Nasi Padang @ Simpang Tiga, Ipoh

imagine one of the most popular nasi padang restaurants in medan, indonesia opening its first branch in malaysia - in ipoh.

'simpang tiga' restaurant offers a modern twist of nasi padang with the addition of seafood cooked in chinese style in this malaysia branch in ipoh.

it's situated at greentown business center, taking up a huge half of a shop lot. with its equally big signage, you definitely won't miss it. there's ample parking space but a paid one ye.

me, abah & umi carrying kazim

since khaleef and kahfi are staying with mr. khairul's mom for the week, it was only five of us - me, kazim, azi, abah and umi.

the place is really very spacious, clean and comfortable. once you walk in, there's a large section for those who wish to eat in the open. for air-conditioned section, you just need to step further in.

it's really a pretty neat place. pretty patterns on the wallpaper and curtains. chandelier hanging from the ceiling add to the 'posh'ness.

that's also a plus point of this place. it looks expensive, it looks posh - even the staff wore matching uniform that's NOT just t-shirts - but the food is really affordable.

azi by the wall

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ayam rendang kampung

abah did all the ordering. surely yang sedap-sedap! he ordered a plate of ayam kampung rendang, and azi picked ayam gulai kampung.

the ayam rendang kampung has somewhat a richer taste in its rendang paste. not hot-spicy, rather spices-spicy.

ayam gulai kampung

the ayam gulai kampung meanwhile, is delicious - slightly less spicy sibling of curry, it provided both spice and sweet in its gravy. lovely.

abah also ordered this bowl of sup tulang. excellent choice. smokey hot and salty enough as it should be. the meat has a soft texture, and easily shredded from the bone. i love it!

sup tulang

to complete our lunch, abah picked this dish - pucuk ubi masak lemak. i love this one too!

pucuk ubi masak lemak

azi and i concluded that the lauk nasi padang are not that spicy - that's why they're accompanied with three types of sambal - sambal kicap, sambal cili merah and sambal cili padi. my favorite is the sambal kicap!

if it's too spicy? then we armed ourselves with excellent thirst-quenchers. i picked my favorite hawker drink - the black cincau, while azi had guava juice that's so good because it's really rich with guava, with no overly added water and sugar-syrup.

oh, and look at their rice container. nice, huh?

* * *

haha. took a picture with one of the many friendly waiters. most if not all, are indonesians, and this particular one smiled sheepishly when asked to pose for our camera - and very happy to do so!

we ordered the lauk hidang - which means the waiter picked a few ayam in gulai or whatever lauk you want, to be placed at your table and you don't need to queue up. however, if you want to pick and choose, you can head on to the main entrance where there's trays of lauk awaits.

macam makan nasi bungkus. mintak nasi putih, pehtu pilih lauk ape nak, ok.

the presentation is similar to our nasi bungkus restaurants, except for this unique piece. daun pisang, shaped like a cone, surrounded by mountains of lauk - this one is rendang daging.

aiseh. dah balik baru nampak keropok. it would be so perfect if i had eaten my lunch of steamed white rice, ayam gulai kampung and pucuk ubi masak lemak with keropok!

i'm a keropok freak!

keropok yang tak sempat dimakan

so head on to greentown square, the area behind greentown mall to have a nice plate of nasi padang. you'll not leave disappointed!