You are what you eat, so we heard often. After years, I’ve just realized that I’m actually quite fussy about food. Don’t get me wrong, I eat almost everything; but red meat. But I definitely can’t stand eating the same thing over and over again.
One thing to keep me busy during my first year in Singapore was to hunt for Indonesian food. I hadn’t had to taste any for a while, so it was like a desperate urgency at that time, mind you. Luckily there are many Indonesian restaurants across the islands to satisfy my voracious appetite.
The bad news is that most of those restaurants have similar menu. In fact, I think 90% of Indonesian restaurants here have ayam penyet. Ayam Penyet Ria, Waroeng Penyet, Pondok Jawa Timur, Java Kitchen, Yasero, Resto Surabaya — and the list goes on (Pecel lele at Ayam Penyet Ria is still my favorite though).
Well, there’s nothing wrong with this smashed chicken, but come on! There are so many great food from Indonesia, like my favorite pepes ikan, or buntil, or stuffed milk fish (otak-otak bandeng). Yum yum! Bayang has pepes, but it’s nothing like you usually eat in Indonesia. There’s still room for improvement.
So, by now I’ve given up the hunt and just eat whatever I happen to find. Surprisingly, I’ve found several yummy findings:
Near Eunos MRT there’s a stall selling fried pomfret. The last time it was only $3, which is very cheap, but the taste can compete with the one from Java Kitchen. The uncle also sells anchovy fried rice, but I never care to order anything else.
I had my first and best taste of stingray BBQ at Century Square food court. I think it’s around $5.80 now, and they also have the same fried pomfret and — guess what, ayam penyet!
Popeye’s Chicken in Changi Airport offers fewer menus than what we had back in Surabaya, but they taste as nice. But one of the waitresses surely needs more practice.
And my best finding so far is the kueh stall in Giant Tampines. I don’t know what its name, but it sells many kinds of kuehs and snacks. Zsolt loves the cakue (cakoi), which is the local version of Hungarian langos. while my favorite is the onde-onde. It’s oh so crispy outside and tender inside. I’m talking about the sesame ball — not to mix it up with local onde-onde, which is klepon in Indonesian. I think this is the best onde-onde I’ve ever had in my life.
Hm, and now I’m having a craving for tempe gembus (menjes). Anyone knows where to buy it in Singapore?
