It's strange how good food kinda hits you straight in the eye - I have been to Sumatra and Jakarta before but somehow I was not impressed with the food then. Probably because I did my trip to Sumatra when I was still a teenager and my Jakarta trip was plagued with my friends getting food poisoning even though it was hotel food!
Nasi Padang seems to be catching up here and there are franchises from Indonesia that are slowly popping up all over the place. With Salero Negori, their Nasi Padang is more localised as they serve a mix of Padang and Negeri Sembilan dishes. Negeri Sembilan is one of the states in Malaysia which majority of the Minangs stayed when they migrated from Sumatra.
Like Nasi Campur, you choose from an array of dishes but instead of picking the portions yourself and adding it to your plate of rice, the wait staff will serve them in small little dishes. If you have lots of people eating together, you get to try a large variety of food which is great. Out of all the dishes I tried, my favourite is their Gulai Tunjang i.e. Beef Tendons in Curry. The tendons melt in your mouth while the curry is lovely and thick which went so well with my plate of rice.
A specialty of theirs, the Ayam Kampung Goreng. Ayam Kampung is essentially free range chicken which wanders around the kampung (Malay village) that is deep fried and served with a floss which I think is shredded coconut that is full of flavours. You must eat the chicken with the floss to get the oomph of the dish or else the taste of the chicken falls flat.
Something which is essential in all Nasi Padang restaurants, Dendeng that is crispy sliced beef that tastes a bit like beef jerky with spices. I've eaten a few versions and this wasn't my favourite as I felt it was too dry and hard.
At the back of the Dendeng are the two vegetable dishes i.e. the sambal terung or eggplants with sambal which I really like. Another one is the long beans cooked in curry which was also very good.
We both love this, in fact this is Splashie Boy's favourite i.e. fried tempe with peanuts and ikan bilis (anchovies). You can also eat this as a snack and it's extremely addictive.
They also serve Pucuk Paku Lemak i.e. fern shoots with curry. It was not too bad and was quite spicy with green chillies.
Finish off your meal with tapai and ice cream. Tapai is basically fermented rice and surprisingly cold vanilla ice cream really goes very well with it. I've always loved this combination ever since I ate it at a hotel Malay wedding and it tastes so great with strawberry sauce too. If you don't like the fermented alcohol taste, you may however find this too strong for your tastebuds.
Both restaurants are furnished with restored antique furniture which adds a nice homey feel to the place. The furniture was sourced from local kampungs (Malay villages) and restored back to their original glory. You can also buy the items from the owners' furniture business that is next door to their Amcorp Mall outlet. Incidentally the restaurant has been featured in Jalan Jalan Cari Makan, the local televison food programme that goes around Malaysia looking for good food.
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