[ExtraMSG]

Via OregonianAmyW

Quote

APPETIZERS

Lemper, Croket, Pastel, Combro, Kelepan, Resoles, Martabak, Manis, Dan asin, Bakwan dll. (Varies daily...)

EVERYDAY ENTREES

Empek Empek
Fishpaste pastry filled with egg served on yellow noodle with spicy sweet and sour sauce.
$7.50

Gado Gado
Steamed veggie, hard boiled egg, tofu with peanut dressing.
$6.99

Vietnamese Sandwich
Baguette with mayo, butter, shredded carrot, cucumber, cilantro and sliced meat.
$3.75

DAILY SPECIALS: Monday-Wednesday

Lontong Sayur
Curry vegetable soup with rice paste, spicy egg, and tapioca chips
$7.50

Nasi Rames Bali
Spicy egg, steamed rice, spicy shredded chicken, and sauted veggies.
$7.99

Nasi Kuning
Yellow rice, marinated fried chicken, spicy hardboiled or scrambled egg, spicy crunchy peanut potato, and tapioca chips.
$7.50

DAILY SPECIALS: Thursday-Saturday

Nasi Kapau
Steamed rice, beef rendang, curry veggies, steamed kale, and green sambal.
$7.75

Nasi Gudeg
Steamed rice, jackfruit stew, white chicken curry, hardboiled egg, spicy tofu curry, sambal, and shrimp cracker.
$8.99

Sate Ayam
Chicken skewer with rice paste or steamed rice and peanut sauce
$7.50

OTHER SPECIALS: Please visit us for selection

Soto Betaowi
Beef curry soup served with steamed rice and sambal.
$7.75

Mie Baso
Noodle soup, bok choy, and meatballs.
$6.50

Bubur Ayam
Chicken porridge served with hardboiled egg, shredded chicken, soybean peanuts, and tapioca chips.
$7.00

Siomay Bandung
Fishpaste, tofu, cabbage, hardboiled egg, potato, and peanut sauce.
$7.50

Adem Ayem Cafe
11945 SW Pacific Hwy, Suite 202
Tigard, OR 97223
503.639.7770
http://www.ademayemcafe.com

10am to 4pm Monday-Saturday

[BigDaddy]

I saw this place a few weekends ago when we were going for pho at the place in the back of the shopping center; popped my head in and it looked and smelled wonderful. Unfortunately, I couldn't get MomCat's craving for pho (decent, more pork and fish stock than spices to the broth) to subside.

[Calabrese]

This might have to be a Sat. lunch real soon.

[ExtraMSG]

Rushed over before they closed yesterday (called and made sure they'd be open; she said she sometimes closes early if it's slow).



Menu changes daily, with some of the more special dishes Thursday through Saturday, apparently. This was the menu on Tuesday. In addition to the menu items, they have some snackier things near the front counter.

I got three items: the nasi kuning, the lontong sayur, and the soto betawi.



The nasi kuning -- yellow rice, fried chicken, veggies, curried fried egg, spicy carrots with peanuts, and chips -- was mostly good, but the weakest dish. This is the only one of the three items that Taste of Jakarta also serves. This was definitely not as good as their version. The problem is that it's only one lady and she has to cook everything ahead and then reheat it. As a result, the fried chicken really suffered. Everything was still tasty, but not as good as what I would expect on the streets of Yogya.



Even with what seemed like frozen green beans included, the sayur, a very typical breakfast dish in Indonesia, was delicious -- and spicy as hell. This also had the egg in sambal, plus a variety of vegetables and fried tofu in a very pungent, Indonesian yellow curry.



"Longtong" is, apparently, a rice cake. That's what's in the spoon above. They have a great texture that's hard to describe. Honestly, it most reminded me of the hunks of buffalo tendon you'd get in some Indonesian dishes, or cow's hoof. It has tension as you bite into it, but is soft enough that you could cut it with a fork. Definitely stiffer and denser than your typical dumpling, but shares a quality with dumplings. I really liked it in this.



The soto was also delicious. It's a very light, fragrant white curry, with a lot of ginger, lemongrass, onion, and other sharp aromatics along with stewed beef. It's served with white rice and thin, crispy taro chips.

Both this and the sayur were great. No loss from being reheated, really. In truth, nearly every curry I ate in Indonesia was lukewarm. The same in Thailand. Most of the time I was eating on the streets and the items sit in the open air in an unheated bowl or container and then are spooned onto rice when you're ready to eat them. I don't know what's typical in people's homes or what's preferred, really, in those countries, but this sort of thing is certainly typical. On the other hand, whenever I had ayam goreng, Indonesian fried chicken, in Indonesia, it was stewed ahead of time in a curry, but then fried to order, making it warm and crisp, just as it is at Taste of Jakarta. So if you go to Adem Ayem -- and I highly recommend you do if you're anywhere near Tigard -- you might want to focus on the curries and dishes that seem like they would re-heat well.

[craig]

This is great to hear about. That makes two lovely choices if I head south -- Taqueria Sanchez or this place. Nice.

[ExtraMSG]

Shared a meal here the other day and got to try a whole new set of dishes.



Started with some finger food, a hunk of glutinous rice with curried ground chicken stuffed in the middle. The rice could have actually been a little stickier, but the chicken had more flavor than expected and was enjoyable with a bit of sambal to spice it up. Reminded me of the items like this I'd get in Malaysia, though those often had stewed meat or sauced fish.



While rice is my least favorite starch, the rice meals of Indonesia -- nasi padang, nasi campur, nasi rames, and nasi kuning -- are my favorite things to eat there. All of them are structured the same. You get a plate of rice, then choose what dishes you want to go with it, usually what we would call curries or stews, though whole fishes and sauteed veggies are common as well. Each version has their own traditions and while you don't get choices at Adem Ayem or Taste of Jakarta, you do get a well thought-out popular assortment. AA's nasi rames (at least on this day) came with semur daging (beef stew), bakwan (veggie fritter -- or latke, as my dining partner called it), and mixed sauteed sweet and sour veggies. Plus some sambal. The fritter was crisp, pillowy inside, and enjoyable. The beef stew wasn't too unusual, but it had a nice deep flavor and everything was tender. The julienned veggies were just shy of crisp with a mild tartness. I said they were sweet and sour, but given the connotations of Americanized Chinese sweet and sour that's a disservice to the dish. A bit of sambal helped balance the flavors of all the items.



The siomay bandung didn't really fit my palate, but it's an interesting dish. A variety of dumplings, somewhere between xiu mai and won tons with cabbage, eggs, potato, and fish page are cut up and covered in peanut sauce, served with a bit of sambal. Loved the texture, but it just isn't a taste I would crave.



My favorite dish was probably the empek empek, a big hard-boiled-egg-filled empenada or compact fritter. The texture is hard to describe. It's almost spongy, but about the density of a stiff tofu. Yet it's a starch. Below the fritter were yellow yakisoba/chow mein style noodles in a light, darkly sweet and tart soup. It was deceptively spicy, building as you ate it. A bit of cucumbers added a nice fresh flavor.

Another enjoyable meal.

[polloelastico]

Had lunch here with some co-workers. We had the beef redang and satay.




I love the sambal here. I could eat the curry with 2x or 3x as much rice and another healthy dollop of sambal. This will be a nice to-go option when driving home from work.

[Amanda]

Too bad for me this place is to hell and gone in Tigard, but excellent for those who are way out West!

Best regards,

Amanda

[ExtraMSG]

How was the satay, Pollo? I imagine they have to grill it ahead (which is actually typical even on the streets of Indonesia and Malaysia, though the very best places make it to order) and then just warm it to order?

[polloelastico]

ExtraMSG, on Feb 15 2010, 11:02 PM, said:

How was the satay, Pollo? I imagine they have to grill it ahead (which is actually typical even on the streets of Indonesia and Malaysia, though the very best places make it to order) and then just warm it to order?

I suspect you were right - they food came out rather quickly and my friend said they were enjoyable. He's usually not a big fan of peanut sauces as they are sometimes cloying to him, but this was a good rendition. The skewers were served with a starch - rice cake wedges that had a dumpling-like consistency.

Got a comment on my blog that this place is closed until March 6th?

[jrj]

Closed until 3/7.

[Amanda]

Welcome to the site, jrj!

Best regards,

Amanda

[ExtraMSG]

Yeah, just saw the sign. Set your calendars for Mar 8, the day they reopen.