Garuda Padang Cuisine

My heart sank when I saw the uncharacteristic interior decor. As far as first impressions go, I had a hard time accepting Garuda Padang Cuisine. Garuda certainly didn't look the part of a nasi padang eatery- the stark white interior channeled a distinct wave of hipness, lovemark of a Tung Lok restaurant. Where were the bamboo and teak furniture? Also missing were batik drapings, twig place mats and wooden tableware.

Ethnic decor? Me thinks not.

The drill is 'just point here' simple, as in just point to what you want and the food will be brought to your table. The dazzling array of spice somewhat mitigated the absence of bamboo and batik but I was hesitant.

And wrong.



Standouts include ayam goreng bumbu, fried chicken tossed with fried shredded galangal. I have had one too many ayam gorengs bearing a texture that only a sandpaper can identify with. However, Garuda's ayam goreng teased, "You want juicy? You get juicy!"



A dish that threatened to outshine the fried chicken was the rendang sapi (beef rendang). Convention calls for sharp bang-on flavours but Garuda produced a version rich in mellow flavours that permeated the tender chunks.





Moving up the spice barometer, we kick things up a notch with sambal udang petai (prawn with sambal petai), sambal terong (sambal eggplant) and sambal cumi cumi (squid with sambal petai). If you grew up on chili, this would just be a regular stroll in the park, otherwise the sambal-swathed dishes could potentially induce a rhythimic chorus of "hot.. hot ... hot..."





I'm one of those who sees the beauty in a simple dish of fried egg with black sauce and plain white rice. Mind you I'm rather particular too. I'm not a fan of sunny-side ups, instead I like it when the yolk is pricked in the frying pan so it gets cooked too. And when it comes to fried eggs (or any fried stuff for that matter), the Malays (within the context of Singapore) win hands-palms-elbows-down. It goes without saying the allure of omelette was self-explainatory.



Naturally it would be unrealistic for all the dishes to be box office hits. I'm usually ok with offals but the acid-yellow curry tendon tasted as hostile as it looked. The goreng ikan lele (deep fried cat fish with green chili) bore a muddish flavour, which even the green chili could not mask.




Because you are worth it.

By the end of dinner, nobody could accuse me of not having a belly full of fire. Though Garuda offers a rather satisfying meal, it lacks the rustic feel of a nasi padang experience- gimme my batik.