All the fried Indonesian dishes at D'Jakarta
D'jakarta is one of the newer South Philly Indonesian restaurants, taking over the space formerly occupied by Sky Cafe. The menu is small and we were able to try about half of it, including every single fried item. Which was not done on purposes, but nobody was mad about it.
We tried 3 out of the 4 appetizers- shrimp rollade, lumpia, and fried wontons.
I always love Indonesian wontons, and didn't mind have two more come along with the egg noodle dish. This bowl covers all the major food groups, plus a side of weird meatball soup. If I'm on my own at an Indonesian restaurant without any eating buddies to share with and I have to pick one thing to order, it will usually be this because of all the flavors and textures.
And while mysterious, bouncy, grey meatball soup is not for me, I would have a whole bowl of the tangy cabbage side soup that comes with the fried chicken ($7). It outshined the small portion of fried chicken.
Beef rendang, on special, came with just a little bit of tender beef, but also some unexpected fried shrimp and a tiny dish of kale stew.
The portion size of the protein in the rendang and fried chicken dishes were better suited for and individual to enjoy and not for sharing, but the fried fish (on special) was more generous. It was a great plate to share, we all enjoyed digging in to the crispy skin.
While you are stopping by D'jakarta, you can do what we did and head to 2nd District Brewery to wash it all down, about a 10 minute walk away.
D'jakarta Cafe, 1540 W Ritner St, 215 463-8888