TD and I like to fancy ourselves as pork tourists in Indonesia. Pork in restaurants in Jakarta (predominantly Muslim) is nowhere as common as in Manila. So wherever we go, we are always on the look out for pork. Recently we realized that there are many hidden gems in the city, but with traffic and all, we aren’t really willing to go to a place unless it is personally recommended by friends. Our friend Sunny, who seems to know many of these places, invited us to a Chinese restaurant that serves pork. Usually TD and I don’t go beyond Plaza Indonesia which is in central Jakarta, much less go up north. But we pork tourists are willing to travel a little further for some cheap yummy pork. =P
The resto is very casual (don’t expect any ambiance) and packed on a Sunday. Good thing we had reservations for 15 pax. I don’t recommend going without a reservation on a weekend that’s for sure. With the big portions, it’s good to go in a big group and enjoy the fast, family style service and Chinese style cooking.
We ordered the following:
Cingkong Kepiting Goreng (Deep fried crab claw with shrimp ball) IDR 216.000 – Don’t be deceived by the simple appearance of this dish. Dip into the sauce and bite into it… the flavor of shrimp and crab will burst in your mouth. YUMMMMEH!
Babi Hong (steamed pork cubes) IDR 155.000 – so soft and succulent! Perfect with some piping hot rice! Don’t forget to ladle on the sauce.
Bakut Goreng Kering (Deep fried pork ribs) IDR 240.000– OMG this is definitely worth going back for. I am salivating just looking at it and remembering how it tasted. Nothing beats crispy pork fat! LOL.
Tao Miao Cah (Sauteed Tao Miao) IDR 121.000 – OMG to be honest I couldn’t get enough of this dish. It’s so garlicky and yum. Who knew green mush could be so yummy?1/2 Ayam Goreng Kering (Deep fried chicken) IDR 50.000 – To be honest I didn’t have any chicken at all. But it does look pretty crunchy which is key for fried chicken for me. The kids seemed pretty happy with it. I was on a mission though, so I mostly ate pork. =P
We made the mistake of ordering 2 noodle dishes and we had to take half of each home coz they were ENORMOUS. I preferred the Bakmi Goreng (fried noodle) IDR 132.000 TOP to the Bihun Goreng Seafood (fried seafood vermicelli) IDR 138.000 BOTTOM. The Bihun had a strong curry taste which I don’t expect.
Oh I recommend that you go with someone who speaks Bahasa Indonesia for ordering because they don’t really speak any english. It is also recommended that you ask the waiter to repeat your order to you. Someone tried to order ONE sprite, and somehow we got TEN. LOL. I think the order was “Satu Sprite” (one glass sprite) and the waiter heard “sepuluh” (ten) haha! But we were game to finish it anyway.
Rice is only IDR 8.000 per person, but you an ask for unlimited refills. For drinks, a soft drink or mineral water is IDR 10.000 per bottle. Iced Lemon Tea is IDR 15.000, while a pot of Chinese Tea is IDR 40.000 but can be shared by everyone and refilled.
Aren’t the servings massive? Can you believe that for 15 people, we only spent about 1.6Million? And I think it’s only because we ordered too much. If we didn’t mistakenly double order on the noodles and the Sprite, our bill would only have been 1.4M. Not a bad deal at all!
All in all, it was a fun casual afternoon with friends, discovering a place that we would never have, if a friend had not brought us. (Thanks Sunny!) It’s definitely something we can do with pork-loving friends on a Sunday (so it’s not so traffic).
This isn’t a place to go to for ambiance. I would say it is a hole-in-the-wall type, but it’s too huge and popular for that. It’s an old-established Chinese restaurant that has many fans, without the frills of the usual expat-friendly Jakarta restos. It was a great and fun experience, vying for the attention of the waiters in such a massive room full of hungry people.
If you want to go where the locals go, I say go for it. Venture further north than Plaza Indo on a Sunday and enjoy the big servings of pork with friends!
– Thomas Oentoro
What are your favorite pork-serving restaurants in Jakarta? Do share where it is and why you love it! I would love to hear it. Who knows it may be the next resto review on my blog. ;p
Restaurant Angke
- +62 21 6343030
- K.H.Zaenal Arifin (d/h Ketapang Raya) Kompleks Ketapang Indah, Jakarta Barat 1140, Indonesia
- click here to see the menu
Hi,,I’m Susan, and I know some of the local Chinese resto in north and west Jakarta.. Some of the food u’ve oeder is quite delicious, but I guess You miss some of the fave dish in angke.. I also a food lover.. If u need any info,, just contact me..
Hi Susan, I’d love to hear what your favorite dishes are in Anke! Do share!!
Nice yummy food. Love the pork ribs. Sounds like a great Chinese restaurant. Thx for sharing.
You are most welcome! Thanks for dropping by my blog A Midnight Visitor!
Next time when you go to Angke, you should order Lindung Cah Fumak (Eel with Vegetable); Ayam Garam (Salty Chicken) or Ayam Pa Cang Ke (Garlic Chicken); Kodok Goreng Mentega (Frog with butter); Babat Cah Tauge Asam Manis (Tripe with bean sprout); Ikan Gurame Tahu Tausi or Ikan Gurame Asam Manis. Those are my fav dishes there. But the Deep fried Pork ribs that you ordered looks so good. Their fried noodle is the best 🙂
Dear Foodie, thank you for all the information and recommended dishes that you posted on some of my restaurant food posts. They all sound SO YUMMY! I wish I got these recos before we left Jakarta. Nevertheless I am sure other readers of these posts will find them super helpful! I love getting specific dish recommendations on restos when I am checking our resto blog reviews on a resto so I really appreciate your detailed recos! Thank you!