My lunch highlights reels in Meradelima are as follows: Serantang Nasi and Rantang Engkong, two special set menus served in Peranakan-style tiffin carrier.
I was kind of putting my hope too high for wanting it to be served in stack, and seeing the waitress opened the stack in front of me. The reality was the otherwise, unfortunately. The bowls were not stacked and served just like any other ordinary restaurants out there.
Serantang Nasi, consisted of four bowls, finally arrive. One contains white rice cooked with torch ginger, with few bitter beans put on the rice. The other two bowls contain several side dishes, consisted of sautéed squid, tempe oreg (tempeh cooked with sweet soy sauce), sweet shredded chicken, and Manadonese rica rodo (sautéed spicy eggplant). The set menu comes with a spicy lick-the-plate-clean sambal and crackers.
I know the rice and side dishes are supposed to be eaten on a single swallow, that’s how to enjoy this homemade food best. But there’s a subtly sense of fulfillment in the core of fried rice torch ginger that makes it is sufficient enough to be eaten alone. It exudes a fragrant of torch ginger (don’t fret about the bitter beans because it doesn’t make the rice bitter), and is rich with the profound savouriness.
Oh, sautéed squid also deserves recognition. It comes with chewy, firm meat – but not rubbery – and slightly sweet. It is a typical dish that makes us embarrassingly says 'ahh-ahm' while munching it.
