Magic Wok Duarte

Indonesian foods are rare in SoCal because there is no large Indonesian community in the LA area. So the last place you would expect to find authentic Indonesian cuisine would be on the parking lot of the Duarte Inn of all places. But this is exactly the place to go, because every Saturday the Inn hosts a small food fair that offers a tantalizing variety of food for everyone interested in this kitchen. I heard about this food fair from Yelper Abby who lives in Duarte. The Indonesian Food Fair got its start because the owners of the Inn are Indonesian and they happen to know friends that at one point or another ran an Indonesian restaurant. For one reason or another, they no longer have their own restaurants, but they live through the food stands they run. When I arrived a few weeks ago, it was one of those rare, cold, gloomy and slightly rainy days in SoCal, and yet at the moment when I entered the parking lot, one could feel the spirit and the energy that comes with a food fair. It was not big – there were only 4 or 5 food levels, but that was more than enough food to sample. The seat was somewhat narrower, but some in my group arrived earlier and managed to save a table with a tent to protect us from the rain. I checked every stable to see what dishes they offered. I am not at all familiar with Indonesian dishes, but I noticed that there were many similarities with Thai and Filipino cuisines. This makes sense since geographic, Indonesia is between both countries. It was great to try the fair for the first time as part of a group because we were able to taste a variety of dishes. I couldn't even remember what the different names of the dishes were, but fortunately I didn't have to because a person in our group was the Indonesian descent and she was gracious enough to call the dishes and let us know what the basic ingredients for every dish we ate. I have published several pictures of the dishes along with their names. The water spinach dish was okay. It was not much different when they prepare it in Chinese restaurants – a little over cooked and stringy in texture. The caramelized tempeh – interesting crisp texture, but the taste just did nothing for me. There was also a dish, the fish was covered with sticky rice and wrapped in banana leaves like a tamale. It didn't do anything for me. I enjoyed the chicken grill. It is very similar to Filipino Grill in preparation, but you dive it into a peanut sauce as the Thais do. Most frit and empanada like dishes were also good. They even had their own version of lumps that does not differ so much from the Filipino version. My favorite dishes had to be desserts. They had a pandan drink that reminded me of a Filipino Dessert. Then there was this cupcake seasoned with pandan and rose water. It's a little similar to a Filipino Dessert, but the Indonesian version was much better. the texture was soft, moist and fluffy. There was another dessert containing coconut and molasses in a green sponge like dough I enjoyed. I liked how the spongeness of the dough contrasted with the sharpness of the roasted coconut. There were several other desserts I had and most of them I enjoyed enough that I bought more to take home to share with my family. There were several more foods I tried, but this is my first time to taste all these dishes, his will be a kind of blur. I need more visits to get familiar with the names and ingredients of the dishes. Overall, I liked the quality of food and the prices were very reasonable. I had a very positive experience and planned to make future visits. I have heard that the place can be packed at noon or so, so arrive at 11 o'clock to get proper seats. There are parking spaces at the Fron des Inn. There is also a street parking lot. Come there early if you want good seating.