Hajah Maimunah (11 & 15 Jalan Pisang)

Nasi padang - Malay's staple food. Even before you reach the outlet at Jalan Pisang, you can probably smell the goodness of their spread.

They have an excellent variety of traditional Malay food from fish (either bakar or grilled, fried, gravy type), rendang, curry, sambal goreng, vegetable (raw or cooked), prawns, squids, eggs... I nearly salivated while writing this.. hahah..

Top on my list has always been: a) sambal goreng (mixture of tahu, tempeh, beans) b) Bargedil (potato mashed into balls) c) Ikan bakar (grilled fish which comes with their sambal belacan) d) Ulam (raw vege with fried coconut) e) Asam pedas f) Prawn sambal

A hearty meal of two will probably reach less than 15 bucks and we are talking about real hearty where you can barely move after eating!

There's always a long queue especially lunch hour; even on weekends. SO suggest, you come slightly early than 12 to get a good table.

If you like a taste of Malay traditional food, this is a place to go!

I love Malay food a lot so I was very surprised when I stumbled on Hajah Maimunah at Jln Pisang (around the Sultan Mosque area). I have always gone to the one at Joo Chiat but this main outlet seems to taste much better. I asked my Malay friends and they say it's cuz the one at Jln Pisang has a better chef. The food tastes very authentic (based on my Peranakan tastebuds) and has a lot of traditional dishes. In fact, I have never seen many of their traditional dishes being sold in regular malay stalls - only at my friends' place when their grandmother cooks. I guess that's cuz they specialise in traditional Malay food. Do check out the beef rendang which has very little fats unlike the ones u get at typical foodcourts. If you like tahu telur and other regular dishes like kuah lemak, begedil (potato patties, though this one has no meat in them), ayam masak merah (chicken in sweet chili sauce), assam pedas (something like fish curry but like a soupy version tts spicy and a tad sour), then this is the place to be. They also have a whole range of traditional kuehs and no, i'm not just referring to kueh lapis and curry puffs! They have a whole spread of interesting desserts daily that are available in their restaurant only. Desserts that are usually found only during the fasting month is easily available at Hajah Maimunah on a regular day. One thing unique about Hajah Maimunah is that they are opened at night. It's always tough to find Nasi Padang (Malay Chap Chye Png) after lunch so it's good to know that Hajah Maimunah is available. One negative point to note though, their rice is never fluffy. It tends to be a lil hard and dry. Overall, great experience and I've gone there 4times this month.