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.



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 $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 $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 $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 Indo Rasa fried chicken $6


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 $9
Grilled marinated oxtail with soup

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


Vegetable soup with the buntut bakar marinated oxtail


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 $5 (two serves)

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


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 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.








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