There’s a curious stretch of Charing Cross Road right by Chinatown – you may know the one I mean. It’s a row of shops filled with kitsch and restaurants serving all manner of Asian foods. At one end is a terrible Korean restaurant and at the other end is a bar. I never really paid much attention to this stretch with the exception of the Malaysian Kopi Tiam and it turns out that I possibly should have!
Take that complex of shops full of kitsch, for example. You may know the one – there are colourful plastic umbrellas and lots of Hello Kitty coin purses. It turns out there’s an Indonesian shop upstairs.
And that shop sells ready made meals too with different things available each day. There are a few mismatched oversized tables to sit at and they were almost all full with Indonesian families and students tucking into some good looking dishes. Grab a seat wherever you can and wait for the one server to be free. Be patient!
We put in our order and waited. First to arrive at our table was their mie bakso (£4), a bowl of tender-crunchy beef balls and mung bean noodles in a light but flavourful broth. I believe it’s available every day.
Kicking about on one of the tables will probably be a jar of this sambal bakso. The label says Extremely Hot! (in red!) on the side and it certainly is – use with caution! It’s a great accompaniment to the bouncy beef balls.
We also shared a plateful of pempek siomay (£5) (or empek-empek thank you, Ridha, for the identification!), fried fish and tapioca paste fritters – some plain and some first stuffed in tofu. These were quite heavy though tasty under the drizzle of sweet soy (maybe kecap manis?) and a creamy peanut sauce on the side.
Help yourself to drinks out of the cooler – we had a can of Coke and a bottle of Mirinda (50p each). There’s an Indonesian bottled tea drink available too.
That day there was also one final dish available – nasi padang with beef rendang. This is a dish of rice served with the rich rendang and other sambals and pickles. It looked great and I hope to try that the next time I drop by. Oh, and of course there are Indonesian (and some Dutch) groceries available to purchase too.
Indonesia Mini Market
57 Charing Cross Road (1st floor)
London WC2H 0NE
Also part of this complex of shops is a Brazil by Kilo, a Brazilian buffet where you pay for the weight of your food. Judging by the clientele (all Brazilian families), it can’t be too bad. Another one to try.
Also new along this stretch of Charing Cross Road is Roti King in a funny spot called Asian Twist Delicious. These are the guys who ran the Roti Stall at Oriental City and we came here for our first lunch that day (Indonesian Mini Market was our second lunch). Their roti canai is exactly as I remember it and we had it with a dal curry and we also split a delicious roti sardin (spiced mashed sardines wrapped in the thin bread). Excellent.
Sun, 18 Nov, 2012 at 18:01
Cheers. There are 3 excellent must tries… I’m hungry but laughed at the bouncy beef balls comment.
Love the fact you can eat in 3 different countries in one small stretch of road!
Tue, 27 Nov, 2012 at 11:45
There’s more too! Northern Chinese, terrible Korean (yeah, I wouldn’t recommend that one) and…Hong Kong diner food. And more Malaysian at Kopi Tiam.
Sun, 18 Nov, 2012 at 18:42
I must visit this place!! Thank you for discovering it 😉
Tue, 27 Nov, 2012 at 11:45
I hope you like it!
Sun, 18 Nov, 2012 at 19:54
My beautician is also over the road! How interesting – I have run past so many times on my way to see Liesl and I never ever stopped to eat!
Tue, 27 Nov, 2012 at 11:47
Oh, you’re in for a treat the next time you’re there then!
Sun, 18 Nov, 2012 at 20:24
I pass that road all the time! Will hopefully go there near Xmas. Thanks for the tip! 🙂
Tue, 27 Nov, 2012 at 11:48
Hope you like them!!
Sun, 18 Nov, 2012 at 21:02
Thanks for the Roti King tip – they’d better be open when I’m in London over new year. Dreaming about roti sardin already!
Tue, 27 Nov, 2012 at 11:49
I hope so too! Sounds like they’re not there all the time (see Mr Noodles’ comment below). I really wish they’d put up somewhere their opening hours.
Sun, 18 Nov, 2012 at 21:21
hahaha bouncing beef balls
Tue, 27 Nov, 2012 at 11:50
They do! 😀
Sun, 18 Nov, 2012 at 22:23
Ooh, mie bakso is a new noodle dish for me to try! Sadly, the Roti King wasn’t in when I popped in Asian Twist Delicious the other afternoon.
And btw, a couple of northern Chinese joints have also recently opened on this stretch of Charing Cross Rd.
Tue, 27 Nov, 2012 at 11:58
Oooh, have you tried any of the northern Chinese joints? I need to investigate their menus.
Mon, 19 Nov, 2012 at 09:24
Wow – I’ve always flitted past that stretch of road assuming it was just bad food, crappy chinatown tourist pap and a gay bar. Great find! Will pay it a visit.
Tue, 27 Nov, 2012 at 11:59
You’ve described the start, middle and end shops perfectly! But yes, there are a couple gems in between!
Mon, 19 Nov, 2012 at 17:28
I’ve been waiting to find out where the roti canai stall had moved to (I heard rumours they were moving to the City a couple of years ago) and I’m so glad you found it! Can’t wait to visit!
Tue, 27 Nov, 2012 at 12:09
They’ve been doing markets, it turns out…way in the east. And now here.
Mon, 19 Nov, 2012 at 21:12
Sambal Bakso looks tasty. I’ve been using a little Sambal Oelek when I make burgers. Adds a great little kick.
Tue, 27 Nov, 2012 at 12:09
Haha…this stuff will give you a giant kick! 😀
Fri, 23 Nov, 2012 at 03:37
I believe the one you called pempek is actually called siomay in Indonesia. Pempek eaten with sweet, sour and spicy sauce and I’ve never seen tofu in pempek 😀
Because from your description, it looks more like siomay… ^^.
Tue, 27 Nov, 2012 at 11:35
That’s it! Thank you – pempek seemed like the only fit but this is much better! I’m editing the post now.
Fri, 23 Nov, 2012 at 14:10
Brilliant find!
Tue, 27 Nov, 2012 at 12:12
Enjoy!
Fri, 5 Apr, 2013 at 23:27
[…] Indonesian food in London, I’ve only tried the Indonesia Mini Market. Does anyone else have any other recommendations […]
Thu, 18 Feb, 2016 at 17:12
[…] Warung Padang London, which I visited a couple weeks ago. Now, you may remember my writing up an Indonesian stall in Chinatown a few years ago. That place is currently under refurbishment (or is it being […]
Thu, 15 Jun, 2017 at 19:58
Enjoy!