Kalimantan (Borneo) Food at Little London Cafe (Alhambra, CA)

As an Indonesian food blogger, I try to make my way to all the Indonesian restaurants in town, albeit slowly. When Wandering Chopsticks told me about the Kalimantan (the Indonesian word for Borneo) menu at Little London Cafe in Alhambra (formerly, and pretty much still is, a fish and chips place), I was pretty excited since Kalimantan food is a hard find. The LA Times beat me to the punch, but I feel that there is still some explaining I can do about the food here.

#1: Nasi Campur Kalimantan ($7.25) / Kalimantan Mixed Rice
babi merah panggang, ayam goreng bumbu, sosis babi, telur rasa, timun
(roast pork/char siu, fried marinated chicken, pork sausage, marinated egg, cucumber)

Do those like char siu and chinese sausage to you? Many of the people I knew who had come here said the food was just like Chinese food. Well, that's because it is. There is a big population of Chinese people in Indonesia, and Kalimantan in particular has a big Teochew population (Teochew people come from the eastern region of Guangdong).

The key here is the gravy that's soaking the rice and the amazing fried chicken. I should have gotten the half chicken,but luckily the fried chicken here is as ubiquitous as rice. In fact, it ended up being in all three dishes we ordered. No complaint, though, the chicken was juicy, the skin just the right combination of crispy and fatty.

The other dishes are more decidedly Indonesian rather than Chinese.

#3: Nasi Melayu Kal-Bar ($6.99) / West Kalimantan Malay Rice (Kal-Bar is shorthand for Kalimantan Barat, i.e. West Kalimantan)
Ayam goreng, telur gulai, ikan kacang, timun
(fried chicken, curried egg, peanuts and anchovies in sambal, cucumber - and it's not listed but there's obviously tofu, too)

 

I ended up enjoying the cut-up pieces of chicken in #1 better because the skin was fattier, but this was a great dish to order. More chicken, and the anchovies and peanuts in sambal is always a great accompaniment for rice. The "curried egg" was actually the same as the marinated egg in the other dish.

They ran out of the beef soup so we got the Soto Ayam Pot ($6.99) / Chicken Soup
nasi, ayam goreng bumbu, tomat, kol, daun bawang, bawang goreng, kerupuk
(rice, fried marinated chicken, cabbage, green onions, fried shallots, shrimp crackers)

Soto is chicken soup made with various spices (the yellow color of the soup comes from turmeric). The fried chicken appears here again. No complaint, still, but they sure do maximize the use of their ingredients and it seems a bit silly to dump fried chicken in a soup but at least the marinade adds a nice flavor. The soto is pretty similar to what I get in my hometown in Java except for the tomatoes. They do a pretty good version here, though I miss the stronger flavors of Soto Ambengan.

Tea with whole crysanthemum leaves

The menu here is pretty small, but a good Indonesian restaurant is always a welcome addition. Their rujak kalimantan (fruit and vegetable salad with peanut sauce) is supposed to be authentic and rare in this part of the world, but unfortunately they ran out when I was there, as was the beef soup, but they were getting hit by the post-LA Times crowd. I plan on coming back when the crowd settles and try the other items. Or at least have more fried chicken.

Little London Cafe
19 S Garfield Ave
Alhambra, CA 91801
(626) 282-4477

The Spice Table (Little Tokyo), Fire Ahead.

One mission had always been in the back of my mind, resurfacing when the opportunity arises: Find a good bowl laksa in LA. The bowl I use as standard is that of Katong Laksa in Singapore. Sadly, memories of that taste is slowly diminishing ... Even if it isn't quite Katong, I think I've finally found a worthy bowl at the newly opened The Spice Table in Little Tokyo.

The Laksa ($12) at The Spice Table is filled with shrimp, fish cakes, and mussels (to substitute for the usual cockles in S'pore, perhaps?), and thick udon-like noodles. The coconut curry broth is rich and thick, and they don't mess around with the spiciness.

If it isn't spicy enough for you (it was plenty spicy for us), a side of sambal is provided.

While the laksa was the main reason for my going to The Spice Table, they have plenty more to offer in the classy space, dimly lit by lightbulbs inside birdcages.

For those without reservations (or waiting for your party members to arrive), food and drinks are available at the bar, where you can watch the wood-and-charcoal-fired grill in action.

The wines were expensive, but the beers on tap were reasonable. I like how they have 4oz pours of their draft beers for $1.75-2.50. I get to try more and *feel* like I'm drinking less. While waiting for e*starLA I had the Orchard White Belgian Witbier from The Bruery ($2) then proceeded to Rugbrod Dark Rye Ale, also from The Bruery (also $2).
There's only one bottled beer here and it's not surprising that it's the Singaporean Tiger Beer.

While I was expecting the peanut dipping sauce with the sinful Lamb Belly Satay ($10) to be sweet, my mouth was immediately on fire.

Read more »

Extraordinary Desserts (San Diego, CA): Pretty Ordinary?

Extraordinary Desserts was one of the places I was pretty excited about trying in San Diego. Finding out that they stay open late and close to my hotel, I drove straight there from LA.

Of course I had to try their famous Dulce de Leche cake, which had appeared Food Network's show "Best Thing I Ever Ate".

It was great. Moist, decadent. Big. The caramel flavor came through even among the dark chocolate. Was it the best cake I ever ate, though? I don't think so. Still, I enjoyed sitting there reading while eating the cake and drinking tea.

But I also got some pastries to go, pointing things from the display case, and this apparently wasn't the best move. The pastries seem more expensive than the cakes, considering the portion size, but that's not a big deterrent if they are truly "extraordinary".

I ordered a croissant garnished with almonds, expecting a flaky almond croissant, but the back half of the pastry turned out to be brownie-like. Huh?

The danish with pineapple and cream fared better. The pastry was flaky and the sugar-coated upper crust was crunchy. My first bite with the candied pineapple and the cream was delightful, but apparently they had only put pineapples at the ends while the middle filling was all cream.
I call that false representation.

One thing I was happy to find is their extensive list of Mariage Frere's loose leaf teas.

I tried the strangely-named yet quite delicious Tahiti-iti (vanilla beans blended with premium Darjeeling).

I would love to just sit by the window drinking tea and reading.

I think all the hype about a particular place just brings more disappointment when it doesn't live up to it. The cake was good but didn't seem all that special to me and the pastries were both disappointing and expensive. It doesn't warrant a special trip but if I'm wandering around San Diego and have free time,  I'd still come back here and have some tea and cake.


Extraordinary Desserts
2929 5th Ave
San Diego, CA 92103
(619) 294-2132
http://www.extraordinarydesserts.com/extraordinarydesserts/