A night at Subak, dine with nature

Subak, a restaurant serving western-inspired Malaysian and Indonesian cuisine can indeed live up to its name - "dine with nature".

The first impression that I had when I walked up the slope towards Subak with the birthday boy whom I've brought along as a birthday treat to him as well as to be my ally as experimental mice together, I felt like I've just entered a rainforest. One would never have thought that there could be a restaurant of this kind in Petaling Jaya.

It was drizzling on 11-11-2010 and the time was approximately 8.30p.m so the temperature was quite chilly. It has a pond in the middle with a wooden bridge crossing over to the other side where our reserved table is located. The atmosphere is serene and comfortable. Again, I need to stress the feeling of being in a rainforest, surrounded with the sounds of flowing water and crickets chirping. Occasionally, I think i heard the sound of a toad or frog croaking.

We started with Subak's highly recommended Ibu Yati's Gado Gado (RM12.00) and Tom Yam Soup (RM20.00) (I've done a bit of a research before attempting to try out this restaurant). I'm not a fan of peanut sauce but the Gado Gado is surprisingly lip-smacking good! As for the Tom Yam Soup, the birthday boy finds it too spicy for him. I find it quite pricey given that there's only one tiger prawn inside. Contemplating on the main courses, we ordered Subak's NZ Lamb Shank Masala (RM45.00) and out of recommendation by the staff, Subak's Barbeque Beef Ribs (RM48.00). Personally, I prefer the former course and it was quite good. Probably due to me having the impression that the latter is barbequed AND is actually ribs. Turns out, it's more like just beef splattered with barbeque sauce. To give what it's worth, it is not too bad either.

We ended our dinner with Subak's Ice Cendol with Tapai (RM12.00). It was not really to both our liking. (I've never tried tapai before and it tasted sour. I was actually inclined to ask how tapai should taste like i.e whether it's supposed to be sour but I held that thought to myself in the end.) It was a good dinner overall.

Due to the insufficient lighting, I attempted to take only one picture which is a capture of the two main courses. If one would want to enjoy the scenery and get a feeling of the serene rainforest atmosphere free from the pollution of noise, traffic and stress, Subak is definitely recommended. I would suggest you to come during the daytime to have more sight of the greenery. It's about time to ask the girls for high tea one weekend!