Country Food!

Satay, Soto, Gado-gado...

Oh, sorry, my mind was wandering...
A colleague of mine recently asked me if I have ever been to the Rice Table, and he was surprised to hear that I have never been there, being an Indonesian. I am kind of intrigued with the assumption that people who are living in a foreign country would actively seek out all the eateries that offer dishes from their home country. I have of course heard about tourists that refuse to eat anything 'local' and would go all out to find (or bring lot of) familiar food and would rather starve otherwise (disclaimer: exaggeration).

Of course there would be times when I would miss the food back home, but I don't really bother searching for it here as usually it would end up being:
1. Tasting "somewhat not right".
2. Very costly when compared to food back home.

Anyhow, I ended up having some Malay food today. It is the closest approximation that is available near my workplace. Here is where I have found other interesting trends.
1. The Malay food in Singapore is, on the average, more expensive compared to Chinese food of the same 'class', and many times, do not really taste much better. (So far, there are only 2 stalls in Singapore that I feel like revisiting)
2. Chinese restaurants in the class of Crystal Jade and Thai Village do not really have a Malay equivalents. (Indonesian restaurants are another story)

So I usually would end up paying more for sub-par food (to my tastebuds). Rice + 1 veggie and 1 meat for $3, while I can get Rice + 2 veggies + 1 meat for $2 from another chinese stall. But oh well, the craving has been minimally scratched. I might have to check The Rice Table out, as my colleague said that he has heard other Indonesians claim that it is authentic enough, and another complained that she could not get into the restaurant twice already as it was fully booked. Besides, $20 for a dinner buffet is not too outrageous (unless you think in terms of Rupiah :P).