DISCOVERY TRAVEL &
LIVING
Hot and
Spicy
You may not know it, but a whopping 6,000 islands make up the
country of Indonesia—resulting in an extremely diverse cuisine
influenced by provincial cultures. Trading partners and former
colonial powers like Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, India, the
Middle East and China have also lent their unique influences to
Indonesian cuisine. And, Indonesian chow is hugely popular
here—especially favorites like nasi padang, satay, beef rendang and
sambal chilis. Here’s where you can get a taste of
Indonesia.
Indo Padang Restaurant
#B1-19 The Cathay, 2 Handy Rd., 6732-1679.
This little hole-in-the-wall joint has a clean, bright and
unpretentious décor with cheery wait staff. More importantly, the
food’s good. Jolt your tastebuds awake with hearty Indonesian
specialties like the oxtail soup ($7.50), beef rendang ($7.50),
sambal petai prawns ($9.90), sayur lodeh ($6.50) and fried nila
fish ($11.90).
Pagi Sore Indonesian Restaurant
88-90 Telok Ayer St., 6225-6002; #01-02 Jurong Super Bowl, 1 Yuan
Ching Rd., 6266-3200.
Tucked away in the lanes of Telok Ayer, Pagi Sore has been around
since 1989—sturdily serving quality Balinese, Javanese and Padang
cuisine to the crowds. And the food is as delicious as it is
authentic—check out robust, piping hot dishes like the sayur lodeh
($6.80), kangkong belachan ($8.80), tahu telor (fried tofu and egg
salad, $8.80) and ikan otah kukus (steamed fish marinated with otah
seasoning, $17.50 or $21.50 for a whole fish).
Rendezvous Restaurant
#02-02/03 Gourmet Gallery, Rendezvous Hotel, 9 Bras Basah Rd.,
6339-7508.
Way back in 1935, Rendezvous started out as a small coffeeshop
selling Western cuisine. Its Chinese owners eventually decided to
introduce Sumatran nasi padang and till today, the popularity of
this restaurant has not lessened. When you’re here, you must dig
into the famous, spicy curries that come at extremely reasonable
prices—especially the juicy beef rendang ($3.90) and chicken curry
($6.90).
Restoran Tepak Sireh
73 Sultan Gate, 6396-4373.
Fans of this popular Indonesian
restaurant will swear by its star dishes like the rendang and
yellow rice, plus loads more other dishes from its reasonably
priced buffet ($16.90 for lunch, $20 for dinner). On Fridays, the
buffet changes to a seafood barbeque grill ($25) with live
performances that will no doubt keep you entertained as you enjoy
the tasty spread.
Catch Bobby Chinn on World Café
Asia
International food icon and maverick chef
Bobby Chinn returns to our screens with the second installment of
his popular Discovery Travel and Living series World Café
Asia. This time, he travels to cities such as Manila, Malacca,
Jakarta, Yunnan and Calcutta for more exciting culinary exploits
while soaking up the rich history and cultural atmosphere of each
country.
After his stints in Manila and Malacca, Bobby makes his way
to Jakarta—and finds himself in the midst of a vibrant city and
wonderful culinary diversity. Scouring the streets of the city for
interesting examples of local street food, Bobby gets chomping on
exotic grub like martabak manis, soto chicken feet, Manado ikan
bakar and even original, hard-to-find Betawi food. Don’t miss this
exciting episode!