Wong Java House

Wong Java House Restaurant Review:

It isn’t easy to stand out on a stretch of Alhambra auto body shops, but Ade Kuniawan peddles bold Indonesian flavors that people can’t ignore. The dining room features colorful paper lanterns, decorative Indonesian masks and wall hangings, and plaid tablecloths. Know going into your meal that the ingredients really pop off the plate, whether it’s chile-fueled sambal or pungent salted fish. Ayam penyet is a fried chicken dish, featuring pieces of bone-in bird cooked in coconut oil and served on a stone platter with cucumbers, and a fiery sambal crafted with red jalapeño, Thai chile and dried shrimp. You’ll also find a crispy, sustainable thatch of fried galangal, turmeric, lemon grass and candlenut, which was also used to marinate the meat before frying. Kangkung is the bucatini of the vegetable world, with hollow stems, and at Wong Java House, the stalks and leaves are served on a sizzling pot with beef and quail egg. Fried rice is also one of the wonders of Indonesian cooking, and nasi goreng ikan asin is especially savory here, thanks to the addition of salted fish.