Saturday, December 27, 2014

First-Class Padang Dishes at Marco

Usually, when people talk about eating Padang food, I believe what comes into your mind is a simple depot with natural air conditioner (read: No AC) located by the side of the road, where you'll sweat a lot while enjoying your dishes. Or something better might be a restaurant, where all the dishes will be displayed on your table, then you can immediately choose which one to have. But still, the restaurant must be the one having very simple design, where people merely care about what they eat, instead of the ambiance.









Dining in Marco, you will surely get a totally new experience in enjoying Padang cuisines. Marco try to create a breakthrough by letting the guests enjoying luscious Padang dishes in a first-class ambiance. Offering Padang Peranakan cuisines, the spacious venue brings out classic and elegant design. Looking by the restaurant only, you might even not notice that it’s a Padang restaurant. Not to mention the service, which is highly pleasant as well. All the waiters and waitresses deliver very warm greetings and are highly responsive to any of the guests’ requests (including taking quite many pictures of my foodie friends and I :P ). Thanks to the waitress as well for all the recommended dishes she informed to us and here were the ones served on our table.  






 
Nasi Sayo (Ramas) (IDR 21k)

 

Rice is definitely a must every time you have Padang dishes. This time, we ordered Nasi Sayo or commonly known as Nasi Ramas. Some of you might have been familiar with those two names, while some might have not yet. So basically, it’s rice coming from Solok with Padang’s sauces and chilis. As what you have been familiar with, when you dine in any Padang restaurants, you will get many sauces poured on your rice in order to give you richer taste to be enjoyed. The same exactly went to this one. I loved all the sauces mixed on the plate. I could even say that I had been very happy though I was only given this to eat.   

Gado-gado Padang (IDR 35k)

 
However, you needn’t worry as my friends and I did not only eat that Nasi Sayo without adding any other dishes as the ‘toppings’. So the first additional dish we ordered was basically the veggie element, Gado-gado Padang. Mixing tofu and boiled egg with various veggies including cabbage, lettuce, cucumber, and bean sprouts; and then pouring peanut sauce on top of it, I personally think there’s no much difference between Padang’s Gado-gado with Jakarta’s one. Since I’m indeed a fan of this traditional dish, I really enjoyed this one. Just one thing, I wished they could give more peanut sauce so it would be even more delicious.

Belut Lado Ijo (IDR 39k)



I often eat eel but it used to be only in Japanese restaurant, which is Unagi. I’m really mad of it as I admire both the texture and the taste. However, I’ve never tried eel in Indonesian version. So this was my first time and unexpectedly, I fell in love at the first try with Indonesian’s eel. Having it cooked with traditional recipe from Bukittinggi, which was using green chili sauce, this eel version has successfully blown my mind away. The texture of the eel was indulgingly crispy and the sauce was a perfect balance of savoury and spicy taste.

Randang Itam (IDR 35k)


Randang! The beef-based dish, which I’ve never missed in every single time I dine in Padang restaurant. I extremely adore it and therefore, I also wanted to try Marco’s version of it. Guess what happened? Marco made me get addicted to Randang even more! The beef was flawlessly cooked as it was so tender and juicy. Moreover, hands down to the sauce! It did pamper my taste bud until I could not stop eating the sauce though the beef’s already gone.

Ayam Pop (IDR 28k)




Looking at the picture, you might wonder whether I’ve mistakenly written the dish name. No, I’m not. This was indeed Marco’s version of Ayam Pop. Appearance and taste wise, for me this was more suitable to be called as fried chicken instead of Ayam Pop. However, since the taste was succulent as it was well-seasoned; who cares about the name, or whether it’s similar to the common Ayam Pop or not.

Soto Padang (IDR 39k)


Another not-to-be-missed one was this Soto Padang. For me, this was certainly a very rich blend of spices. Though I couldn’t name all the ingredients used for the broth, I could assure you that this dish would cause you an addiction. Besides, the presentation was awesome as well and I believe you’ve never seen such appearance for Soto Padang in your entire life. Please note, don’t forget to mix it with the lime and chili sauce to get the heavenly taste!

Dendeng Batokok (IDR 51k)


Finally, the award winner of all the dishes I’ve tried at Marco, Dendeng Batokok! One word for this traditional recipe from Kerinci, I.M.P.R.E.S.S.I.V.E! For all of you who plan to dine soon in Marco, trust me, you will surely regret if you don’t order this one. As the beef was thinly sliced, the texture became appetizingly crispy. Most importantly, the scrumptious sauce, which was basically made of sweet soy sauce, red onion, and various spices. Together, they have created the best Dendeng Batokok ever!

Hot Tea (IDR 15k)

 

At first, I felt quite reluctant to dine in Marco as I thought why bother I should pay that much just for Padang dishes. However, my mind turned 180 degree upon trying their dishes. Though it was quite pricey and the portion was indeed tiny, Marco did deserve a try from any Padang dish lover. It was doubtlessly a delightful dining experience!


Taste: 9/10
Place: 9.5/10
Service: 9/10
Price: 8/10


Thanks for Reading! :)


MARCO PADANG GRILL
Address: Lotte Shopping Avenue, 3rd Floor
Other Location: Setiabudi 1, 1st Floor
Phone: (021) 2988 9377
Operating Hours: Mon - Sun 10am - 10pm



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