Ambeng Cafe by Ummi Abdullah @ East Village

The only Nasi Ambeng I have had were from Mamanda but the last few months, I have been seeing posts on Facebook raving about it from other establishments but I am particularly interested in Ambeng Cafe by Ummi Abdullah @ East Village.

East Village is opposite Bedok Simpang.
Now where is Ambeng Cafe?

Found it!

Queue forming even before they open for business at noon.

“Nasi ambeng or Nasi ambang is a fragrant rice dish consists of white rice prepared with chicken curry or chicken cooked in soy sauce, vegetables, fried noodles, some salted fish, fried coconut flesh, and so on. It is a popular Javanese cuisine, especially in every Javanese-Malay communities in Malaysian states of Selangor and Johor, Singapore and also in Java, Indonesia. It is served during the festivities and served in a tray and enjoyed together in a tray by four to five people.” – Wikipedia

Ambeng Cafe by Ummi Abdullah serves 4 sets of traditional Ambeng Platters. They are Ambeng Original Duo Set A (S$24) and Ambeng Original Trio Set B (S$34), Ambeng Classic Duo Set C (S$38) and Ambeng Classic Trio Set D (S$48).

Set A and Set B have 10 items each, including rice. The additional 4 items in Set C and D are Ikan Kering, Sambal Kacang Ikan Bilis, Ikan Bali, Sambal Sotong. Knowing me, I must, of course, have everything! Alvin saw me looking at other items on the menu and said “Let’s wait till the food arrives before you order more. It should be more than enough.” ;-)

We had SA4 which is the Ambeng Classic Trio Set D S$48.00

We chose our drinks from this part of the menu.
We’ll order desserts later.

Looks empty but don’t be fooled.
Diners are at the cashier placing orders before going to their assigned tables.

Full house daily.
There’s a queue of people outside.

Ambeng Cafe by Ummi Abdullah @ East Village

Kalamansi (Lime) Juice and Bandung (Rose Syrup with Evaporated Milk).

We wanted to wait for Mark but looking at the queue at the cashier’s, we decided to order first. Food arrived rather quickly, so when Mark came, it was feast for the cameras first, then our belly. :D

Knowing me, we must, of course, have the most complete set!

This is Set D which, according to the menu, is enough to feed 3 persons.
The Ayam Kalio (background) was served separately so that the gravy does not mess up the rice and other ingredients.

Ayam Kalio – the half-way chicken rendang!
I’m more into the gravy than the protein.
We loved the not too thick not too thin viscosity of the gravy and asked for more.
Ambeng Cafe obliged with a little topping up at not extra charge.

The two reddish looking items in between the beef rendang was Ikan Bali (left) and Sambal Sotong (furthest bottom right).
These are not inclusive in the Original Set A & B.
I found the fish too be dry but then again most fried fish and fried chicken items tend to be overly done in Malay cuisine (that’s my personal observation).
I love sotong (squid) in any style of cooking but not the akaline soaked type so this Sambal Sotong although delectable did not entice me to go for more than just a tasting bite.

Ikan Kering, on top (in the middle) is also not in the Original Sets.
I don’t normally like this fish as they are very salty but here the saltiness is acceptable and I did enjoy the brittle crunch.
Sambal Goreng can be considered a vegetarian dish consisting of long beans, taukwa and tempe (firm soybean cake and fermented soybean cake), cooked in spices and coconut milk till gravy is fully absorbed by the ingredients..

The Sambal next to the eggs were spicy but nothing we cannot handle. We asked for more even!
The eggs (I suspect) were pricked with fork and then deep-fried, topped with a different chilli sambal.
Terung (brinjal or eggplant) was deep-fried till limp and the tangy assam (tamarind) sauce did complemented the dish well with a slight tang.

Sambal Kacang (spicy peanuts) and Ikan Bilis (anchovies) are also not included in the Original Sets.

The blackish looking stuff is Paru (ox lungs).
They are supposedly spongey and can be chewy.
I found these to be a bit over-fried and thus lacking “bounce” – if they were more moist, I would like it better.

There were supposedly 14 items butI kept counting 13!

There were supposedly 14 items butI kept counting 13! In the end, I found the missing item or should I say items and make it 15, instead? The missing item(s) was Serunding, the golden shreds sprinkled on top of the Beansprouts and 4-Angled Beans, and Sambal Belachan, next to the eggs. I didn’t think Sambal Belachan was an item. We had requested for 2 more refills of this delicious dip and wondering why they stinge on it. Now I know. It is considered an item part of the dishes and not a dipping sauce.

We were fully satisfied! We were so filled up we couldn’t order any desserts. I had planned on having Ice Chendol as well as Pisang Keju, which I heard is to die for. Oh well, I’ll just have to die another day!

SATISFACTION!

Each of us spent S$15 for this meal, inclusive of drinks.

Ambeng Cafe by Ummi Abdullah is managed and owned by Dapur Ummi Abdullah Catering and Management Pte Ltd.

Ambeng Cafe By Ummi Abdullah
Address: 430 Upper Changi Road.
#01-65 East Village.
Singapore 487048.

Opening hours: (Closed on Mondays)
Tuesdays to Thursdays: 11am – 10pm
Fridays: 3pm – 10pm
Saturdays & Sundays: 11am – 10pm

Tel: +65 63840495

Please note that being the *Ramadan (fasting) period, Ambeng Cafe by Ummi Abdullah is only opened for take-aways from 3pm – 5pm daily and dinner is strictly by reservations only!

*Ramadan in 2015 started on Thursday, the 18th of June and will continue for 30 days until Friday, the 17th of July.

Happy eating and bonding :)

Click here to see Nasi Tumpeng/Nasi Ambeng from Mamanda.

If you like Ayam Kalio, try my recipe. Click here.

If you like Sambal Dishes, try some of my recipes below:

Sambal Ikan Bilis Recipe

Sambal Kangkong Recipe