Sanur Restaurant- Indonesia & Malaysia Food

EATERY:

LOCATION:

18 Doyers Street, New York, NY 10013

REVIEWS:

Our friend/ avid reader Saki suggests this hidden and never been reviewed place. Thank You! Hug Hug! Located in the 90 degree Doyers street in the heart of Chinatown Manhattan, Sanur is a bi-level restaurant (ground level and basement) that the menu consists of mainly Indonesian and Malaysian cuisine. The ground level store mainly serves quick bites snacks and dessert like Nyonya kuih or Malay Kuehs- bite-size sweet cake/puddings. We ate at the basement level where there’s no English sign showing where it is. The entrance is on the right hand side. We glance through the menu and realize that there are a lot of dishes we have not heard of before. So after the lingering “hmmmmm ahhhhhh” moment we decided to ask the friendly waitress their specialties. She recommended the Gado-Gado ($5.25), a traditional Indonesian dish comprises of a vegetable salad served with a peanut sauce dressing. She also recommended the Dried Curry beef ($9.95 a la carte/ $5.25 over rice) and the Asam dishes (we pick Asam Shrimp $5.95 over rice). I want to try their Nasi Lemak (coconut rice) but too bad they are all sold out. Instead, we got the Roti Canai ($2). First come the Roti Canai. The bread has a very crisp texture, which differs than other Malaysian restaurants we have tried. The curry is much spicier and less creamy. You can really taste the coconut milk in it. Secondly the Gado-Gado came and it consists of bean sprouts, long bean, fried tofu, cubed boiled potatoes, peeled and sliced boiled eggs tops with deep fried shrimp chip and some deep fried plant from Indonesia in a peanuts coconut sauce. Young thinks it is overly sweet and the vegetable is kinda soggy. We both think that salad maybe the wrong word to describe this dish since Asian have a different notion of the word. Then the Asam Shrimp came, wow! Intense, pungent, sweet and sour complex flavor. Asam (or asam jawa) is the Malay word for tamarind, which is commonly used in that region for its sour flavor. I got another bowl of rice just for this dish. I will definitely try the Asam Stingray next time. At last the Dried Curry Beef (Dried Beef “Rendang” Curry) came. Without knowing much and no expectation, I expect some thin slice beef drenched in creamy curry sauce. Wrong! The dish comes with Big Thick slices of slow stewed beef in coconut milk and spices with little sauce. The beef is so tender it melts in your mouth! YUM! Later on I learned that this “Rendang” dish is originated from the Minangkabau people of Indonesia that it is traditionally only served at ceremonial occasions or to honor guests.

RANTS & RAVES:

Cash Only! They have “Economical” Breakfast: $2 for Nasi Lemak the coconut rice plus other dishes. Beer (TsingTao or Heineken) are $2.75 each. I want to try the Asam Stingray and Bak-Kut Tah next time. They Close on Monday.

TAGS:

New York Chinatown Indonesian Malaysian