Ramayani

Stop 2 on my friend's LA spring break Asian cuisine extravaganza was the Indonesian restaurant Ramayani. Located on the busy corner of Westwood Blvd and Santa Monica, this tiny place is often overshadowed by several popular Middle Eastern restaurants. From the outside, the restaurant appears to be dingy and lifeless but I say, don't judge a book by it's cover. Inside the restaurant is well lit; and bustling with life and free delicious smells!

After perusing the menu, my friend and I decide to take the plunge and order Ramayani's Rijsttafel. For those of you who don't know, Rijsttafel is a Dutch word that literally translates to "rice table"and is an elaborate meal that the Dutch adapted from the Indonesian Nasi Padang. In other words, a lot a lot a lot of food, served in small portions with rice. We knew going in that we were going to be served a feast, but the ex-swimmers (yes, she used to swim too) in us were up for the challenge.

The first dish up was a gado gado salad which comprises of tofu, boiled egg, a medley of steam vegetables like bean sprouts, with a creamy peanut sauce. The vegetables were a little limp and could have used a little freshening up in ice cold water. My next complaint was that there was not enough peanut sauce to cover the whole salad. While I hate when restaurants drown their salads in dressing, I also hate the reverse, when there is not enough dressing.

Along with the gado gado salad, we were served a platter of Pangsit Goreng (deep fried chicken won tons), Krupuk Udang or koropok (shrimp crackers is the best way I know how to describe these to my "ang moh" friends) and Rempeyek (Spiced crispy peanut fritters with a touch of garlic and coriander). All the above was served with a delicious side of sweet sauce. The Krupuk was perfectly fried and crispy yet not overly oily.

Up next was a small bowl of soto ayam soup which consist of chicken, bean sprouts, and rice noodles in an aromatic coconut-milk based broth spiced with lemongrass and tangerine leaves. I haven't had soto ayam in a long time and you would think any soto ayam would taste good to my soto ayam deprived taste buds. But no, this soto ayam did not really hit the spot. Served at a luke warm temperature, I felt like I was eating sloppy seconds.

By this time, my stomach was starting to feel a little full... but I pushed on. Ayam satay or chicken satay and a plate full of Bakmi Goreng or Indonesian style egg noodles with chicken and shrimp (I think I may have also spied pork) was next up. The satay was tender but lacked the grilled chared-ness that I have come to expect from satay. Additionally, the peanut sauce was a little too sweet and not nutty enough for my liking. As for the noodles, they came out piping hot and was just delicious and peppery. I tried not to full up too much on the noodles even though I could have eaten plate full after plate full of this, but I knew the we had a little ways to go.

At this time, my stomach was begging me to stop but the athlete in me knew the finish line was right around the corner. And it was. Served with a big pot of steaming white rice (ahh! Comfort to any Asian who grew up on rice), out came 4 more dishes: beef Rendang (Savory mini beef steaks slow cooked in a red-chili, garlic, and coconut curry), Ayam Bumbu Rujak (mixed spicy chicken), Sambal Goreng Tahu Buncis (string beans and tofu in a seasoned coconut curry), and Ayam Kare (chicken curry). We were also served with a side of Acar and spiced peanuts. While everything was decently yummy and spot on in terms of authenticity and flavors, I will say that I was rather annoyed that everything was served luke warm! I have a passionate dislike for luke warm food because nothing taste quite right served at the ungodly temperature of luke warm!!

For our dessert, we had papa t's all time favorite, ice chendol which consist of Mung-bean jelly in brown sugar and coconut milk. I wished the ice in this dessert had been shaved down a little more as the random chunks of ice really put a damper in this otherwise classic favorite.

Details:
Ramayani
1777 Westwood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90024
310-477-3315