Asam Tree Cafe Bakery & Restaurant at Blk 712 Ang Mo Kio Ave 6 - The Ownership The Ambience The Signatures

I am in the mood for some great tasting Nasi Padang, these pass weeks see me exploring the island of Singapore to test out some great Nasi Padang outlets - am trying so very hard to impress my MIL. After the Nasi Padang at Zion Road closed for good, we suffered badly from Nasi Padang Withdrawal Syndrome - me, my MIL, Bob, my SIL Gracie Grace. 

Is was almost like an Oasis in a desert dearth that we chance upon Asam Tree Cafe, Bakery & Restaurant located right opposite NTUC Fairprice at Blk 712 Ang Mo Kio Ave 6. 

The Beginning 

Steve is the founder of Asam Tree Cafe, Bakery & Restaurant. The Asam Tree serves mainly nostalgic authentic home style Nasi Padang Cuisine, Malay Cuisine, Halal Cuisine. The Asam Tree Signatures include : Nasi Lemak, Chicken Rice, Ayam Penyet, Lontong, Mee Rebus, Mee Siam, Mee Soto, Nasi Padang favorites include : Ayam Masak Merah, Ayam Rendang, Petai Sambal Ikan Bilis, Sambal Udang (Prawn), Sambal Kupang (Mussel), Sambal Sotong (Squid), Sambal Cuttlefish, Sambal Goreng.

The Ambience 

The cafe has a casual modern minimalist decor with square wooden table tops flanked by plastic chairs with total seating capacity of about 56 pax. The Asam Tree has its Signature logo in the shape of a tree as seen below. 

Much of the cooking is done in the mini kitchen behind the Beverage Payment Counter. The Chef uses a gigantic wok that spans a diameter of about 1 metre to cook the Nasi Padang dishes. 

On display right about 10 am daily are a sumptuous spread of Nasi Padang favourites that pretty & cheerfully hospitable Julia is serving below : Ayam Masak Merah, Ikan, Udang, Sotong, Cuttlefish, Sambal Goreng, Ayam Rendang, Mutton Rendang, Sambal Kangkong.

 Here is our loot for Saturday :

Nasi that comes with 3 different variety of chilies. My favorite being the chili on the right that is heavily doused with fresh chili, bawang (onions), shallots, sugar = a powerful appetising combination.

This lontong served at Asam Tree is delectably delightful - and has all the winning qualities of a good lontong - the cabbage is cooked till tender soft and with a melt in your mouth consistency, the lontong gravy is superbly smooth creamy sweet & fragrant. 

Sambal Ikan is a must order - the ikan meat is fresh and tender & pairs very well with the sambal chili.

Ayam Rendang - I love the ayam cooked this way with a huge dose of the bawang (onion), shallots, tumeric. The ayam is slow cooked till the meat is fully infused with the flavors of the spices used in this recipe & the meat tears off easily from the bone. 

Ayam Korma - The chicken is cooked with ginger, tumeric, garlic ,shallots, galangal, tumeric powder, lemongrass, candlenuts. The chicken meat is totally infused with the rich spices & herbs used in this recipe, and slow cooked till the meat is sweet, soft tender & tears off the bone easily. 

The Sambal Sotong here at Asam Tree appears to have been sliced into bite size bites & stir fry with the sambal chili, done differently from the River Valley Nasi Padang at Zion Road (now closed) where the sotong is boiled whole with the sambal chili drizzled on it. The good part about slicing the sotong into smaller pieces is that the sotong is fully infused with the sambal chili paste. However care must be taken that the sotong must not be overcooked. My personal preference is the version from River Valley Nasi Padang at Zion Road, sadly it is now closed.

My favorite must have choice of dish is the Sambal Goreng (Tahu Tempe) - made up of stir fried bean curd, tempe, long beans simmered in a coconut based gravy full of spices & herbs. I can totally savor the delightful spices used in this recipe - particularly the chili, tumeric, ginger, lemongrass, shallots, garlic, galangal bathed in rich coconut milk. I love it that the long beans, tempe, bean curd are completely soaked into the rich gravy to give that aromatic fragrant appetising flavor. 

  

The tempe is stir fried with some less spicy rempah  & onions & cooked till soft. 

The lady fingers are diced into smaller bit size pieces & stir fried with sambal chili & onions till tender & cooked. 

Asam Tree Cafe, Bakery & Restaurant is located at :

Blk 712, Ang Mo Kio Ave 6

#01-4056, S(560712)

Beside NTUC FairPrice

Tel : 64556649

HP: 94891336

www.facebook.com/asam.tree

Opening Hours : 8.30 am to 10.30 pm (last order 10 pm)

Seafood Fiesta at Plaza Brasserie, ParkRoyal on Beach Road

Best of Asia - Seafood Fiesta

March 2013: From March 8 to May 31, Plaza Brasserie will be offering the Seafood Fiesta under its popular Best of Asia themed from Mondays to Sundays. 

Relish popular appetizers that include Oyster Shooter, Fresh Prawns on Sesame Toast, Tangy Crabmeat Cake with Coriander Leaves, Spicy Squid Salad, Deep-fried Crab Claws, Gratinated Half-shell Scallops with Fresh Herbs and Tangy Crabmeat with Coriander Leaves and Baked Whole Salmon. Take your pick of Black Mussels, Tiger Prawns, Australian Queen Scallops, Fresh Oysters and Flower Crabs at the Seafood on Ice section.

In addition, from Mondays to Thursdays, Chef Jackson Goh will also continue to steam your freshest catch such as Red Garoupa and Sea Bass and offer you the choice of either Hong Kong or Thai cooking style. You can also take delight in our daily selection of fine seafood featuring White Clams, Lala, Fresh Prawns, Bamboo Clams and Green Mussels prepared in your choice of Black Bean Sauce, ‘XO’ Sauce, Black Pepper and Thai Chili Sauce.

For crab lovers, relish in our selections of Stir-fried Crab with Egg Yolk, Stir-fried Crab with Black Pepper Sauce and Stir-fried Chilli Crab.  At the Chef’s “live” cooking station, savour our Teppanyaki Selection of Prawns, Stingray, Sotong and Salmon from Fridays to Sundays.

Savour our hot varieties including Deep-Fried Prawns with Garlic and XO Sauce, Crispy Soft Shell Crabs and Braised Sea Cucumber with Roast Pork, Stir-fried Sotong with Sambal, Stir-fried Beef in Pepper Sauce, Fried Chicken in Sesame Honey Sauce, Steamed Fish in Nonya Sauce, Stir-fried Vegetables with mushrooms and Fried Rice with Silver Baits and Long Beans.  

If you have a sweet-tooth, lavish in our range of delectable desserts ranging from Yam Paste with Gingko Nuts, Bubor Cha Cha, Red Bean Paste, Cheng Tng, Chendol, Hot Tau Suan with condiments, Chocolate Cakes, Cheese Cakes, Fruit Tartlets, Fresh Fruits, Almond Beancurd, Assorted Mini French Pastries, Chocolate Fondue served with Marshmallows, as well as Dried and Fresh Fruits.

Best of Asia - Seafood Fiesta at Plaza Brasserie

Date: 8 March to 26 May 2013

Dinner (Mondays to Thursdays): Adult $53  Child $32

Dinner (Fridays to Sundays): Adult $58  Child $35

Easter Celebrations

As part of Easter Celebrations, Plaza Brasserie will also be featuring a special Easter buffet spread from 29 March to 31 March 2013. Chef Jackson and his team will be creating a special Easter kids buffet lunch menu on Sunday, 31 March 2013 featuring favourites such as mini pizza, mini burger, nuggets, spaghetti with tomato sauce, meat ball, chicken chipolata, hash brown, assorted sandwiches, waffle with peanut butter and kaya and much more. Kids can look forward to a host of activities ranging from balloon sculpting, egg painting and cartoon screening.

Date: 29 March to 31 May 2013

Lunch (Sunday): Adult $62  Child: $38

Dinner (Friday to Sunday): Adult $58  Child: $35

Mother’s Day

Pamper mum to a seafood fiesta this Mother’s Day at the Plaza Brasserie and thank her for all the love and support that she has given you. From 11 to 12 May, mums can look forward to the savouring our Mother’s Day special, the Singapore fish head curry claypot. Give your mum some much deserved time off this Mother’s Day and treat her to a delicious meal together with memories of that special day. All mothers will receive a complimentary glass of cocktail or mocktail and a return buffet voucher for Father’s Day this June.

Date: 11 May to 12 May 2013

Lunch: (Sunday): Adult $62  Child $38

Dinner (Saturday and Sunday): Adult $62  Child $38

Prices are subject to10% service charge and 7% Goods and Services Tax

For enquiries or reservations, please call Plaza Brasserie at 6505 5710.