Sederhana is offically known as Restoran Sederhana Masakan Padang; I translated it into English as Padang Restaurant. It has outlets not only at every corner of Jakarta but Indonesia. This chain is easily spotted every where. We spotted it opposite Thamrin city while shopping there as such we decided to try out Sederhana Padang Restaurant @ Kebon Kacang since we were so near the restaurant.
This Padang restaurant is patronised mainly by the local when we visited. We didn’t spot any foreigners other than my group.
The ambience is plain simple dinning room concept. There isn’t any interior design theme per se.
I was told that the typical Padang food is displayed at the window panel for viewing. Secondly, they will serve you almost all the food available in the restaurant even before you order. Alternatively, you could make your selection at the counter too.
As all classics Indonesian restaurant, a basket of crackers (Keropok) will be on the table for diners to pick. As it is common to enjoy crackers along with meals.
How it works?
When the food slowly filled the table, it looks majestic. It is with 2 decks of dishes with only margin on the edge good enough for the plate of rice.
You pay what you eat. So for meat, they charge by per piece and for vegetables, it is by per plate. What we did was we decided as a group on what to eat. And the gravy, likewise, you are charged for the entire plate.
On the Table
We started with Gulai Ayam (IDR 17k). This spice level is tolerable even for who don’t consume much spicy food. As there are too many food, I missed a photo of this dish. So here is a photo of the gravy instead. 😛
Ayam Bakar (IDR 17k) is the second chicken.
We went for the lightly spicy Ayam Redang (IDR 18k) as second chicken dish. Followed by the third chicken dish, Ayam Goreng (IDR 17k). Simply, a fried chicken dish.
Our last chicken dish was Ayam Goreng Telor (IDR 19k). Nothing impressive except salty.
Gulai Otak (IDR 16k) uses the same sauce as our first chicken dish. We didn’t enjoy the slimy texture of Otak.
The Rendang Daging (IDR 18k) is one of the famous dish at Sederhana. The gravy was extremely fragrance but they were too generous with their salt.
The only fish we tried was, Ikan Tenggiri Asam Padas (IDR 15k). Personally, I feel that the fish was a little over cooked though sauce was perfect.
The next 2 are deep fried dishes, Perkedel Jagung (IDR 9k) and Perdedal Jagung (IDR 7k) which didn’t taste good as these were cold.
Telor Dadar (IDR 9k) though we like the egg, it was another salty dish.
More dishes such as Sambal Telor Puyuh (IDR 15k), potato with quail eggs. One of the most enjoyable dish. Ikan Asin Gabus (IDR 15k) as good as the former. And also the Teri Terong Cabe Hijau (IDR 15k) equally delish.
Lastly, various sambal were also served and the dish we tried was the Sambal Ijo (IDR 8k). Mind you, this is quite spicy if you don’t hold your spice well.
NAHMJ Verdict
Our verdict? We thought it was decent. Though some of the food taste pretty delish, it was too salty. If they could reduce the salt amount to the dishes, it will be fabulous. After all, we like to think that there is better option.
Sederhana Padang Restaurant
Jl. Kebon Kacang Raya No. 19 Jakarta Pusat, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta 10240
Tel: +62 021 3150690 / 93924887
Website: http://www.restoransederhana.id/
Menu: http://www.restoransederhana.id/restoran-sederhana-jakarta#
Opening Hours
Daily 0800 to 2200
Getting There
By Taxi or car
Rating: 6.5/10