I forgot that it was a Thursday and I wandered off to Hardware Lane to Le Triskel. I forgot that most cafes here close at around 5PM. So much for that. Hmm, now where to go? I'm thinking of stopping by Portello Rosso but I'm in no mood for wine because I was in fact starving. I was invited by some of my workmates for dinner but I bailed out. I'm tired and not in the mood for drinking and socializing. I guess the introvert in me always win hands down in these instances. So walking along Little Bourke, I heard some laughing over to my left. A clear store sign reads "Blok M Express, A Taste of Indonesia". I glanced at the menu that was taped on the glass. It doesn't have a long list of items, which is promising, as long as the food will taste great and, in this case, satisfying.
The place was pretty small but nonetheless, cozy. There were youngsters everywhere, devouring their food and some adults, as well. One thing I noticed in every person in the store, nobody was speaking English, except for the person at the cashier and a few servers. They were all rambling some language I honestly don't have a clue what it was, but I was guessing Indonesian or Malaysian. After glancing around, I noticed that most of them are ordering one thing: a sort of chicken dish smothered with red sauce and white rice. Hmm, why not?
I soon found out that the dish is actually called Spicy Chilli Chicken and it comes with white rice. I ordered an extra fried egg on top of my rice and sweet iced tea. So I went over to the cashier, ordered, and waited for my food. Something about Blok M reminded me of my college days, when I'm seated with a couple of friends waiting for our meal to arrive and chatting about school projects and professors. The table next to me seated around 8 people, all students, doing exactly that while eating. One of the guys was eating his meal like there's no tomorrow. He horked down his meal in less than 10mins! Wow. I can't wait for mine.
The service was fairly quick and my food arrived a good 5 mins later. But, this place was partly self-service, so don't forget to get your glass of water and spoon/fork at the cashier and I forgot mine. Luckily, the nice boyish waiter noticed that I didn't get mine, so he swished over to the cashier back to my table and gave me a smile that says he knows it's my first time at Block M.
The smell of the spicy chilli chicken wafted into the air. Mmm...I wasn't impressed by the size of the chicken legs but they looked like what I would have at my local foodstore back in Manila, also known as, carinderia. To my view, this is really a home-cooked meal and same thing with every home-cooked meal, satisfying and good tasting.
The chicken was crispy but some moistness still intact. The rice was cooked just right, not too dry and not to soggy. What I want to point out here was the chilli sauce. It was chunky, sweet and, at first taste, wasn't spicy at all. After eating the chilli sauce, you could feel your insides heating up to your throat, then to your mouth, and to your lips. Whoa. I think I must have looked like an extremely hungry person because I finished my meal in 10minutes tops. Now, I understood why the guy next to me ate that fast. Good on ya! The sweet iced tea was a good complement to the spicy meal. 
The place was pretty small but nonetheless, cozy. There were youngsters everywhere, devouring their food and some adults, as well. One thing I noticed in every person in the store, nobody was speaking English, except for the person at the cashier and a few servers. They were all rambling some language I honestly don't have a clue what it was, but I was guessing Indonesian or Malaysian. After glancing around, I noticed that most of them are ordering one thing: a sort of chicken dish smothered with red sauce and white rice. Hmm, why not?
I soon found out that the dish is actually called Spicy Chilli Chicken and it comes with white rice. I ordered an extra fried egg on top of my rice and sweet iced tea. So I went over to the cashier, ordered, and waited for my food. Something about Blok M reminded me of my college days, when I'm seated with a couple of friends waiting for our meal to arrive and chatting about school projects and professors. The table next to me seated around 8 people, all students, doing exactly that while eating. One of the guys was eating his meal like there's no tomorrow. He horked down his meal in less than 10mins! Wow. I can't wait for mine. The service was fairly quick and my food arrived a good 5 mins later. But, this place was partly self-service, so don't forget to get your glass of water and spoon/fork at the cashier and I forgot mine. Luckily, the nice boyish waiter noticed that I didn't get mine, so he swished over to the cashier back to my table and gave me a smile that says he knows it's my first time at Block M.The smell of the spicy chilli chicken wafted into the air. Mmm...I wasn't impressed by the size of the chicken legs but they looked like what I would have at my local foodstore back in Manila, also known as, carinderia. To my view, this is really a home-cooked meal and same thing with every home-cooked meal, satisfying and good tasting.
The chicken was crispy but some moistness still intact. The rice was cooked just right, not too dry and not to soggy. What I want to point out here was the chilli sauce. It was chunky, sweet and, at first taste, wasn't spicy at all. After eating the chilli sauce, you could feel your insides heating up to your throat, then to your mouth, and to your lips. Whoa. I think I must have looked like an extremely hungry person because I finished my meal in 10minutes tops. Now, I understood why the guy next to me ate that fast. Good on ya! The sweet iced tea was a good complement to the spicy meal.
Comments