It’s well known that Beach Road is home to many excellent eateries, but we’ve never seen any that specialises in Indonesian food—until we came across Palapa at City Gate, a 4.8-star-rated eatery with over 1.2K Google reviews at the point of writing.
The menu has over 10 items, but the most popular item is said to be the Coriander Fried Chicken ($8.90). Even if you’re not a fan of coriander, we urge you to give it a try as the herbaceous flavour isn’t as prominent as you might think.Â
Fried chicken aside, the dish comes with a veggie fritter, fried tempeh, and a scoop of spicy sambal. You can pay an additional $1.20 for a sunny-side-up!
What makes this dish even more special is that it comes with lime rice, a rare find in Singapore. Taste-wise, it’s said to be slightly tangy to cut through the richness of the chicken, and extra aromatic, as lime rice is typically cooked with lemongrass, coconut milk, and pandan leaves. FYI, if lime rice isn’t to your taste, you can always go for plain white rice.
There are eight noodle dishes too, featuring Indomie as the base, paired with different proteins. For a seafood option, there’s the Indomie Fried Calamari ($13.40) or Indomie Grilled Fish ($12.40), while the Indomie Grilled Chicken ($10.40) is a steady seller that’s as popular as the Coriander Fried Chicken.
Palapa’s main store is at City Gate, a quick five-minute walk from Nicoll Highway MRT Station. The chain has two other stalls in Woodlands and Paya Lebar!
For more cool places in the area, check out Haus Coffee, where we tried one of the best banana pudding matcha lattes. Alternatively, read our Choon Hoy Parlor review.
Website | Full list of outlets
Palapa uses halal ingredients.
Feature image adapted from @lickscreenfortaste and @foodieboonie