[CLOSED] Rumah Rasa

I love mango sticky rice and everything here - mango, rice, coconut milk - is wrong.

Too bad nothing to show you because we finished it hahaha.

When in the mood for an Indonesian feast, book in for the weekend lunch buffet ($38) at this Bay Hotel restaurant. The current buffet promo ($55 for two pax) makes it a fair deal to enjoy a smorgasbord of Indonesian flavours. For us, their Indonesian dishes were the standouts — be sure to ladle on the ayam kalio, reminiscent of rendang albeit with more turmeric and blue ginger, the DIY Indonesian rojak (check out the shrimp paste gula Melaka sauce!) and the udang petai belado (prawns with petai beans) stir-fried in a sambal gravy. The chilled seafood and French pastries aren't worth the calories, so zero in on the Nonya kueh kueh instead. Pro tip: There's no guarantee when the promo buffet prices will last, so visit quick!
Avg Price: $40 per person
Photo by Burppler Muriel A.

Skip the 'French pastries' (think catered cheesecake and cake squares) and go straight to these kuehs instead. I particularly enjoyed the ondeh ondeh and kueh salat. We tried the pulut hitam too, but found it way too thick and stodgy after sitting on the warmer for too long.

Haven't had many ayam kalios (aka 'halfway rendang') before, but this was one of my favourite dishes here. Expect the usual spices you can find in a typical rempah, with a bit more turmeric and blue ginger kick. Don't think there's coconut milk in their rendition, resulting in a broth that was light yet incredibly aromatic.

In addition to the usual salad options (greens, tomatoes and cucumber), this section also includes rojak essentials like green mango, pineapple cubes, chopped peanuts, and most importantly shrimp paste gula Melaka sauce! Forget croutons and add a few fried ikan kering pedas for that crunchy element.

They also have a small spread of Indonesian staples like winged beans, poached lady's fingers, fried eggplants and petai seeds, as well as salted and century eggs that you can mix and match with the various sambals and sauces (sambal tomat, sambal terasi, kicap sambal and sambal bajak).