Fans of traditional Indonesian food, you’re in for a treat. There’s a new home-based business and its nasi tumpeng (“cone-shaped rice” in Bahasa Indonesia), a large cone-shaped rice platter with side dishes of meat and vegetables, is not only yummy, but also impossibly grand-looking. It is pretty much like nasi ambeng with similar offerings, but more elaborate and often eaten during special occasions in Central Java.

In addition to the typical cone shape, House of Nasi Tumpeng also creates them in unique designs for special occasions, like this Singapore flag tumpeng, complete with five stars and crescent, which was made specially for actor Zhu Houren’s Indonesian-Chinese wife, Vera Hanitijio, for her birthday.

House of Nasi Tumpeng was started by homemaker Juliana Simone, who has been making the dish for more than 20 years. Originally from Medan, the Indonesian-Chinese came to Singapore in the 1980s and has known Vera for more than 30 years.

Juliana decided to surprise Vera with a Singapore flag tumpeng on her birthday on August 25 as it was very close to the National Day Parade this year. To create this, she tinted the rice with red food colouring. The rectangular tumpeng was made using a mould, while the stars and crescent were shaped by hand.

“We always have [Juliana’s] nasi tumpeng during special occasions. It is delicious. My favourite side dishes are the crispy fried tempeh and satay, she even has different chilli sauces to pair with the different sides. Besides the Singapore flag tumpeng, she also gave us the traditional one with nasi kuning (yellow rice),” Houren tells 8days.sg.

Originating from Central Java, nasi tumpeng is often eaten during celebrations and parties in Indonesia. It is typically served with nasi kuning (yellow turmeric rice) as the colour represents gold and abundance, on a banana leaf-lined bamboo platter with an assortment of dishes such as beef rendang, egg, and gado gado.

“In the past, they didn’t have cakes to celebrate birthdays, so they would make the tumpeng. It is like a celebratory or ceremonial food for people to feast on,” says Juliana’s daughter-in-law Josephine Tan, who helps with the biz.

“It is also part of my mother-in-law’s family tradition. Whenever there is a birthday celebration, we would invite family and friends over to our house for nasi tumpeng and guests would always ask my mother-in-law if she could make it for their own celebrations.”

Over time, word spread about Juliana’s nasi tumpeng and her family encouraged her to start a home-based business to share her food with more people. Prior to their launch this week, Juliana received an average of four orders a month.

Juliana is a one-woman operation, handling all the cooking, while Josephine, who works in finance, helps out with social media and marketing.

Juliana also co-owns an ayam penyet business with her sisters, though she isn’t involved in the operations of the biz. They run kopitiam stall Penyet Kartini at Sengkang Square and seven food court stalls across Singapore, called Penyet & BBQ.

The nasi tumpeng is available in two sizes: ratu (queen) and raja (king). Both platters are meant for 10 pax, with the only difference in the number of side dishes. The small nasi tumpeng comes with 11 dishes including rice and dessert ($248), while the deluxe version has 13 ($298). Prefer something smaller? You can also request for party sets for five, which are $138 and $168 respectively. Add-ons are available at extra cost.

Customers can choose from two types of rice: nasi uduk (rice cooked in coconut milk) and nasi kuning (turmeric rice). Both are made with Thai fragrant rice.

You can customise the shape and design of the tumpeng for a celebration at no extra charge, however if you want mini or individual servings of the rice dish, there will be a minimum order of 10 sets.

Both the small and large nasi tumpeng come with a fixed offering of dishes like beef rendang, ayam penyet, and bergedil, which are made with traditional recipes passed from Juliana’s mum.

Other than nasi tumpeng, there are also plans to introduce monthly specials such as Indonesian-style soto ayam served with kentang garing (crisp potato sticks), soto betawi (beef simmered in coconut milk broth), sop buntut (oxtail soup), and nasi liwet.

Like nasi tumpeng, nasi liwet is also sold communal platter-style with other dishes. Basmati rice is cooked with ingredients like bay leaf, galangal, lemongrass, salted fish, and ikan bilis, and served with sides like sambal chilli petai gizzard and cumi cabe ijo (salted squid with green chilli).

Juliana created this OTT nasi tumpeng for 8days.sg and boy was it massive. Consisting of a rice tower made up of four layers of nasi uduk and nasi kuning, surrounded by 10 side dishes, the platter was so heavy that it needed two people to carry it.

Our tumpeng came with ayam penyet, gado gado, sambal chilli egg, bakwan jagung (corn fritter), satay babi surendeng (skewered pork with spiced grated coconut), pork rendang (as opposed to beef due to dietary restrictions), acar, sambal prawns, fried tempeh, and bergedil. There were also keropok and dessert kolak, a bubur cha cha-like dessert, which were packed separately.

Our favourite dishes are the sambal prawns with long beans, satay babi surendeng, kolak, and fried tempeh (fermented soybean).

Instead of chunky sticks, loose tempeh pieces are deep-fried till crispy then coated with a slightly spicy sweet glaze made with ingredients like palm sugar, lime leaves, chilli, and tamarind. We like the addition of roasted peanuts and fried white bait, which give it an extra crunch and umami kick.

The tender satay babi surendeng is the star of the tumpeng. We were pleasantly surprised by how flavourful the pork satay was. Josephine tells us pork chunks are marinated in herbs and spices overnight before they are grilled and piled with sweet homemade surendeng (spiced grated coconut) to infuse it with a nutty aroma. We liked the surendeng so much that we kept the leftovers to eat with rice. We prefer the more flavourful nasi kuning to the nasi uduk, which could have done with more coconutty fragrance.

We also enjoyed the kolak, a dessert similar to bubur cha cha. Made with fresh coconut milk, gula melaka, banana, sweet potato and tapioca, the dessert is lemak and has a hint of saltiness to it.

While $298 may sound like a lot for a rice dish, the portions are generous enough to feed 10 people, or even 12 small eaters. Definitely worth the splurge for a special occasion or if you have a big family. So fun to eat, too.

To order, DM House of Nasi Tumpeng at

Photos: House of Nasi Tumpeng, 8 Days