Tambuah Mas (Review)

Just last night we decided to pay Tambuah Mas restaurant a visit. This was partly due to the fact that I haven't had good Indonesian food in a long time (something like 5 years at least), but more because my mum was in possession of quite a few $10 vouchers for The Paragon, so no points guessing which branch we went to. I remember many years back, Sanur Restaurant had pretty good Indonesian food too, but ever since their standards plummeted, I have not gone back. This restaurant has been around many years though, but this is only the second time I have been there.

Tambuah Mas restaurant attempts to create an Indonesian setting using the furniture, and even the staff uniform. Not bad, except that the restaurant at The Paragon was in the middle of the level with hardly any walls, so that kind of spoiled the atmosphere.

We booked a reservation pretty late (how's one hour before we showed up for late?) so we had to wait a while. However, we got there around 2030 hrs, and the first wave of diners were leaving, so it was not a big problem finding a table.

While browsing through the menu, we were served Belinjo Koropok with some honey roasted nuts. An odd combination in my opinion, but there was at least more koropok than nuts. Our order had my favourite Sambal Belacan Kangkong, Beef Rendang, deep fried Gurame, some chicken (I can't remember the name), and Tauhu Telur.

The waiting time for the food was pretty short, around 5-10 mins, and almost all the dishes came at once, except the Gurame. You can have either nasi kuning (the yellow rice) or nasi puteh (the usual white rice) with the dishes, and I chose both. (I usually need at least two servings of rice when eating out) The nasi kuning had a pretty strong flavour, but not strong enough for it was overpowered when I ate it with the other dishes like the kangkong.

The Tauhu Telur was my favourite for that night. It was crispy, and had a nice sauce all over it. Portion's pretty big too, about the size of a person's palm.
The Sambal Belacan Kangkong is as good as the coffee shops that I go to. I haven't tasted kangkong of better standards than this, so I'd say it's good. The stem still has a bit of crunch in it, while the leaves are soft, and the spice is just right.
The Beef Randeng had a disappointing portion. It came in a bowl that you could surround with both your index fingers and thumbs while still having a little space in between. Nevertheless, it tasted quite good, but I'd say it's still a bit too expensive.
The deep fried Gurame was definitely the highlight of all the dishes. Very crispy, and that's about it. Ok, it has some saltiness, with a bit of taste, but *crunch* is the word I'd use to describe it. What else can you expect from such a deep fried fish? I enjoyed it to the max by eating all the bones in between the backbone and the fins.

To round it all off, we each ordered a glass of Cendol for dessert. It came with the usual stuff, except that the shaved ice was in the form of a ball. The cendol is rich, although I wouldn't say it's thick. Note to calorie watchers though, you'd probably never want to take this dessert.

The service had been good, as the waiters were attentive. I had finished a glass of water, and put it to the left of me, at the unoccupied seat (my family is only 3, so we usually have to take a table for 4) and continued eating. Before I knew it, the glass was refilled. I did not even notice someone refilling it! Maybe I was too busy with the food.

The bill came to around $79, and my mum managed to use up all the vouchers she possessed. So she's probably rather relieved, since she had no idea on how to make use of those vouchers, and they were with her for a few months already.

All in all, pretty good food at this restaurant. A little on the expensive side, but I wouldn't mind going back every once in a while. I'd probably choose another branch next time though, so that I can enjoy the setting as well.