I grew up in Indonesia and I’ve always had a soft spot for Padang food and the Indonesian style rendang. At Puti Bungsu Batam the food is served the traditional way where waiters somehow manage to balance over 20 dishes in their hands as they make their way over to your table.
This year I wasn’t able to make it to any of my friend’s homes for Raya, which meant that I missed out on a lot of wonderfully spicy fragrant rendang. This is a dish that never fails to get me weak at the knees…tender fall apart beef simmered in a plethora of spices and coconut milk…deliciously decadent and in my opinion a meal in itself with just a few spoons of rice to mop up the tasty gravy. I just had to have my rendang fix!
After the waiters have set down all the plates, you can start eating right away only selecting the dishes you’d like to partake in. Those left untouched will be taken back and you won’t be charged for them. While this is the traditional way, I prefer to walk right up to the food area and choose my dishes.
On this occasion I’ve asked for the rendang (of course!), perkedel (potato cake), ikan bakar, fried chicken, green chilli sambal and daun singkong (cassava leaves). It’s lunchtime and the restaurant is packed. It is due to this that the ikan bakar takes longer than usual to appear at my table, well, that and the fact that they have just started to grill the fish for the afternoon. Luckily while waiting for the fish there are other goodies to enjoy and I eagerly tuck into the rendang. It’s tender with the slightest bit of chew to it and the gravy is savory and piquant. I pour most of the gravy onto my rice and mix it in to be sure that each bite has this delectable taste.
"Great grilled fish for lunch"
There’s a certain sweetness to the perkedel and I detect a faint hint of nutmeg. This is especially good with a dollop of the rendang gravy and some of the green chilli sambal. The green chilli is tasty with only a slight heat that goes well with most of the dishes. The chicken is slightly dry from sitting out on the food shelf for too long and I would have preferred it freshly fried; the taste is good though despite its texture.
I am excited when the ikan bakar makes its way over to my table. Freshly charred and hot off the grill this dish is a pleasure to eat. The fish is flaky and the flesh is sweet. All it needs is a little splash of sambal to amp up the flavour.
I’m also told that they serve a good brain dish here…if you’re into that sort of thing. I personally am not although I suppose I should start being a bit more adventurous!
More Photos To Drool On
Cassava leaves in gravy
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Foodster's Verdict
Puti Bungsu Batam
Taste
Address:
4 Lorong Yap Kwan Seng,
Kuala Lumpur
Tel:
Open:
Daily: 11am- 10pm
Pros:
Authentic Padang food at a reasonable price
Cons:
The service can be incredibly slow during peak hours and you might sometimes have to walk up to the counter to get what you want
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