the kitchen. And these methods almost always take longer: I use the “batu giling” (grindstone) instead of a blender because I believe that the former releases the essential oils of ingredients that reflects the taste of the cuisine. Every leaf is washed and wiped dry. Then it is chopped by hand and as must be with Peranakan food, the finer the better. Everything must be executed to the highest standard. You have to be a certain OCD person to enjoy making this type of food [laughs].”
Interestingly, she added that “authenticity has no bearing on whether the food will taste good, but it will taste different.” For Sharon, she is committed to her vision - celebrating the cuisine recipes which were never written but passed down through generations - regardless of whether her guests can taste the difference. She sticks to a certain brand of taucho (soybean paste) and soy sauce. She is adamant with the “gula melaka” used (her coconut sap sugar must be from a specific artisan farm in Malacca that makes very limited supply). She processes whole coconuts to obtain first press coconut milk for her sago dessert, rather than buy extracted coconut milk from suppliers.
Above Photo: Wee-Liam Foo
Photo: Wee-Liam Foo
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When the time came to finally eat, we were excited. We had specifically tailored our menu with Sharon but as always, it was a challenge to settle on the menu, because there are a few well known and much loved dishes which we always want to have, but at the same time we want to try something that we haven’t had before. For first-timers, some of our favourites which we recommend trying include stuffed baby squid in broth, smoked ham hock curry, both of which we have had on earlier occasions. The price per person will depend on the dishes that you choose. On this visit, our dinner included:
Above Photo: Wee-Liam Foo
Photo: Wee-Liam Foo
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Classic pie-tee, which is a thin and crispy tart shell made to exact specifications and filled with stir fried jicama and prawn.
Above Photo: Wee-Liam Foo
Photo: Wee-Liam Foo
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Otak-otak, one of Sharon’s signature dishes, is a minced fish loaf loaded with lots of aromatics like galangal, turmeric, lemongrass and coconut milk. The southern Malaysia (Malacca) Peranakan version served is baked in banana leaves, so it has a toastier, almost smokey depth compared with the northern Malaysia (Penang) version, which is steamed.
Above Photo: Wee-Liam Foo
Photo: Wee-Liam Foo
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Then, nasi ulam, a rice “salad” tossed with abundant freshly chopped herbs such as turmeric, torch ginger, betel leaf, lemongrass. Sharon’s hands are always stained yellow by the turmeric because she always insists on manually mincing the turmeric.
Above Photo: Wee-Liam Foo
Photo: Wee-Liam Foo
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The next dish featured a popular nyonya ingredient, buah keluak or pangium. Not many know that the nut is poisonous before being processed and the Peranakan adore using it in curries and stews. Our dish was a pork spare ribs stew with this nut, which tasted like a cross between Marmite and black olives. Incredibly savoury and addictive. Note that choosing this ingredient will add RM20pp to the cost.
Above Photo: Wee-Liam Foo
Photo: Wee-Liam Foo
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We then had sambal prawns, an incredibly good ikan asam pedas, fish cooked in tamarind curry, and a four-angled bean salad. It was a pity we didn’t have steamed white rice to go with these dishes.
Above Photo: Wee-Liam Foo
Photo: Wee-Liam Foo
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The finale was something we have eaten every time we are at the Nyonya Supper Club, Sharon’s sago gula melaka. Simple, with only three ingredients, but all perfect. Sago, pearls made from the starch of palm stems, boiled to translucent so that it is chewy, and stained indigo with blue pea flower. It is then dressed with first press coconut milk and gula melaka that is not only sweet, but savoury and smoky. It is said that the purest gula melaka will melt at room temperature and can taste a bit like soy sauce. This dessert was (and will be) the best ending to a very special dining experience in Kuala Lumpur.
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