Discovering Trendy Southeast Asian Food

I’m so glad that Indonesian cuisine is finally gaining awareness in the Bay Area. While it’s not exactly a common cuisine (yet), I’m seeing more people express an awareness of Indonesian food. Outside of Thai cuisine, I feel like Southeast Asian food is just waiting to be discovered by mainstream America.

I recently checked out Borobudur in the Tenderloin with a friend who also has an affinity for all things roti and sambal and rendang. The restaurant wasn’t busy, but it was late and we were served quickly.

We started with the roti prata.

Roti prata is a pan-fried, thinly layered bread, and here it was served with a curry sauce. The dough had a great consistency: flaky and chewy and was a great vehicle for sopping up the mildly spicy sauce.

For my entree, I had the bakmi goreng.

This was my first time trying this dish; I usually go with the mee goreng instead. Goreng means “fried” in Bahasa Indonesia, and bakmi is a wheat-based noodle that was first brought to Southeast Asia by Chinese merchants. Here it was served with egg, vegetables, chicken, shrimp. The noodles were a little greasy, but hey, they’re fried. The sauce was savory and brought the whole dish together.

Service is friendly at Borobudur and the restaurant is a fun, casual place for a quick meal. If you haven’t tried Indonesian food yet, this place is a fantastic primer on the country’s diverse and extremely flavorful cuisine.

Mariam Hosseini is a Bay Area native who has been writing about food and travel for six years.  She blogs regularly at yogurtsoda.com.
 

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