Nyonya Cafe

A hidden gem in Pleasanton, this small mom-and-pop restaurant serves authentic Malaysian/ Singaporean cuisine that will be sure to delight the tastebuds and fill your tummy. I only wish they were open more hours so I can bring my friends to try them.

Some of the things we loved:
+ Seafood Curry Laksa: large bowl of noodles with plenty of seafood items. Slightly spicy, a bit coconut-y, very delicious
+ Beef Rendang Nasi Lemak: as the national dish of Malaysia, this is a must try. The beef and hard boiled egg was tasty and flavorful. Accompanied well with the coconut rice and small sides of sliced cucumber, roasted peanuts, and pickled radish.
+ Kaya Toast: toasted milk bread filled with coconut jam and slabs of butter.
+ Seri Muka- a layered cake (kuih) consisting of a bottom layer of salted sticky rice and a top pandan custard green layer. This was scarfed down before any photos could be taken.

The restaurant has a surprisingly large seating area inside but no outside tables. There's a self-serve utensils and water station near the front. They are one of the few places in the east bay that sell kuih, so I was glad I was able to snag some on my last visit. Generally their food leans on the saltier side, so if you're health conscious, I'd recommend asking for less salt.

— Sophia Y.

TLDR: great food and customer service at this small business.

Order: Seafood Laksa and Mee Siam Goreng

The laksa curry broth is very flavorful. The shrimps are fried perfectly. Let the broth cool while the other toppings warm up. I order it every time I visit.

The mee siam goreng is a dry noodle dish with strong seafood flavor. If you're a fan of this flavor profile, you'll enjoy it.

The roti prata wrap with rendang chicken is good. The meat can be a bit dry sometimes, but it's usually on point.

The roti prata buns are a bit mushy, but the butter and coconut spreads are quite sweet and tasty. The toast version might be a better choice (I tried it and liked it).

Overall, it's one of my favorite restaurants in the area. It has limited hours of operations.

— Laurent N.

As of this review we've visited Nyonya Cafe 16 times since November 2021. Each time it has been consistent and delicious. After chatting with Tommy (the owner) and trying the food here we were inspired to visit Singapore and ended up doing so a few months later and plan to again this winter!

So far this has been the best spot in the Bay Area that I've been able to find for Singaporean / Malaysian food. The staff are always friendly, food comes out quickly and fresh, and the restaurant is always very clean.

My go-to order here is generally:

Hainan Chicken Rice - flavorful, tender chicken with rice, pickled vegetables, and three sauces (a dark sweet soy sauce, a chili sauce, and a ginger garlic sauce which is my favorite). We tried the famous Tian Tian Hainanese Chicken rice while in Singapore, the chicken from Nyonya is more juicy and flavorful overall, but the rice (while still good!) was still shy of the iconic hawker stall. This dish even satisfied my family back in Arkansas so much they ate the whole thing even though they are usually overly skeptical of trying new dishes.

Kaya Toast - A delicious sweet snack, when in Singapore I'd had this so frequently that people think I'm addicted to it. It's nicely toasted white bread with a couple pads of butter and coconut jam. We've tried every place in the east bay and the peninsula that advertises kaya toast on yelp, this has been our favorite! The only way to make it better would be offering it as a set breakfast with a jammy egg mixed with soy sauce and white pepper like we had in Singapore.

Ice Milk Tea - perfectly sweet and refreshing milk tea, we usually end up ordering one with the meal and one for the drive home.

We also try the various desserts when they're in stock, most of which have been pretty good, the taro flavored one I tried today has been my favorite so far. I'd love to see them offer a Soya bean curd dessert one day.

I'd highly recommend giving this cafe a try! :D

— Dylan H.