Sederhana – A little bit of Padang in Petaling Jaya Malaysia

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One of my favorite countries in the world for food is Indonesia, and one of my favorite Indonesian styles
is Nasi Padang.

From these two statements I am sure you can logically conclude that I just love Nasi
Padang!


Fortunately here in Malaysia we are spoiled for choice when it comes to Nasi Padang, which is
unsurprising given our proximity to its birthplace – the city of Padang in Sumatra on the other side of
the Straits of Malacca.


Being based in Padang would be the absolute most optimal solution for when I get my Nasi Padang
cravings,

but for now I am satisfied with the next best thing, an authentic minangkabau house with 2
branches right here in the Klang valley, one of which happens to be right around the corner from where
I live, serving dishes very similar to what I get in Padang.


It’s called Sederhana and I love it! Here I will focus on the PJ branch but the one on Chow Kit road is just as good.


The first thing you notice when you approach is the minangkabau exterior which gives it away
immediately, together with the piled-up plates in the window.

The alternating rows of plates in the
window can only mean one thing – nasi padang.


When you enter, the aircon hits you hard. For whatever reason, the aircon here is really really strong!


Bryn of course loves this, except for the possible downside that the dishes maybe go cold a little bit
quicker than they otherwise would, though this isn’t really a problem as we normally waste no time in
consuming them in any case!


For Berry and me, though, it’s maybe a bit too powerful and I have gradually come to realize that
bringing a blanket makes for a more pleasurable experience. Now that you’re comfortable it’s time to choose your dishes.

Unless you know the names of everything
you want, the easiest way to do this is to just go up to the counter and point to your favorite ones!

The
portions are quite small, not unlike Spanish tapas, and this is deliberate so that you can try a variety of
different dishes.

Anywhere from about 2-6 kinds per person should be about right, depending on how
hungry you are!


So what about these dishes then, what is all the fuss about? Isn’t Indonesian food basically the same as the Malay food available on every corner?

After most Malay people are originally from Indonesia.Well, actually it is rather different indeed, both in terms of flavor and the types of ingredients used.


There are so many types that it is impossible to go over them all, but I will show you a few of our
favorites.


Deng deng Basah – strips of beef in spicy red chilli balado sauce. If the beef is succulent and not too
gristly, this is normally excellent. Otherwise it’s still good but not quite as good.

Deng deng Batokok – crispy (deep fried) beef, so crunchy and delicious! You can’t really not order this,
that would be silly!


Jering – giant stinky beans native to Indonesia. Always one of the first on our list. If you are familiar with
“petai” you will know that stinky beans can be delicious.

Jering beans are much larger than petai, just as
stinky, and even more addictive. They are also sometimes called “jengkol”.


Udang petai – fried spicy prawns with petai beans. The prawns still have their skins on but they are nice
and soft and you should find there is no need to remove them.


Nangka gulai – curried nangka (young jackfruit)


Ikan gulai – curried fish
Just about anything else gulai – various types of curries.

Of course, “curry” here is quite unlike an Indian
curry, for example, as the spices are very different, and fresh coconut milk is used.


Ayam pop – deep fried skinny kampung chicken. We always laugh at this because there is hardly any
meat on it, and for some reason this must be preferred. It does taste great though, and you get sprinkles
of yummy deep fried “stuff” on it too!


Daun ubi – tapioca leaves


Various deep fried or grilled fish including catfish, snapper and much more


Terong balado – silky spicy eggplant, as always lots of oil but very addictive


Perkedel – deep fried potato fritters. Ideally you will want these to be hot straight out of the pan but
unfortunately your chances of getting that are slim. We have found they are much better hot if possible.
When cold they go a bit soggy which kind of defeats the object of it.

 Crunchy and sweet tempeh goreng, made from fermented soybeans.


Rice – I mention this specifically for two reasons. Firstly you mind find that you will need more of this
than you usually would, due to the oiliness, spiciness and/or saltiness of the dishes,

especially if you got
greedy (like us) and ordered too many of them (either because you wanted to try them all out or, well,
you just got greedy).

Secondly, at least at the Petaling Jaya branch (this option doesn’t appear to be
available at the Chow Kit branch), you can choose between a plain portion of white rice and a “set”
consisting of rice.

The set option costs RM4(US$0.85) while rice alone is RM1.5(US$ 0.3)
While we’re on the subject of prices, it is worth mentioning that the dishes are priced anyway from
about RM5 (certain vegetables) to about RM12 (prawns, fish etc).

Sounds great but do be aware that it
does add up quite fast if you get carried away like we always end up doing!

two identical bill amount for the two visits a week apart


Here’s our bill from the other day!


Satisfied customers, we will be coming again. ??And, no doubt, again!

Restoran Sederhana (Masakan Padang) @ Petaling Jaya

Address: 21-G, Daju 5 Darul Ihsan, Jalan Barat, Seksyen 8 Petaling Jaya, 46050 Petaling Jaya, Selangor

Restoran Sederhana SA Chow Kit

Address: 50100, 383-385, Jalan Tuanku Abdul Rahman, Chow Kit, 50100 Kuala Lumpur, Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur

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