Rumah Rasa: Indonesian cuisine

Its not always one can find good Indonesian food in Singapore...especially more upmarket establishments where one can bring clients for a meal. Rumah Rasa at Bay Hotel sounds like one such place...though the decoration is more homey, it is still in a nice hotel...right across the link to Sentosa.

This is an invited review

Recently opened with the hotel...some 2 months ago, this restaurant is spanking brand new. The chef in residence is Sharifah, who had cut her teeth at SATS, Raffles Hotel and St Regis before being appointed chef at Rumah Rasa. She prefers to make everything from scratch, all the spices and rempah used are he own concoction, so you won't get the same taste anywhere else.

Well, we were there for a media tasting...with 3 other bloggers. And we had a good time chatting about blogging, food and life. So on to the food...of course we started with drinks...

A special rose water with milk and soda. Interesting twist to the traditional bandung we get everywhere here in Singapore.

Surprisingly refreshing...the efferverscence of the soda perked up the mild drink. Nice.

I also had the lemongrass drink...also uplifted with a gassy soda

Quite a nice pairing. The lemongrass was obviously home made in the house kitchen, and a bit spicy with a good bite.

As a tasting event, we had a lot of food...almost the entire menu. As the restaurant is quite new, many of the dishes were still in development, and there plans to expand the menu. But let's start with a ubiquitious Indonesian dish...tahu telor

Not as crispy as I had expected it, but the flavour was powerful. Eggy, with a nice blend of smoothness and creaminess provided by the tofu...and the sauce was a killer. Wonderfully piquant, aromatic, sweet, and spicy. Magnificent sauce. Loved this dish...if only the eggy bits were a bit more crisp.

We also had a bowl of soup...the equally representative soto ayam

Very nice...the soup was thick, very fragrant, with the characteristic dry shredded chicken strands to provide texture. The small pegedil by the side was a nice touch.

Chickens next...an Ayam Korma...or a typical Indonesian mild spicy stew

Chicken was very tender, spices were mild, light, but very present.

The Ayam Pangang...or barbecue chicken was also quite nicely flavoured with seasoning and kichap (dipping sauce) which was unique.

Sea bass, roasted in a banana leaf and spices was next

Cooked nicely through, as is common in Indonesia, the spices were nice and fragrant. The fish fresh.

One of my favourites for the afternoon was the beef rendang

Here the hard effort of Chef Sharifah's own blended spices shine. The beef was sinewy, a little tough to the bite, but simmered for long enough to render the meat a beautiful beefy texture and aroma, coupled with the magnificent spices of the dry-ish gravy. Very good. The style is totally different from the tender, almost mushy beef rendang at Peramakan which is my reference standard for the rendang rempah...but as satisfying.

We also had some prawns with petai

Another winning dish for me. The prawns were large, succulent and fresh. The chilli sauce just enough flavour interest to pick up on some tanginess and acidity. And the beautifully fragrant petai completes the dish for me.

The sayorlodeh, another ubiquitious Indonesian dish

A bit ordinary...the soupy bits a bit dilute. But otherwise nicely cooked.

Dessert was an East Meets West...goreng pisang (banana fritters) with Vanilla ice cream and chocholate sauce

The banana fritters were excellent. Solid, crispy crust on the outside...and within the yielding sweetness of a soft, well ripened cooked banana. I would have preferred the added juxtaposition if the banana fritters were piping hot to contrast to the smooth texture of the ice cream. But even cool, the melding of the two textures was awesome.

We also had a chendol...entire concoction smooth, rich. The gula melaka provided a richness only palm sugar and coconut milk can provide.

A bit unusual this...the red kidney beans had a tad of tangyness I had not tasted elsewhere. And the

Overall, a nice place for Indonesian cuisine. We need more high end restaurants offering Indonesian food...with its rich diversity and choice options for the discerning diner. Rumah Rasa is a start in that direction. I hope to see it grow its menu, offering one person meals, set meals, and perhaps more exotic Indonesian cuisines found pan Indonesia. Great effort, and worth a visit, especially considering the reasonable prices.

With thanks to Dennis She of Publicist PR Communications for invite.

Rumah Rasa Indonesian Restaurant

Bay Hotel

50 Telok Blangah Road

Ayam Penyet: which one is best?

Ayam Penyet is a typical Surabaya dish...and it sprung up in several places in Lucky Plaza some years ago...its just fried chicken...done very well, with crispy bits, and smashed! yes, smashed...so as to loosen the up the meat. Eaten with some spicy chilli, it is divine.

One of the more famous ones, which I first tried some years ago in their main branch in Lucky Plaza, is Resto Surabaya. Kin and I thought of having some Indian, and we went to Far East Plaza, to re-live some good experiences we had with Mumtaz Mahal there, but as we arrived...this little restaurant, tucked somewhere in the fifth floor of Far East Plaza...and looks very unassuming...canteen like, I would say...



My eyes sparkled, and we decided to go in...and we ordered 3 different chicken dishes...first ayam pengang with kichap manis:



Ayam Pengang is just plain barbecued chicken. That's not right...Ayam Pangang is a very special barbecued chicken...perfectly done on the charcoal barbeque...so the charred bits are crispy. The Surabaya version is not charcoal roasted, but possibly over a hot griddle...nonetheless, it was perfectly done...no charred bits, but the kichap manis (black sweet sauce) was divine. Kin found it a bit too sweet, but I found it just right. The chicken was a piece of breast meat, and it was tender enough to tease out the fibrous muscle, and with the kichap, very tasty. A bit more kichap manis with bits of red cut chilli floating in it as a sauce adds more punch.

We also had Ayam Opor



Our memories of Opor Ayam as one of our favourite Indonesian dishes was served in the former Sanur...thick, spicy, fragrant coconut milk gravy smothering the perfectly cooked till super tender chicken. Hmm...great memories. So when we saw this on the menu, we ordered it...it was a bit less thick...I mean the sauce...it was more like soup...but delicious soup it is. The chicken is fall off the bone tender...rendered so by probably steaming and then simmering in the broth. Nice.

And the Ayam Penyet



This was an excellent example. A portion of chicken leg, served with a piece of deep fried tofu, and tempeh. The chicken was tender, cooked perfect. The skin, crisp to a fault. The little bits of super crispy batter lingered over the chicken which was smashed with a chopper's side...to render the meat...um...broken (?) and almost falling to bits. The cooking was done so well, even the smaller bones in the leg which was served to us was edible...not only edible, but delicious. The tempeh was also excellent...very flavourful and tasty. The sambal which accompanies is superb too. With great punch, very spicy.

We drowned it all with some selaseh and attap seed drink and avocado juice. Yum! Definitely one of the better Ayam Penyet meals I have had. Shiok lah!




Resto Surabaya
14 Scotts Road
#05-26/26A Far East Plaza
6738 4369

Indonesian food in Singapore: Sundanese

with family

The House of Sundanese has been around in Singapore for a long time...I remember being introduced to it by a foodie colleague of mine way back in 1990, where the restaurant was just opened, and was located in East Coast.

I have been a fan ever since the first taste, so during the Eid/Lebaran holidays (Hari Raya Puasa), we went to indulge ourselves in some fine Indonesian cooking.



Now located just by the Fountain of Wealth in Suntec, the restaurant was modeled to look somewhat like a Sundanese home...replete with timber rafters, batik wall decoration and wood fixtures.

We started with some chicken satay:



The skewers of chicken were very tender, and had a nice marinade with a fragrance which permeates the entire meat. The charring caused by the open charcoal fire also complemented the beautiful fragrance with great flavour. Nice satay. And unlike the Malaysian/Singapore satay sauce which has crusched peanuts within, the Indonesian sauce contains peanuts, but pulverised before being made into the sauce, so providing only the flavour of the peanuts, unlike their Malaysian/Singaporean cousins where the crushed peanuts also provide a crunchy texture.

Next was rice to be eaten with various dishes...I begin with the chicken curry



The chicken was stewed in the curry (I think), for a long time...it was so tender that it fell to bits on the slightest provocation...like a nudge from a fork...and was totally imbued with the flavours of the curry sauce. I love my chicken curry to be so tender that it just falls off the bone, and flavourful...this does not disappoint.

Next we had a barbecued fish:



This is my absolute favourite. A simple dish...sea bass, barbecued over an open charcoal fire, and coated with a very special sweet black soy sauce known as kicahp manis (literally translated as sweet sauce). The sauce is basted over the fish, many coats over several hours. The sauce is only based on the generic kicap manis, as there are also secret ingredients within to provide it with more flavour which in turn allow it to bring out the natural flavours of the fish.



Masterfully grilled, the fish was perfectly done...moist, smooth flaky meat works very well with the sweet, slightly sticky, and crisply charred exterior and skin. Excellent. Shiok.

We also had some grilled squid



Squid, when grilled can very quickly turn into a rubbery mess if not watched properly. But the chef's skills were apparent. Not only was the basting sauce special, but also the master griller watched carefully over the squids, so that it was done just so. At this level of doneness...the squid was succulent, tender, with a springy bite. Again very delicious.

One of my favourite Indonesian restaurants...on par with Pagi Sore I reviewed earlier...and will remain so. The only negative about The House of Sundanese is that I feel the chef is a bit of a heavy hand with the MSG...increasing the umami/savouriness level, but also the dryness of the throat later.


The House of Sundanese
B1-063 Suntec City Mall
Tel: 63341012
Fax: 63341012

Pagi Sore and Mr. Teh Tarik Cartel

With comments by Edward in italics.

Indonesian cuisine is a favourite of the family. Hot, spicy, pungent, creamy...it is a cuisine which is principally Malay, but heavily influenced by India, the Middle East, China and Europe.

I used to love the food and excellent service at Sanur, especially the branch in Centerpoint in the 90s, but have found them to be on the decline since. Pagi Sore - meaning morning and evening in Indonesian was first established in 1989 in Duxton, and moving to Amoy Street, and finally settling in China Square.

A traditional starter is belinjau crackers. Made from the germ of the belinjau tree, it is deep fried, and served with excellent home-made sambal belachan. The slightly bitter taste of the cracker, compliments the spicy, fragrance of the sambal belachan.

Sambal is a condiment made by pounding various kinds of chilli with toasted belacan. Belacan is made from a paste of fermented prawns, and sundried to form cakes. The cakes are then grilled, and packs a wonderful, intense fragrance, and salty taste of concentrated prawns.

It is bitter normally, so I much preferred it with the sambal.

Rice was served in a kinda nice ketupat (dumpling) style...wrapped in a banana leaf, the rice was fragrant, fluffy. I am not sure if the rice is cooked in the banana leaf, but I suspect not, as it remained wonderfully fluffy, so probably it was steamed, and wrapped while still hot in the banana leaf. The heat is sealed within the leaf, which also imparts a gentle fragrance to the rice.

First dish was a fried chicken dish - Ayam Goreng Bumbu. The chicken was fried to golden brown. Bumbu is a typical Indonesia spice...made from a blend of spices would include cinnamon, star anise, coriander seed, cumin seed, cardamom and chili, crushed up and cooked down into a gravy, Somehow, I found this dish to be nothing really special, just regular fried chicken.

The skin was... umm... sweet, I don't really know, but it was different... in a good way.

The beef rendang was heavily smothered in gravy...this was a healthier version than the traditional Malay rendang, which uses grated coconut in the gravy. The gravy is thick, smooth, and lacks the crunch of grated coconut, but still remains very tasty.



The meat used was a cut comprising of much connective tissue which can tend to be tough, but becaus rendang cooking method is over a long time in spices and coconut milk, the beef was rendered tender, and flavourful. The collagen in the connective tissue provided some textural interest to the tongue in contrast to the soft fibrous meat.



Their version of petai served with prawns proved to be very special. Petai is made from twisted cluster bean. The beans used in this dish were smaller than those found in the wet market. I suspect they are possibly Indonesian sourced...compared to the more typical Malaysian or Thai cultivars which tend to be larger, and less fragrant. The smaller petai were crunchy, and very fragrant. the special sauce of sweetish sambal belachan added zing and completes this class act.


The centerpiece was the fish. Leather jacket fish, de-skinned, and with the head removed was used. Called the Otak Kukus, it was cooked otak style. Typically otak is prepared by either steaming or grilling a mixture of fish paste and spices (typically chillies, garlic, shallots, turmeric, lemon grass and coconut milk) wrapped in a banana leaf. But here, they used a whole fish, and cooked so that the otak paste surrounds the fish.

I didn't like the coagulated coconut milk of this dish, too watery. I prefer the grilled version in which the coagulated coconut milk is firmer, with chunks of ground fish embedded.

 

Cooked to perfection, the meat was soft, tender, and had great texture and an imbued with the sauce condiments. Excellent taste. This a dish to return to the restaurant for.



Excellent meal in one of the better Indonesian restaurants in town. Surely, for me, a worthy successor to the Sanur crown.

After lunch, we walked over to Mr. Teh Tarik Cartel...a curiously named stall...but is quite a traditional mamak coffeeshop.

The teh tarik, tea made from a special tea dust and sweetened with condensed milk as only the Indians know how to. This style of tea is commonplace in Singapore, Malaysia and India, and the strong bitter tea conterpoints nicely with the very sweet and creamy condensed milk. The Singapore/Malaysia version features an interesting spectacle of tossing the tea from one container to another...sometimes over a distance of an entire armspan of the master-brewer. A generous froth appears at the head when the mixture is poured into a cup.



An iced version is also available, the same method of preparation is used, and the mixture then poured into a glass of ice cubes, ass shown below picture right.

Also available, shown left was an milo version...milo was made as a chocholate drink, tarik-ed, and poured into ice, and a generous sprinkling of powdered milo is dusted over.

The Dinosaur didn't have a spoon-straw which made eating the milo powder difficult.

This goes well with a very simple kampung style potato curry puff. Potato curry is stuffed into a pastry wrapping and deep fried. This version is typically served room temperature, in contrast to the Chinese version typified by Old Chang Kee which is always served hot.

As can be seen, the pastry is lightly fried...only managing to be a light yellow golden in color.

Pagi Sore, Indonesian Restaurant and Mr Teh Tarik Cartel, both in China Square.