There are not that many good nasi padangs around here. Nasi Padang, as locals know, are just Malay rice with condiments, something like the Chinese zi char mixed rice. However, this is where the misconception starts. Nasi Padang actually originates from Indonesia, hence it is not Malay, but Indonesian. Just like white sparkling wine can only be called Champagne when it originates from that region of France, similarly, nasi padang is so called only when it originates from Padang in Indonesia.
Last night, I met a friend and we went to Garuda Padang Cuisine at the basement of ViVo City for dinner. I have long wanted to try this rather famous Indonesian restaurant. When we went there, we realise that it is kind of a buffet style where we go to the counter with a variety of dishes, and pick and choose which ones we like.
In the end, we ended up with four dishes - Rendang Sapi (beef rendang), Ikan Asin Pakang (my favourite crispy thin-sliced lightly salted fish), Gulai Singkong (Tapioca leaves), Ikan Ghembong Belado (Khembong fish with belado sauce), with rice and free-flow of lime juice.
After all the hype about the restaurant, I must say I am a tad disappointed. It is not that the food is not delicious, the food is good, but I kind of expected more, perhaps the food could taste better, be more extraordinary? Somehow it tastes about the same as any other Indonesian restaurants around.
But then again, I was having a sore throat so maybe my taste buds were a tad off. In any case, the beef rendang is of the right colour, but not of the right taste. Somehow I expected the beef rendang to be sweeter, but the one we ate seemed a bit bland.
The gulai singkong is good - tapioca leaves steeped in creamy juice, and just the right texture. The ikan ghembong is spicy (I kind of thought it would be sour) and the best is the ikan asin pakang - crispy, just the right amount of saltiness, and chewy in the mouth. That was the best dish by far!
The service is a bit slow though. It was supposed to be free-flow of lime juice but no one served us even after calling the waiter twice. Finally he came and refilled our juice. I asked for another glass of warm water but it never came, until we had to go to the counter and asked it ourselves.
Still, besides all these, it was a fun night! This will be in my re-visit list for sure!
Food : 3.5 out of 5
Service : 2 out of 5
Price : Not sure as I did not pay for it
Last night, I met a friend and we went to Garuda Padang Cuisine at the basement of ViVo City for dinner. I have long wanted to try this rather famous Indonesian restaurant. When we went there, we realise that it is kind of a buffet style where we go to the counter with a variety of dishes, and pick and choose which ones we like.
In the end, we ended up with four dishes - Rendang Sapi (beef rendang), Ikan Asin Pakang (my favourite crispy thin-sliced lightly salted fish), Gulai Singkong (Tapioca leaves), Ikan Ghembong Belado (Khembong fish with belado sauce), with rice and free-flow of lime juice.
After all the hype about the restaurant, I must say I am a tad disappointed. It is not that the food is not delicious, the food is good, but I kind of expected more, perhaps the food could taste better, be more extraordinary? Somehow it tastes about the same as any other Indonesian restaurants around.
But then again, I was having a sore throat so maybe my taste buds were a tad off. In any case, the beef rendang is of the right colour, but not of the right taste. Somehow I expected the beef rendang to be sweeter, but the one we ate seemed a bit bland.
The gulai singkong is good - tapioca leaves steeped in creamy juice, and just the right texture. The ikan ghembong is spicy (I kind of thought it would be sour) and the best is the ikan asin pakang - crispy, just the right amount of saltiness, and chewy in the mouth. That was the best dish by far!
The service is a bit slow though. It was supposed to be free-flow of lime juice but no one served us even after calling the waiter twice. Finally he came and refilled our juice. I asked for another glass of warm water but it never came, until we had to go to the counter and asked it ourselves.
Still, besides all these, it was a fun night! This will be in my re-visit list for sure!
Food : 3.5 out of 5
Service : 2 out of 5
Price : Not sure as I did not pay for it
