RM Sederhana: An Indonesian Chain of Padang Restaurants Where the Dishes are Served To You All at Once

Literally “rice from the city of Padang”, Nasi Padang is a gastronomic experience originating from the Minagkabau people of West Sumatra, Indonesia. It’s a meal composed of white rice and a plethora of Indonesian dishes.

There are two ways of serving nasi padang. The first is that the dishes of the diner’s choosing are scooped into a plate with white rice. The second is that all the dishes are served to the diners all at once. But the diners will only be paying for the ones they ate. You can experience the latter at RM Sederhana.

Founded in 1972 at Jakarta, RM Sederhana is a chain of Padang restaurants with 100 branches across Indonesia (I think the “RM” stands for “rumah makan” which means “dining/eating house”). It has also expanded abroad, with a few branches in Malaysia and one that recently opened in Singapore. 

In Batam, there are at least seven branches of the chain. We went to the Harbour Bay branch because it’s by the seaside.

As soon as we were seated, the entire menu were placed on our table right away:

Here are the dishes we tried:

  • Ayam Goreng (fried chicken): This one is on the dry side. Just skip this one.

Ayam Goreng (IDR25,000)

  • Cincang Daging (beef in coconut curry): This has tender pieces of beef, doused in flavorful coconut curry. But it’s a tad salty. (We we’re supposed to get Beef Rendang or beef stewed in coconut milk and spices. But it was already sold out by the time we visited. So I guess you have to go early to try it

Cincang Daging (IDR33,000)

  • Ikan Goreng Kuning (yellow fried fish): This one has fried turmeric sprinkled on top of the fish.

Ikan Goreng Kuning

  • Kentang Daging (beef and potatoes): I think the beef is fried; it’s tasty and has a jerky texture. The fried potatoes tastes nice as well, and the chili adds kick. This is easily my favorite in RM Sederhana.

Kentang Daging (IDR20,000)

  • Opor Ayam (a Central Javanese dish with chicken and a creamy coconut milk broth): The chicken is tender, and it’s really like ginataang manok (a Filipino dish of chicken stewed in coconut milk).

Opor Ayam (IDR28,000)

  • Sayur Daun Ubi (cassava leaves in coconut milk): This one is on the salty side. Skip this one as well.

Sayur Daun Ubi (IDR15,000)

  • Sayur Nangka (jackfruit curry): It has a nice coconut and spice flavors. It also has cabbage and string beans, adding textures to the dish.

Sayur Nangka (IDR15,000)

  • Sayur Toge (lightly boiled or quickly sautéed bean sprouts): This has crisp bean sprouts with tofu and other vegetables.

Sayur Toge (IDR15,000)

  • Sotong Gulai (squid in coconut curry): This one’s overly chewy. Skip this one!

Sotong Gulai (IDR34,000)

To wash down all the Indonesian food, the Es Teh Susu (iced milk tea) is perfect and refreshing. We also tried the Kerupuk Roda (wheel crackers).

Kerupuk Roda (IDR15,000)

It’s my first time to try nasi Padang and it’s a good gastronomic experience. With a plethora of dishes, we can’t expect that every dish will be good or, at least, palatable to our tastebuds. But when you find the right dishes, it will feel like a jackpot. Anyway, RM Sederhana is a good nasi Padang spot and I highly recommend it to you!

For RM Sederhana branches in Batam, you can find them at Google Maps. LOL.

indonesianfood, food, batam, indonesiaEnzo Cortesindonesianfood, food, batam, indonesia