Friday 23 October 2015

Naughty Nuri's ~ Desa Sri Hartamas




Originating in Ubud, Bali, Naughty Nuri's has grown beyond the mom and pop warung (Isnuri Suryatmi and her late American husband Brian Aldinger) to multiple branches in Indonesia and 2 branches in Malaysia - Desa Sri Hartamas and Burmah Road in Penang. Famous for its grilled pork ribs, I knew it was a matter of time that I end up here, given that my pork consumption has gone up a little recently.


A cute image tickles your funny bone as you make your way to its entrance.





Naughty Nuri's only seats a complete party and allows you to hang around for only 90 minutes. Fret not, food arrives incredibly fast and we found ourselves done with the meal with 50 minutes to spare.



Besides the grilled pork ribs, their babi guling is also a signature dish.

We had some spam fries (RM18) to start the meal but the photo has gone missing. Other reviews at the end of this post will show you how it looks like. Sadly, it was nowhere near the crunchy or crispy texture of fries. All we got was probably half a can of pan-fried porky spam. Give this a miss no matter how tempted you are.


Beautifully caramelized with charred bits, we loved the tender and tasty meat with the spicy cili padi laced sauce on the side.We saved up the sauce and dipped everything else in it. The portion was great value at RM39 - enough to go around our 4 men 1 woman table. 



The table also loved the Sup Buntut (RM21.80) - packed with a sweet herbal  flavor and hints of spices, we couldn't get enough of the hearty soup. I missed out on the fork tender meat but I heard it was flavorful as well If only it came in a bigger portion for sharing!



It's easy to underestimate the looks of the Indonesian Style Fried Rice (RM18) but once it touches your table, you'll change your mind. The strong wok hei smell was evident even before it's in your mouth and it was a tasty and generally good fried rice. With that in mind, we ordered a portion of Mee Goreng Indonesia as well.



The 1/2 piglet we ordered came with skin, meat and bone and a small pot of the sticky sweet sauce similar to the one served with the pork ribs minus the heat.



The skin was pretty crisp but it was quickly concluded it was very different from the Chinese-style roasted suckling pig. The meat was pretty tender but there were hints of porky smell.



There was quite a bit of meat to go around so it satisfied the meat eaters of the table. Unfortunately, this was my least favorite dish because of the porky smell.



Looking similar to the Nasi Goreng Indonesia, the Mee Goreng Indonesia was a letdown. There was no wok hei and it was below the standard of good mamak Maggi Goreng. Oh yes, did you notice the noodles used was instant noodles? RM18 for fried instant noodles is real food for thought.

It was a hit and miss for us but overall a lovely meal. The grilled pork ribs and sup buntut is a must-try and if I were to come back, I'd love some fried rice and hearty soup for a quick meal.

Other reviews are available at ivyaiwei.com, vkeong.com and BroughtUp2Share.