Pepes, Flavours of Indonesia

Some of you may have wondered where the Indonesian restaurant, Sanur disappeared to. Both their branches at Centrepoint and Takashimaya mysteriously closed down sometime in the beginning of last year.

Curiously, Pepes, Flavours of Indonesia, a restaurant also serving Indonesian cuisine, now sits on the spot previously occupied by Sanur on the 4th floor of Takashimaya. Apparently, one half of the brotherly duo that used to own Sanur helms this Indonesian restaurant.

We started off with the Indonesian classic dish of Tahu Telur ($12.95) a towering deep fried tofu and egg, topped with crunchy julienned cucumbers and drizzled with sweet and spicy kecap manis. We liked this, the beancurd was fresh and firm and fried to a nice crisp, without being overbattered.


The Cumin Bakar ($15.95) barbecued calamari basted with Javanese sweet sauce, was a dish seen on almost every table. It was really a case of "Monkey See, Monkey Do" and we followed suit. Somehow, we felt the dish was overhyped. It was good, mind you, the squid was springy and mild, with sweet black sauce drizzle seasoning, but it just didn't blow our minds.


The Sayur Lodeh ($8.95) mixed vegetables in light coconut milk flavoured with blue ginger and candlenut, was rich, creamy and spicy. Vegetables were cooked just right without being too wilted.


We really liked the Rendang Sapi ($10.50) chunky beef slow cooked in fragrant rendang spices. It was nutty, robust and heady.


The beef chunks were incredibly tender and juicy.


I loved the Sop Madura ($5.50) Javanese chicken soup, light and tasty, with a little quail's egg added to the shredded chicken, beansprouts, glass vermicelli, and fried onions.


The Keropok ($3 prawn crackers) and Sambal were a nice appetizer. The sambal was mouthwateringly good, super spicy but with a sweet edge to cut through the spice.



Pepes, Flavours of Indonesia
#04-16 Ngee Ann City
391 Orchard Rd
Tel: 6836 3456

Comments

Anonymous said…
The Prof says, methinks the old Sanur was better. In any event the Warong near office beats this place hands down.
Anonymous said…
1. thanks for sharing your food blog. looking at them just makes me wanna buy a ticket to SG and try some of the restaurants/food stalls that I didn't try last time (Dec 2010).

2. the photos are awesome. love that they are zoomed in so that even people with poor vision can see them clearly.

3. hope you can get a book deal later like the doctor that runs ieatishootipost.sg.

--j
Bern said…
To The Professor: Pepes is a little pricey, especially compared to Warung Lele. But we thought that with the exception of the squid, the food at Pepes was worth its pricetag.
Bern said…
Hi j,

Thank you for your words of encouragement. Drop me a line when you next visit Sg, I'll give you some recommendations that aren't tourist traps. I hate it when I see tourists given lousy, second-rate recommendations to over-priced and over-hyped food places.
Anonymous said…
Thanks Bern! Will do that. I just got the book by ieatishootipost and going to start reading it. I found food at hawker centers were more tasty and whole lots cheaper than food at the restaurants during my 2 trips to SG last year.

If you need any recommendations of restaurants in San Francisco/Bay Area, let me know. I do eat out quite often.

J
j_4tay at yahoo dot com
Bern said…
Sure J!

Haven't visited San Fran/Bay area before but have heard lots about it and will do so someday, hopefully soon!

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