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Sunday, March 29, 2015

Indo Rasa, Kingsford

Ayam goreng Indonesian fried chicken at Indo Rasa, Kingsford

If you’ve always been unsure about what to order at an Indonesian restaurant, Indo Rasa is the perfect place to start figuring it out. The pictorial menu – that’s 61 shots spread over 11 pages – makes order-by-pointing a much more accurate exercise.

Dining room at Indo Rasa, Kingsford

In the uni student/cheap eats haven that is Kingsford, Indo Rasa is one of the fancier-looking restaurants on the strip. And by that we mean there are waitstaff here who will cheerfully take down your order. At most other Indonesian joints in the area, you’ll have to write out your own. (Seriously.)

More importantly, the place is always full, reassuringly jumping with Indonesian families, friends and couples no matter what time you pass by.

Nasi kuning komplit at Indo Rasa, Kingsford
Nasi kuning komplit $11
Tumeric rice with fried chicken, mix of giblet and sambal vegetables, marinated beef and sambal egg

Eating on your own? The nasi one-meal rice plates run a wallet-friendly gamut of $9 to $12.50. They come with all kinds of components including fried chicken, salted fish and nasi gudeg, a green jackfruit and coconut milk curry. The nasi kuning komplit ($11) is a winner based on the mound of tumeric rice alone – the bright yellow grains are incredibly fragranced with coconut milk.


Sate kambing grilled lamb skewers at Indo Rasa, Kingsford
Sate kambing $8
Grilled lamb skewers with peanut sauce

You’re better off bringing all your mates for an all-in share feast, though. That way you can order sate chicken, lamb or beef at $8 for four skewers.

Ayam bakar grilled chicken at Indo Rasa, Kingsford
Ayam bakar grilled chicken $6

And they do up to five kinds of chicken Maryland including the classic grilled ayam bakar ($6) and the fried ayam goreng ($6), blanketed with flakes of deep fried batter called kremes (it means crunchy in Indonesian).

Ayam goreng Indonesian fried chicken at Indo Rasa, Kingsford
Ayam goreng Indo Rasa fried chicken $6

Empal goreng fried marinated beef at Indo Rasa, Kingsford
Empal goreng $4
Fried marinated beef

Terik daging ($16) might look ominous, as it's coated liberally with a bright red chilli sauce. But the slices of fried, marinated beef underneath are impressively tender.

Buntut bakar grilled marinated oxtail with soup at Indo Rasa, Kingsford
Buntut bakar $9
Grilled marinated oxtail with soup

Plow through the buntut bakar ($9), hunks of marinated oxtail grilled so they take on a smoky sweetness.

Buntut bakar grilled marinated oxtail with soup at Indo Rasa, Kingsford
Vegetable soup with the buntut bakar marinated oxtail

Terong belado stir fried eggplant in mild chilli sauce at Indo Rasa, Kingsford
Terong belado $10
Stir fried eggplant in mild chilli sauce

Or try the terang balado ($10), fat slices of eggplant stir-fried until soft and sticky and smothered in a spicy tomato sauce.

Babat goreng fried tripe at Indo Rasa, Kingsford
Babat goreng fried tripe $5 (two serves)

You can even get into the deep fried tripe ($2.50 per piece) if you’re game.

Beef rendang at Indo Rasa, Kingsford
Rendang $4
Spicy beef in coconut cream

And there’s always room for rendang, especially when the beef is this tender and only $4 per scoop.

Es duren blended ice and jus alpukat avocado drink at Indo Rasa, Kingsford
Es duren durian blended ice $6
and jus alpukat avocado drink $5.50

Drinks double as dessert. Go all out and get the durian blended ice ($6) or the avocado juice ($5.50) with chocolate syrup. Do it.

Indonesian food at Indo Rasa, Kingsford

Indo Rasa, Kingsford


Indo Rasa on Urbanspoon

Indo Rasa
1/309 Anzac Parade, Kingsford, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9697 2003

Opening hours:
Monday to Saturday 11.30am-3pm and 5.30pm-9.30pm
Sunday 11.30am-4pm and 5.30pm-9.30pm


This article appeared in the March 2015 issue of Time Out Sydney in my monthly Food & Drink column Eat This! [Read online

Read more of my Time Out Sydney reviews
19 comments - Add some comment love

posted by Helen (Grab Your Fork) on 3/29/2015 12:03:00 am


19 Comments:

  • At 3/29/2015 10:48 am, Blogger Ramen Raff said…

    I love ayam bakar! I need to visit Indo Rasa!

     
  • At 3/29/2015 8:22 pm, Anonymous john | heneedsfood said…

    Oh man, I'm well overdue for an Indo fix. I swear, it's been years! Oh, damn, I forgot about that place in NYC. Doesn't count.

     
  • At 3/29/2015 9:36 pm, Anonymous John said…

    Saying grilled ayam bakar or fried ayam goreng is like saying grilled grilled chicken or fried fried chicken :)

     
  • At 3/30/2015 10:34 am, Blogger Jacq said…

    I haven't had Indonesian food in ages! Really need to get out to Kingsford for a nasi kuning fix

     
  • At 3/30/2015 2:44 pm, Anonymous chocolatesuze said…

    i would go just for the durian drink alone!

     
  • At 3/30/2015 9:11 pm, Blogger Helen (Grab Your Fork) said…

    Hi Ramen Raff - The menu is huge. So much more I wanted to try.

    Hi heneedsfood - Haha. I reckon Sydney Indo restaurants would give NYC a run for its money!

    Hi John - Agree on the tautology however I don't presume that all readers understand Indonesian so have included the translation even if it is repetitive :)

    Hi JacqHi chocolatesuze - You could smell it as soon as it hit the table. Intoxicatingly good.

     
  • At 3/31/2015 8:05 am, Anonymous Hotly Spiced said…

    I can see why uni students would love it here - great prices. I don't think I have ever been to an Indonesian restaurant. The food looks full of flavour xx

     
  • At 3/31/2015 9:03 am, Anonymous Nagi@RecipeTinEats said…

    I saw that picture of grilled chicken and I dribbled so badly I had to change my shirt.

    It's 9am here. It's wrong to be reading this at this hour and being tortured like this!

    Kingsford is my "go to" for Indo fix. I don't even know the name of any restaurants. I just know which part of the strip to go to and to head to one of the ones PACKED with people!!

    Seeing as you couldn't make it to Amanda's, let's make our next catch up at Indo!!

     
  • At 4/01/2015 1:58 am, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I feel like Indo food now thanks to your post Helen! Goodness the lamb skewers look good in my belly :D

     
  • At 4/01/2015 3:52 pm, Anonymous Gourmet Getaways said…

    Looks like a nice and clean place. Fried tripe is very tempting hehe. Love that the price range you mentioned gets you a complete rice meal. Thanks for sharing!

    Julie & Alesah
    Gourmet Getaways xx

     
  • At 4/01/2015 9:07 pm, Anonymous Racy_staci said…

    The turmeric rice was so good! Such good value.

     
  • At 4/01/2015 9:18 pm, Anonymous Jucy Lucy said…

    The chicken looks amazing

     
  • At 4/02/2015 9:20 am, Anonymous Giginoodles said…

    That eggplant looks killer

     
  • At 4/02/2015 9:20 am, Anonymous Giginoodles said…

    That eggplant looks killer

     
  • At 4/02/2015 9:56 am, Anonymous nuggnuggs21 said…

    This place looks great. Chicken looks yummy.

     
  • At 4/03/2015 8:33 pm, Anonymous Mr C @ The Food Diary said…

    Mmm loving the look of that chicken...

     
  • At 4/07/2015 11:56 am, Anonymous Sarah vs Carbs said…

    This looks surprisingly good! I went a few years ago and thought it wasn't very authentic. Maybe the food got better :)

     
  • At 4/07/2015 8:18 pm, Anonymous Joseph said…

    I love the picture menu in asian restaurants! Makes it easy for people like me who don't know what dishes are called but if I see a pic I know I want it.

     
  • At 4/22/2015 11:13 pm, Anonymous Sara | Belly Rumbles said…

    When a place if full it is always a very good sign. The food looks really great, and... umm.... after my last experience with tripe, may even give their dish a go.

     

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