Nyonya food quite unreal

The tickets for the OFA Centenary Show, held at the Pinhorn Hall in Penang Free School last Saturday, cost RM60 each for members and their immediate families. It included a so-called halal nyonya dinner served in tiffin carriers. The dishes may look interesting but take note that I added the qualifying remark "so-called" to the food. 

In my opinion, the dishes were anything but authentic nyonya. There were asam prawns but the prawns were cooked sweet rather than sour as it should be. The jiuhoo char was simply mangkuang char with no trace of jiuhoo. I took a bite and chucked my tiny portion aside. The curry chicken? Quite ordinary. Something you'd find selling in economy rice stalls. As for the fish, all I can say is that this isn't achat hoo by a long shot at all. Maybe I should be told what the caterer was trying to cook! And the bubor chacha dessert came looking quite unimpressive. Bubor chacha is supposed to be made with fresh coconut milk but the soup looked like it was cooked with canned santan purchased from the supermarket shelves. 

And yet....I was told that there were diners who praised the caterer's cooking skill to high heaven. I think these people should make comparisons with the food from real nyonya restaurants, and there are so many in George Town. Then they'll know what real, authentic nyonya cuisine is all about, and what they have missed.