Cherki - Heritage Peranakan Flavours That's Completely Reimagined

There’s a card game most Singaporeans have never heard of — and a restaurant in the CBD that’s bringing it back to life, one bold dish at a time. Tucked inside the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre along Straits Boulevard, Cherki takes its name from a forgotten Peranakan card game once played by Nyonya ladies over tea and gossip.

The spirit of that gathering — convivial, generous, unhurried — lives on in a menu built around the Tok Panjang tradition of communal feasting, reimagined for modern palates with technique-forward cooking and flavour combinations that feel genuinely new. This isn’t heritage preserved in amber. It’s heritage that’s been put to work.

Cherki Dry Laksa with Prawn

The laksa at Cherki arrives without a drop of broth in sight — and somehow, that makes it more intense. The dry preparation concentrates all the aromatic spice of a classic Peranakan laksa paste into a coating that clings to every strand, while plump, well-seasoned prawns bring the sweetness that cuts through the richness of the spice base. It’s the kind of dish that takes something deeply familiar and makes you reconsider what it can be — laksa as a vehicle for technique and concentrated flavour, not just comfort. Clean, bold, and impossible to put down.

Duck Confit Itek Sio ($30+)

Itek Sio — the classic Peranakan braised duck — gets a French culinary makeover here, and the result is one of Cherki’s most talked-about plates. The duck leg is slow-cooked in herb oil until the meat is fall-apart tender beneath a skin that crisps with a satisfying shatter. It rests on a smooth yam purée, with a house-made tamarind, coriander, and onion relish doing the heavy lifting on contrast — cutting through the richness with enough tang to keep each bite interesting. The dish works because the Peranakan flavour logic is still intact; only the technique has shifted.

Buah Keluak Pork Ribs ($30+)

Buah Keluak is one of Peranakan cuisine’s most demanding ingredients — earthy, bitter, intensely complex, and not for the uninitiated. Cherki uses it as the centrepiece of a rib dish that rewards the curious. The pork ribs are smothered in the nut-based sauce, slow-cooked until the meat pulls cleanly from the bone, and served with enough of that dark, brooding paste to make every bite feel significant. It’s a smart way to introduce an unfamiliar ingredient: the familiarity of well-braised ribs carries the weight of a flavour profile that might otherwise intimidate. Buah Keluak lovers will find the rendition deeply satisfying; first-timers will wonder why it took them this long.

Laksa Lobster Kueh Pie Tee

Part of the Indulgence Set ($58+), this one-biter encapsulates everything Cherki is going for. The crispy kueh pie tee shell — typically filled with braised turnip in the traditional version — is loaded here with fresh lobster meat, egg crumble, coconut cream, and spices drawn from the laksa pantry. The result is a mouthful that hits crunch, creaminess, and concentrated laksa aromatics all at once. It disappears in two bites and leaves you wanting four more.

Signature Kerabu Crab Noodle

A bright, punchy noodle dish that showcases Cherki’s lighter side. Crab meat is tossed with lemongrass, kaffir lime, and calamansi for a dressing that’s tangy and herbal, then finished with crispy pork lard for textural contrast and a hit of savouriness. It reads like a classic Nyonya kerabu salad reimagined as a satisfying noodle bowl — fresh and indulgent at the same time.

Kaya & Gula Melaka Tiramisu ($12)

Dessert doesn’t feel like an afterthought here. The tiramisu takes the Italian classic and swaps its flavour register entirely — kaya replaces the mascarpone element, and gula melaka brings a smoky, caramel-like sweetness that lingers long after the last spoonful. It’s been described by diners as genuinely inventive rather than gimmicky, which is the hardest line for any fusion dessert to walk.

Whether it’s a sit-down lunch in the Tingkat set format or an evening spent working through the à la carte menu with cocktails in hand, Cherki offers a dining experience that makes Peranakan food feel alive and evolving rather than museum-piece preserved. The setting inside the Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre gives the whole visit a quiet sense of occasion, and the kitchen’s willingness to take the spice pantry of the Nyonya kitchen into genuinely new territory makes it one of the more interesting Peranakan restaurants open right now.

📍 1 Straits Boulevard, #01-02, Singapore Chinese Cultural Centre, Singapore 018906
📞 6514 8345
🕐 Mon–Thu & Sat–Sun: 12pm–2:30pm, 5pm–10pm | Fri: 12pm–2:30pm, 5pm–11:30pm
🌐 cherki.sg
📸 @cherki.sg