Padangs On Wheels Damansara Utama — Restaurant in Petaling Jaya

My wife brought us here, without telling us what kind of food we were having for lunch, so I just played along.. Upon arrival, we managed to get a parking spot right in front of the restaurant...Was that supposed to be a good omen?😱

Well, unfortunately NOT...Getting off from the car, I immediately noticed the word " berlado" being highlighted on the digital screen!! Berlado means, "with chili, and spicy"..oh no!!! In fact, half of the dishes on the menu list contained that word, which I purposely stay away from...😓😓

Not knowing what would be "safe" for me, I ordered nasi lemak, without sambal, and gulai tunjang (cartilege) masak lemak, which is totally my favorite. And I thought that I would be having a marvellous lunch afterall...When they finally delivered to my table, what I found was, nasi lemak yang tak lemak, and it was served cold. They put a bowl of gravy on my table too...and when I asked where the tunjang ( cartilege) was, the waiter said, sudah habis! At the same time, the customer next to our table was complaining that his bowl of cartilege had a funny looking "hair" in it, and requested for a replacement...But you know what was the answer? " Sudah habis..."😱😱

I requested him to replace my order with a fried chicken, which he delivered, but was served cold as well. Some friendly words of advice to the operator...first of all, operating a foodtruck is not the same as running a restaurant..Its a different animal altogether..and with a foodtruck, you could easily move to a different location!!🤣🤣

Secondly, please employ waiters and kitchen staffs who could speak or at least understand both Malay or English...I think Daniel was having a nightmare putting in our orders, as the waiter was a vietnamese or a mynmarese...Thirdly, ALWAYS make sure you serve your food warm!! My lunch was totally cold, and I couldnt finish it. Not even Daniel could...and that was so unlike him!!🤪🤪

On the plus side, they do have an amazing dessert selection!!!..For my wife, DESSERT IS HER MAIN COURSE!!..so, there was not a pip of a complaint coming from her!!🤭🤭

Between the three of us, Daniel had the most to complain about...but most of those comments are...

As an Indonesian I can say that Padangs On Wheels is almost the best nasi padang in this area. I am amazed with their staff, quick response and friendly. I also like their concept which is instagrammable, unfinished building concept but still clean.

Here what dishes we ordered Rendang daging : 8/10 rich in taste, not typical dry rendang minang. The meat is so tender. Dont want to compare, according to my taste buds Padang sari ratu is 9/10 but pricier. Rendang ayam : 9/10 I thought the seasoning is just like rendang daging, but it is different, richer in lemongrass and kefir leaves than rendang daging. For me it is refreshing Paru goreng : 10/10 it is more like keropok paru. I know there are 2 types of paru goreng in kedai padang, the most common is the ordinary paru goreng not too dry or dry fried paru but usually it is thin sliced. In padang on wheels paru goreng is not thin but dry! Wow, crunchy like keropok yet I can still the paru taste. I wonder how they cook it. Sambal hijau : 7/10 not as tasty as sambal ijo I have in Indonesia but it is among the best sambal ijo so far I taste in malaysia Hati goreng : 6/10 only 1 chicken liver, served with fried potato and sambal merah. The liver texture is dry, but not like keropok paru. If i can say half dry. But it is too dry for liver. It tastes like the liver has been fried several times based on its texture and appearance. Better not order this again in the future Sayur putih : actually I never saw this in ordinary kedai nasi padang anywhere. Haha. Not of their speciality, I can't rate this one.

Overall, I wanna come back again in near future for their rendang daging, paru, and...

So so. It definitely serves to cater to the community in that neighbourhood bt it falls short in comparison to more authentic nasi padang joints in Kg Baru. The ordering system was somewhat chaotic as you will have to queue and wait for a server to attend to you based of a meal ticket/order chit. However, if you want to order drinks, the waiter will print out a qr code for you to order from there (a bit odd that they can’t use the same system for the meals?) The servers were unable to attend to us immediately as the same servers had to send the ordered meals to the table. The umami flavor in the food is missing and the portions are tiny. I’d give a nod to the Sambal Merah, and the flavor of the Ayam Goreng Bumbu which is delicious although the chicken is a bit dry. The Sambal Belado Udang had a fishy smell and after deshelling it it seems like the prawns used were not fresh. The gulai Telur & Tauhu was just okay. So was the Daging Belado. The restaurant was small, the tables are close together and its just overcrowded. You can barely feel the ac in the front part of the restaurant perhaps due to the premises being a somewhat old shoplot. The design is definitely aesthetically pleasing and the dining experience might be better if its less crowded. Overall...