March 20, 2025

Indonesian warung delights at Wartek

After feasting non-stop on Chinese dishes for CNY, we always hunt for food from other cultures after a few days. In Malaysia, we are blessed to have so many choices. CNY 3rd day this year, we ended up at Indonesian resto Wartek in Ara Damansara for lunch (they have another branch in Subang SS15).

We ordered an assortment of dishes: Nasi Uduk Bebek Goreng (RM16.90) with deep fried duck and 2 different types of sambal. Duck had crispy skin and tasty meat, though some parts were a bit dry. Satay was well marinated and flavourful with lontong doused in peanut sauce. The flavours were more Malay style than Indonesian though still very yummy. There’s a choice of either chicken or beef, we had chicken.

We also had Nasi Padang dishes such as Terong Balado (brinjal) , Sambal Udang which had shrimp, petai and quail eggs, and Sayur Paku Pakis (ferns cooked in gravy) to go with Nasi Uduk (basic rice set without any dishes). Cooked slightly different compared to Malay style, but still very similar. The fried chicken coated with green sambal looked fiery but was not at all. In fact, all the dishes were only mildly spicy, so even No. 2 was OK with them. The Soto Betawi set came with pickles that packed a punch, but otherwise the main dish had mild gravy with tempeh and potato.

Cendol was surprisingly good as the ice was very fine. Prices are very reasonable (RM20 or less per pax) and food really good, especially if you are a chilli fiend, and love strong flavours and spices. Think of this as dining in a warung – Indonesian style coffeeshop – but in a nicer, clean, air-conditioned environment and a proper menu board instead of just choosing the dishes chap fan (Chinese mixed rice) fashion at the counter.