Indonesian Food Fair: My Kind of Outdoor Activity

Cheap ethnic food has always had an important place in my heart. Nothing spells love like a giant bowl of pho, or a side of warm out-of-the-oven naan bread, or an eight dollar meal of soon tofu and banchans. Or even better? Nothing spells love like a food fair dedicated to feeding hungry souls said ethnic fare.

B and I headed out to the newly reopened Indonesian Food Fair at the Duarte Inn parking lot on Saturday. The deep, woody smell of grilling satay greeted us with open arms the minute we stepped into the parking lot. Good sign. Very good sign. And although the “fair” was made up only of five or six stalls, B and I still had a hard time figuring out where to order from and, more importantly, WHAT to order.

(This stall fed me)

(A closer look at what's on offer)

After taking a look at what all the stalls had to offer, I settled on the first stand which offered a rice and three item combo for $6.50. We got to the fair pretty late so a lot of the stuff was gone already – including the coconut rice. Oh well, I settled for the nasi kuning/yellow rice instead. And although the beef rendang and the satay looked (and smelled) amazing, I was still on my fish-egetarian diet. With these dietary “restrictions” dictating my combo choice, I ended up with a sambal telur/hard boiled egg in chili sauce, a generous scoop of kacang goreng and Ikan bilis/fried peanuts and fried salted anchovies and, to top things off, a piece of perkedel jagung/corn fritter. I carried my box of Indo goods three stalls down and grabbed me a cup of es cendol ($2.50).

(Where I got the es cendol)

(Tempted to get some coconut sweet. But was way too full)

My spicy tolerance has definitely gone up. I’ve grown from my pathetic experience at Kyochon and was able to eat the chili egg like a champion. The sambal was so spicy…and so good. But the strong flavor masked the taste of the egg itself and I found myself caring more about lapping up the bits of chili paste than eating the egg. The little fried fishies was another favorite of mine. Salty and crunchy – perfect "drinking" food. The texture was perfect when paired with the fluffy yellow rice and I had no problem finishing all the anchovies. But the corn fritter turned out to be the surprise winner of my lunch. The texture was great – a little like the Korean pajun/potato pancakes. It was chewy with a nice crisp exterior. It was awesome!

(Annotated Lunch)

The es cendol was only just ok. All I could taste was pure sweetness; I couldn’t make out any coconut taste at all. But maybe my tongue had been numbed by the sambal and my tastebuds for sweet foods had been put on a temporary hold.

(Only alright: Es cendol)

I LOVE the Indonesian food fair. The food is great and the atmosphere is so friendly. It’s a fantastic feeling to be sitting on a rickety fold-up chair, eating $6 food from a plastic take-out box. Plus, all the stall-keepers are all smiles and they do not hesitate to help and explain the dishes. I would go back every week if it weren’t so far!

(Another Close-up)

This was definitely a kickass way to celebrate my graduation!

FOOD: 4.75/5
SERVICE: 4.75/5
ATMOSPHERE: 4.75/5

INDONESIAN FOOD FAIR/PONDOK KAKI LIMA ($)
At the Duarte Inn Parking Lot (Saturdays, 10am – 2pm)
1200 Huntington Dr
Duarte, CA 91010

Simpang Asia: Gotta Get Gado

(Adjoining Grocery Store)

Southeast Asian food makes me happy and, because I like being happy, I headed out to grab Indonesian food with Theresa last night. A nine minute drive later (google map didn’t lie), we plopped our hungry asses down on the IKEA-esque plastic chairs in Simpang Asia.

Most of the traditional, “Nasi ” dishes contained some form of meat so I opted for the Gado Gado salad ($6.50) while the carnivore of the table ordered the nasi bungkus ($7.50).

(Nasi Bungkus: a carnivore's banana leaf goodie-bag)

Like in all Asian-run places, it didn’t take long for the food to be brought to our table. Theresa opened up the giant folded banana leaf to find a steaming mound of rice surrounded by portions of chicken curry, beef rending, egg, vegetable curry, among other things. Just the smell alone convinced me that it would be good stuff. I took a bite of yellow-curry-sauce-soaked rice which confirmed my belief. I love the sweet fragrant coconut milk undertones of Southeast Asian curries!

(Gado Gado: drizzled with the nectar of the Gods)

I then focused my attention on my own dish. The gado gado is, essentially, a plate of spinach, long beans, sprouts and other veggies, combined with tofu and a sliced boiled egg, drizzled with a sweet peanut sauce and topped with crunchy shrimp crackers. Mmmmm indeed. The peanut sauce is nothing short of amazing. Smooth and flavorful – a drizzle of that could convert the most mundane of foodstuffs into a mound of deliciousness. The other ingredients in themselves were fairly bland (especially the tofu which was almost inedible on its own) but I soaked everything into the sauce and I lapped it all up happily. Halfway into the dish though, I encountered some strange white cubes in the salad. I took a bite and couldn’t figure it out at all – it was virtually tasteless. I consulted the menu and found out that they were “potato cubes.” Weird. I guess I’m just used to potatoes with, you know, taste. But then again, it wasn’t a problem that a little bit of peanut sauce couldn’t solve! I washed the salad down with a can of honeydew melon “boba” drink from the grocery fridge ($0.89). I say “boba” because, while the can showed the big pearls of black tapioca floating in the drink, what really was in the can was small white chewy bits. Oh well, I never was a fan of boba pearls anyways and plus, the drink itself was really good.


After the meal, we perused the adjoining grocery store for Asian snacks. They have everything from canned jackfruit to Japanese chocolates. I love it! I grabbed a box of ikan asin/dried salted fish ($5.00) which proved to be the perfect drinking food. Being disgustingly unhealthy, we polished off the whole box later in the night after a few drinks. Helloooooo skyrocketing sodium levels.

(Ikan Asin: the most delicious way to bring on high blood pressure)

I also got a dadar gulung ($1.50) from the sweets counter at the cashier – I was sold when the cashier explained that it was a pancake roll stuffed with COCONUT (i.e. the magic word) and brown sugar. I ate it this morning and it wasn’t very good at all. Disappointingly unsweet. Too bad.

(Dadar gulung: forgot the sugar?)

All in all, Simpang Asia is a great spot to eat. Service is quick and friendly and the food is comfortingly satisfying though not perfect. It’s cheap and clean and it’s packed with regulars (it gets more crowded as it gets later). Yep, I sure do loves me some Southeast Asian food.

FOOD: 4/5
SERVICE: 4/5
ATMOSPHERE: 2/5

SIMPANG ASIA ($)
10433 National Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90034
(310) 815-9075
http://www.simpangasia.com