Bogor Permai Restaurant - Bogor

It's true what is printed on the menu cover - "Terkenal di bogor sejak 1963" (Famous in Bogor since 1963).
Bogor is a small city an hour drive away from Jakarta. It's been on the media spotlight recently because George W. Bush met Indonesia's President Yudhoyono over there some time ago.

Anyway, this restaurant is famous because they still cook the dish EXACTLY the same way as they did 34 years ago. So, for an authentic Chinese-Indonesian / Indonesian Peranakan dish, this is one of THE places to be.







Fu yung hai (egg foo-young)

Rating: 9.5/10
Verdict: I'm not sure if this legendary Chinese-Indonesian dish is similar to its U.S. counterpart, but I can safely say that Bogor Permai's egg foo-young is one of the best in the country.



Cap cay (stir-fried vegetables with chicken)

Probably the most famous Chinese-Indonesian dish ever. Actually, the word "cap cay" means "ten vegetables", because back in the 1800's, when the dish was created, ten kinds of vegetables were used to make this dish. Nowadays, it's usually only 4 - 5 kinds of vegetables mixed with chicken slices, prawns, and sliced meatballs / fishballs.

Rating: 7/10
Verdict: What one should look for in a good cap cay is the 'kuali' smell (literally, wok smell). This is acheived when solid steel wok and very hot, big fire is used to cook the cap cay. As a result, the cap cay (or any stir-fried food) will have a distinctive pleasant aroma to it. This one isn't quite so.



Mi goreng (fried noodles)

Rating: 7/10
Verdict: Not bad. However, they tend to overdo with the fillings. The whole point of eating mi goreng is to eat the noodle, not the fillings.



Sate Ayam Ponorogo

Chicken satay, Ponorogo-style. Ponorogo is a region in West Java. The main difference between Ponorogo-style chicken satay and the common satay variety is the addition of freshly squeezed kaffir lime juice, among others.

Rating: 7.5/10
Verdict: This is very old-school. My dad said that Bogor Permai's Sate Ayam Ponorogo is as good as the old-time stuff back in the colonial era.



Lumpia Shanghai ("Shanghai" egg rolls)

This common Chinese-Indonesian dish does not originate from Shanghai per se, and I have no idea why it is called "Shanghai" egg rolls. Some people even say that it was actually the Filipinos who brought this dish to Indonesia. I find that hard to believe, since if that's the case, they should call it "Lumpia Manila". Haha!

Rating: 5/10
Verdict: Too salty. And the presentation isn't good, either.



Bogor Permai is also famous for its bakery & sweets shop. You can find any type of West Javanese sweets and desserts imaginable in this shop.



Asinan Bogor
-> Bogor's specialty food. It's basically mixed raw fruit slices in hot, sweet & sour syrup. Usually eaten with a huge cracker.



Telor Asin (salted duck eggs)



Peupeut (pronounced 'puh-pert')
-> A traditional Bogor desert made of rice



Bacang (sticky rice dumpling stuffed with minced pork)



Some unknown sweets



blablabla cakes (I have no idea what this is, either)



No idea what this one is, either. Well, the label says "jasmine", but I doubt that's what it is.



Some weird colorful rolled pancake thingies



Ah-ha! Finally, something I know. This is an Asinan Jambu, sliced raw guava in hot, sweet & sour syrup.