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!