PETALING JAYA, March 28 — As a dining concept, small sharing plates appear to be picking up steam of late, though this isn’t really anything new on this side of the world.
One example of this is nasi padang, a truly delightful gift from our neighbours in Indonesia with elements that are mostly familiar yet different enough to be exciting.
Having first started as a food truck, and now with locations in Shah Alam and Subang Bestari, Padangs on Wheels brought nasi padang to Damansara Utama with a new outlet that opened in August last year.
It’s gorgeous on the inside, with white walls, warm yellow lighting and an exposed brick wall thing going for the partition.
Taking full advantage of being a corner lot, the surrounding walls are filled with tall windows that allow plenty of natural light in.
And of course, the display of the many different lauk is hard to miss: a colourful assortment of gulai, rendang and different types of gorengan (fried items) fill your eyes with promises of pleasure yet to come.
It’s ideal to eat here in a large group so you can try as many different lauk as possible.
One thing for me that’s non-negotiable is the sambals. You absolutely have to get both the sambal merah and hijau otherwise it’s just not the same, and don’t worry they’re not insanely spicy.
I find the sambal hijau a little more mellowed out, but the heat grows on you, whereas the sambal merah is appropriately fiery and in your face with the heat.
Indeed, it can be rather daunting trying to make a decision when you have so many options to choose from. On my visit, we had a small sampling, a drop in the ocean if you will, of the many delicious things to try here.
Both the tauhu begedil goreng and begedil were crunchy delights that were crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and required second and third helpings. The rendang daging was packed with flavour, and the meat was really tender, which is not always the case at a lot of other places.
But to me, the standout was the ayam berlado, though the same could be said for most things berlado. Crisp pieces of fried chicken just absolutely smothered in spicy, fragrant and really tasty sambal are a winning combination, but it doesn’t end there.
The daging, terung and ikan masin berlado are all standouts too, especially the latter. The ikan masin and sambal are good enough to eat with rice, just like that, but pair even better with generous spoonfuls of gulai ladled over rice. Syiok betul!
For Ramadan, Padangs on Wheels are doing things a little differently. Their opening hours will be 6pm to 9pm daily, and it will be a buffet that requires a reservation.
They will also be open from 12pm to 6pm for takeaway only. They will still serve similar dishes, but a much wider variety will be on offer.
This includes three types of rice (kukus, uduk and kunyit) and 80 (yes, EIGHTY) different types of lauk pauk Minang ranging from rendang, gulai, berlado, ikan and ayam bakar, and gorengan. Sides include bakso, lontong, soto, gado gado and bubur nasi.
For dessert, you can expect a medley of kuih-muih, cakes, es teler, es oyen and es dawet as well as different bubur manis and jelly. Drinks include coffee, tea and an assortment of cold drinks such as es semangka susu or es timun. There is also kerepek, keropok nusantara, nuts and cookies for snacks.
The buffet is now available until April 20. For the Subang Bestari outlet, the buffet only starts from April 1 onwards. It is RM88 for adults, RM68 for senior citizens (60 years and above) and RM48 for children (4 to 11 years).
Padangs On Wheels Damansara Utama
92G, Jalan SS 21/62, Damansara Utama (Uptown), Petaling Jaya, Selangor
Ramadan hours: Open daily, 12pm-6pm (takeaway only), 6pm-9pm (buffet only)
Tel: 019-241 0354
Instagram: @padangsonwheels
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