Had an Indonesian nasi padang lunch today with a couple of friends visiting from Surabaya, East Java, Indonesia.
Itโs always difficult to find authentic Indonesian cooking in Malaysia, due to the close resemblance between Indonesian and Malaysian-Malay cooking styles.
Malaysiaโs indigenous food is Malay cuisine, which share the same origins with quite a few regional Indonesian cuisines. However, due to its history, and the presence of significant Chinese (22% of the populace) and Indian (6%) communities, Malay cooking has absorbed and adapted some of those minoritiesโ cooking styles and food items, plus influences from neighbouring Thailandโs culinary tradition.
Over time, Malay cuisine diverged from its Sumateran and Javanese origins to become what it is today, although distinctive Indonesian influences can still be detected in various states of Malaysia: Minang cuisine in Negeri Sembilan and Selangor, North Sumateran/Medanese/Achehnese in Kedah, and Riau in Johore.
Recently, however, we kept hearing about ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐๐๐ผ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฃ๐๐๐ฎ๐ธ๐ผ on Tamil Lane, next to George Townโs Chowrasta Market, from several expat Indonesians living and working here. They talked about the authentic Minang flavours from the restaurant. Minang cuisine, which originated from Sumatera, is perhaps the most popular regional cuisine amongst the many in Indonesia.
So, when I had two friends visiting from Surabaya a couple of days ago, I decided to
bring them there, barely 24 hours after theyโd arrived in Penang, to see if Restoran Pusakoโs food is as authentic as the Indon expats say.
What we ordered:
๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ฃ๐ - I found the โrealโ stuff here: fork-tender, dark-as-night beef, with red chili oil oozing out to form a puddle around it. ๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ was what Iโd been looking for outside Indonesia, and rarely found. The one here was 100% the genuine thing.
๐๐ช๐ก๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐ - young jackfruit, cooked Minang-style: coconut milk-rich, tinged yellow with fresh turmeric, spiked with fresh chilis.
๐๐๐๐๐ก ๐ก๐๐ก๐ (pan-fried catfish) - the version served here was actually the best one Iโd ever had: lightly crisped on the outside, but with the fish-meat just cooked and still juicy inside.
๐๐ช๐ก๐๐ ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ก (curried beef tendon) - this was delicious: Iโd come back here just for this dish. The gelatinous tendon was slow-cooked, Minang-style: which meant the use of a piquant, turmeric-inflected spice mix, and rich coconut milk which gave a curry sauce a creamy delicacy. Explosive tiny habanero chilis (Indonesian: cabe rawit) perked up the curry and undercut the coconut milk richness.
๐ฟ๐๐ช๐ฃ ๐จ๐๐ฃ๐๐ ๐ค๐ฃ๐ - cassava leaves, one of the must-haves for a Padang meal.
๐๐ ๐๐ฃ ๐๐ค๐ง๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ค - pan-fried fish steak with green chili relish;
๐๐๐ก๐ช๐ง ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ค (golden-fried hard-boiled egg with red chili paste), and ๐ฉ๐๐ง๐ค๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ก๐๐๐ค (eggplant with red chili paste).
Unlike Singaporean-Malays or Malaysian-Malays who regarded fish, prawn or root vegetable crackers (Malay: ๐ ๐๐ง๐ค๐ฅ๐ค๐ , Indonesian: ๐ ๐ง๐ช๐ฅ๐ช๐ ) as a snack, Indonesians would treat ๐ ๐ง๐ช๐ฅ๐ช๐ as a garnish, to be eaten together with rice or noodles during a meal.
Left: ๐๐๐ข๐๐๐ก ๐๐๐ค (green chili relish), a staple and must-have in any Padang meal.
Right: ๐๐๐ข๐๐๐ก ๐ข๐๐ง๐๐ (red chili relish), this one is invented to cater to the local Malay/Malaysian taste preferences.
The owner-chef is from Padang, but her chief cook-server, Hery, happens to come from Malang, a favourite weekend destination (for food) amongst Surabayans, and located only 95 km (60 miles) from Surabaya. Serendipity!
Modus operandi when eating in a nasi padang restaurant:
- Customers will simply choose and self-serve the dishes from the display cases upfront - ladling the food onto oneโs lunch plate, or onto small saucers provided on the side counter;
- Bring oneโs selection to the head server at the cash counter, who would tally up the cost of the meal. Sheโll write down the itemised costs on a chit and hand it over to the customer;
- Bring the food to oneโs table. A waiter will come up to take oneโs drink orders.
- Waiter will serve the drinks to oneโs table, whilst informing the head server of the costs of the drink. She will come to the table and update the cost of the drinks to oneโs bill;
- At the end of the meal, just bring the chit to the head server, who would then collect payment at the cash counter.
My lunch plate - this costed about RM10 (US$2.30).
Address
Restoran Nasi Padang Pusako
10, Lebuh Tamil (Tamil Lane), 10100 George Town, Penang, Malaysia
Tel: +6017-591 6083
Operating hours: 11am to 5pm daily, except Wed (closed).
