While it offers other Asian favourites such as sushi, fresh seafood and dum biryani, Ellenborough Market Café is best known for the Peranakan fare at its extensive buffet.

The popular DIY kueh pie tee counter is an easy introduction to Peranakan food. The crisp tart shells give a satisfying crunch against the sweetness of the dressing and the vegetable and shrimp filling.

Nasi kunyit, or turmeric rice, is a perfect canvas for ayam buah keluak, a flavourful braised chicken cooked with black nut. The cafe’s version of this classic should prove easily palatable among adventurous Peranakan food virgins—it has a spicy hit and notes of tangy tamarind, galangal and lemongrass. The babi pongteh is also good with turmeric rice. Succulent, delicious and drenched in a flavourful fermented soy bean sauce, these pork belly bites are addictive.

For dessert, have the freshly made durian waffles or creamy durian pengat, a smooth cream made from durian flesh. It is quite a mouthful—rich and luscious, but minus the pungency of the fresh fruit itself.

With well-spaced tables around a water feature, Ellenborough Market Café is casual and unpretentious, and an excellent venue to host friends from overseas.