Little Bali MV’s beef rendang

We used to do restaurant reviews. Then Covid 19 happened and we had to press pause. While we hope to get back to doing that again soon, here we are kicking off a new segment on our website called ‘Love this dish ’ in which we’ll be attempting to bring you yummy finds (that are available for takeaway & delivery) from the greater Male’ area.   

We are kicking things off by putting the spotlight on Little Bali MV’s beef rendang and before we get more into it, here’s a little bit of information for those of you unfamiliar with rendang curries: Rendang is a spicy meat dish that originated in Indonesia. It’s usually made with beef and the beef is slow cooked in a mixture of coconut milk and spices; all in all it’s a kind of a stew.

Coming back to Little Bali MV’s beef rendang, it comes with coconut rice, freshly cut veggie sticks, and a peanut sauce. We had it delivered and the first thing that hit us as soon as we opened up the package was the aroma of the rice. It was really fragrant and we thought it was pandan. The rice itself had a nice coconut flavor and a slight creaminess due to what we guess is coconut milk.

As for the beef rendang, the beef was tender and it felt like it was cooked for a long time. The texture was lovely too and we think that’s largely due to the toasted coconut flakes, an essential bit of any rendang curry in our opinion. We got hints of tamarind, the obvious creaminess from the coconut milk, and a hint of caramelization amidst the heady mixture of spices. And while on the topic of spices, we’d say this one’s on the spicier side of things, maybe a 7.5 out of 10 on a heat scale.

Helping to bring down the heat a bit is the peanut sauce. Don’t get us wrong, there were a few chilli bits in there too, but there’s the peanut-ty sweetness and a creaminess and a lemongrass like brightness. The carrot and cucumber sticks tied it all together with a nice bit of crunch.

Costing MVR 100 and with no additional delivery charges, we think Little Bali MV’s beef rendang is just wonderful. And we recommed it for the next time you are thinking of getting a meal delivered.