Besides my Amma’s cooking, Nasi Padang is the Indonesian cuisine I have missed the most for the best part of these two years. Nasi in Bahasa (Indonesia) means rice. Meanwhile, Padang is the region in Sumatera Island where they promote Matriarchy from which this food originated.
Padang cuisine is well-loved by all Indonesians, only second to the instant noodle, Indomie.
Padang Restaurant
The unique thing about eating in a Padang restaurant is how the dishes are served.
The waiters will carry up to 12 plates of dishes in their hands and arms before masterfully placing them on the table. There will easily be 20-30 dishes on the table for you to choose from, ranging from seafood, meat, vegetables and condiments.
You then decide on the dishes you want to eat, usually accompanied by a bottomless supply of white rice, and only pay for what you have eaten. The rest of the dishes won’t be charged to the customer as long as they are left untouched.
A typical meal in Padang restaurant will set you back around $5-$10 per person in Indonesia.
A Feast of Nasi Padang
Eating Padang cuisine in a restaurant is usually a family affair or with friends or colleagues.
It’s pretty uncommon to eat Nasi Padang in a restaurant alone. Even as someone who used to eat alone in restaurants, I still find it weird to enjoy a meal alone in a Padang restaurant.
Back in Jakarta, I frequent Padang restaurants with my cousins. Eating Padang cuisine with them in a restaurant is truly one of my treasured memories. We go on and on with the orders and talk endlessly while sharing all the dishes and stories, usually about extended family gossip.
On rare occasions in Singapore, I have eaten Nasi Padang in a restaurant alone, but I still prefer to enjoy it with a group of people. Choosing from the thirty-plus dishes laid in front of you can be a daunting task to do all by yourself. Also, more people means more dish choices as everything will be shared. The bigger the group, the better.
Another common way of eating Padang cuisine is to order the takeaway version and have it at someone’s place during a gathering. The takeaway version of Nasi Padang, which is interchangeably called Nasi Bungkus (packed rice), comes wrapped in paper lined with thin plastic or banana leaves.
What To Order and What To Expect
The go-to order in a Padang restaurant is Gulai Ayam (Padang-style chicken curry). Meanwhile, my favourite items to order are seasoned fried chicken, chilli prawns and coconut milk-based vegetable soup—the chilli paste, both red and green. The best drinks to accompany Nasi Padang are the well-loved Teh Botol or fresh young coconut. If you order Nasi Padang takeaway, it usually comes with a choice of meat and two vegetables, plus all other typical side dishes.
Nasi Padang dishes are flavorful. I would say it’s a bit close to Indian food, especially on the heaviness part. It’s not something I’d recommend eating for lunch if you can’t do a siesta afterwards. I usually eat Nasi Padang on the weekend when I know a nap is on the schedule or at nighttime because I know I will be sleeping with a full tummy soon after. In saying that, I have committed the cardinal sin of eating it with my colleagues during work lunch hour plenty of times because where I worked before (both in Indo and Singapore) have good Padang restaurants. And yes, I paid the lunch slump every single time.
Where To Eat The Best Nasi Padang?
Since Indonesians love Nasi Padang, you can find Padang restaurants practically everywhere, including overseas. Therefore, the easiest way to find the best Nasi Padang in your city is to get in touch with your favourite Indonesian and ask them for a recommendation. Each Indonesian strongly believes in where to get the best Nasi Padang.
My recommendation is Rumah Makan Padang Sederhana in Jakarta, Minang Surya in Medan, Rumah Makan Pagi Sore in Bandung, Natrabu Minang Restaurant in Bali, Sari Ratu in Singapore and Sendok Garpu in Queensland. Suppose you are a Melbourne/Sydney-based reader. Unfortunately, I have yet to find a decent enough Nasi Padang place to recommend.
One last thing about Nasi Padang
The locals believe that the original hence the best version of Padang cuisine, is where the dishes are cooked with marijuana leaves; therefore, the happiness most of us feel after eating Nasi Padang, followed by the sleepiness I mentioned earlier. But I am not entirely sure whether this is a fact. After eating Padang cuisine, the “high” feeling might just come from its taste. If you are curious, the best bet is to have Nasi Padang in Aceh, where marijuana is a part of their food delicacy.
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🍛 ━ KK
