Sinar Pagi Nasi Padang (Geylang Serai Market & Food Centre)

Craving for good nasi padang? Head to Geylang Serai Food Centre where there are many stalls to choose from. One of the more popular stalls is Sinar Pagi Nasi Padang which almost always has a queue at lunch hour.

Nasi Padang isn’t as cheap as cai fan but what I love about it is how simple, delicious and wholesome each dish is. Servings are generous and can slurp up all the curry. There’s just too many items to choose from. And don’t forget to ask for some spicy sambal on the side. Order the Tahu Telur ($5) too.

Whenever I get a craving to eat Nasi Padang, this stall at Geylang Serai Market & Food Centre tends to be the first one to pop into my head. Besides being the closest to my home, I feel they offer a variety that is wide and deliciously cooked.
I am never not faced with a dilemma whenever I am there because the displayed dishes are so attractive that it is nigh impossible to easily decide what to order. However, decide I must. I tend to go for at least a piece of protein so it’s either a grilled chicken, beef rendang or assam pedas fish. On top of that, the fried cow’s lung with sambal belado is my must-have. Then it’s one or two kinds of vegetables, maybe an egg or begedil (potato patty) even if I feel like it. Basically I pile it on until the plain rice is completely hidden from view 😂😂.
Price-wise, it is not cheap here but I feel it is worth it because I know for a fact that all the dishes require a lot of prep and cooking time. Moreover the recipes have to be spot-on for the level of shiok-ness to be reached. So I am happy to pay for that.

Very legit authentic Nasi Padang and Tahu Telur from Sinar Pagi. So many dishes to choose from! Tahu Telur is drowned in a super sweet sauce. Not cheap though. ($12 for Chicken Rendang Nasi and Tahu Telur)

It kind of means something when a stall boasts of the multiple awards that it receives at the front of the stall. At 830pm when most of the stalls at Geylang Serai Hawker Centre were already closed and with the Ramadan bazaar nearby, I was surprised to find Sinar Pagi still opened and the trays of dishes simply called out to me.

When asked what dishes did I want, I told the stall owner everything looked delicious which he laughed in reply. Eventually decided on sambar goreng, tapioca leaves and sambal ayam. The portion of sambal chicken was huge, perhaps also because it was the last available piece. Meat was tender and even drenched with sambal, the fragrant aroma of the fried skin was still evident. Would have been much better if the chicken was served hot. Sambal was initially sweet, before the lingering spiciness kicks in.

Pro tip: the stall owner taught us that a good Nasi Padang stall will always hide their best curry and only served upon request. He gave us a mixture of curries and chilies; the yellow curry which the tapioca leaves were cooked in was really Lemak and coconutty, might be overwhelming if you aren’t a fan of coconut milk. The chili topped on it had a nice hae bee hiam (dried shrimp sambal paste) smell that was a little fishy but extremely umami. Addictive!

Whenever there's all that gravy, extra rice is compulsory. We went with sambal chicken, tapioca leaves, sambal goreng and bergedil. It was midday and there weren't many dishes. It was also interesting eating that veg for the first time. Even the breast meat in the chicken was quite tender.

Missed out on the usual order of lemak ayam and sayur lodeh. Would try again!