A Longing for Mandaga’

by Julius Kensan
12th November 2014
Mandaga’ is a new spot to get acquainted with if you grew up with familiar and reassuring Indonesian foods.

The recently opened Mandaga’ is difficult to miss when you passed by Wijaya Centre. Its shocking, but pleasant, yellow and white exterior calls out to passerby like a flower would to a bee.

Mandaga’ is an Indonesian restaurant with Padangnese cuisine at heart. There won’t be any food name too strange or too difficult to pronounce. Dishes like Sate Padang, Nasi Goreng Padang and Gulai Kambing are at once familiar and comforting. For an extra kick, try out Teh Talua, a traditional Padangnese beverage, where it is made from tea, sweetened milk and egg yolk of a duck egg.

The ground floor of Mandaga’ resembles an old-school canteen/grocery store. Once upstairs, the establishment bears a resemblance to a living area complete with a spacious balcony. Depending on the way you look at it, diners can have their meals upstairs before moving downstairs to grab coffee (from Tanamera) and hang out by the counter.

Mandaga’ is also opened for breakfast, serving dishes that you grew up with, such as Lontong Sayur, Pecel and Kueh-Kueh for treats.

In Padangnese, Mandaga’ means a longing. But, even if you’re not longing for any particular Padang food from Mandaga’, you’ll most likely to long for a solitary moment in this pleasing establishment; sitting by their huge window with a cup of coffee and mini treats while doing some people watching or just simply getting lost in your own thoughts as the relentless rain pours down steadily.