Big Baba | Taman Desa — Restaurant in Kuala Lumpur

We were 6 of us . We took a drive from Klang about 25 km away to this Big Baba Restaurant after church service . We had booked the only round table available there . Those chairs were old and the setting was more towards the old fashioned decor . The owner probably wanted to give it an antique atmosphere to bring back those glorious days of the Baba and Nyonya’s existence especially in sleepy old Melaka , not anymore now ! The Restaurant is dimly lighted and the atmosphere does not reflect the pricy cost of the food served and charged there ! It offers an ordinary basic ambience for diners . Most of the customers seem to be regulars . The air conditioning units need urgent servicing or replacement as they were not cold at all even on maximum output.

The service was Excellent with friendly foreign staff from Myanmar . We went there specially to try out their popular cendol served separately with ample pure gula melaka and their 5 star ice kacang . You can never go wrong with this order . Then we ordered one plate of Assam fish followed by one Pie Tee. My daughter ordered one sambal petai udang and steamed bendi kerabu . I ordered my favourite fried brinjal dish . The Chicken dish , curry kapitan definetly fell short of our expectations until we did not finish it .

The last time we went to dine there , all the food we ordered were so tasty and so delicious but this time they were not like before. We could only give it an acceptable ‘OK Taste’ . What happened to the standard consistency of the cooking ! May be we thought, as we were the last customers , the main cook would have let the others to cook the last orders .

To be fair , they have a wide range of food on the menu . You must know what to order and at times when to order . Parking is an hassle as the location is in the midst of a busy Business Centre . Would I recommend others to dine here ! YES off course but get your orders right starting off with those signature dishes firstly and picking the...

My uncle was craving for some nice nyonya food so did a bit of research and stumbled across Big Baba. Tucked away in a row of shops in quite a quiet area in taman desa sits this quaint and humble little restaurant.

Stepping in made me feel like I was back into one of those little shops in Jonker Street. Ambience was cosy and comfortable and the service staff were so friendly and helpful.

The menu is not a long list of food items which makes the decision making process easier. We decided to try the Ayam Masak Buah Keluak, Garam Chili Udang, Steamed Bendi Kerabu, Cincalok Omelette and when you go for meals thay are dish based, one must always get Kangkung Belacan.

Every dish was seasoned perfectly well and it was delicious. The Ayam Masak Buah Keluak came with about 6 to 7 buah keluak and the chicken were good quite large and each bite was super flavourful.

The Chili Garam Prawns were not too spicy l, crunchy and equally delicious. The Steamed Bendi Kerabu was amazing. I loved the chilli topping that came with it, I could probably just have that alone and I would be a happy child. The rest of the dishes were good as well. Dessert comprised of ice kacang and cendol. The gala melaka for the cendol came separately which is good for those who are watching their sugar intake but a little bit of it goes a long way for me and it was a nice end to a flavourful lunch.

My parents and uncle had the ice kacang. It was served in a coconut bowl placed on top of another bowl. Presentation is great but just remember to keep a hold on the bowls as it can move around. Don't want any of thay ice kacang goodness to spill all over the table and on you.

All in all, another wonderful meal experience. Will surely be going back again soon for when the nyonya food crave comes again. Highly recommended.

P/S: Took some pictures but some were afterthoughts when we almost finished eating - probably too hungry at that point to think about taking...

Food: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Service: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Value: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ (RM50 per head which is decent) Ambience: ⭐⭐⭐ (cosy but I smelled of the food after dinner; we sat close to the kitchen) Parking (evening): ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Good enough southern Peranakan food to make me want to come back

Outside of Melaka, there are many wannabe Peranakan restaurants that flatter to deceive. Peranakan food is always held up to the highest standards. Ask any Nyonya or Baba where to find the best Peranakan food, she or he will invariably tell you "in my mum's or my grandma's home". Nyonyas are famed for their culinary skills.

Now, the food. I will subject them to the highest standards (vs the best Melakan Peranakan restaurants). My ratings (in order of excellent to average):

Kangkung belachan - very pang! Beautifully fried with a good measure of belachan kueh pai tee - wonderful layers of taste on a crunchy pai tee ayam buah keluak - close to Melakan standard fried chicken wings - not sure if this is really peranakan. The Penang version is inche kabin and has a distinct taste. The sauce resembles Thai cili sauce more than anything. But the wings are crunchy and tasty udang masak nenas - taste is good. The prawns could be fresher and more pineapples please as it will impart a fruity taste to the curry cili garam fish - fish nicely fried. But the sambal lacks colour - it could do with more dried cili paste - and ooomph! cincaluk omelette - lacking umami!

The service was excellent. All the food came out in 10mins. No doubt some of the dishes relied on pre-cooked sauces, the food was warm amd inviting. The lady (owner?) was super alert like a Singapore Airline crew member. She can sense what you will be...