I'm currently in a Nasi Padang craze ever since I discovered how tasty the food is. Although I have yet to try the famous Minang Salero over in Sentul, I have been slowly exploring the ones that are located in Petaling Jaya. Incidentally, this started out as a review of two restaurants but then I discovered the Pusako Restaurant featured on Klue magazine's blog has been taken over Salero Negori.
It's strange how good food kinda hits you straight in the eye - I have been to Sumatra and Jakarta before but somehow I was not impressed with the food then. Probably because I did my trip to Sumatra when I was still a teenager and my Jakarta trip was plagued with my friends getting food poisoning even though it was hotel food!
Nasi Padang seems to be catching up here and there are franchises from Indonesia that are slowly popping up all over the place. With Salero Negori, their Nasi Padang is more localised as they serve a mix of Padang and Negeri Sembilan dishes. Negeri Sembilan is one of the states in Malaysia which majority of the Minangs stayed when they migrated from Sumatra.
Like Nasi Campur, you choose from an array of dishes but instead of picking the portions yourself and adding it to your plate of rice, the wait staff will serve them in small little dishes. If you have lots of people eating together, you get to try a large variety of food which is great. Out of all the dishes I tried, my favourite is their Gulai Tunjang i.e. Beef Tendons in Curry. The tendons melt in your mouth while the curry is lovely and thick which went so well with my plate of rice.
A specialty of theirs, the Ayam Kampung Goreng. Ayam Kampung is essentially free range chicken which wanders around the kampung (Malay village) that is deep fried and served with a floss which I think is shredded coconut that is full of flavours. You must eat the chicken with the floss to get the oomph of the dish or else the taste of the chicken falls flat.
Something which is essential in all Nasi Padang restaurants, Dendeng that is crispy sliced beef that tastes a bit like beef jerky with spices. I've eaten a few versions and this wasn't my favourite as I felt it was too dry and hard.
At the back of the Dendeng are the two vegetable dishes i.e. the sambal terung or eggplants with sambal which I really like. Another one is the long beans cooked in curry which was also very good.
We both love this, in fact this is Splashie Boy's favourite i.e. fried tempe with peanuts and ikan bilis (anchovies). You can also eat this as a snack and it's extremely addictive.
They also serve Pucuk Paku Lemak i.e. fern shoots with curry. It was not too bad and was quite spicy with green chillies.
Finish off your meal with tapai and ice cream. Tapai is basically fermented rice and surprisingly cold vanilla ice cream really goes very well with it. I've always loved this combination ever since I ate it at a hotel Malay wedding and it tastes so great with strawberry sauce too. If you don't like the fermented alcohol taste, you may however find this too strong for your tastebuds.
Both restaurants are furnished with restored antique furniture which adds a nice homey feel to the place. The furniture was sourced from local kampungs (Malay villages) and restored back to their original glory. You can also buy the items from the owners' furniture business that is next door to their Amcorp Mall outlet. Incidentally the restaurant has been featured in Jalan Jalan Cari Makan, the local televison food programme that goes around Malaysia looking for good food.
Salero Negori
247, Level 2
Amcorp Mall
18, Jalan Persiaran Barat
Petaling Jaya
Petaling Jaya
Tel No: 03 - 7956 6968
Salero Negori
4, Jalan SS5B/2
Kelana Jaya
Petaling Jaya
Kelana Jaya
Petaling Jaya
Tel No: 03 - 7877 4437
(same row as 7 Eleven and Nasi Lemak Cikgu)
*Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here is entirely based on my personal tastebuds and may vary for others. The reviewer also declares that she has not received any monetary or non-monetary compensation from the restaurant for writing this review.
7 comments:
walked by this place but din go in hahaha... i like the daging dendeng at sari bonda at desa pandan, very tender!
babe - where's this place in Desa Pandan? I know Sari Ratu opened a branch there so must be another hotbed for Nasi Padang shops.
hhmm....must call u girls up when i need guide on where to makan. I lost track liao
Boo, your description of the food and the place is very complete. In Jakarta I like Sederhana restaurant but it a bit expensive compare to other Padang restaurant. Hope once I arrived in KL I have chance to try some of the food in your blog. I will be in KL on 28 June to take my Master degree at UKM, Bangi.
foodcrazee - u can give us pointers for klang food!
nd - I don't think you'll get homesick as we have so many Indonesian/Padang restaurants nowadays. Not sure abt Bangi though as it's really far from the city centre.
desa pandan is near tmn maluri/kampung pandan. actually sari bonda was the first decent (air-con restaurant style) nasi padang in town. we used to frequent there when they started. sari ratu opened a few years later in the same area. sari ratu in bkt bintang opened much later after that.
we've directed an Indon expat friend to these two places. his comments, sari bonda serves authentic ayam pop (deep fried chicken) and one curry/rendang chic dish where else sari ratu's sauces and gravy were more authentic.
personally, i find the dendeng much better in sari bonda. if you can find your way to desa pandan, sari bonda is located near Bata/Mcd. Sari Ratu err can't recall which street but they're all within the few blocks of shoplots.
few ways to go there but my recollection a bit vague now cos that area is undergoing major road work (SMART project) which was why we never gone back there for ages due to the traffic jam.
one way is via raintree club. go straight down the road, u can see condo/apmts on yr right and go further down (shoplots on yr left) and turn left before shell. turn left. mcd and bata will be on yr right. sari bunda is on yr left.
and another via the kg pandan roundabout but i cant recall exactly as they had massive roadwork and new flyover in there now. if you come from this way, u will see the shell first on yr left. turn in then follow above direction. gosh i hope u wud be able to find yr way with my wishy washy direction :p
thxs babe! See if we have time this weekend but I know we have to do low yatt again so I am stuck eating the food around there.
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