Source : My Instagram

Born and grew up at Indonesia, of course Indonesian culinary is part of my life. The fact said spents my 30 years at Indonesia compare to only a couple months at other countries makes me a little awkward for taste matters. Doesn't mean I don't like Australian culinary, all the Australian culinary that I tasted was delicious.

Also Read: First Time Trying Mexican Food

It really often when I chatted with my friends at Indonesia, they asked me, do I miss Indonesian culinary or not. I don't know why this question is so essential for them.

Well, of course that I really miss it. For 30 years ate something with rice and full of delicious spices, and now not every week I am eating rice (but I keep gaining weight). Beside that, it just about habit. It is so funny in me when my friend make a statement saying "of course Indonesian culinary is the best of the best." well.. you could say it is right, but it could be wrong too.

It is like this, since I was born and grew up in Indonesia, that really really really have to taste one and only, Indonesian culinary, of course that my taste is made to fit Indonesian culinary. It would be so strange if for the entire of my life I just know Indonesian food, then just a couple times eating other country "authentic" culinary, I then, can judge which one is better. Again, since I just eat Indonesian culinary, or culinary that modified with Indonesian taste, it is not fair if I said Indonesian culinary is the best.

The logic will be like this. Someone who was born and grew at Indonesia will says Indonesian culinary is the best, it will be the same with someone who was born and grew at France, will says France culinary is the best, or someone who was born and grew at India, would say India culinary is the best. So, in my opinion, if you want to say one country's culinary is the best, you have to travel all around the world to taste all the culinary at all the countries in the world.

Ok, back in my story. Since Fat Oma, one of my favorite authentic Indonesian restaurant at Melbourne permanently closed at October 2017, I was so sad. Because I really really like all the meal in this restaurant.

why Fat Oma? Why? Source: Fat Oma's Facebook

Beside Fat Oma, I still can't find other authentic Indonesian restaurant. And finding Indonesian restaurant mean have to go to the city, more less around 30 minutes from our home.

Since my boyfriend also like to try new culinary, he really like to try something new to eat. For him, all food only have two taste, delicious and really delicious. And he really like to try another Indonesian culinary beside rendang and sate lilit.

Finding Store Which Sell Indonesian Spices

Indah Asian Store

Indah Store, placed right in the front corner of the shopping centre

It is really a good thing to have Asian friend in your work, and it also work for my boyfriend too. Since he had Filipinos friend at her work, his friend told him that there is an Indonesian store at Hampton park, called Indah Store. Since we've been told it's Indonesian store, our journey is a little bit difficult for trying to find this store, because they don't have "Indonesian Store" in their store name, instead Indonesian Store, they put Asian Store.

Since it placed at Hampton Park, we could find not only Indah store in here, some of stores also here, like halal meat store, fruit and veggies store, and lots of stores, including Woolworth.

Indah Store places at the end of the first entry, it is really not look like Indonesian Store that I imagine, instead full of Indonesian things, this place is decorate with Chinese things, like Chinese lantern and red roof. The board actually really big, placed at the top of this store, but since we've been told it's Indonesian store, we didn't think this Indah Store is the store that my boyfriend's friend mean.

Really Complete for Asian Store

spices isle at Indah, full of any canned spices from Asian countries

one of the ketchup isle at Indah

Indonesian Spice and Food

Even not all Indonesian brand sells in this store, but their collections is so complete. Beside instant spice for rendang, I also can find instant spice for other Indonesian culinary like chicken soto, meat soto, sayur lodeh, sayur asam, etc.

Beside the sachets, they also sell cans, and bottles. And if one day I really want to eat Indonesian traditional snack, they also have instant flour for Indonesian snack. So if I want to eat kue cubit, klepon or any Indonesian traditional snack, I know where I have to find it. at least the ingredients.

The Indonesian brand that they have is something that we usually seen in Indonesia. Like bamboe, kokita, indofoof racik, tepung kobe, these are the brand that I could find here. Not to mention the jar package of lots of Indonesian sambal. Or, if you want to find sauce for gado-gado, or pecel, they also offer you lots of brands here. Even the very famous Sambal Bu Rudy too.

Spice, ketchup, saus sambal,  you could also find santan kara, kecap ABC, saus ABC, sambal ABC, some things that we usually find at the small vendor beside my Indonesian home.

As Indonesian, finding white "kerupuk also made my day. This kind of crackers is things that I always have back in Indonesia. The packaging also better than in Indonesia. So if in Indonesia this kind of cracker is packed in big thin, but in here you could find them in package of six. And they also huge, LOL.

Beside this white crackers, you also can find another kind of crackers like onion cracker, prawn crackers, purple cassava crackers, melinjo crackers, etc. For Indonesian who have same appetite like me, these is heaven (again).

Because of they sells almost complete Indonesia things, in their freezer, you could find salted fish too. LOL. Not only that, they also gave tempeh, tofu, pandan leave and sometimes banana leaves too at their freezer.

"But you could find tempeh and tofu at Coles and Woolworth too"

Yes, that is right, but if you could see, in Indah, they sells the fried tofu. This tofu is good for you who want to make fried tofu with filling, and  you don't have to fried the tofu first before filling it.

And the tempeh, the tempeh even thought it's at frozen section, the tempeh is like the tempeh in warung next to my Indonesian home, white. It is different with tempeh that I found at Coles, which already have spice inside it.

Another things that makes me happy is, I could find this teh gopek. The most delicious tea I ever taste. The fun fact is, back when I still at Indonesia, the last six year worked at Kalimantan (Borneo), I couldn't find this "teh gopek" in any store in Kalimantan.



For me, this place is the level up of the warung near my home in Indonesia. Hygiene, and also perfectly packaged.


I always love going to this store. Means I could find the most Indonesian things here, even I am not in Indonesia anymore. That was a picture from things that I bought from the last time I visit Indah. Oh their Japanese Mochi is delicious, that is why I bought it. LOL