INDONESIA -- Restaurant Review

For contact, directions and to make reservations, click on this link Restaurant Indonesia 

Rating Standards: 5-Stars = Extraordinary; 4-Stars = Excellent; 3-Stars = Average; 2-Stars = Fair; 1-Star = Poor 

€ = Inexpensive: 30€ and under; €€ = Moderate: 31€-49€; €€€ = Expensive: €50 -75; €€€€ = Very Expensive: more than €76 (prices based on minimum 2-courses)

1-Bell = Pleasantly quiet (less than 65 decibels); 2-Bells = Can talk easily (65-70); 3-Bells = Talking normally gets difficult (70-80); 4-Bells = Can talk only in raised voices (75-90); BOMB = Too noisy for normal conversation (90+)

3.25 - Star.......................................€€........................................ 2 - Bell

I haven't been reviewing much lately since I've been out-of-town and have had mobility issues. So I made it a point to go out to dinner last night, since it would be my last chance to see our friends before they returned to the US.   

So why an Indonesian restaurant you may ask? Why not. Paris is known for international cuisine and it's also nice to have a change of cuisine every so once in a while.

We've been to Indonesia many a times, and have also tried Rijsttafel in Amsterdam countless times. So, I was looking forward to this dinner. 

I ordered the pre-fix dinner at 34€.

Vegetable fritter -- This was very akin to the Indian Pokora. It was extremely tasty with the bottled sweet pepper sauce it was accompanied with. Problem was it was beyond extremely greasy. I ate it with my fingers and I had so much oil on my fingers I could've moisturized my whole body (JJ did not find it greasy).  The 'salad' was really just for garnish.

1.  Lamb Curry -- This was a good tasty dish. The meat was very tender, in fact shredded quite easily, so I don't know if this is good or bad thing, but it was very tasty none-the-less and the curry was mild, while the heat level had a nice kick. I enjoyed it. 

2.  Chicken Satay -- This was my favorite amongst the dishes served. The chicken was tender and also nicely charred. I have to assume the peanut satay was home made, since I've tasted bottled and this had a nice bite and more flavor. I enjoyed this as well.

3. Beef Rendang -- This is a very common main dish in many southeast countries. Full disclosure, I've never been a fan of beef rendang, but I'll try to be objective as possible. The beef  could be "shredded" because it was so tender. Not one spice overtook, as is often with regional "rendang". So, all-in-all it was very tasty, especially with the topping of fried onions.

4. Salad -- Just a simple salad with a mild vinaigrette dressing,. Nothing out of the ordinary. 

5.Gado-gado with satay sauce -- Don't get me wrong, it was very good and the sauce made it, but Gado-gado is usually a mix of various vegetable and tofu. From my recollection it was just lettuce. I'm not exactly sure why this dish was served, but I'm guessing it gives us a variety of another type of greens with some satay. 

6. Indonesian Lumpia -- This was a very good lumpia if I do say so myself. It was made with vegetables and chicken. And, this time it it was perfectly fried, not GREASY. The sauce was a bottle sweet/sour sauce, which was a nice accompaniment.

The dishes were accompanied with Nasi Goreng, which is a southeast asian fried rice and served with an egg. The rice was very tasty and delicious. 

SUMMARY

What a nice find. Comparing this cuisine with food from Indonesia, it comes close. It's not as spicy as I thought it would be, but it did have a nice enough bite for me to be happy. There's nothing worse than going for eg Mexican food, and it is blander than baked potatoes. And, many times in France, traditionally spicy cuisine is toned down or "Frenchified".

The pre-fix menu, refer to photos above, was only 34€, great deal. With 2 bottles of wine and 3-pre-fixed menus and 2-ala carte, our bill came 210€ for 5-people. 

Would I go again, absolutely.

NOTE: service can be very slow. There is only 1 person who staffs the dining room.