After having delicious Indonesian food in Amsterdam, I was happy to be introduced to an authentic Indonesian Restaurant here in Berlin by a fellow diplowife and friend from the Indonesian Embassy. I would never had discovered this place myself because it is tucked into a corner and not very easy to find. According to my Indonesian friends it is their favourite place when they are craving for food from home.
My first question was why is the food Indonesian when the name of the restaurant is Filipino. Apparently it used to be a Filipino-Indonesian restaurant but now they served only Indonesian because of the change in ownership. They kept the name because they already had a loyal clientele.
MABUHAY: A Filipino word of greeting which literally means live, but is used to mean “long live…”, “cheers”, “welcome”, and “hurrah”.
I loved all the dishes and the presentation of the food was gorgeous – which is something that I love about Indonesian cuisine. Every time I marvel at how gorgeous Indonesian food presentation is, I remember what a food editor friend of mine in Jakarta told me. He told me Indonesian food is very well balanced and in each plate you will find various flavours (sweet, spicy, salty, sour), colours and textures in one dish. I have to agree and all these combine for a wonderful experience that not only tickles the palate but also the the sense of sight.
Tilapia in kecap manis
Kecap mani is this heavenly sweet soya sauce which goes with so many classic Indonesian dishes. A definite favourite of mine and TD’s.
Fried tofu and tempeh with spicy kecap manis dip
Gado-gado
Nasi Tumpeng
This is a great way to taste various Indonesian dishes with Nasi Kuning (yellow rice) in the middle. This is good to order when you come in a group. 
I love small family run restaurants like this in Berlin where there are no frills, but the food is great and the regulars know the owners and feel at home. If you are looking for authentic value for money Indonesian food minus the ambiance, you will definitely find it in Mabuhay. You can get an idea how much you will spend for a meal in the tripadvisor reviews on the link below.
Mabuhay Indonesian Restaurant – Berlin
Didi Paterno-Magpali (@didipaterno) says
June 16, 2014 at 5:44 AMI thought that “Mabuhay” was another one of those common Filipino-Indo words. Hindi pala!
I love kecap manis loads. Oh and gado-gado too! Too bad Indo food is pretty challenging to find where I’m at right now. We had a go to place pa naman in Dubai. Hehehe!
diplomaticwife says
July 23, 2014 at 9:53 PMHi Didi, isn’t kecap manis the best? Too bad you don’t have any Indonesian restaurants near you. it’s something that is too tricky for me to make at home. Indonesian food is time consuming work and better when you make in big batches. Not very good for a two person household no? I hope you end up finding one in your travels. I found amazing Indonesian food in the Netherlands which is not very surprising of course.
bhellabhello says
September 19, 2014 at 7:42 AMHi! Nice article. I am going here this evening. I am an Indonesian and yes, Indonesians cannot live without our kecap manis & spicy sauce.