6. Rumah Masakan Melayu Khas Riau

Indonesia has really good food and there are some places that only the locals know, so if you ask them where to go for their local food, they are more than happy to even bring you there to savor the dishes. This is what happened during my last trip to Pekanbaru. 

In my previous post, I told you guys on two Indonesian gentlemen, dad's business partners. They were so gracious to extend their invitation of tea all the way to dinner and sightseeing. We couldn't refuse as that would be a sign of disrespect to them. 

They asked us where we would like to partake of our dinner. We said any place local as that's where you savor Indonesia's true culinary repertoire and besides, who wants to eat in a restaurant where what they serve is international cuisine. Nothing special to wow about if you ask me. Where you are, do what the locals do and eat what the locals eat. 

All of us went to a joint called Rumah Masakan Melayu Khas Riau (roughly translated as the house of traditional Riau Malay cooking). Being a famous place in Pekanbaru for true blue traditional food, this restaurant has entertained numerous Indonesian personalities such as the governor, politicians and others.

Upon being seated, our order for drinks and food commenced. I thought what the hosts ordered sounded reasonable for five people but the feast that ensued left my eyes popping out of their sockets! It was more elaborate than the Nasi Kapau that I first devoured when I came to Pekanbaru!

If this isn't elaborate I don't know what is....and there were more dishes to come!

There were fresh vegetables, kuah jongkol (jering gravy), sambal sotong (squid in chilli paste), sambal udang (prawn in chilli paste), kuah paku udang (prawn and young ferns in a coconut milk gravy), fried anchovies, sambal ijo (green chilli paste), fried salted fish, stir fried spinach, more stir fried vegetables, tauhu sambal (tofu in chilli paste), freshwater prawns cooked with pea aubergines and two grilled freshwater prawns that were as huge as my arms!

Now that's what I call humongous!

The food was extremely delicious and I just couldn't stop myself from appearing greedy in front of our hosts. I took 4 servings of white rice which is waaaayyyyy above even the foodie me. The mouth watering gravies were just begging to be mopped up with more fluffy steaming hot rice. I ate till the brim and had to practically waddle to wash my hands.

Utterly satisfying, this Indonesian meal was one that I'd never forget. Long after I returned to Malaysia, me and my mum kept discussing on the food and how it tasted and how it was done. 

If you ever want to have a taste of Pekanbaru's best, don't forget to make a pit stop here. Pssssstttt, don't forget to bring a local with you to get the best food recommendations. My next trip will be to Nha Trang, Vietnam so stay with me for more tantalizing food updates!

5. Grand Jatra Hotel Pekanbaru

So you guys may be thinking, what's so special about hotel food? Besides impeccable presentation, taste is bound to be great because they keep to standards. Well then, Grand Jatra Hotel is bound to surprise you.

During our four days three nights trip to Pekanbaru, dad has some business dealings with his Indonesian partners. So when we met up with his partners, two charming gentlemen, Pak Sya and Pak Hendry, they took all of us for a treat to this hotel. This hotel is one of the more renowned ones in Pekanbaru as it is a 5-star establishment with another hotel in Balikpapan.

Our tea was at the hotel's restaurant, The Bellagio, which is located by the pool. As it was a sunny day, rainbow-like sparkles reflected from the pool's surface into the restaurant. It looked magical and very much like fairy land, a gentle air-conditioned respite from Indonesia's hot weather.

A spur of the moment selfie with the buffet line's decor while waiting for our drinks and desserts.

My choice of drink was Irish coffee while desserts for everyone were pisang goreng kipas (fried banana in the shape of a fan) and bolu kemujo (a traditional Indonesian cake in the shape of a flower which normally comes in a green color).

Let's start at my Irish Coffee. Mine was heavily laced (alright, alright, LADEN actually) with Bailey's Irish Cream Liqueur. It was silky smooth and the drink slowly begins to lull me into a false sense of comfort, danger in a slice of heaven. Thoroughly enjoyable, I suggest you drink this if you plan on hitting the sack before your next bout of sightseeing.

The seductively sexy coffee dubbed the Irish Coffee.

For the desserts, we had pisang goreng kipas with chocolate, cheese and condensed milk. The fried banana was a far cry from what we get in Malaysia that comes soaked in oil and liquefied cheese. This version was crisp to every bite with shredded mozzarella cheese and chocolate sauce. I couldn't resist taking seconds although I'm not a big fan of sweets.

Guess which one is the fried banana (no prizes for guessing).

The bolu kemojo, I have to be honest, didn't really rock my boat. It's a dense cake made out of flour and pandan juice and some other ingredients. Being truly Indonesian, it was sweet as how desserts should be which doesn't appeal to my taste buds which shun sweet things. But it had a lovely fragrance and the pretty appearance of a flower. Do try this by the way as it is the local dessert, so not trying it will be a miss too.

Bolu kemojo.

So I will bid you adieu till my next tantalizing post on, what else, FOOD of course! Haha...So stay with me as I will be giving you glimpses into my life as a travelling foodie.

4. Nasi Uduk & Pecal Lele

Indonesian is a country steeped in traditions, culture, history and of course, food. Every street corner or mall, be it in metropolitan Jakarta or laid back Pekanbaru, Indonesian food is available alongside the fast encroaching fast food and  foreign cuisine.

During my last adventure in Pekanbaru, I managed to unearth (OK, so maybe I didn't newly discover this place, haha) a gem of a stall that sells Indonesia's authentic dishes. It was raining cats and dogs the whole day till about 7pm. Our stomachs were wailing for a much-awaited dinner and we couldn't bare to wait any longer for the rain to subside.

With the owner of the Nasi Uduk and Pecal Lele Stall.

Trudging through the rain, we found a quaint roadside stall selling Nasi Uduk and Pecal Lele. This dish is something like our Malaysian Nasi Lemak but without the usual fixings. The rice is cooked with coconut milk, cloves, lemongrass, cinnamon and pandan leaves. Fluffy and fragrant, the steaming rice with a smattering of fried onions on top was simply wonderful without overpowering the side dishes that go with it.

The side dishes were actually a choice of chicken or various types of freshwater fish which were marinated in turmeric and salt then fried. All Indonesian meals would be incomplete without the spicy and savory sambal and ulam (raw leaves and cucumber). Sounds familiar? Well, yes, this is the Pecal Lele I introduced to you in my previous post on Nasi Kapau. The fish was fried to golden perfection with nary a hint of fishiness. Tasty and satisfying, I scoffed down two servings of Nasi Uduk before I realized it!

Drinks consisted of either teh es (iced tea) or jeruk es or jeruk panas (iced or hot lime juice). Believe it or not, a simple village-style meal like that proved to be a piece of Indonesian heaven. The iced tea was extraordinary with strong flowery overtones. At first I was skeptical when the owner told me it was just tea leaves and sugar syrup. However, it turned out to be a type of tea called teh wangi (fragrant tea) which is spiked with vanilla.

All aboard the wagon of smiles (good food always makes me happy!).

When we asked his wife where to purchase it to be brought back home to Malaysia, she just pushed a box of tea leaves into our hands and told us to take it home with us. We were taken aback as she told us the tea cost IDR2500 which to them means a lot. The whole meal only costs us about IDR65000 (RM23). My mum just gave the couple's baby a IDR5000 note as a token of appreciation for their generosity. It really pulls at my heartstrings to see that such generous people still exist in a time where no one cares much for each other.

May god bless this simple family who fills people's stomachs with generosity, love and kindness.

If you ever make a trip down to Pekanbaru, I suggest you make a pit stop here for dinner as the food's simple yet awesome and the family's generosity is beyond words. It's just along the walking way to Pekanbaru Mall so it shouldn't be hard for you to locate. Happy eating!

3. Rumah Makan Nasi Kapau Uni Ros

"Food is our common ground, a universal experience". - James Beard. How true this saying is. Wherever I go, food is the only thing that satiates my hunger, wraps me in its warmth and opens up a whole new world where food takes center stage. It was the same situation when I went for a short holiday to Pekanbaru, Indonesia recently on the 4th of April.

Touchdown for more foodie adventures at Sultan Syarif Kasim II International Airport,  Pekanbaru folks!

As soon as we arrived at the airport, we were whisked away by our hotel's complimentary airport shuttle. After settling in, we set out in search of lunch as our tummies were already showing signs of protest. 

A 15-minute walk led us to the Pasar Bawah area, an area famous for shopping local products, souvenirs and the like. Opposite the Pasar Bwah, we stumbled upon a restaurant named Nasi Kapau Uni Ros. According to the owner, Nasi Kapau originates from the Bukit Tinggi region of Indonesia and the food 'nasi kapau' means rice served with young jackfruit gravy. 

This is the restaurant renown for its young jackfruit gravy with rice.

The concept of eating here is almost similar to eating 'nasi padang' another Indonesia specialty. All the dishes that they have are spread out on the table like a king's feast. Then, you get to take your pick of the dishes that you'd like and the ones unpicked are then taken away by the waiters. As my family doesn't consume beef or sweetmeats, we opted out for those dishes but took the rest on offer. 

Rice was served with the ubiquitious young jackfruit gravy along with sambal chicken, roasted chicken with sour and spicy sambal tomat (tomato sambal), pecal lele (deep fried crispy catfish with a spicy green chili sambal), tempeh and prawn sambal, terung berlado (deep fried aubergines in spicy chili paste), pucuk ubi (blanched yam shoots), sambal tomat petai (sour and spicy tomato sambal with stink beans) and drinks. Isn't this a feast for the senses already! Just reading this would have made mouths water and my mouth did salivate with all the varied tastes and textures.

The young jackfruit gravy is creamy and unctuous in the mouth and slightly spicy as befits any Indonesian meal. The jackfruit in the curry just gave way without much chewing and tasted very much like chicken. You'd be fooled into thinking it was a lean piece of chicken! Lip smackingly good, I mopped up the gravy even after all the rice was cleared.

Roasted chicken with sour and spicy sambal tomat is something that poultry lovers can rejoice with. Looking decidedly like any other piece of fried chicken, you'd be wondering what can be so special. The spice rub on the chicken has nuances of smokiness that when paired with the sambal tomat creates a dimension of flavors like an Indonesian version of buffalo wings. Crispy yet tender at the same time, I just forgot the chicken allergy I had! 

My favorite dish was the pecal lele as I'm a seafood lover by heart and fish prepared in any way just works out for me. The catfish was marinated in turmeric and salt before frying which lent a yellowish hue to the fried fish. When dipped into the green chili sambal, the flavors just popped on my tongue. The spiciness complemented the strong taste of the catfish.

I have to say though that the tempeh and prawn sambal wasn't something to shout about. It was a little bland to my liking and the prawns were too small to make out among the chunkier pieces of tempeh. It's good for someone who is probably just getting acquainted to Indonesian food.

A meal isn't complete without servings of veggies. Aubergines are my favorite vegetables and a go-to when I want something that's meaty and satisfying. The terung berlado was absolutely mind boggling. The fried aubergine soaked up the spicy chili paste rendering a spicy kick with the flesh. Blanched yam shoots are eaten as an 'ulam' (sort of like your salad in an Asian sense of the word). Slightly bitter, it cleared the palate which made all the dishes taste better each time I took a bite. Sambal tomat petai was an obvious crowd pleaser (OK, count my dad out, he isn't a fan of stink beans..haha). Sour, spicy and savory, it works well with the rice.

For drinks to cool down from the spiciness, we had Indonesia's go-to drink, the highly fragrant bottled 'Teh Botol' (iced Indonesian tea which tastes somewhat like a sweet jasmine tea). It mellowed the spiciness to a bearable level which allowed us to eat more of the food than we actually could. My mum opted for a cola though as she wasn't a fan of iced tea.

The wide smile plastered on my face indicates that the feast in front of me was more than appetizing.

After the meal, out tummies stretched well over our pants! The delicious, fulfilling meal cost us IDR193.000 (around RM65). To me, it was quite reasonable as we had a unique spread that had out tongue yearning for more. 

If you ever make a trip down to Pekanbaru, you should try this quaint place out. With attentive service and plenty of Asian hospitality, you will feel right at home with mouthwatering food that will send you into a food-gasm.