Anak Baba at Brickfields: Snapshot

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Born in Brickfields this year, Anak Baba proudly represents the latest generation of southern Peranakan-inspired eateries in KL; it’s the sister outlet of Bangsar’s Malaccan-owned Baba Low’s, extending a family legacy that now stretches 150 kilometres from Tranquerah Road to Sultan Abdul Samad Road.

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Lunch crowds pour in for platters like the Nasi Nyonya (RM13), comprising steamed rice with ladies fingers in sambal belacan and a choice of savoury, saucy side dish, ranging from ayam sekbak to ikan gerang asam, evoking a home-cooked, traditional familiarity that seems reassuring for uncertain times.

Much of Anak Baba’s a la carte selection clocks in below RM10 per serving. A plate of nasi goreng Nyonya, saturated with dark sauce and buoyed by pineapple sambal belacan, costs RM8.80, as does a bowl of Nyonya laksa, enriched with coconut milk, rounded out with cockles, shrimp, fish balls, egg, bean sprouts and cucumber. Many of Baba Low’s familiar favourites – from pai tee to popiah to tauhu sumbat – remain intact here too.

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Service is affable and prompt, while the setting is lovely, especially beneath the skylight. Grab a book from the public shelves (which mainly cover social, political and economic issues in Malaysia) and a packet of Khong Guan biscuits from the counter, and kick back for a couple of hours while sipping nostalgic beverages of Kickapoo and cincau. Anak Baba feels as much like a community space as a classic cafe.

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Location & Details

Address: Anak Baba, 159, Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad, Brickfields, 50470 Kuala Lumpur
Hours: 7am – 7pm daily
Tel: +603 2276 2815
Find: View directory for Anak Baba here.