H recently introduced me to the nasi ambeng (pronounced ‘um-bng’) which she had tried and fell in love with while in Indonesia. It’s a traditional Javanese feast that’s usually eaten during the festivities and consists of rice and assorted meat and vegetable dishes served on a platter or tray meant for sharing between 4-5 persons.
That really sounds like my kind of food cos’ I love variety. 😉
We decided to have a lunch date at Pu3 Restaurant to try out its popular nasi ambeng. It’s an unassuming air-conditioned restaurant located at Somerset Bencoolen, just a stone’s throw away from Sunshine Plaza.
Various dishes were laid out like what we would normally see at our regular nasi padang stalls. You can choose your preferred dishes to go with rice if you like it freestyle. However, if you’re going for the nasi ambeng, do note the dishes would be fixed.
As it can get really crowded during peak meal times, it’s best that you find a table first then place your orders at the counter. Food will be sent to your table and payment can be settled after your meal.
Next to the counter was a display shelf of small bites and snacks like sardine/potato puffs, banana fritters, etc. Plates (for dine-in) and plastic bags (for take-away) are provided so you just need to help yourselves.
This was the Nasi Ambeng (S$7.50/1 pax, S$29.90/2 pax, S$50.80/4 pax) for one person which I felt was enough to be shared by two as there were so much ingredients – probably just need to add more rice. There were two meat options to choose from, either chicken curry or beef rendang, and then the rest were fixed. The fixed dishes included sambal belachan, urap (beansprout salad), begedil (potato patty), serunding (spiced grated coconut), paru (fried beef lung), terung (brinjal) and sambal goreng.
If you opt for the 2 or 4 pax portion, you can have both the beef rendang and chicken curry and there will be extra dishes like sambal kacang ikan bilis, udang (prawn) and ikan kering (dried fish) too.
I enjoyed most of everything on the plate except the raw beansprouts (grassy taste) and beef lung (spongy texture). The beef rendang was tender and flavoursome – I just wished there was more gravy to douse over the rice.
We also ordered a Tahu Telor (S$5.50) that came drenched in a piquant sauce which tasted sweet, savoury and spicy with an intense aroma of roasted peanuts. The exterior was beautifully deep-fried to a nice crisp (tasted really eggy which I liked) whereas the inside was filled with tender chunks of tofu. This was definitely one of the better tahu telors in town.
And this was just a shot of the paru (beef lung) that I didn’t like. Perhaps next time I would ask them if I could swap this for something else.
With all the spices in the food we ate that set our tongues on fire, I would highly recommend their homemade lime juice (S$1.50 per glass) which was really thirst-quenching and refreshing.
Overall, it was a very satisfying meal. Tasty food. Generous portion. Reasonable price (nett). Food didn’t take long to be served too. However, we were disappointed with the service as the staff we encountered weren’t friendly or helpful. Oh well.
Pu3 Restaurant
No. 51 Bencoolen Street
#01-06
Singapore 189630
Tel: +65 6338 4419
Website: http://pu3.com.sg/
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/pu3restaurant
Opening hours:
10.00am to 9.00pm (Mon-Fri)
11.00am to 4.00pm, 5.30pm to 9.00pm (Sat & PH)
Closed on Sundays