Indonesian $ $$$ Who thinks condiments are the best part of a meal? Or, to put it another way, who believes meals are really just an excuse to have sauces, relishes and sambals? As a person with six types of chilli oil at home, I was predisposed to enjoy a new restaurant that celebrates the Indonesian obsession with sambal. Simply defined, sambal is a chilli relish, but its composition changes from island to island, town to town, house to house, and according to whim. Sambal can be fresh, cooked, chopped, pounded, blended, fruity, fishy, soupy or dry.
A meal without sambal is unthinkable, like pie without sauce or xiao long bao without vinegar. Waroeng SS is the first Australian outpost of a 22-year-old chain with 100 branches in Indonesia (mostly in Java) and two in Malaysia. Local Indonesian restaurateur Michael Samsir, from Clayton’s excellent PBK Noodles , is easing the brand’s arrival.
There’s a little Indonesia precinc t at the southern end of Lygon Street but this restaurant is further north, close to Elgin Street. Painted a cheery yellow with efficient staff in red, and a Muslim prayer room upstairs, the halal menu is accessed via QR code. Twenty different sambals kick it off, followed by proteins and vegetables.
There’s fried and grilled fish, chicken, beef and tempeh, satay squid and prawns, and sauteed broccoli and beans. Most dishes are under $12 but bill creep is a hazard. If you’re disciplined, you can feed yourself for less than 10 bucks.
There’s no.