la.foodblogging

A: K. spent a portion of his childhood in Indonesia. Ever since he got back, he has searched long and hard for the perfect plate of nasi goreng and other gems of Indonesian cuisine. We’ve tried The Banana Leaf in the Farmer’s Market, Ramayani’s in Westwood, and had good food at both; recently we’ve starting going to The Indo Café in Palms to sate our Indonesian food cravings.

Indo Café is very small—intimate one might say. Small bowls with tamarind-flavored cashews dot every table in the colorfully decorated room. The service is wonderful. We love the beef rendang. It’s very tender and the sauce is subtly flavorful but not overly spicy. The Indo Café’s sate sampler is a great appetizer; it comes with a shrimp, beef, chicken, mussel, and pork sate. Their peanut sauce isn’t overly sweet and is chunky, without being too peanut-buttery.

Every time we finish with dinner, we walk over to the Simpang Asia market, right across the street. They have all the Malaysian and Indonesian groceries and spices, as well as assorted Asian groceries. They’ve recently renovated and have expanded to include a small café and takeout place. We had their ikan goreng (fried fish) the first time we visited, and it was amazingly flavorful. I was very surprised when I was greeted with a whole fish under the foil of my takeout container. We also split lontong, logs of compressed rice with peanut sauce for dipping. I also had their blended mango drink, which tasted like fresh, blended mango and ice. It was light, sweet, and wonderfully flavorful. The next time we went to Simpang Asia, we tried their nasi bungkus, a great rice dish, wrapped in a banana leaf. (It’s not for the light-stomached, as it contains chicken gizzards.) It’s remarkably flavorful and complex, with bits of hard-boiled eggs, potatoes, and curried vegetables mixed in with the rice.

K.: Indonesian and Malaysian cuisine is near and dear to my heart. I spent three years living in the town of Salatiga, located on the island of Java in Indonesia. It’s hard to find food that actually tastes right, but we’ve been trying! My best food memories are of the savory grilled sate ayam (chicken sate), the bakmi goreng (fried noodles), and the great nasi goreng (fried rice) served with a fried egg on top. I also have fond memories of kerupuk, the crunchy crackers nearly omnipresent in Indonesian restaurants.

As Alison mentions above, we’ve tried several Indonesian and Malaysian restaurants on the westside. Ramayani’s on Westwood Blvd. is one of the first we tried. Ramayani’s food is fairly authentic, but nothing really stood out for me except for a lime vanilla drink which was amazing. I’ve approximated the drink with two cups of club soda, lime juice (half a lime), two tablespoons of vanilla syrup (Torani’s works well), and two or more tablespoons of sugar (to taste).

When I lived closer to the Farmer’s Market on Fairfax and 3rd, we used to frequent the Banana Leaf where I would have the nasi goreng, served Indo style with a fried egg and chicken sate on the side. Alison enjoyed the fish curry, which was quite good. Recently, we’ve gone back and the food has not been up to the high standard we remembered.

Our new favorite, Indo Café is great. I especially like ordering the nasi goreng, paired with kerupuk and the pork sate! The seasoning is not overdone, and the meat is grilled perfectly. Alison and I also enjoy the bayam hot plate—a large plate of sizzling amaranth leaves with your choice of meat or tofu. Indo Café has a large number of vegetarian options—this review details the many options.

Simpang Asia
10433 National Blvd, Palms
(310) 815-9075

The Indo Café
10428 1/2 National Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 815-1290

A: We're a newly-married couple that lives in West Los Angeles. We're both graduate students at UCLA. Alison is a medievalist-in-training and Kevin is working on his Ph.D. in Computer Science. We both have developed a love for cooking and exploring the amazing culinary landscape of Los Angeles.