Palapa Express (Woodlands)

One of those establishments that had previously impressed us quite a fair bit that we had visited in the past year was Palapa — an Indonesian casual dining establishment that is located within City Gate along Beach Road. Was scrolling through social media one day and chanced upon a post from them mentioning the opening of a second outlet recently — it seems that these folks had expanded their operations with a new concept named Palapa Express; the concept having found home within the Maxim Stars coffeeshop that is located at Blk 326 Woodlands Street 32. Other notable stalls operating within the same coffeeshop will include an outlet of Char Siu Lang as well as an outlet of Aw’s Signature Minced Meat Noodle. Palapa Express takes over one of the stall units that is situated in the middle of the coffeeshop that faces out towards the open-air carpark within the same HDB estate. For those whom aren’t familiar with Palapa, Palapa is an establishment that specialises in serving up Nasi Jeruk (also known as Lime Rice); whilst Palapa operates as an independently-run dining establishment within City Gate, Palapa Express is just a stall within a coffeeshop setting. Considering so, the menu at Palapa Express features a slightly smaller variety of items as compared to the one at Palapa — items like the Spicy Beef Balado, Grilled Chicken and Grilled Lamb being missing from the menu at Palapa Express.

A trip to Palapa wouldn’t be complete if one doesn’t opt for their Coriander Fried Chicken with Signature Lime Rice — this was also the dish that really impressed us when we made our visit to Palapa at City Gate as well; considering so, it is little wonder that we found ourselves going for it again during our visit to Palapa Express. Palapa Express does not describe the elements that comes with their various dishes; that being said, it could be observed from our order that the Coriander Fried Chicken with Signature Lime Rice does come with other elements such as the Fried Tempeh and Veggie Fritters — both elements also being offered as side dishes under the Ala Carte section of the menu. The presentation of the dish is pretty similar to what one would get at their City Gate outlet; patrons also do get the choice to opt between their Signature Lime Rice as well as White Rice here which we went for the former. Coming in a hue of light green, the Signature Lime Rice is what we remembered it to be; soft and fluffy, yet coming with a hint of lime leaf fragrance that perfumes the tastebud; the flavours of the rice being especially alluring that makes it already very good on its own. The Coriander Fried Chicken is also yet another highlight at Palapa as well; while the Coriander Fried Chicken is placed in a display warmer at the counter, these also do seem to be well prepared ahead of time considering how we had dropped by Palapa Express during a weekday dinner service — thought that it would fair better especially when they are served freshly fried. We did however note that it was also not particularly greasy. That being said, apart from the slightly dry texture of the chicken, the chicken is still warm with a crisp exterior — the texture for the batter further enhanced by the use of coriander seeds (thus the namesake Coriander Fried Chicken) that gives it an additional crunch amidst the crispness. The accompanying Sambal Balado is one that is lightly savoury and is suitably spicy even though it hints of the notes of fresh chili — despite its rather fiery-looking aesthetic, this should be pretty manageable for those whom are tolerable to moderate levels of spiciness in general; goes especially well with the Coriander Fried Chicken. Meanwhile, the Vegetable Fritters here is one that comes with a fair bit of dough in the batter; presumably so to gel the shreds of vegetables altogether — just like the Coriander Fried Chicken, these were fried for quite a while and placed in the display warmer and had lost its crispness by the time we made our visit on a weekday evening for dinner, though it is still warm and not too greasy, with some bite of vegetables providing a soft, fibrous crunch within for some variance of texture. The Fried Tempeh at Palapa is fairly interesting in the way that it does look like it is being deep-fried like a samosa — perhaps the batter used for the Fried Tempeh contributes to how it still manages to retain that crunch as opposed to the other fried elements that came with the Coriander Fried Chicken with Signature Lime Rice; all that with a nuttiness and a good bite whilst at it.

We also managed to try the Curry Chicken Indomie during the same visit; no doubt something that is simpler and also a dish that is considerably easier to find at other dining establishments specialising in Indonesian fare, this was also a fairly comforting option for those whom aren’t too adventurous to give their Coriander Fried Chicken with Signature Lime Rice a go. It is interesting to note that the Curry Chicken itself doesn’t come with a very thick gravy, but this makes the curry pretty complimenting with the Indomie since it does give the Indomie a slight hint of curry fragrance — all that while the curry isn’t quite spicy and should do just about right even for those whom are not tolerable to even lower levels of spiciness. The chicken leg does come sufficiently moist and tender; also absorbed some of the flavours of the curry gravy, while the Indomie comes all springy and tossed in a dark sauce for a familiar sweet-savoury note. Otherwise, the Curry Chicken Indomie does come with pretty similar components as the Coriander Fried Chicken with Signature Lime Rice; the same Sambal Balado, as well as the Fried Tempeh and Vegetable Fritters. Palapa was one of those establishments that really surprised us when we had first given their Coriander Fried Chicken with Signature Lime Rice a try at their City Gate outlet — Palapa Express does seem to be able to replicate much of the same experience; the flavours of the Signature Lime Rice being on point, while the textures of the Coriander Fried Chicken is also spot-on. That being said, it does seem to be better to drop by Palapa Express earlier rather than later so as to enjoy the fried items at their best — perhaps they can also look into serving up their fried items freshly-fried so as to keep the consistency of their fried dishes as they intend them to be even if one drops by the stall later during the day. Prices of their items featuring Signature Lime Rice / White Rice are priced from $5.90 to $10.90, while the items on the Indomie section of the menu are priced from $6.40 to $12.40 — for reference, the Coriander Fried Chicken with Signature Lime Rice that we have had is priced at $7.90 while the Curry Chicken Indomie is being listed at $9.40; the latter being slightly on the pricier side. That being said, we would find ourselves back for the Coriander Fried Chicken with Signature Lime Rice when the craving hits considering the proximity of Palapa Express to us — definitely an interesting addition to the North that we do hope would hang around in time to come!