Cafe Joy, Haymarket

EDIT: Cafe Joy has closed

Cafe Joy sits on the corner of Quay and Thomas streets. Students are constantly sitting at the window counters digging into their meals, and most impressively--I would note as I walked past--they had a bottle of my favourite sambal asli chilli sauce on every table (Cap Ibu Jari Jempol).

So I really really wanted to like this place. It was cheap. It was relatively unknown. It was filled with Indonesian uni students.


Nasi Tim Ayam $7.90
Hainam chicken rice with mushroom and chicken served with soup


Nasi Rawon $8.50
Tasty tender diced beef cooked in East Javanese-style black soup


Bakmi Komplit $8.50
Indonesian-style chicken noodle served with fried wonton and beef balls in soup


Beef balls in soup (served with the bakmi komplit)

After visiting here twice though, I've yet to be convinced. I had the nasi tim ayam on my first visit, and found the rice rather soggy and flavourless.

I was bubbling with excitement when I ordered the nasi rawon on my second visit. The picture out the front had a black, opaque soup, seemingly rich with flavour. Alas my soup was merely tinged with brown, very salty and I found my beef a little tough and stringy, rather than "tasty and tender". My dining partner's bakmi komplit looked a lot more appetising (darn it, don't you hate it when you get order-envy?).

The food here reminded me of home-cooked meals. Simple, uncomplicated and far blander than I expected Indonesian food to be. Maybe that's the appeal for the Indonesian students here.

Perhaps I don't appreciate good Indonesian food. Maybe I've missed the point. But despite the name, there's no joy for me here I'm afraid.


Cafe Joy CLOSED
8 Quay Street, Haymarket Chinatown
Tel: 02 9212 1991