From left: Ivy Chan, Tan Seng Kee and Dragon Tan
Why would a Bib Gourmand establishment from Penang open its first outlet outside the state in Petaling Jaya, and in a school canteen of all places?
The story starts with one man’s love of food, in particular that served up by Ivy’s Nyonya Cuisine, a restaurant in George Town. Lawyer and entrepreneur Tan Seng Kee was introduced to Ivy’s Nyonya Cuisine more than 10 years ago by his daughter Joanna, who told him that he had to try the food at the restaurant. So he did, and he has been eating there on every trip up north since. “I like food and once I find a food I like, I don’t go around looking for others. I’m not that adventurous. So I would eat there every time I was up in Penang,” says Seng Kee.
Back then, Ivy’s was operating out of a home kitchen in an old bungalow in Jalan Chow Thye. He would see a lone woman cooking and was curious as to who she was. “Usually, it would be only this one person cooking, and these dishes would then appear on the table. I thought some person there was making magic. It was the most humble kitchen I had seen, and yet she produced this food,” he says.
The “she” refers to Ivy Chan Guat Wah, one half of the duo behind the eponymously named Ivy’s Nyonya Cuisine, which made the Michelin Bib Gourmand list for the third time in a row this year. When Seng Kee first brought up the idea of opening a restaurant in PJ with Tan Hoon Leng, better known as Dragon Tan and the husband of Ivy, Dragon would try and put him off, hoping to discourage him.
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“When he approached me, I said it was a very good idea but I didn’t think I would be able to do it because it [PJ] was so far away. Year after year, he would come back and visit us, maybe two or three times. And every year, he would ask me, ‘Can or not? Okay already, ah?’ And I would say, ‘Not yet’,” says Dragon.
The travel restrictions set in place during the Movement Control Order in 2020 and 2021 gave him some respite. But after the MCO, Seng Kee continued to bug him and even brought his family to Ivy’s to bolster his efforts, says Dragon, whose nickname comes from the “Leng” in his Chinese name.
“One reason it took a long time to convince him was because he didn’t think I was serious … I had been inviting him to come down [and open an outlet here] but only in the last few years did he begin to take me seriously. I think at first, he saw me only as a lawyer who liked food,” says Seng Kee, admitting that it was partly in jest initially.
A combination of factors then turned that jest into reality. Seng Kee is chairman of Heritage International School, which he founded in Section 13. The school, which shares a compound with the Petaling Jaya Evangelical Free Church, has a canteen that is unused for several months a year during the school holidays.
Sporting a fully equipped kitchen, it was just the right size for a café (which it was at one point) or restaurant. At the same time, Seng Kee felt that if Ivy’s Nyonya Cuisine were to confine itself to Penang, the tradition and heritage of Nyonya food would eventually be lost.
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Dragon’s desire to preserve his mother’s heirloom Peranakan recipes led to the setting up of Ivy’s Nyonya Cuisine in Penang, so the two Tans were on common ground here. Expansion would guarantee not just a wider clientele but also sustainability of the business.
“I thought that expansion would allow more people to eat the food. If they trained more people, it would also ensure sustainability in terms of carrying on the business,” says Seng Kee.
“You hear a lot about restaurants and food businesses closing down, especially after the pandemic,” he adds, naming several of his favourite haunts and hawker stalls in PJ and Kuala Lumpur that either shuttered or where the quality dropped after the owners passed away.
“These are heritage things, especially with Nyonya food. If there is no one to see it through, it will just die off. No two Nyonyas cook the same. With another group of people who are trained, it will ensure continuity,” he says.
In December 2023, Ivy’s Nyonya Cuisine moved out of the old bungalow it was renting to new premises in Jalan Kedah in George Town. “After moving to the new place and things had settled down, that was when we started talking seriously,” says Dragon.
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That was around October 2024. Ivy’s Nyonya Cuisine officially opened its doors on Sept 13 this year at the canteen of Heritage International School. It has been attracting Nyonya food lovers ever since. On weekdays, the restaurant only opens for dinner (it is closed on Mondays). On weekends, it is available for both lunch and dinner. Around 4.30pm every Tuesday to Friday, the canteen undergoes a transformation, with restaurant staff rearranging the narrow tables and benches reminiscent of school canteens into seating more akin to that of a dining room. Tablecloths and batik runners camouflage the long tables, while other decorative touches like Chinese lanterns and tiffin carriers lend the place a cosy touch.
Dragon came to view the venue after Chinese New Year this year. When he saw the space, he said to Seng Kee: “Cannot lah. If you want to do it in a canteen, at least you must do some ‘make-up’.” Bib Gourmand establishments may be known more for good food and value than for ambience, but a school canteen with industrial-looking cement counters and a cement floor was stretching it a bit. “When people come to a Nyonya restaurant, they expect to see some relics,” says Dragon.
The renovations that followed had to be carried out over several weekends and at night as the canteen still had to cater to 450 Heritage students during the day. The makeover included Nyonya-design tiles to overlay the cement counters and a small corner featuring two century-old wooden windows, a round marble table and paintings to make it look more like a Nyonya restaurant. This spot serves as the teachers’ eating area during the staggered recess breaks. At night, it becomes VIP seating. Several smaller marble tables occupy the front of the restaurant, alongside the transformed canteen furniture.
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“Dragon came up with the idea for the tiles and two antique windows. But the rest of the interior décor touches — the lanterns, lighting, tiffin carriers, tablecloths — came from my wife,” says Seng Kee. In fact, the restaurant is something of a family enterprise and it is not unusual to see his wife Julie and four daughters pitching in to help take orders and serve tables, especially on weekends. Daughter Rachel — who oversees payroll and human resources for Seng Kee’s educational ventures, which also include Nobel International School, Eagle International School and J&J International Pre-School — doubled as floor manager for the first few weeks after Ivy’s opened.
Ivy’s Nyonya Cuisine in PJ is based on a licensing model whereby Seng Kee licenses the name and Dragon and Ivy provide consulting advice and training as well as the pastes for the dishes. The pastes, which are unique to Ivy’s, are produced at a central kitchen in Penang. The menu is identical to that of Ivy’s in George Town and offers both à la carte items as well as set meals that start at RM90 for two people.
The licensing is for an initial period of three years, with an option to extend. “Dragon wasn’t sure we had the stamina for it because we’re not from the food industry. He said the education business is very different, so let’s try it for three years first,” says Seng Kee. “Education is still my first love — as long as God gives me the energy, I will still do education,” he adds.
Having said that, if he had not turned the canteen into Ivy’s, he would have done something else with the space. “Even if it’s not a restaurant, I would have thought of some other idea, for example, an event space. It wouldn’t take a lot of capital to start — the tables, chairs and kitchen are already there,” he says. Dragon describes the set-up as “plug and play”. Certainly, the existence of a commercial kitchen at the canteen played a central role in Seng Kee’s decision to open a restaurant. “If not for the fact that I have a full kitchen here, I wouldn’t have done this,” he says.
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But Seng Kee credits Dragon and Ivy for getting the project going. “If the facilities are all here but without him and Ivy to start it off, I couldn’t have got it off the ground,” he points out.
Based on the first month, it would seem that Ivy’s Nyonya Cuisine in PJ has got off to a flying start. According to Dragon, there was one particular Sunday when they had so many customers that the kitchen ran out of gas and they had to turn away walk-ins. In the first month alone, the restaurant received about 140 Google reviews. “For a new start-up to get that number of reviews in one month is a notable achievement. It’s not easy to get that kind of ranking,” says Dragon of the mostly positive reviews.
It is early days yet but he is optimistic about the restaurant’s prospects. “When the raw ingredients and the pastes are fresh, at least 50% of the taste is already there. You’re left with the cooking. My wife has been holding their hands for a while now. I believe it’s time for us to let go and they’ll be ready to cook on their own,” says Dragon of the cooks.
To ensure quality is maintained, he and Ivy will travel from Penang and conduct regular audits. Since opening, both have been based in PJ, except for a quick trip back home to supervise a large booking there. “This is our first outlet outside of Penang, so it is very vital for us to ensure that they are playing it right because our reputation is also at stake. We will be here for two or three months to do the hand-holding. But I told him [Seng Kee], whenever you need our help or support, just call us and we will come. People will start comparing between the two outlets, so I have to ensure that both are equally competent and good,” says Dragon.
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Apart from the food, the ample free parking and good service give him confidence that this outlet will do well. “You don’t see many restaurants where the owner is so hands-on with the restaurant and in welcoming the customers,” he says of Seng Kee. “If your kitchen is strong but your customer service is poor, it will affect the restaurant. People come here for the dining experience and the taste. The taste comes from the kitchen. Out here, the service, the hospitality, comes from the owner,” says Dragon.
The owner, on his part, admits that it has been difficult. “I thought if I brought everyone and the resources together, things would take off. I forgot that the early days of starting a new school project were very tough. Similarly, when I started this, I didn’t think it was going to be so tough. But I also look at life as an opportunity,” says Seng Kee.
The venture is not just about maximising the use of the premises and ensuring the sustainability of a restaurant serving food he likes while enabling more people to enjoy it too, it is also about providing opportunities to others.
He employs many East Malaysians in his educational ventures and does the same at the restaurant. Three of the four kitchen staff are from Sabah and one is from Sarawak. He sees Ivy’s Nyonya Cuisine as a place where these four young cooks can learn new skills and one day be able to open a restaurant of their own, perhaps even a Nyonya restaurant, in their hometown.
Fans of Ivy’s in PJ will hope that won’t happen for some time to come.
This article first appeared on Oct 27, 2025 in The Edge Malaysia.
