New Memories of Nasi Campur Medan

Nasi Campur in Bahasa is a literal translation of mixed rice. Imagine choosing food in a deli, where you select your main—usually white rice (the word “Nasi” means rice and typically refers to white rice)—and various side dishes accompany it.

The choices vary between cities and countries, but as someone who has tried the Singaporean and Malaysian versions of Nasi Campur, I know they don’t compare with the OG Indo version.

I grew up eating and loving Nasi Campur, a dish eaten together with a variety of side dishes that complement it. But I can’t just make three dishes at home and call them Nasi Campur.

I grew up eating Nasi Campur because my parents loved it, specifically Nasi Campur Medan. Medan is a city in West Sumatra where they were born and raised.

It’s worth noting that Nasi Campur Medan is so famous that a restaurant featuring it on the menu is a surefire way to run a successful food business.

We have regularly eaten Nasi Campur Medan together as a family in Mangga Besar for years. Since I was a kid, we ate it just with us or usually with my parents’ friends and, at times, extended family.

We ate Nasi Campur Medan to celebrate on weekends, Sundays, or even just-because evenings.

Then we grew up, and my cousin learned to drive, and we started going there, just us—the rowdy teenagers. We kept going back to Mangga Besar, to Nasi Campur Medan, until I moved to Singapore.

And somehow, a few years later, we just stopped going. Eventually, my parents and the same cousin who used to take us there told me that Nasi Campur in Mangga Besar was no longer a thing.

The tradition stopped. What was left were just memories.

Until a couple of years ago, when I returned to Jakarta during the Covid era, the day after my quarantine week, Amma took me to Istana, a new restaurant in East Jakarta featuring Nasi Campur Medan.

Ever since, Istana has been on the list on every Jakarta trip, sometimes with Amma, sometimes with my cousins, and once with Fafa.

New traditions and memories ━ all thanks to a plate of Nasi Campur Medan and loved ones who are equally obsessed with it.

Follow me on Instagram @KultureKween for more recent updates.