Trying out Indonesian food in San Francisco!

[iyudhi]

What happens when you bring someone that never had Indonesian food before to an Indonesian restaurant? Well you’re about to find out

This week I had a special guest in town, and I had a chance to take her to Borobudur, an Indonesian restaurant in San Francisco. Can you guess who she is?

Yes it’s our very own @TraciC ! (woot woot!) This is a bit of background why we ended up here:

Me: So, where do you want to get food? Anything you’re craving?

Traci: I don’t have any preferences unless you want to get Indonesian food or something…

Me: OHHHHH DID YOU SAY INDONESIAN FOOD???

That’s about it really. There’s not many options for Indonesian food here in the SF bay area (and it’s about to become worse… read until the end), so I always welcome the opportunity to eat it.

So we went, and since she never had Indonesian food before, I decided to pick a few dishes for share:

For appetizer, I got Bakwan Jagung, which is a very common snack/side dish, and is basically corn fritters

First main dish is called Nasi Uduk, which literally translated to ‘mixed rice’, and it’s basically coconut rice served with various side dishes like seasoned beef, fried chicken, shredded egg, spicy fried tofu, and shrimp crackers.

Second one is Ayam Panggang Bumbu Rujak. Ok I have no idea how to translate it to English. It’s BBQ marinated chicken with sauce

Next, it’s Mie Tek Tek. It’s basically a variation of fried noodle, and usually sold by carts on wheels around the neighbourhood. The name Tek Tek comes from the sound made by the seller going around to let people know that he’s around (tek tek tek tek). Okay I might have not explain this correctly but hopefully you guys get the idewa

Last but not least is Soto Betawi. It’s basically beef cooked in coconut milk soup. Yum yum.

And you all might be wondering, did she like it? Well, I guess pictures tells a thousand words

All in all it went well. If I can be completely honest, the food isn’t exactly the most authentic Indonesian food, but they’re still pretty darn good and definitely helps whenever I miss food from home.

Which is why it was really sad when the server told us that the restaurant will be closing down next month This was such a huge bummer for me, considering there are not many other options in the area to get Indonesian food. But this restaurant has been around since 1991 (almost 30 years!) and looks like the owner just want to get some rest, which I feel is much deserved. Their food will definitely be missed.

P.S. pardon the typos… I’m just too tired to re-check right now… lol

[TheEagleEye]

@iyudhi Thanks for post. I can appreciate the Indonesian food, but what’s with the American style serving sizes? It is well known that Americans love huge servings of food.

When my wife and I travelled in the US several years ago, we ordered entrees rather than the main meals.

I notice that Hard Rock Cafe’s around the world serve huge meals, which most people in many countries can’t eat. It is a huge waste of food.

I would rather be satisfied with a satisfying small meal and be satisfied what I paid for it, without wastage.

[KimberlyAnnG]

@iyudhi that makes me so sad, to hear they are closing! I’m going to try and make it there before they do! @Twister411 what do you think??? We can use this post as a guide to the good stuff

[Twister411]

@iyudhi and @KimberlyAnnG ugh, that place was yummy. Let’s make plans to go on a Saturday before it closes. I really love it when Ivan orders for all of us. I’m see way too many restaurants closing in the city it does make me sad. I still have long lists of places to try.

[AslamMo]

Thank you for sharing the wonderful dishes @iyudhi , Indian food is so much similar, @TraciC would love it.

[SharifImran]

Hi @iyudhi

Thank you for sharing with us.

@iyudhi & @TraciC It was nice to see them trying food together.

[NarenChandra]

@iyudhi that is lot of food.

I have a question , when you taste food of one place in some other location , does it taste the same ?

I mean does Indonesian food in US taste the same in Indonesia ?

[Ivi_Ge]

Hey @iyudhi , thank you for sharing with us your experience and all of these delicious meals I have tried Indonesian food (home-made, thank you @AngieYC ) and I really like it. And as I can see from your photos, you had a very good time together. I cannot see the dessert, did you skip it?

[LuigiZ]

Hi @iyudhi ,

thank you for sharing those Indonesian delicious, @TraciC so at the end you liked it ?!?

[AdamGT]

The different meals look great and they’re certainly genereous portions @iyudhi

[Ant_Bad_Yogi]

@iyudhi Wow, you got @TraciC tried so many dishes. They look really yummy. Which one do you like most? Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

[brittym]

Now where’s the best place for us to try Indonesian in NYC, @iyudhi ?! Great post! I’m hungry all over again fresh after eating lunch.

[TraciC]

I LOVED having Indonesian food with you, @iyudhi ! Any meal with you is great since you’re so adventurous but Indonesian food was super fun since it was my first time and you’re so passionate about eating it! I’m still telling everyone I encounter in the San Francisco office about my meal AND how they need to rush to eat there before it closes.

If I had to pick ONE dish that was my favorite that IS NOT the peanut sauce, I think it’s the beef soup!!!

[marcorp]

@iyudhi pretty nice… cool that you guys had the chance to hang out… must be a blast for sure! thanks a lot for sharing my friend!

[AlexandreCampbell]

Hi @iyudhi , look likes that you and @TraciC had a lot of fun.

Sad to know they will close. In my upcoming trip to SF in November, I’d like to visit some international restaurants. So, before I reached the final of your text I was considering to try the Indonesian food.

Thank you very much for sharing!

[iyudhi]

@TheEagleEye yes it’s American portion size, probably to adjust. The portion in Indonesia aren’t usually that big.

[iyudhi]

@KimberlyAnnG @Twister411 They said they’re closing either middle or end of month. I’m actually flying back home on Thursday and won’t be back in US until Sept 8th, so I can go with you guys after that, but if you want to make sure they’re not closing you both can go before then. Just order whatever we ordered last time

[iyudhi]

@NarenChandra This particular place isn’t that authentic, so it’s not 100% the same compared to the same dishes I get in Indonesia. But they still serve good food. For authentic Indonesian food, I usually get them in Los Angeles, since they have more options.

[iyudhi]

@Ivi_Ge We thought about getting dessert, but we were told it was going to take a long time, so we skipped it. They were really understaffed.

[iyudhi]

@Ant_Bad_Yogi From what we ordered, my fave was the Nasi Uduk, since I get to taste various flavors in just one single dish