Pondok Jawa Timur

Daphne wanted to introduce this eatery at Far East Plaza (along Orchard Road) to me, and I'm always more than glad when she initiates suggestions for meals.


I'm also glad that Daphne has taken a liking for the more Malay or Indonesian-type cuisines, because honestly I can't see myself eating Western or Chinese every other day without having some good curry, sambal or "nasi padang" dishes once in a while. It's like that when you're born mixed I suppose, you would always want the best of both culinary worlds! As you can see from Pondok Jawa Timur's menu above, they've got a fair range of items on offer, and they look pretty good too.

Ayam Kare: 7.5/10


"Ayam Kare" here is "chicken in curry sauce", though I would prefer the word gravy. Nevertheless, pretty good curry! They only served two chicken parts, one small part of the thigh, one drumstick, but I think the gravy is what matters. To the girlfriend it's not as thick as she would have liked it to be, but for me, it's very good just sipping on from a spooon.

Tahu Telor: 8.3/10


This is "fried tofu with egg in prawn paste sauce", and it really tasted like satay gravy to me, not sure if it's the same thing. This tahu telor is unique and different from the one at Tambuah Mas, because of the satay sauce as well as being more eggy, for the lack of a better word. We enjoyed this dish.

Sambal Kangkong: 7.7/10


Yeap, it's an official habit to order this. Fresh vegetables with good chilli. I would have preferred it even spicier, just for kicks haha.

Service
Not bad, friendly.

Price

We paid $27 in all, including two plates of white rice and two drinks. While the girlfriend had a sprite, I ordered this rose syrup drink, thinking it would be the milky bandung. So when I saw this drink, I was looking at it puzzled, because there was no way this could be bandung, there was not even a hint of milk. I asked the waiter, who told me to stir it. Yeap I know I need to stir, but er... it's not going to make it any milkier.



And there you go, when it's stirred. Rose syrup indeed. Sweet, quite nice.

Place
Far East Plaza (Next to Hyatt Hotel)
14 Scotts Road #02-66/67

Additional Comment
Certified Halal.