Nasi Padang – Mouthwatering Nasi Padang at Alexandra Village Food Centre

Nasi padang is my kryptonite. A plethora of dishes full of bold flavours, a spiciness to send my heart racing, and a plate of rice to appease the Asian in me. It probably is the one dish that I can have everyday for the rest of my life.

I arrived at Alexandra Village Food Centre to try yet another delicious nasi padang. I spotted the blue signboard in a corner, and a queue in front of the stall.

To be honest, I needed that queue in front of me. It bought me the time I needed to decide the dishes I was gonna pick —  I was spoilt for choice!

In the end, I settled for the Beef Rendang ($3), Sambal Prawns with Petai ($3) and Otak-Otak ($1). My partner went for the Fried Chicken Drumstick ($2), Sotong cooked in squid ink ($3) and Achar ($1). Each serving of rice is $0.50, so my plate came up to $7.50, while my partner’s was $6.50. Considering how greedy I was, $7.50 seemed pretty worth it. Well, only if it was delicious, of course.

And boy was it.

The chunks of Beef Rendang ($3) tore apart easily, as my fork eased its way into them. The reason why this dish is usually charged at a premium at Nasi Padang stalls, other than the obvious higher cost of beef, is the long cooking time required to tenderise the meat. I get rather upset when I receive a tough piece.

The auntie drizzled the rendang gravy, which held shreds of meat, over my rice. I strategically dressed my spoonful of rice with the explosively spicy belachan to create an absolutely delicious bite.

I never really got why petai is unpopular. I’ve always thought that it had a unique bitterness that is just addictive! The petai here was delicious. Best part? The serving came with 6 prawns! Decent-sized one some more! Anyone else here feels the same ecstasy when you get a bigger serving?

The otak-otak ($1) had a nice smokiness and sweetness.

My partner was full of praise for his plate as well. The sotong was rather thick, and not over-cooked. The squid ink gravy went perfectly with the rice.

The Fried Chicken Drumstick was huge! While it was evident that it was marinated well, the meat was a little dry and tough. Perhaps we just got a piece from an older batch.

The fresh and crunchy achar kept the meal refreshing.

The stall is run by a family. All of the recipes come from the cool madam in sunglasses.

She learnt her craft from the chefs she previously employed. But as with most F&B businesses, staffing can be a problem. So, she has to jump into the kitchen to help out.

She has improvised the recipes to suit her customers’ tastebuds. I was lucky enough to savour the results of obvious hard work and dedication.

P.S. Our dear Muslim friends, this stall is, unfortunately, not halal. Should you need your Nasi Padang fix, may we suggest Lemaq!

MissTamChiak.com made an anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

Simply comment below if there’s any changes or additional info to Nasi Padang. We will verify and update from our side. Thanks in advance!