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Indonesian

Mirasa – Mascot NSW Restaurant Review

Don’t deny it. I know you’ve missed my awfully lit photos of food in takeaway containers.

Rather than go out to eat before my first in a run of four emergency department night shifts we decided to get takeaway from Mirasa. a local Indonesian restaurant we have often seen listed in the delivery apps but had never tried. Prices are what we paid Deliveroo. They may very well be cheaper in store.

The Pangsit Goreng ($3 each) were yummy. They are deep fried wontons with an ample amount of filling, which went surprisingly well with the sweet chilli sauce.

The Sayap Isi ($4 each) were not as much to my taste. I’m finding them difficult to describe, but I felt that while the chicken meat was quite tender their outsides had more of a soft steamed or boiled quality, which is not what I would expect from the fried component of “deboned and stuffed fried chicken wings”.

Nasi Goreng

I was hesitant to order the nasi goreng ($15.50), as nothing on their menu suggested that this would not be a vegetarian dish. Thankfully the nasi goreng came with chicken – I don’t think I would’ve liked it otherwise. I did enjoy the runny, soft-fried egg, and think it could have even benefited from an extra egg. The taste of this dish was good, and the box was quickly polished off the following morning.

Nasi Hainan

The Nasi Hainan ($15.50) was not quite classic Hainanese chicken rice. While the chicken was reasonably accurate, the toppings and flavourings are different from what you would expect from the classic Malaysian/Singaporean dish. I understand this is more authentic to the Indonesian style of Hainanese chicken rice. The rice was adequately flavoured, and this dish was my partner’s favourite of our order.

Sup Campur

The Sup Campur ($15.50) is a light clear soup with beef balls, wonton, and fried tofu. I really enjoyed the taste of all of these three components, however the soup itself was too light and watery and left much to be enjoyed. We basically fished out the fillings, drank half the soup, and disposed of the rest. Sorry.

I think overall my ambivalence towards Mirasa is more of a reflection of my East-Asian-centric palate, and probably not anything wrong with Mirasa itself. I personally won’t be eating their food again, but don’t think this means that you shouldn’t if you’re into Indonesian food.

Mirasa
1179 Botany Rd, Mascot NSW 2020
0421 100 085

Categories
Indonesian

Ayam Goreng 99 – Kingsford NSW Restaurant Review

Ayam Goreng 99, I’m told, is perhaps the top Indonesian restaurant in all of Sydney. It also happens to be within a 15 minute drive of where I live, and so I felt obliged to try it.

Paha Goreng Kalasan (left), Kweatiau Goreng (right)

On the advice of Zomato denizens I tried the Paha Goreng Kalasan (deep fried chicken maryland, $7) and the Kweatiau Goreng (stir-fried thick egg noodles, $13).

The Paha Goreng Kalasan, along with its grilled friend Dada Baker, is meant to be one of the standout items on Ayam Goreng 99’s menu. Many reviews exist online praising its taste, although a similar number seem to decry the price. As somewhat of a connoisseur of fried chicken, the paha goreng kalsan didn’t really do anything for me. I thought it was too salty, and the cooking which I’m told is perfect didn’t stand out.

Kweatiau Goreng, as I’ve recently come to know, is an Indonesian analogue of char kway teow, modified to exclude non Halal friendly meats to cater to the large Muslim population in Indonesia. Ayam Goreng 99’s Kweatiau Goreng was very salt and fishball heavy. I enjoyed the scant greens, which were a welcome reprieve from the salt of it all, but they weren’t enough.

Overall I found that Ayam Goreng 99’s food was too salty for me. I also wasn’t offered any water, and it was only when paying that I saw a sign saying jugs of water were no longer being offered due to COVID-19. I guess washing jugs is not within their scope of practice.

I didn’t enjoy Ayam Goreng 99, and I’m not convinced that you would either.

Ayam Goreng 99
464 Anzac Parade, Kingsford NSW 2032
(02) 9697 0030