Monday, February 2, 2009

Seafood Dinner at Pondok Sedap Malam, Pluit


Everybody has their own favorite seafood place. This one is mine. A must must MUST visit destination for me. The foods are so fantastic, I am missing them already!

The crew's obviously happy (They kinda have to. They are exposed in an open working area. Hehe), no wonder they made such great food! This is something I can't get over in Indonesia. I pretty much didn't have to ask their permission to take pictures (although I did anyway), as once I took out my camera, they instantly arranged themselves neatly into poses, literally shoving each other, fighting to be in the frame. I love you guys! PEACE! OK! Rock & Roll!

Now....it's seafood time!!!

Udang Goreng Mentega (Stir Fried Prawns in Butter and Soy Sauce). Even after we finished the prawns, we didn't want the servers to remove the plate, we mopped the sauce squeaky clean!


Oh my gawd, is that something from Alien-Ressurection? Nah, this beats that. It's Gurame Goreng Kering (Super Crispy Deep Fried Gouramy - thanks for the correction, Pepy), served with Sambal Kecap Manis (Sweet Soy Chilli Sauce). Its sore throat inducing power is so strong, remember take loads of liquid with it, and don't forget to pay the bathroom a visit before you hit Jakarta's notorious traffic. Believe us, holding your liquid in while being trapped in hours-long traffic jam is NO FUN!


All it took was forgetting to take the rice picture for a few moments, and the still hot and steamy rice was longgg gone. This is all I have for you guys, the wicker basket and banana leaf which held the rice.


Pondok Sedap Malam's specialty, Kepiting Lada Hitam (Black Pepper Crab). Spicy, tasty, and the crab roe...simply indescribable.


Just a plate of veggie? Kangkung cah Tauco (Stir Fried Water Spinach in Fermented Bean Sauce -thx, Rurie!). Yeah lots of protein and just a tiny bit of veggie. My version of balance diet, alright :)


This is something I always try to duplicate at home without using a proper grill. Surely, it ain't the same, baby! Gurame Bakar Kecap (Grilled Gouramy in Sweet Soy Sauce - thanks again, Pep!). The fish is perfectly cooked, velvety smooth, and the charred and caramelised skin....I think you got it.


Oh, crab! Here's another favorite. Kepiting Goreng Telur Asin (Crab Stir Fried in Spicy Salted Egg Yolk) In fact, my sis and I ate this the last, following our "Save the Best for Last" policy. I wanted to memorize the flavor...let it linger...that's until we were ready for dessert. Hehe.

It ain't just all food. You get some serious entertainment too! A few groups of singers/choirs paid us a visit and entertained us with songs of joyful rejoice, a little out of tune sometimes, but joyful still :)

A little tip: prepare some small change on the table. It was a little awkward having to dig our pockets/wallets for some money while we had seafood all over our fingers. To the singers: you might wanna consider places where we don't have to use our bare hands to wrestle with our food. You'd probably get more money ^_^

Remember...when you see this sign...

...you're in for a delicious ride.

What did I wear that night? Check it out here.

Pondok Sedap Malam, Pluit
(address and phone number coming soon)

18 comments:

Rurie said...

Yee namaku disebut.......numpang tenar........yiihaaa :) sering2 Rit...halah opo seh...hiks iri iri..makan2 di Indo..

Jescel said...

wow..another feast. I love seafood.. and the Kangkung - that's how we call it in my country too, except that we spell it as "kangkong".

Lidia Sianturi said...

As for me..this is a must place to visit too, after a Padangese restaurant...
Rita you've really got every thing I want here...

Anonymous said...

You photos are gorgeous! Are you using a tripod?

Indonesia Eats said...

Rit, iku Gurame kok dadi snapper
oii iki yoo njaluk dibekep ritaaa... tersiksa siang2 kelaparan

tigerfish said...

Is that fish or a piece of sculpture? ;p

EatTravelEat said...

The seafood looks very fresh and yummy! Must have tasted really good and very flavorful.

Beachlover said...

wow!1 love all your seafood!! the kerang called my name!! No wonder the place called Sedap!! your photos make me drooling:(

Noob Cook said...

The food looks soo good, I wish I can be there ;p

Unknown said...

wow... what a fun and enjoyable trip... and the food... everything looks so delicious... :)

Anonymous said...

Aduh kerang rebus itu paling ngga bisa dilewatkan kalao makan seafood... nyams!!!

Retno Prihadana said...

Sukses lagi bikin orang ngiler Rit :). Itu ikan nggorengnya mak krenyesss garing banget, pake sambel oalahhhh....

southernoise said...

Gurame... oh my... oh my....

Anonymous said...

Niiicee so much delicious seafood ^^! I especially like the deep friedy fried Gurame Goreng Kering mmmmm!

jesse said...

OH MY GOD that is my favourite seafood place too!!!! The gurame bakar is my favourite dish... and so is the kepiting soka... gotta try that next time Rita!!!

Elsye said...

ngilerrrr aku rekkk...hikkssm, jadi pengen wisata kulinerrr huhuhuhu, apik2 tenan potomu rit

M said...

I miss Indonesian seafood! My favourite seafood place when I was young is Laguna.

I just love the Kerang Hijau from Indo, or Ikan Bakar... and Kepiting Saus Padang!

Juliett said...

great information, thought I've been few years in JKT, not many places I've known well, but indeed my x colleagues and friends did take me to good places to dine in resto or food street. Too bad, I couldn't memorize well the street.

Hopefully, my plan to JKT after Indonesian fasting month, with my husband and my brother for business trip, definitely we won't forget & MISS the chance to get our tongues and tummies to feel the happiness moment just to eat eat eat eat and eat. (my brother's tummy sure gets bloated, as he plans to order at least 20 sticks of satay for himself only!)

Dunno how much thanks to say to Rita for such great sites you have, darling :) I'm gonna share this blog to my brother. Bet he couldn't sleep for 24hrs just seats looking at your attempting pictures!