Kampong Glam Cafe
Ernie came back over the weekend and was craving Indonesian-Malay cuisine. If there's one thing Singapore has that Hong Kong doesn't, this is it. We went to our usual nasi padang haunts at the Kampong Glam area, where you'll find a lot of eateries selling nasi padang. There's one to suit every preference (more lemak or less lemak) and chili tolerance ranging from hot to hottest. You'll be hard pressed to find watered-down, catered-to-the-tourist-non-spicy food here.
Kampong Glam Cafe offers not just the usual nasi padang dishes but Malay favourites such as mee rebus, ayam soto, mee siam and lontong. It's really cheap, our entire meal, including drinks, cost less than $30!
The Lontong had a rich, spicy, tumeric base that complemented the plain soft moist ricecakes, and the still-crunchy-but-slightly-softened cabbage, long beans and carrots. Topped with some flossy pounded dried shrimp and sweet sambal chili, this really packed a punch.
The Fried Beansprouts had a simplicity that was so yummy. It had very clean flavours, seasoned only by sliced red chilis, spring onions and the barest minimum of soy.
The Fried Egg with Dark Soy and Cut Chilis was delicious, even if the egg was tough and rubbery. I think it was the combination of the slightly sweetened smoky saltiness of the dark soy, the tart raw onions, and the spice of the red chilis.
The Sayur Lodeh, using the same curry vegetables as those in the lontong, was really yummy as well. And really, if you didn't add extra chili to this dish, this was really quite mild and low on the spice level.
I think they gave us the tendon part for the Beef Rendang, which was why this was so chewy and tough. Still, the spice paste was suitably hot and aromatic.
This is one example of how the ideal combination of seasonings can transform the simplest of ingredients into stellar dishes. The Sambal Boiled Egg and Fishcake was really all about the thick, dried shrimp-based, sugary sambal.
I like the Fried Chicken Wing here, done Malay-style, so you get the distinctive tumeric, garlic and ginger spice rub...very fragrant, very well-flavoured, albeit a little boney and dry.
The Fishball Soup was very homestyled, they'd used dried ikan bilis in the soup base, so it remained light, with a hint of sweetness from the softened vegetables and fishballs.
Kampong Glam Cafe
17 Bussorah Street
Tel: 9385 9452
Kampong Glam Cafe offers not just the usual nasi padang dishes but Malay favourites such as mee rebus, ayam soto, mee siam and lontong. It's really cheap, our entire meal, including drinks, cost less than $30!
The Lontong had a rich, spicy, tumeric base that complemented the plain soft moist ricecakes, and the still-crunchy-but-slightly-softened cabbage, long beans and carrots. Topped with some flossy pounded dried shrimp and sweet sambal chili, this really packed a punch.
The Fried Beansprouts had a simplicity that was so yummy. It had very clean flavours, seasoned only by sliced red chilis, spring onions and the barest minimum of soy.
The Fried Egg with Dark Soy and Cut Chilis was delicious, even if the egg was tough and rubbery. I think it was the combination of the slightly sweetened smoky saltiness of the dark soy, the tart raw onions, and the spice of the red chilis.
The Sayur Lodeh, using the same curry vegetables as those in the lontong, was really yummy as well. And really, if you didn't add extra chili to this dish, this was really quite mild and low on the spice level.
I think they gave us the tendon part for the Beef Rendang, which was why this was so chewy and tough. Still, the spice paste was suitably hot and aromatic.
This is one example of how the ideal combination of seasonings can transform the simplest of ingredients into stellar dishes. The Sambal Boiled Egg and Fishcake was really all about the thick, dried shrimp-based, sugary sambal.
I like the Fried Chicken Wing here, done Malay-style, so you get the distinctive tumeric, garlic and ginger spice rub...very fragrant, very well-flavoured, albeit a little boney and dry.
The Fishball Soup was very homestyled, they'd used dried ikan bilis in the soup base, so it remained light, with a hint of sweetness from the softened vegetables and fishballs.
Kampong Glam Cafe
17 Bussorah Street
Tel: 9385 9452
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