WE made use of a friend’s family connection to get a table and food at Wartek, an Indonesian restaurant in Ara Damansara, Petaling Jaya. The place was super crowded, as expected on a public holiday.

The dishes came fast, starting with the bebek Madura set with a quarter of a deep-fried baby duck with crispy serunding on top and two sambal. The duck was excellent, with a crispy skin and tender, moist, and tasty meat.

I couldn’t get enough of the sambal, a dark, sweet one, and the sambal terasi, with belacan.

The nasi padang dishes was enjoyed with relish. It featured daging rendang, terong balado, ikan balado, sambal udang and sayur kapau. We were especially taken with the balado sauce – roughly pounded red chillies fried with garlic, shallot and tomato. It looked fiery but it was lightly sweet, with a gentle heat and was a perfect “sambal” for the fried fish, and the sweet fried eggplant, still in its purple skin. The plates were wiped clean of the balado sauce.

We could easily tear off chunks of the daging rendang soaked in the rich gravy of spices, fragrant herbs and santan the beef had been slow cooked in. It was mildly hot and flavourful.

The sambal udang was delightful. It was an unusual combination of shrimps, quail eggs and petai in a red chilli sauce that was gently hot.

Sayur kapau was a light coconut curry cooked with the fleshy base of the nangka, from which you extract each juicy fruit. Nothing was wasted as this tastes good as a vegetable, served with long beans in the gulai.

You can feast your eyes on the variety of dishes displayed in an enclosed glass shelf at the front of the restaurant from where you can make your orders.

We also had a portion of ayam madura without the rice. It’s done in the same style as the duck – deep-fried, with a crispy skin and covered with serunding. I did enjoy the two sambal with it, though I much prefer the duck. I found the chicken a little dry.

We finished our late lunch with beef and chicken satay (three sticks of each) smothered in a creamy sweet and savoury peanut sauce. The beef satay was especially delicious, with its grilled caramelised edges. The sauce was fragrant and well balanced in flavour, dredged with a little kicap manis. There was lontong to mop up the wonderful sauce.

The food at Wartek Indonesian Cuisine is reasonably priced. The bebek Madura set is priced at RM19.80; ayam Madura, RM13.60; sambal udang, ikan balado, and daging rendang, RM7.80 each; terong balado, RM4.80; sayur kapau, RM5.80; and satay, RM16.80.

Wartek is at Ara Permata, 3 Jalan PJU 1A/42A, Ara Damansara, Petaling Jaya. Call 017-993 3123, for enquiries. It opens from 11am to 10pm daily. – May 4, 2024.

* Eu Hooi-Khaw has been writing about food for the longest time, covering all aspects, from restaurant reviews to cooking and recipes, as well as the healthy side of it. She has written for major newspapers and magazines, published the cookbook Fresh Ingredients, and also writes for her website hooikhawandsu.com.