2. Awang Kitchen

Awang Kitchen in Little Indonesia

Awang Kitchen on Queens Boulevard opened in 2017, making it one of the newer Indonesian eateries in the neighborhood. The restaurant’s namesake, who also goes by Siliwanga, grew up in Jakarta, influencing the menu’s Javanese influences. Siliwanga ran a catering company for eight years before opening up Awang Kitchen. The six-page menu includes everything from Indonesia’s national dishes to some creative and hard-to-find options.

Appetizers include batagor (fried fish cakes with peanut sauce), sate kambing (goat satay), udang goreng tepung (popcorn shrimp), and tahu gejrot (fried tofu in a spicy sauce). Soups range from grilled short rib to oxtail to Betawi (named for an Indonesian ethnic group, served with beef and tripe with tomato and potato). The stars of the show are the restaurant’s mixed entrees, including ayam goreng kermes (crispy chicken), dendeng balado (spicy fried beef), and nasi bungkus padang (rice stuffed into a banana leaf with jackfruit and egg, accompanied by proteins like cow’s tongue or salty squid). There is a selection of rice and noodle dishes, including half a dozen varieties of nasi goreng, as well as a la carte seafood dishes including red pepper soft shell crab, fried Spanish mackerel, and grilled pompano in a honey sauce.