Dutch Language Tasting : Event Recap

So, a lot of you know I host a monthly language tasting series where we dine out and learn a handful of phrases in a foreign language. We study a different foreign language each month - sometimes two!

Tonight we studied Dutch and went to the Indonesian restaurant, the Indo Cafe in Culver City. What a hidden gem! Indo Cafe has Indonesian food - which, as a former Dutch colony, is the closest we can come to Dutch food in LA. To go the extra mile, I even talked to the Dutch consulate in LA to confirm there were no authentic Dutch restaurants. Indo Cafe came highly recommended on Chowhound.com so I was curious to pay a visit.

Let me tell you a bit about the wonderful family-style feast we had.

We had two incredible shrimp dishes - "udang saus mentega" (shrimp sauteed with lemon, butter, worchestershire, and some lovely spice that was reminiscent of cumin) and "udang asam garam" (lightly batter-dipped shrimp with vegetables in a sweet n' sour style tamarind sauce). Very original and supremely tasty. The shrimp were extra-tender, not the overcooked variety you often see. Each dish generously doled out about 10 shrimp.

Indonesian Fried Rice was a lovely accompaniment, studded with a variety of chopped vegetables. We had two curries - "Ayam Kalio"- a chicken curry that was "okay." I guess the most disappointing part about the chicken curry was that it still had the bones, was a small chicken breast with little meat, and was difficult to share since it wasn't bite-sized. The curry sauce was nice but not as remarkable as many Thai curries are. The vegetable curry was easier to eat, but I probably wouldn't get it again.

The exquisite beef dish "Rendang," or spicy coconut beef, vied with the lemon-butter shrimp for our number-one dish of the evening. (In my book, it won!) We only ordered this dish as a side-note, since half our party did not eat beef. But boy, were they missing out. The beef was prepared with Indonesian spices that suggested more cumin and lighter notes, and it was quite a large portion for just $8.95. Coconut milk must have been used as a braise, and the tiny bit of sauce reduction was quite rich and creamy with a burst of spices. The beef had no bones or discernible fat - and it shredded easily to the fork. All of us who ate beef had seconds it was so tasty.

Two noodle dishes rounded out our dinner - "bihun goreng" or pan-fried vermicelli with chicken and "soun goreng" or pan-fried glass noodles with fried tofu and vegetables. The noodles seemed a bit too greasy, so I probably wouldn't order them again.

Dessert was a real adventure. No, seriously. You have no idea. And sadly, I was so in awe and all of us were poking, probing, and trying each other's desserts that I forgot to take pictures. Fool! But I'm already planning an event to go there just for dessert - well, maybe dinner wouldn't hurt, too. The beef is already calling me....

But back to dessert. I bit the bullet and ordered my first (and last) avocado milk shake with chocolate sauce. You have to venture outside your comfort zone, culinarily, or else you're destined to eat the same greasy noodles and never find the coconut beef. But this wasn't one of those times where I was pleased with the results. :-) Something about the strange combination of avocado and chocolate gave me an upset stomach on the ride home. But at least one other attendee loved this dessert drink.

Ask me what I'd get next time, and I'd answer unequivocally, the "es campur" for just $3.50. Our Filipina friend Christine says there's a dish in her culture that's similar - the English translation being "mix mix." What I'm about to tell you is going to sound WRONG. Which is why I didn't order it. But those who did hit the culinary jackpot. A combination of toddy palm, jackfruit, seasoned fruit, and jello topped with crushed ice with raspberry syrup and condensed milk, topped with fresh red beans.

It's beautiful to look at with all these layers of color - and it's overwhelmingly pink and looks like what a pre-teen girl's dream sundae would be. The crazy thing was the combination of flavors, specifically when you take some of the sauce with fruits. It's like eating how a flower smells. You know how jasmine tea can smell like a flower and not really taste like one? This was just the opposite. It didn't smell like anything, but it tasted like the most gorgeous flower.

Other adventurous folks ordered the "es kelapa" - a dessert drink with young coconut that was the texture of a firm creme brulee. Never seen anything like it! The young coconut pieces were at the bottom, and it was served with a cocopandan syrup that tasted like a mix of fresh coconut juice and raspberry soda. Very nice!

Overall, this is a GREAT restaurant, I would highly recommend again. Be on the lookout for my afternoon dessert party there! And next time, I'm getting photos...

Indo Cafe
10428 1/2 National Blvd.
Culver City
(310) 815-1290