Nice to be back for lunch after 8 years! The restaurant really hasn’t changed much and I’m also delighted to know that Chef I Gusti Nyoman Kaler is still helming the kitchen after so many years.

I remembered dining here at least twice previously and I totally enjoyed the spread of authentic Indonesian fare which has always been one of my favourite cuisines that’s packed with flavours and spices.

Established since 1985, Kintamani Indonesian Restaurant has been serving up a delectable buffet spread of traditional Balinese cuisine as well as fusion Indonesian fare for both lunch and dinner.

Prices for the buffet are as follows:

Monday to Sunday
Lunch (12.00pm to 2.30pm): S$50.00++ (adult) S$16.00++ (child)
Dinner (6.00pm to 10.30pm): S$55.00++ (adult) S$20.00++ (child)

The best part is, they have this 1-for-1 credit card promotion all year round which makes dining here a really value-for-money affair. This promotion is applicable to UOB, BOC & other major credit cards with up to a maximum of 8 persons per card but it’s not valid on Eves of and on Public Holidays.

For the month of November (2016), they will be featuring Padang food, the cuisine of West Sumatra province in Indonesia. Indulge in Gulai Ayam Sumatra (chicken stew with coconut milk), Tunjang Urat (beef tendon with coconut gravy), Gulai Tunjang (beef tendon stew), Sambel Terong Balado (deep-fried eggplant in chilli) and more. Available daily from 1 – 27 November 2016.

I visited Kintamani for lunch the weekend before so what I had was their usual buffet spread (not the Padang-themed one) which we shall now have a look.

Prawn lovers would sure love these. These boiled prawns were big, plump, fresh and sweet. Cooked to perfection and still with a crunch when bitten into. Shells didn’t stick to flesh too so they were very easy to peel. Paired really well with the Thousand Island Dressing (could be found next to the bowl of salad greens at the appetisers section).

There were ingredients like long beans, cabbage, tau kwa (firm tofu), tempeh and ketupat at the Gado Gado Betawi station so you could just pick out whatever you like and make your own. The sauce was nutty and very well balanced – with a bit of sweetness and a slight hint of spice.

This sop buntut might look like an ordinary clear soup but it was quite flavoursome and sweet. It had an aromatic fried shallot oil flavour and it didn’t taste overly oily. Some pieces of the oxtail were tender but some were quite hard and chewy.

The honey fried chicken wings (only mid-joint parts) were ordinary but they reminded me of home-style fried chicken wings that were really shiok to eat when dipped into the sambal terasi. Everything seemed to taste better with sambal terasi anyway! Haha.

The acar segar was quite mild in flavour and slightly on the sweeter side.

Mango salad was appetising and made a great palate cleanser.

Potato & egg salad was tender but a bit too sweet for my liking.

Loved all 3 types of kerupuk. They were so fresh and crunchy with no rancid oil smell. Tasted best when dipped into the sambal terasi that was piquant and very appetising. Remember to squeeze the lime over the sambal to give it a refreshing note.

Moving on to the hot dishes.

For rice options, there were Nasi Kuning (yellow rice) and Nasi Putih (white rice). I picked the former which was perfectly cooked with the rice grains separate.

The Ayam Panggang (grilled chicken with special black sauce) was really outstanding though some parts of the chicken were kinda hard on the exterior. The chicken skin was nicely grilled and I could detect a slight smoky flavour in it. However, the hero of the dish would have to be that special black sauce that was spicy, salty and sweet. I had seconds of this. So good!

The Sayur Lodeh was flavoursome and the coconut milk flavour wasn’t too overpowering. Vegetables were nicely cooked too so they still had a bit of crunch in them.

The Rendang Daging Sapi (beef rendang) was another of my favourite. The meat was very tender and easily torn apart with a fork but it needed a bit of chewing because of the meat tissues which I didn’t mind. The gravy was just so delicious and packed full of flavour.

The Udang Sambal (deep fried prawns with chilli) had more of a tomato base and was quite spicy. Prawns were big and very crunchy.

The Ikan Goreng Colo-Colo (deep fried dory fish) wasn’t crispy on the outside but it was somewhat soft and flaky on the inside and it would just melt in the mouth. As this was just a plain fried fish, I paired it with the black sauce provided next to this dish and the sambal terasi from the kerupuk station – match made in heaven! Yum.

The Tumis Kailan Saus Tiram (kailan with oyster sauce) wasn’t overcooked and had a good crunch.

I really liked the marinade for the Satay Ayam (chicken satay) and Satay Kambing (mutton satay) that was a little on the sweet side but the flavour thoroughly penetrated the meat which made it pretty flavoursome. Chicken was very tender and the mutton was more chewy.

The Mie Laksa Jakarta wasn’t the thick and creamy kind of laksa. It didn’t have a rich coconut milk flavour too which made this really enjoyable and less cloying. I could taste the laksa leaves that really stood out. I also added chilli to give body to the broth and what could go wrong with the addition of delicious quail eggs and crunchy fresh prawns?

Forgot to take palm sugar for the lopis but it was already quite sweet on its own so it didn’t really matter. Very fragrant lopis. Too bad, I was already quite full and couldn’t have more of this.

Siu Mai was normal, like those out of a frozen pack.

The Es Cendol didn’t have a lot of coconut milk flavour but it was enriched with a nice aroma of gula melaka.

The wobbly Lolos Beras pudding had a fragrant pandan flavour and wasn’t too sweet. Very nice!

The Pengat Duren really reminded me of the durian kaya that my Granny used to make when I was little. It didn’t have an intense durian flavour (probably no good durians as durian season was over). Texture was quite coarse too as there were bits of (hard) durian flesh in it.

The Pisang Goreng I took was from a new batch so that was hot and crispy. The batter was a little chewy but nonetheless it was still fresh and delicious.

The assorted kue kue were average. Liked the tapioca one best.

There was also black glutinous rice dessert soup which I didn’t try.

When I left the restaurant after my meal, I didn’t get this sickly-of-food feeling in me because most of the flavours of the dishes were light on the palate and not over the top. Yet the meal was very satisfying because most of the dishes I liked were nicely executed by the chef. The food in general wasn’t excessively oily or salty. The desserts weren’t saccharine sweet too which I really appreciated because desserts are meant to complement your meal, not weigh it down.

This place has my two thumbs up. ????

Kintamani Indonesian Restaurant
Furama Riverfront, Singapore
405 Havelock Road
Singapore 169633
Tel: +65 6739 6463
Website:
http://www.furama.com/riverfront/Dining/Kintamani-Indonesian-Restaurant
Operating hours:
12.00pm to 2.30pm, 6.00pm to 10.30pm daily

Disclaimer: This was a hosted food tasting session. All opinions expressed here are solely my own personal views.

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