9 Delicious (Crispy?) Rendang to Satisfy Your Cravings After #RendangGate

Most of us have heard of the embarrassingly hilarious Masterchef UK saga, which unfolded recently and left everyone shell-shocked. A flurry of memes and hashtags have taken over the internet. Think #Crispyrendang #Rendangate #Rendangisnotcrispy. For those who are still in the dark and wondering what on earth I am going on about, here’s a quick summary of the issue:

On a recent episode of Masterchef UK, one of the judges (Gregg Wallace) remarked that the Nasi Lemak Chicken Rendang dish that Malaysian contestant, Zaleha Kadir Olpin, had prepared was “not crispy enough”. In his words, “the chicken skin isn’t crispy. It can’t be eaten and all the sauce is on the skin so I can’t eat it”, to which another Masterchef UK judge (John Torode) chimed in and added that her dish was “a mistake”. Poor Zaleha was then sent home that episode, a move which left countless Malaysians dumbfounded and angered by the judges’ ignorance.

Now that you have the gist of the saga, you may be craving for some good rendang yourself. We have compiled a list of 9 places where you can get delicious rendang! While most eateries featured in this list serve traditional rendang, we have also featured eateries that have put a twist on their own versions of rendang. These include rendang fries and none other than… crispy chicken rendang! 

Hjh Maimunah

Hjh Maimunah’s name came up multiple times when I was searching for good rendang places. My Malay friends love this place! 3 pieces of beef rendang, along with a plate of rice costs $7.80 here. This is actually considered pretty affordable! The beef rendang was spicy and well flavoured, even though the meat was a little tough. The rice was soft, fluffy and carried a hint of garlic.

Rumah Makan Minang

This beef rendang here is actress Mastura Ahmad’s “number one choice after [her] mum’s rendang”. The beef rendang ($3.50) seems to be the star here. The intense aroma of the beef rendang can be attributed to it being cooked over a slow charcoal fire. While the beef rendang was not extremely tender, the flavours were captivating.

Nasi Padang Indonesia Bandung

The beef here is cooked for 4 hours in a pressure cooker, before the rendang sauce, which is cooked separately, is added. The chef wakes up as early as 5am to prepare the rendang! Although the beef rendang was not very consistent in texture, with some parts tougher than others, the spiciness and herbal flavours are very enjoyable.

KRAVE

KRAVE serves a wonderful rendition of rendang, in the form of Rendang fries ($14). The spicy minced beef rendang sits atop hearty steak cut fries, and tasted better than I expected. The beef rendang gravy was chock full of flavours from the garlic chips, onions and chilli, and actually reminded me of Thai minced beef basil rice. The portion is very generous!

Sabar Menanti II

Sabar Menanti II is Taufik Batisah’s (Singapore Idol Season 1 Winner) favourite stall. We were glad to finally chance upon a shop that sells both beef and chicken rendang. The beef rendang, which was not too spicy, was more savoury and slightly more bitter than the other rendangs that we’ve tried. The spice only started to kick in at the end. The rendang gravy was thick and rich, but the beef was a little tough.

The chicken rendang was yummy, lemak, and slightly sweet. However, the chicken was also slightly tough. By the way, 1 piece of meat costs a standard price of $3(for both the chicken rendang and beef rendang).

Old Bibik’s Famous Peranakan Rendang

Old Bibik’s Famous Peranakan Rendang serves wallet-friendly rendang prepared daily from scratch with fresh ingredients. Following the recipes from their grandmother’s secret collection, which has been handed down from generation to generation, Old Bibik hopes to provide quality and MSG-free rendang at affordable prices. The beef rendang (set meal $8.90) is really quite delicious, and is drenched in a rempah sauce that is blended every day. The rendang is slow cooked for over 2 hours, and the resulting fork-tender meat is thoroughly infused with the rich flavours of the spices. I am a big fan of their Chicken Rendang (set meal $7.90), which has an intensely flavorful and thick gravy. Each rendang set comes with stir-fried vegetables, omelette and power-packed belachan chili.

CreatureS

And finally, the infamous crispy chicken rendang! CreatureS, which serves Mod-Sin cuisine, actually launched the Crispy Chicken Rendang ($23 before GST) just one night before we visited. The plump and juicy chicken thigh here is slow cooked in an heirloom home-made rendang recipe, then coated with a crispy batter. The fried chicken was very crispy and super juicy! The chicken rendang comes with butterfly blue pea coconut fragrant rice, nonya chup chye and a slice of egg omelette. The chup chye had a natural sweetness from the addition of red dates, and the rendang sauce, which was not very spicy, had a slight sour tinge. 

Istimewa Kitchen

A chio bu selling nasi padang? 4 years ago, Sara and her fiancé, Kenneth, wanted to venture into F&B and thought nasi padang was a “niche market”. Roping in a family friend who is a chef, Sara then left her job as a underwriter and set up Istimewa Kitchen. Their signature mutton rendang, a hot favourite, goes easy on the palate. The lean pieces of mutton are braised for at least 2 hours to ensure that they melt in your mouth. The meat was tender and not gamey. Istimewa Kitchen at Bedok Industrial Estate reopened on 22 Feb 2018, after having been closed for 3 months for renovation.

Enak @ Bedok South

Owner Ibu Bida gave up her corporate job, and hired a talented Indonesian cook from Tanjung Pinang to whip up a good spread of dishes. You should definitely order the Nasi Ambeng – a traditional and authentic Javanese dish. For $5.50, you get steamed rice surrounded by some of Indonesia’s greatest hits: beef rendang, sambal goreng, begedil (potato patty), achar (pickled vegetables), terung (spicy brinjal), serunding (grated coconut) and an excellent sambal belachan. The beef rendang, which has been braised in coconut milk , was so delicious!

And, we have come to the end of of our list… Hungry yet? What are you waiting for? Head to any of the 9 places to try their yummy rendang dishes! I really enjoyed KRAVE’s Rendang Fries, and will highly recommend that. However, if you are too lazy to head out, why not try your hand at cooking your own rendang instead? Click here for our very own Rendang Chicken recipe:

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visits and paid its own meals at the stalls featured here.