Kandahar Street is a quaint little street lined with a row of colorful restored shop houses that is home to a number of restaurants and cafes. I used to be taking my pop piano lessons here every weekend, but frankly speaking, I have never tried any of the eateries here. So when my colleague told me there was a famous Nasi Padang restaurant, I felt ashamed.

 

Sabar Menanti Restaurant has been around for more than 50 years, occupying a pre-World War II colonial shop-house in the padang food belt of Kandahar Street, in the vicinity of the Sultan Mosque. “Sabar Menanti” simply means “good things come to those who wait”. t is a well-known nasi padang restaurant serving dishes that are specialties of the Sumatran Minangkabau people. The cuisine is named after the provincial capital, Padang.

The most unique and most requested dish at their stall is Opor Nangka, which is the young jackfruit and beef tripe cooked in curry gravy. The thought of jackfruit and curry isn’t very appetizing initally, but when it arrived, it wasn’t that scary. There was no strong jackfruit smell in the curry. The flesh was soft and its texture was somewhat similar to cooked pumpkin.

Colleague has been telling me that the sauce beef rendang tastes different, perhaps it was due to the satay taste-alike curry sauce that is cooked with beef. I do agree that the beef chunks here is tender, rich, and spicy. This is great with rice.

I am not a fan of sambal goreng actually. The long beans in the dish reminded me of I was taught to use chopsticks by picking up long beans.

If there is one dish you must try here, it would be the Ikan bakar. Topped with lots of onions, the charcoal grilled fish was immersed with their secret barbecue black sauce which is very addictive. Reminds me of the Riverside Indonesian BBQ actually. But I am not a fan of the fish they use, too many bones, too little meat.

 

Sabar Menanti Restaurant was founded by the late Haji Marlian Athar from Sumatra. He came to Singapore more than 50 years ago, rented a room in Palembang Road and set up a small food stall. The business grew to become a modest restaurant. When he passed away in 1978, the restaurant business was passed on to his children. The family-run business has extended to several branches, all managed by Haji Marlian’s family, particularly his children. One of which is Sabar Menanti II, which is located at 747 North Bridge Road (and many said this branch is much better!).

 

Most of their dishes are sold out by lunch so do go early, but be prepared to wait! I am hoping to try Sabar Menanti II next round!