Sederhana’s entry into the Singaporean F&B scene probably needs no introduction at this juncture; Sederhana is brand that hails from Jakarta, Indonesia and was established in 1972 — these folks now operate at more than a 100 locations with some outlets being situated in Malaysia as well. Sederhana’s location in Singapore is along North Bridge Road within the Kampong Glam neighbourhood; they have taken over the former premises of the iconic Warong Nasi Pariaman that had shuttered in the first half of 2026. Sederhana is brought into Singapore by a F&B entrepreneur who wanted to carry on the heritage of Minang Padang cuisine in the neighbourhood following the closure of Warong Nasi Pariaman — other establishments in which the entrepreneur operates include The Halal Club, Smashed and The Brunch Club, all of which are being located in the same area. Occupying the two levels of the shophouse, the lower level is dedicated to the ordering counter and open air dining area while the upper level is dedicated to an air-conditioned dining space. Being an establishment dedicating itself to Minang Padang cuisine, Serdehana primarily serves up Nasi Padang when patrons can pick and choose the dishes that they desire to go with white rice whilst serving up a drinks menu that provides patrons with both hot and iced options.

For our order of the Nasi Padang, we decided to go with the Begedil, Telur, Puncuk Ubi and the Dendeng Batokok. For those whom are unfamiliar with the various dishes, the Dendeng Batokok can be essentially translated into Indonesian-style spicy thin beef jerky. Given how we have had limited exposure to this considering how we have only tried it at one other Indonesian establishment around the island, the Dendeng Batokok here did feel like it didn’t come quite as thin nor jerky-like as one would expect it to be — the texture of the Dendeng Batokok does coming a little leathery and takes a bit of effort to chew apart. Whilst it does come with a slight hint of gaminess typical of some beef dishes, the Sambal Balado does give quite a spicy kick with a hint of fresh chili padi — albeit toned down from the usual level of spiciness in which one would find standard in Indonesian fare, but would still tickle the tastebuds even for those whom are tolerable to moderate levels of spiciness. Meanwhile, the Pucuk Ubi refers to the leaves and shoots of cassava / tapioca — Sederhana serves up their rendition of the Pucuk Ubi as Masak Lemak dish; the soft leaves having a gravy of coconut milk that goes particularly well with the rice considering the rich fragrance it carries. The Begedil (i.e. fried potato patty) did come all soft and fluffy with the flavours of the herbs and spices coming off as pretty prominent, though the exterior did lack the light crispness that some Begedils would carry. The folks at Sederhana added the Sambal Ijo to our order on the side; whilst the Sambal Ijo isn’t as intense in terms of spiciness with the Sambal Balado that came with the Dendeng Batokok, it still does tickle the tastebuds for those whom are tolerable to moderate levels of spiciness with an added savouriness and smokiness.