Indonesian at Wallflower
I remember the first time I ate Indonesian food. My wife and I were traveling in Europe in 1962 and found ourselves in a small town in the south of the Netherlands. We checked into a hotel, and they recommended an Indonesian restaurant nearby. When we arrived, the menu was, of course, in Dutch. However, the waitress spoke a little English, and I managed to order the “specialty of the house” along with a beer.
She brought me a Heineken, and it was the best beer I had ever tasted. I still remember it as being better than what we get here today.
After a while, dinner arrived. It was unlike anything we had ever seen before—somewhat reminiscent of local Korean restaurants, where they bring out 12 to 15 small dishes, each featuring a different specialty. The presentation was striking: a large silver candelabra with little cups at the end of each leg, each filled with a unique and flavorful delicacy. Some of the food was spicy, some was mild; some dishes featured meat, while others were vegetable-based. But all of it was delicious.
There aren’t many Indonesian restaurants on the westside of Los Angeles, but I think I’ve been to all of them. Last year, I wrote an article on Cobi, a restaurant that transitioned from Indian to Indonesian cuisine. It’s not a fully Indonesian restaurant—I would describe it more as an Asian restaurant with some Indonesian dishes. That seems reasonable, considering Indonesian cuisine incorporates influences from many neighboring countries. Cobi offers some authentic Indonesian dishes and is an excellent restaurant.
Recently, I tried another Indonesian restaurant on the west side, which was quite disappointing. The only one I hadn’t yet visited was Wallflower on Venice, so I gathered a couple of friends, and we went there last week. We were seated outside at an uncomfortable table that was far too small for four people. However, the food was great.
The first dish we had was a duck lumpia, which reminded me more of Filipino food than Indonesian, but it was very tasty, with an excellent dipping sauce. Next, we had Indonesian-style chicken satay—marinated chicken skewers that were also delicious.
Following that, we had one of the dishes that had drawn me to the restaurant: the fried whole fish. It was beautifully presented and reminded me of dishes I’ve had in Indonesia. The only problem was that it wasn’t deboned, and trying to remove the bones at our small table was quite a chore. Fortunately, my friend Ming was there, and she managed to get most of them out. I asked the waiter why they didn’t debone the fish in the kitchen to make it easier for the customer. He explained that the owner is a lawyer and is afraid that if the menu lists the fish as "deboned," someone might still find a bone, choke on it, and sue. I suggested a simple solution: label it as “partially deboned – be careful.”
We also had chicken rice and another dish that was essentially fried chicken. It wasn’t better than Kentucky Fried Chicken, but the dipping sauces were delicious. That dish, too, would have benefited from the kitchen cutting it into manageable pieces instead of serving it whole.
While Wallflower is not entirely an Indonesian restaurant, it offers a variety of interesting dishes, many of which we didn’t get a chance to try. It’s worth a visit—probably more than one. The cuisine and service are excellent, as are the drinks. For dessert, we had an English-style date cake, which wasn’t particularly Indonesian but was very tasty.
I plan to return to Wallflower, but next time, I’m calling ahead to make sure they debone that fish!
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Merv Hecht, like many Harvard Law School graduates, went into the wine
business after law. In 1988, he began writing restaurant reviews and
books. His latest book “The Instant Wine Connoisseur, 3rd edition” is
available on Amazon. He currently works for several companies that
source and distribute food and wine products internationally.
Please send your comments to: mervynhecht@yahoo.com
