Java

With all the taxis parked out front, it’d be easy to mistake this Avoca Street location for a cab rank. However when you enter this thirty-year-old Indonesian restaurant you’ll quickly find the back dining room is wall-to-wall with Indonesian taxi drivers. They’re here for an inexpensive Indonesia lunch, the highlight of which is the yellow fried chicken, or ayam goreng kuning. The chicken is rubbed with a spice marinade that includes turmeric (for its signature yellow colour), galangal, candlenut and lemongrass before being boiled, then fried. Try it with a bright yellow heap of turmeric, lemongrass and coconut rice, beef floss, empal goreng (a spicy/sweet beef curry), and cucumber slices topped with sambal terasi (a chilli, shrimp paste mix) in a dish called Nasi Kuning ($12.90).

Love this place. Staff are so lovely. The food is always fantastic. My favourite is the sweet soya sauce eggplant and the lemon grass chicken.
The pork satay entre is another great choice. Make sure to make a booking as it can get busy.