Recently revamped, Ellenborough Market Cafe now boosts a bolder and more contemporary look, with shades of turquoise and cream set against Peranakan-style floors in its three dining spaces.

The highlight of Ellenborough is its Peranakan offerings, which sitsalongside a variety of international fare. Food stations are separated into three main sections—fresh seafood and cold cuts, international hot food, and Peranakan cuisine—while live stations pepper the space.

The cold section offers a variety of seafood such as prawns, scallops, oysters and crabs along with a salad and cold cut section, and a sashimi and sushi section. There is also a carving station where diners can indulge in daily specials such as roast beef and leg of lamb.

At the hot food section, a live la mian (Chinese pulled noodles) station gives diners the opportunity to catch a la mian master in action as he prepares the noodles from scratch. Try the braised pork belly la mian with springy and light handmade noodles in a slightly sweet delicate broth.

There are also popular local staples like sambal king prawn and chilli crabs with fried buns, while at the Peranakan section, favourites featured include black nuts with chicken, pork and bamboo shoots stewed in soy and fermented soybeans, stir-fried slipper lobster in black bean sauce, and durian pengat made with durian, coconut cream and palm sugar.

The latter is the star of the show here, and disappears almost as soon as a fresh bowl is dished out. It is smooth, rich and suffused with the flavour of durian, which lends a lovely tinge of bittersweet flavours. Durian pengat aside, the dessert line-up includes well-loved Peranakan sweets like kueh dadar, coconut crepes filled with sweetened grated coconut; and bubur chacha, sweet coconut milk soup studded with sweet potatoes and tapioca jelly.