We made use of a friend’s family connection to get a table and food at Wartek, an Indonesian restaurant in Ara Damansara, Petaling Jaya. The place was super crowded, as expected on a public holiday.
Bebek Madura Set
The dishes came fast: first The Bebek Madura Set with a quarter of a deepfried baby duck with crispy serunding on top and two sambal. The duck was done excellenl, with crispy skin and tender, moist and tasty meat. I couldn’t get enough of the sambal, a dark, sweet one, and the sambal terasi, with belacan.
Sambal Udang, with petai and quail’s eggs
The nasi padang dishes went down with relish — the Daging Rendang, Terong Balado, Ikan Balado, Sambal Udang and Sayur Kapau. We were especially taken by the balado sauce – roughly pounded red chillies fried with garlic, shallot and tomato. It looked fiery but it was lightly sweet, with a gentle heat and was a perfect “sambal” for the fried fish, and the sweet fried eggplant, still in its purple skin. The plates were wiped clean of the balado sauce by a fellow diner.
Terung Balado
Ikan Balado
We could easily tear off chunks of the Daging Rendang soaked in the rich gravy of spices, fragrant herbs and santan the beef had been slow cooked in. It was mildly hot and flavourful.
Daging Rendang
Sambal Udang was delightful. It was an unusual combination of shrimps, quail eggs and petai in a red chilli sauce that was gently hot.
Sayur Kapau, curry made with the fleshy base of the nangka
Sayur Kapau is a light coconut curry cooked with the fleshy base of the nangka, from where you extract each juicy fruit. Nothing is wasted as this tastes good as a vegetable, together with long beans in the gulai.
You can feast your eyes on the variety of dishes displayed in an enclosed glass shelf at the front of the restaurant from where you can make your orders.
Beef and chicken satay with lontong in a peanut sauce
We also had a portion of Ayam Madura without the rice. It’s done in the same style as the duck – deepfried, with a crispy skin and covered with serunding. I did enjoy the two sambal with it, though I much prefer the duck. I found the chicken a little dry.
We finished our late lunch with beef and chicken satay (three sticks of each), smothered in a creamy sweet and savoury peanut sauce. The beef satay was especially delicious, with its grilled caramelised edges.
The sauce was fragrant and well balanced in flavour, dredged with a little kicap manis. There was lontong to mop up the wonderful sauce.
The food at Wartek Indonesian Cuisine is reasonably priced. The Bebek Madura set is RM19.80, Ayam Madura RM13.60, Sambal Udang, Ikan Balado and Daging Rendang RM7.80 each, Terong Balado RM4.80, Sayur Kapau RM5.80. The satay is RM16.80.
Wartek is at Ara Permata, 3 Jalan PJU 1A/42A, Ara Damansara, PJ, tel: 017 993 3123. It opens from 11am to 10pm daily.