PETALING JAYA, Oct 19 — What could be more satisfying than cuddling up to a hot bowl of extremely satisfying and comforting instant noodles, especially on a cold night, bingeing on a marathon of your favourite TV shows?
How about paying a visit to Indobowl — a unique concept cafe in Sungai Besi, that pays tribute to Indonesia’s favourite street food staple, Indomie.
Their menu is curated around the much-beloved and extremely addictive instant noodles that is eighth on the list of the world’s biggest brands, and features pairings with everything from marinated chicken, meats to seafood that gives diners a uniquely diverse taste of what Indonesian cuisine has to offer.
The Indomie Signature Sambal (RM6) is served with a special condiment made from a recipe passed down from the co-owner’s mother-in-law who is of Indonesian-Chinese heritage, that elevates the humble instant noodles to an exquisite, mouth-watering offering.
Foodies can treat themselves to springy noodles married with flavourful cuts of chicken and beef with the Indomie Ayam Madura (RM12), served with grilled chicken chop and a blend of sweet and savoury soy sauces, and the Indomie Dendeng Balado (RM10) which comes with thin slices of braised and spiced beef short ribs.
Salted egg, a flavour that’s been making its rounds in Asian snack platters, is not left out. IndoBowl has their own version of it with the Indomie with Salted-Egg Chicken (RM11.90).
However, the real star of the show is the Indomie Mumbo Jumbo (RM59) which comes with chicken Madura, lamb rack, ribeye, and two pieces of chicken satay, resulting in a mighty beast of a dish which can easily feed a hungry table of four.
A golden sunny-side-up egg tops each of their noodle bowls for the perfect finishing touch.
The dishes are complex enough to distinguish themselves from homemade Indomie while retaining that familiar signature sweet and savoury taste from the brand that people know and love.
For smaller bites, IndoBowl serves up beef and chicken satay that you can enjoy on the side with your main meal.
The restaurant is currently in the midst of trials to introduce mouth-watering desserts such as ropang (short for roti panggang) which consists of bread covered in chocolate, condensed milk and shaved cheese.
If you’re wondering why Indomie is the choice of their menu staple, then it would be safe to assume you are not aware that it is one of the world’s most popular instant noodles and has become a cultural symbol in Indonesia where it is a fixture on the menus of street food stalls and cafes.
It’s inspired a love so ardent that a Twitter account called @AgamaIndomie regularly churns out tweets on all things Indomie-related and has garnered over 25,000 followers.
The brand has even become a household name in African countries like Nigeria where Indomie owns the largest instant noodle manufacturing plant on the continent.
Back in Malaysia, the idea for IndoBowl came about when the owners realised that there were no restaurants in the country that could pay proper homage to Indonesian street food cuisine.
Hence, IndoBowl was born in September 2017 and became an instant hit, subsequently leading to their expansion to a second branch in Subang.
For a full list of their locations and opening hours, visit IndoBowl’s official website.
