Once home to a car rental firm and a coffee company, this pair of dignified-looking black-and-white colonial bungalows along a quiet stretch of town is now a cultural repository for all things Peranakan. The owners, who seem to prescribe to the belief that good things come in pairs (they also recently launched nearby Chateau TCC, where the duo of Italian restaurant Buona Terra and Japanese kaiseki fine-diner Ki-sho are located), first opened the restaurant section in one bungalow a year ago, but have been keeping things under wraps until they were ready to unveil the second half of the project – an arts and cultural centre that houses a café, retail shop and coffee appreciation space.
The highlight at the centre is a daily cultural show at 3.30pm, which showcases different Indonesian art forms on a bi-monthly basis – we were treated to a traditional Gamelan performance (a music ensemble with Javanese and Balinese origins) on our visit – as you enjoy their range of single origin coffees (including the exclusive and mad-expensive kopi luwak at $48 a cup) and Nyonya kueh.
For an introduction to Peranakan cuisine, the stately 68-seater restaurant does the classics well, albeit with a modern twist; start things off with the roti babi, french toast filled with minced pork ($10), and their five-spiced version of ngoh hiang ($10), while must-order mains are the beef rendang ($32) and the babi pong teh, melt-in-your-mouth pork belly that’s been braised in soya bean paste and a variety of spices ($22).