Entree Kibbles: Bara Indonesian Grilled Rice - Ayam Bakar Bara & Sate Lilit Sets @ Icon Village Extension (Near Tanjong Pagar MRT Station) [Singapore]

Friday, February 04, 2022

Bara Indonesian Grilled Rice - Ayam Bakar Bara & Sate Lilit Sets @ Icon Village Extension (Near Tanjong Pagar MRT Station) [Singapore]

My last visit to Icon Village was pretty recent, when I reviewed Two Men Bagel House. Back then, I noticed its next door neighbor, Bara Indonesian Grilled Rice, which was strongly endorsed by the Great Kon and I had heard him talk about it on a number of occasions!

Hence, I took advantage of my recent staycation at the nearby Amara Hotel to check out the eatery! It was lunchtime on a weekday and only one table was occupied. Not a good sign but we decided to just go ahead with our orders.

While paying for my food, I couldn't take off my eyes from the display of deep fried sides next to the cashier, and I caved in. One order of corn fritter; one piece will do as I merely wanted to try.

Food was served in only about five minutes! Some naysayers would likely comment that everything would be prepared and cooked way beforehand and therefore, wouldn't be as fresh. Maybe but we can only confirm after we eat.

Homemade Lemongrass Drink - one of the best I ever had with a deep infusion of lemongrass and a sweetness that didn't overwhelm the palate. It's even topped with basil seeds, said to be a "nutritional powerhouse", according to this article here.

Corn Fritter - served slightly warm, this would have tasted way better if the operator air-fried it before passing to us. Batter had a tinge of spiciness and with the temperature, felt a bit oily. I am so glad I only requested for one piece even though three pieces were cheaper on a per-piece basis.

Ayam Bakar Bara (Set C) - honesty, I wanted to have this but since Alex also had the same intention; I opted for something else so that we can have more variety for the purpose of this review.

I stole a bite of the Balinese style grilled chicken and loved the deliciously sweet flavor of its marination that's further elevated with the smoky aroma resulted from grilling. So yummy! p.s. portion was a bit small, appeared to be using kampong chicken.

Sate Lilit (Set E) - described to be Balinese chicken and prawn satay served with sambal matah, and a smattering of bitter crackers known as belinjo. Life is bitter enough and I don't need belinjo to deepen the bitterness.

What's this? Otah?

Unravelling the banana leaves revealed a bundled of cooked rice! Don't belittle the rice; it smelt amazingly good and tasted like chicken rice with a touch of lemongrass, yet without being excessively oily!

The fried tofu reminded me of the ones I had at Bandung, smooth with a thin, crisp layer! That trip to Indonesia's third largest city actually kick-started my unstoppable love for fried tofu. Satay wasn't the kind we are accustomed to having in Singapore; wrapped around a stalk of lemongrass, the meat was tender and juicy and strangely, kind of reminded me of otah with its spices.

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Generally happy with what I had, except for the corn fritter, even though I would likely go for the ayam bakar bara in the future. p.s. the spiciness for the chili was manageable, tasted quite similar to those served with ayam penyet.