Rendezvous Restaurant Hock Lock Kee is so old-school, they don’t even have an Instagram account. But this #NasiPadang eatery is an institution.
My parents used to take my brothers and I to their original venue to makan when we were kids. Back then, it was located on the ground floor of a building where the Rendezvous Hotel now stands. The set-up was more like a coffeeshop, and a rather dimly-lit one, in those days. Quite a contrast from the bright, air-conditioned space in Raffles City they moved into some years later, and more recently, the second floor unit in The Central mall at Eu Tong Sen Street that they currently occupy.
@eechong had suggested we meet there for the group lunch. By “we”, I mean Chef-owner Jeffrey of @ovenbird_sg, @makanfuku, @ramenking2018 and us. Ee Chong also did the ordering which consisted of asking for and pointing to nearly everything on the menu 😆.
Rendezvous’ style of Western Sumatran Nasi Padang that was first introduced in Singapore in the middle of the 20th century, is not overtly spicy. So there is little chance of burning tongues and sweaty brows. Flavours are however, confidently calm and distinct - drawing on a variety of traditional aromatics combination to form the vibrant rempahs and rich gravies. I doubt you could go wrong with whatever dish you select but I do recommend not missing out on the Chicken Liver, Sotong (squid), Chicken Curry and Sayur Lodeh.
Definitely sip a spoonful of all that you order first, just to appreciate the fragrant nuances before you let everything run amok on your plate of rice.
Prices are understandably on the higher side given the comfortable ambience. Our bill for 5 pax came to $115 or $23 each. Still worth every cent in my opinion 😋

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