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Despite being a Peranakan—or Straits Chinese—stronghold, George Town is thin on the ground with excellent Peranakan restaurants that are easily accessible to non-Asian travelers. Enter Kebaya Dining Room, the pet project of local hotelier Christopher Ong. Spanning the ground floor of Ong’s heritage-listed Seven Terraces Hotel on Stewart Lane, Kebaya offers a snapshot of Peranakan cooking, but dressed up with European elements and museum-like surrounds. Think dishes like beef rendang in a mild blue cheese toastie—an incongruous combination that works surprisingly well. Oyster blade steak topped with buah keluak, an endemic nut that needs to be fermented to be made edible, is tender, earthy, and extremely moreish. Factor in the elegant, if not portentous, decor—think hand-painted tile floors, antique ceramics, vintage marble-top tables, rich red velvet curtains, dazzling chandeliers—and an affordable multicourse menu (just RM128+ per person at time of writing), it is great value. —Leisa Tyler
<a href="https://kebaya.com.my/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">kebaya.com.my</a> 
+60 4 264 2333 
<a href="https://goo.gl/maps/vUg3TgmZ5rpbSsVK7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Seven Terraces Hotel, 14A, Stewart Lane, George Town, Penang, Malaysia</a>

Kebaya Dining Room: Peranakan Elegance