Hunan Kitchen, Jakarta

So when a close Indo-Chinese friend of mine suggested heading down to Jakarta for the weekend before he went back to the States, it didn't take long for me to agree. This friend of mine never appeared to be a foodie but the only food he'll ever rave about is Indonesian food. The spread of the mainland population reaches far and wide, so it's not surpirsing that they've reached Indonesia as well. As such, quite a lot of mainland eateries have popped up. I was actually quite surprised that my first meal in Jakarta was Hunan cuisine, but since I've never tried Hunan cuisine and was rather hungry, this was still very much welcomed indeed.

I actually quite enjoy eating various Chinese foods in different countries because I appreciate the localization of these foods. Jakarta has a lot of spicy and greasy foods. This serve of cold shredded potatos in chilli oil and spices was a great way to start the meal.

This is the signature dish of this restaurant. A pre-fried pig leg that is then braised in a thick sauce.

It was so tender that the main center bone just slipped out and after it was sliced by the server, each chunk was just a nice greasy savory morsel that went down with the rice very well indeed.

Hotpot frog in dried chillies and copious amounts of spring onions, onions and ginger. Soft and succulent, the freshness of the frog showed through with the sweetness in its flesh.

Dry fried string beans, this is very similar to the Sichuan ones except this didn't have fatty minced pork. It was still greasy and salty enough to be very tasty though.

The hotplate beef was pretty ok. Not really spectacular, in fact its taste reminded me of Westernized-Chinese food.

This was called Spicy Ayam Goreng which literally translates as spicy fried chicken. It tasted very similar to the spicy Sichuan chicken I had at Mapo Dofu Restaurant. Although this wasn't entirely boneless, the bones were crisp enough to be just crunched down.

Finished off the late dinner with a plate of fresh fruits. All the local fruits are tree-ripened making them naturally sweet and refreshing. I was promised an itinery of a lot of eating and in my next few posts, I'll pass on all these great eating experiences I enjoyed in Jakarta.

D