Sari Rasa - Authentic Indonesian Curries
• By Tuan Nguyen
Sari Rasa is one of Darwin's most unknown well known Indonesian restaurants. Serving authentic Indonesian curries and snacks for quite some time now, they've got a horde of loyal followers filling up the tables every lunch time. Hidden incredibly well at the back of a crusty arcade on Cavenagh Street, you'd never know it was there unless someone told you about it. Probably a good thing though as it means less curry for everyone else and more for you.
I rocked up early today and asked what was available. "Chicken, beans, beef, vegetables, eggplant, eggs..." came the reply, which is all one needs to know other than the fact that they're all excellent choices. The beef is melt in your mouth (a way too over used phrase, but it really is...), the chili eggplant is silky smooth with the right amount of kick and the chicken was good, without being brilliant. The curry sauces are all beautiful and rich in flavour without being too oily (except for the lamb), a perfect match with white rice.
The little Indonesian ladies that run the place are all very nice, you can hear them in the kitchen conversing loudly in their native tongue. Despite having learnt Indonesian many years ago in school, they speak too fast for me to pick up any words. They're probably wondering why the suss looking guy is taking photos of their food.
The exterior is dodgy, equally so on the inside. The tables and chairs are out dated, the walls have markings on them and the decorations minimal, however I do love the lime green paint for some reason. But as Darwin Foodies readers will know, these dodgy looking Asian eats are just the kind of place I like. Most likely because I am both dodgy and Asian myself. But definitely because the food is great.