Outlet Mamika Ayam Rempah @Yishun

Was scrolling around the phone and came across a rather new establishment that is named Mamika that is situated within the outlet of Rasa Rasa at Yishun. For those whom are not too familiar with the area, Rasa Rasa is a coffeeshop that is located within the Adora Green neighbourhood; the address of Rasa Rasa being at 248 Yishun Avenue 11, and is a stone’s throw away from Yishun Park Hawker Centre. Whilst looking like a rather usual stall serving up Indonesian cuisine on first sight, it does seem that Mamika is a brand that has Indonesian origins; we did note from a Google search that Mamika does have a location in Cibubur, Jakarta — the Yishun outlet is the very first Mamika outlet that is situated outside of Indonesia. Mamika should be relatively easy to locate considering how it bears a pretty loud red signage that depicts some of its menu items that it has to offer. The menu is largely segmented into two sections; one dedicated to its Goreng / Bakar offerings, while there are also Bakso offerings as well.

Much of our attention was placed onto the Ayam Goreng Rempah since that was the item that seemed to have been placed the largest on the menu for their Ayam Rempah offerings — the menu does describe the Ayam Goreng Rempah coming default with Nasi Putih (i.e. white rice) on the side, though patrons can choose to opt for Indomie as well at an additional cost. There is also a choice of adding on an additional bowl of soup which comes with two (2) pieces of Bakso as well. What is not mentioned on the menu would be the inclusion of fried tempeh and fried tofu, as well as the sambal chili that came on the side alongside the cucumbers and other vegetables.

We were curious about the what Ayam Goreng Rempah entails but this turns out to be quite the same as Ayam Penyet — “Rempah” refers to a wet spice paste, though what seems to be featured in the Ayam Goreng Rempah that was added during the marination process was turmeric; the flesh of the chicken coming in a shade of yellow in some parts. To be fair, the chicken flesh does come fresh, juicy and tender; the deep-fried batter being lightly crisp without being too greasy at the same time. What was not that fantastic was the crumbs that came above; these seem to have been prepared way ahead of time, and have turned soft and limp over time – not quite something that gelled well with our preferences.

Between the fried tempeh and the fried tofu, we did prefer the fried tofu a little more; we liked how smooth the tofu was despite being deep-fried — all that whilst the batter on the exterior remains thin and very crisp without being particularly greasy as well. The sambal chili on the side here does come with that fiery punch that Indonesian-style sambal tends to come with — we like how it carries that sharp spiciness akin to that our Sambal Belado; all that whilst also coming with smoky tang typical of Sambal Ijo at the same time whilst coming at a level of spiciness that tickles the tastebuds even for those whom are tolerable to moderate levels of spiciness over time.