4. Asian Taste 86
Halal spot Asian Taste 86 is located just a few doors down from Sky Cafe in a similarly small dining room on Whitney Avenue. The Little Indonesia eatery, sporting an orange interior with portraits of Indonesian and Islamic images, was opened in 2011 by Chandra Lie and Donna Liem. The restaurant markets itself as “Indonesian fusion,” as some dishes pull from other Asian cuisines.
Starters include shrimp rolls, shrimp shumai, oyster goreng, and takoyaki squid balls. Soups range from yellow chicken to mixed meatball to lamb curry. One of the most popular dishes is tamarind soup with chicken thighs, while its smashed fried chicken with tofu and sambal is just as filling. Beef dishes include beef jerky with tamarind soup, beef rendang, and Java steak, while seafood options range from catfish to stingray. The restaurant also offers over a dozen noodle and rice dishes, including salty Javanese fish fried rice and seafood mie goreng.