Simpang Raya Nasi Padang @ Bandung, Indonesia

I know everyone's tongue must be reaching the floor by now in the process of waiting to read something edible on my blog. Matter of fact, i am also anxious to write about anything and everything edible available in Jakarta too, seeing this is the first time i am being exposed to the local cuisine.

So Day 1 involved a torturing 3 and the half hour bus ride from Jakarta to Bandung despite the proximity of around 200 kilometres, thereafter we were bought to our first stop for our first meal in Indonesia; Simpang Raya for their nasi padang.

The direct translation is "field rice" but it does not in any way involve rolling your pants up to go to the padi fields to have your meal with the farmers.


Rather a meal of nasi padang starts off with a field of dishes ranging from beef, chicken, fish, vegetables (cooked or raw) all spread out and for you to dig in to your heart's content.

I understand it is a pay as much as you eat policy from reading some of the online content about the place, so one shall only hope that usually people will only eat one piece on the plate and that the rest is not stirred back into the main pot.

[My plate of nasi padang, obviously pile on the dishes and a little of rice will do]

Overall, i must admit this was something new, from the way the food was being served to us, rather than going to pick what you would like, to the milder and sweeter flavours that are unique to Indonesian tastebuds. An interesting dish is the curry salted egg which was unexpected but i understand it to be something very common for Malays and Indonesians to have with their mix rice.

Look out for the big signboard, the address and phone numbers are available on the signboard too.

So there you have it, after nasi padang, what's next?

Verdict: 3 stars out of 5 stars. I can't tell whether we were famished by the time we ate lunch at close to 3pm or the dishes were all calling out for rice resulting in eating more rice than planned. Although if you are down in Indonesia, it would be foolish not to give this a try. Prices are very decent, i remember asking and per pax, it should not exceed RM10 which is slightly less than RP30,000.