Truly hot favourites
If the Burmese proverb is true that 'a real chilli, seven fathoms under water, will still taste hot' then be prepared to go deep-sea diving at Causeway Bay's Restaurant Indonesia.
The writer William Marsden noted on a trip to Sumatra in 1783 how chillis seemed to be used in 'almost every article of food' - and Restaurant Indonesia is proof that, 200 years on, old habits die hard.
Indonesian cooking offers myriad tastes and textures from spicy curries and sambal to crispy rice cakes on nasi goreng (fried rice), now a standard hotel dish. However, not everything on the menu is destined to provoke spontaneous combustion. The cuisine blends Malay, Indian and Chinese spices with indigenous roots and flavours such as tamarind, turmeric, garlic and chilli.
The restaurant excels in simple, authentic dishes, and is packed from 6.30 pm onwards with local and Indonesian diners, a sure stamp of approval. One of my dinner companions was a Malaysian-Chinese, so I knew he would know a good laksa (spicy noodles) when he saw one.
What this restaurant lacks in decor is made up by the swift service and great food. Moreover, situated at the backdoor of Sogo department store on Lockhart Road, it serves as a perfect post-movie pit-stop, or shoppers' refuge.
The menu provides ample choice, from reasonably priced set menus at $218 for two, which include spicy chicken, curry, satay, rice and dessert, to the 13-item banquet: the rijsttafel.
The latter is more a challenge than a meal, originating from the Dutch words meaning 'rice table'. It was described, in 1912, by Augusta De Wit as a 'Dutch lunch that takes 23 men and a boy to serve'.
Restaurant Indonesia's version combines more than a dozen classic Indonesian snacks such as krupuk (rice crackers) with spicy beef rendang, corn cakes and a choice of sweet desserts, including an excellent sago, sweet potato and coconut milk stew.
Also on offer is the celebrated es kacang - shaved ice flavoured with palm sugar, with green jelly or red beans - here served as ice cool, creamy drinks.
From the appetisers, the popia spring rolls were excellent, soft and doughy, different from the fried lumpia, which are more akin to the Chinese-style rolls.
More exotic dishes are available, such as East Java tripe soup or fried kangkong or convolvulus, a semi-aquatic spinach of the morning glory family, commonly used in many Asian countries. Main courses range from $60 to $80.
The chicken served in green coconut broth was a superb example of the creamy tartness of local flavours, as was the classic gado-gado - cold beancurd and vegetables with peanut sauce, which was sweeter and spicier than normal.
The 'Indonesian tofu', submerged in a gravy of fermented soy bean, is perhaps too salty for some tastes. Those who enjoy spicy dishes should feast upon the prawn sambal, lightly fried and doused in the inflammatory chilli sauce that blew away Marsden.
Restaurant Indonesia is not a place where you take clients to impress them; it is a casual joint. Prices are reasonable relative to the serving size. The surroundings may be a little cold but the chilli sauces will light your fire.
A three-course dinner for three totalled $630, including beer. Service is fast which allows for two or three sittings in the small space; however, if you do come after 8 pm, be prepared for the more popular dishes or drinks to have run out. Reservations are advised.
Restaurant Indonesia, 514 Lockhart Road, Causeway Bay, Tel: 2831-0101, Hours: 11.30 am-11 pm
