A taste of Indonesia

After finally getting through a project in the morning, the rest of the day was going to be spent relaxing and basking in the afterglow of finally getting over yet another hurdle. I took a midday break and set out mid-afternoon. I soon found myself in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn popping in and out of various shops and, eventually, wound up at a café, where I stopped for tea.

During that time, I followed up on a couple other loose ends and, once those were done, the next goal was dinner, Making my way down 7th Avenue, I saw a sign saying “Indonesian Cuisine” and was drawn into Java Indonesian Restaurant, located at the corner with 16th Street.

While I had never dined at this restaurant before, it was nostalgic because one of my best friends used to live a couple blocks up and I recalled walking by this restaurant many times in the past.

As I made my way inside, I got there just at opening and was asked to have a seat, and to give them a moment while they set up—no problem.

I was eventually offered place settings, some water, along with a QR code to retrieve the menu.

Java has quite the array of dishes, many unfamiliar to me. However, when it came to drinks, the Garuda immediately jumped out.

The drink consists of pineapple juice, orange juice, and coconut crème, and it is amazing! One of the best juices I have ever had.

That coconut creme added a richness that made it so irresistible.

I got to talking to the server (who appeared to be the owner) and she asked if I was Indonesian. When I told her I was Filipino, she noted the similarities between the two—I mean, we are neighboring countries. She also mentioned the restaurant has been around for over 30 years. My food was still being prepared but, for a place that has been around that long, the anticipation was elevated.

With the first item to arrive at the table, it brought me back to her mentioning similarities between the Philippines and Indonesia. I ordered lumpia.

For Filipinos, lumpia are the delicious fried spring rolls everyone finds at get-togethers. Truly, one of the most addicting foods ever!

At Java, the lumpia are also egg rolls just fried a little different but with the same meat and vegetable fillings. Their lumpia is stuffed with ground beef and mixed vegetables.

Based on the temperature of the lumpia, it was pretty obvious these were fresh out of the fryer—they were hot!

Once I was able to tolerate the heat, these were fantastic! The crunch on the outside was delectable and each roll was packed with filling. This is one of those dishes that I’ll be ordering on EVERY visit.

I also went with a second starter, the udang goreng.

Fried shrimp with a sweet chili sauce on the side.

At first glance, the breading looked great and I could not wait for that first bite. However, just picking one up, I was shocked at how big they were.

These were also freshly prepared and delicious. Bottom line: there’s fried shrimp, then there’s udang goreng!

It was finally time for the main course: rendang. When I put in my order, the server said I made some good choices (and, so far, it’s been two-for-two). I said rendang was familiar as I had tried it at a Malaysian restaurant before and she assured me, the Indonesian version is different.

The menu describes the dish as beef simmered for hours in coconut milk and spices. In all honesty, just looking at the picture, I’m physically getting sensations on my teeth of savoring some of the most tender and flavorful beef.

The beef was phenomenal and the gravy was so amazing—I could ask for a pot of rice and just enjoy that with the gravy!

This was a fantastic first experience with Indonesian food and, with the friendly and excellent service, I’m definitely coming back for more (and more lumpia).