Selamat Hari Raya! Hope all of you are staying safe amidst the end-of-Ramadan celebrations, and hopefully the occasion is marked by a more peaceful and brighter rest of 2021! For families still keeping an eye out for dining spots for the occasion, why not grab a takeout/delivery from Tambuah Mas?
TM is to no exaggeration, my fam’s most visited Indo restaurant. Part of it is due to its convenient location in Paragon, but the more important reason is how we can get restaurant quality Padang cuisine that actually lives up to our taste memories of Indonesia!
Another thing my dad (and a certain someone) finds endearing about TM is its name, which can be translated as, “more please, server” or “more gold” (which my dad insists is either a play on the quality of food; no objections here!). Given how my fam tends to lay our entire table with way more than we can order, I’d say both meanings are pretty accurate.
Since my fam no longer dines out, this trip was made with a certain someone instead. We ended up getting one variant of my ultimate fav dish here, the Ikan Nila Goreng (I normally prefer Ikan Nila Asam, heh), sayur lodeh (super smooth and lightly sweet), Ikan Teri Belado (anchovies) for that added crunch, and a Sop Buntut Makassar (ox-tail soup) for a certain someone since it’s hard to find (and we all know TM does it well!).
If you’re a fan of Canto “yao zam” (or deep fried in oil) fried fish, time to toss that out the window because t h i s is the real deal: The fish is dipped in oil hot enough to burnish its entirety in brittle bronze, and left long enough to lightly curl its sides so that it creates the illusion of flight. This doesn’t mean the meat is equally leathery — oh no, the insides are still every bit as sweet and succulent! The flash-frying means the skin creates a taut, protective layer that prevents the flavours inside from escaping. If anything, it makes the fish even more delectable.
Everything else was lovely too, but no regrets spending a full post on one dish! If there’s one thing you need to get, it’s defo their Ikan Nila. It's not only a visual spectacle, it’s a gustatory one too!
