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<\/a><\/p>\nBut the most compelling feature of the store and one that begs a repeat visit, is the array of tempting prepared food that\u2019s replenished every Saturday after 6pm. An overwhelming variety of Indonesian snacks, main dishes, and sweets grace a table toward the back of the shop. Elvi, the co-owner, will be more than happy to answer your questions and, if you\u2019ve worked up an appetite while shopping and can\u2019t wait to get home with your goodies, can point you in the direction of their sister restaurant, Java Village, nearby at 86-10 Justice Avenue \u2013 although my experience was that the store had a much wider variety of offerings than the restaurant. Kerang<\/em> \u2013 The word can refer to clams, scallops, mussels, or pretty much any bivalve. This dish of green mussels is very spicy and very good, here served with plain white rice.<\/p>\n Ayam kaki<\/em> \u2013 chicken leg. I didn\u2019t get the ingredients or even much of an explanation, but it tastes like it\u2019s been marinated forever in sweet Indonesian soy sauce with perhaps some garlic and ginger and then probably barbecued. The tofu (tahu bacem<\/em> or tempeh bacem<\/em> to the left of the sambal) that came with it was amazing (probably marinated in the same stuff). The sauce only looked like sambal oelek but wasn\u2019t as fiery and had a chickeny component.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Not far from the intersection of Broadway and Queens Boulevard in Elmhurst, tucked away amid a cache of Southeast Asian restaurants and snackeries, lies this gem of an Indonesian boutique. Unlike some nearby markets which tend to be either Thai-centric … Continue reading
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\nHere are a few of the items that came home with me after my last visit.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>
\nPepes<\/em> refers to food, often involving fish, that has been prepared by wrapping it in a banana leaf and then steaming it (although it’s sometimes grilled); this pepes teri<\/em> (anchovy) is a little sweet, a little spicy and also contains tofu, coconut, chilies, and galangal. Delicious.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>
\nOtak otak ikan<\/em> is sort of a leaf-wrapped fish paste (ikan<\/em> = fish), but these tasty tidbits don’t really betray much fish flavor \u2013 only a slightly sweet, slightly oniony, slightly chewy snack accompanied by peanut sauce and it’s near impossible to consume just one. Incidentally, the repetition of a word as part of a grammatical construct is common in Indonesian and Malay, and in linguistics is referred to as reduplication (a word which itself seems redundant); cumi cumi<\/em> (squid) and gado gado<\/em> (a vegetable salad) come to mind. Often, as in this instance, appending a \u201c2<\/sup>\u201d to the word is used as shorthand. Yum2<\/sup>.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>
\nThis much larger arem arem<\/em> was quite tasty as well. Along with coconut milk, the leaf flavors the rice that’s wrapped around bits of tofu and shredded chicken \u2013 but beware the hot red chili lurking within!<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a>
\nBakcang beras<\/em> \u2013 You\u2019ve probably seen this pyramid of bamboo leaf-wrapped, glutinous rice (beras<\/em> = rice) in Chinatown where it\u2019s known as zongzi<\/em> and filled with an assortment of savory tids and bits. In addition to pork, this one contained mushroom and preserved egg yolk. (After steaming it, I decimated the pyramid so you could see its inner workings.) Served with a sambal.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>
\nEmpal<\/em> \u2013 Sweet and spicy shredded beef. Typically the meat is boiled first along with aromatics and spices, then cut into lumps and pummeled just enough to loosen the fibers, then often fried. This version has taken its lumps and been beaten beyond recognition into shreds although there are a couple of chunks in there so you can get the idea. I found it perfect with rice or in a lettuce leaf wrapper with sambal oelek.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>
\nIkan salmon asem manis<\/em> \u2013 sweet tamarind salmon (asam<\/em> = sour, manis<\/em> = sweet, asem manis<\/em> refers to tamarind). These fried bits are off the charts delicious, especially with the nasi kuning<\/em> (rice with coconut milk and turmeric) that I made as an accompaniment. Yes, it\u2019s oily, but so good.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>
\nUdang Balado \u2013 Udang<\/em> means shrimp and balado<\/em> refers to the method of preparation: a tomato based sauce with lots of chilies and in this case potatoes. This rendition had more shrimp heads than shrimp which provided a tremendous amount of flavor and yes, can be eaten. I\u2019ve also seen this dish prepared with stink bean (aka sataw, petai, peteh,<\/em> bitter bean, and smelly bean, a vegetable common in Southeast Asia and nowhere near as nasty as it sounds).<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a>
\nTime for dessert! Martabak manis: \u201cpandan special mix\u201d<\/em> was good, but unusual. Murtabak<\/em> (with a \u201cu\u201d) is a pancake wrapped around a variety of savory fillings usually including meat and egg that’s found in Malaysia and throughout the region. Martabak<\/em> (with an \u201ca\u201d and found only in Indonesia) can be either the savory snack or a sweet one like this. It\u2019s completely unlike its savory cousin: even the pancake is of a radically different texture \u2013 more like a crumpet. This one was flavored with pandan and the layers encased chocolate, peanuts, grated fresh cheese, and sweetened condensed milk. I warmed it up a bit and served it with coconut ice cream, which was the icing on the\u2026well, you know.<\/p>\n
\nIndo Java
\n85-12 Queens Boulevard
\nElmhurst, NY
\n718-779-2241<\/p>\n