Looking for something different other than the usual fried or grilled chicken for street food dinner? We have just the right place to go.

One of casual dinnertime options for street food usually goes for Indonesian-style fried or grilled chicken from your favorite shack in town. For a very considerate price, consider yourself fulfilled with a serving of warm rice, chicken, lots of sambal pecel (peanut based sambal), and lalapan (raw vegetables).

Well, each shack apparently possesses its own uniqueness in terms of, for example, how good their sambal pecel is, or what else they offer aside from chicken. As for the latter, they may also serve duck, catfish, or even fried eggs which apparently go really well with sambal pecel. Back in my days, frugal college students with limited allowance were saved from starvation with just this.

But here in Setiabudi, people seem to not always pick the chicken and instead, opt for something else.

First and foremost, this grilled chicken joint has an excellent skewered cuttlefish, which is quite rare except when you’re in a seafood shack. Already chopped evenly, skewered, half grilled, and brushed with bumbu kuning (Indonesian-style sauce for grilling); the cuttlefish will then be grilled all the way for finishing upon request.

The result was good. It still retained the right chewiness consistency and was also seasoned with ketchup while grilling to make it more wholesome. Moreover, the seafood here was tasted fresh.

This was the case also for the fish. The best sellers are single serving gourami and garoupa. However if you want something more common, then you can choose pomfret, which has no sign of fishy smell the last time I visited. Grilled well, the fish came with a slice of lemon upon serving for that additional zingy, refreshing touch.

The sambal pecel was not that spicy but it gave the balance that you seek when it is dipped with the fish, the squid, as well as the chicken. I recommend you to give additional kecap manis to help bring more dynamic with the whole flavor.

Lastly, it is compulsory for you to ask for their tahu penyet while available. It is basically a regular fried tofu but once it is fried, they will smash it a pestle and season it with sambal kecap and chopped bird-eye chilies and shallots. No need to add anything else and addiction is guaranteed!

So make way early for dinner here and don’t bother beating the traffic that soon!

—–

CUMI BAKAR JAWA TIMUR
Halal-friendly
Unsuitable for vegetarians

Address:
Jalan Setia Budi Tengah (left side of Aston Kuningan Suites), Jakarta – Indonesia

Opening hours:
Daily, 6pm – 12am

Spend: IDR 25,000 – IDR 30,000 / person

—–

Featured in THE FOODIE MAGAZINE May 2015 edition

Download it for free here via SCOOP!