Tabuk Soto & Nasi Ambeng – Stellar Curry Steals The Show!

Thanks to Facebook, we came to know of this obscure Malay stall, Tabuk Soto and Nasi Ambeng, selling sedap nasi ambeng in Loyang Point. We had a chance to speak with 30 year old Ade Putra Safar, the owner of the stall. Tabuk Soto and Nasi Ambeng is his side venture, while he holds a full time position at LASELLE as a Fine Arts Lecturer. As there were not many Malay food options around the neighbourhood, he decided to open up Tabuk to increase the variety of options. The owner himself is an avid cook and the stall actually uses authentic recipes passed down from his great-grandmother and grandmother. 

We ordered the signature Ayam Lemak Chilli Padi Set ($5.50) which was highly recommended by the Facebook user. The Ayam Lemak Chilli Padi, or Chicken in Coconut Cream with Bird’s Eye Chilli, came with a whole chicken drumstick, tempeh, sambal telur, potato cutlet and rich yellow curry.

The drumstick was well marinated, and tender with strips of meat peeling off the bone easily.

The sambal telur and soggy potato cutlet were nothing to shout about. The tempeh was arguably the most disappointing part of the meal as the green beans were extremely tough and bland.

Another nasi ambeng, the Beef Rendang Set ($6) had the exact same ingredients as the Ayam Lemak, just that the chicken drumstick is now replaced with generous beef chunks suffused with coconut milk and ground spices. I felt that the beef was on the dry side, and slightly chewy. The rendang gravy was strong in its coconut aroma and packed a fiery punch. The spice level is definitely not for the faint-hearted!

So far, the supposed main highlights of the dish have been average at best. But wait, I am forgetting the most important part of the dish — the curry. To me, the curry can either make or break a dish. Even if the other ingredients have been lacklustre, a good curry can give the dish character and ultimately salvage it. The saving grace was definitely the yellow curry which was fragrant, rich and addictively spicy. Unlike the thicker curries found in Chinese cuisine, the gravy was rather thin, but it was so flavourful that it could make anything taste good. The yellow curry was also significantly less spicy than that of the beef rendang, making it fantastic for someone who can’t really handle spicy food, like me.

Despite a real solid curry, Tabuk Soto and Nasi Ambeng has some perfecting to do. Overall, Tabuk can be considered an above average joint for affordable Malay food.

MissTamChiak.com made anonymous visit and paid its own meal at the stall featured here.

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