Getting a taste from home in the Big Apple

ID Nugroho , The Jakarta Post , New York | Fri, 11/14/2008 11:07 AM | Potpourri

Nani Tanzil greeted her customers personally. "Hi, how are you?" You look thin now, what's happening? I guess that's because you don't eat here as regularly as before."

She is the owner of Indonesian restaurant Minang Asli in the district of Queens, New York. Minang Asli is just one of tens of restaurants in the United States offering an Indonesian menu.

Nani said running a restaurant in the United States was not as easy as many people would think.

It takes hard work to turn a dream into reality, she said, not to mention fierce competition with other restaurants and the fact that many Americans were not accustomed to the taste of Indonesian food.

"But that doesn't mean there aren't any opportunities. I can do it," Nani told The Jakarta Post.

She has been in the food business since 2004. At the time, Nani, who came to the U.S. as an illegal immigrant, sold food from her house in the Sunny Side district of Queens Boulevard, New York.

Relying on word-of-mouth promotion, the business flourished -- the restaurant in her house became well-known among the Indonesian community and, slowly but surely, among westerners.

Exceeding Nani's expectations, the westerners also loved her food and soon her house could not accommodate all of the eager customers.

"I then decided it was time to open a restaurant."

Her idea was welcomed by one of her friends, who was ready to become a partner. But financial problems became an obstacle.

They then decided to borrow some US$100,000 from a bank to rent a place, obtain permits and others.

In no time, the Padang restaurant opened in Queens.

The struggle continues. In Queens, where Minang Asli is located, there are several other Indonesian restaurants.

"What can we do? They are competitors. I also have to compete with Chinese, Thai, Indian and other restaurants, so things aren't that easy," she said.

In spite of these problems Nani stays optimistic. "Nobody can cook like me," she said.

Indonesian restaurants in the United States have helped Indonesian people living there ease their craving for home cooking.

Tommy Wong, who has been living in the U.S. and working for an electronics company for four years, said he loved to eat in Indonesian restaurants.

"Of course I don't go to Indonesian restaurants every day. But I certainly go there every month to taste food from home," he told the Post when he visited Minang Asli.

Apart from Minang Asli, there are two other popular Indonesian restaurants -- the Bali Nusa Indah and the Kuta Satay House -- in the heart of New York City.

Unlike Minang Asli, they target high-class customers, meaning higher prices with a more luxurious ambience and comfortable furnishings.

"We are actually located in the heart of New York city," said Tjong, the waiters' coordinator at the Bali Indah, which first opened in 1995.

The restaurant, which belongs to Mellyana Alatief, does not only boast Indonesian food as its specialty, but also brings the country's atmosphere to the United States.

Batik from Yogyakarta was chosen to cover the tables and there are various wall decorations brought from home, such as Javanese puppets and Barong Bali masks through to classic photos of the KNIL (the Dutch colonial army) soldiers posing in front of their headquarters in Betawi (now Jakarta).

The restaurant boasts Indonesian popular cuisine, from gado-gado Betawi (mixed vegetables served with peanut sauce), soto Madura (clear chicken soup from Madura), sop buntut Blora (Blora oxtail soup) and udang balado (fried shrimp in chili sauce) to martabak (fried crepe filled with meat, onion and spices).

The restaurant serves es cendol (a beverage made with rice flour droplets), Jakarta es sarikayo (sweetsop fruit) and es teler (iced fruit-cocktail with a topping of condensed milk).

"All these drinks can be found here," Tjong said.

Bali Nusa Indah even brings in special chefs from Indonesia. One of them is Lukman Zubair, a chef from the East Java town of Gresik who has lived for 20 years in the U.S.

"In this restaurant, chefs like me have to cook many different menus since the people coming here have heard about many Indonesian food and want to give them a try," said Lukman, who is a former chef from an American cruise ship.

For this man, living in the U.S. is actually not the final point in his career.

"I actually want to go back to Indonesia and open a similar restaurant in Jakarta," said the father of five.

Despite the promising business, both Minang Asli and the Bali Nusa Indah face similar problems -- such as expensive prices of raw materials and rare cooking ingredients, although some ingredients can be obtained in the U.S.

For example, rendang (beef cooked in spices and coconut milk) is impossible to make without coconut cream, onions, red chili, ginger, galangal and turmeric. Not all these raw and fresh materials are available at U.S. supermarkets.

"The ingredients come from Asia and are actually expensive," Nani said. "I usually get them from a Thai shop."

With stiff competition from other restaurants -- such as Chinese, Thai and Japanese restaurants -- it is not easy for Indonesian restaurants to stay in business.

Several Indonesian restaurants have reportedly collapsed. Two of them, the Indo House and Padang Raya, were only open for six months.

"But that does not mean there's no opportunity. If you want to sell Indonesian food here, try Javanese food," said Nani, adding she planned to open another restaurant.