Padang Corner – Tasty Corner

Like a typical Singaporean, I am very fond of spicy food, even if it means looking unglamorous while eating my favorite sambal dishes, nose dripping at the same time. For that reason, I love the robust flavors of Indonesian food, which tend to be red hot spicy most of the time.

At the kopitiam food court in Plaza Singapura, there’s always an impossibly long queue at the famous riverside Indonesian BBQ stall. But for people that are too hungry to endure the long wait, there’s another Indonesian food stall. The name is padang corner, a rather apt one as it is a corner stall too.

You can order the food here in the form of ala carte dishes, or rice sets.

Beef Rendang
SGD2.50

The beef rendang is prepared only upon ordering. Hence you can be assured of a freshly cooked bowl! Chunks of beef are served in a simmering rendang gravy. While the tasty gravy has just the right amount of spicy condiments, it is very oily too. (lately I’ve become more health-conscious so I tend to pay attention to such things.) had it been less oily, I wouldn’t think twice about slurping it all down!

Seafood Rice Set with Prawn
SGD4.80

For rice sets, you can choose from seafood, curry chicken or beef rendang, just to name a few. Each set comes with vegetables, and either an egg or fried beancurd. We ordered a couple of the seafood sets — one with prawn, the other sotong (calamari).

One conclusion I have come to is that the lady boss must really love to cook! All her dishes are cooked in different gravies. Even for the chili gravy, she would have variations. For example, the prawns and the sotong are cooked in two very different chili sauces. The prawn gravy is a bright chili red color with a sourish tinge. The sotong gravy is a deeper red, with a sweeter taste that is similar to sambal chili.

And both of them taste good!

Seafood Rice Set with Sotong
SGD4.80

I do have a few major gripes though. The portions for the prawns and the sotong are rather skimpy for a $4.80 set meal. Also, the stall has yet to invest in a proper heater. So most of the food get cold if you go there in the evening. If you want non-soggy food with hot gravy, it’s a better idea to go there in the afternoon when all the food are freshly cooked.

Curry Chicken
SGD4

After discovering my most favorite curry chicken at Xin Wang, nothing else seems to compare. The one here is nothing to shout about, with a curry that’s watered down, non-spicy and bland. At the end of the day, it really is the curry that makes or breaks a dish like this.

In any case, an additional alternative for Indonesian food is always welcome. (it’s halal too!) the flavors at padang corner are tasty alright, without you having to wait long to be served your food. Just be sure to go there earlier in the day before the food turns cold.

Padang Corner (Stall 3) ( Halal certified)
Kopitiam, Plaza Singapura
68 Orchard Road
#06-15/20 Singapore 238839