Satay Bistro brings Indonesian food to the edge of Center City
Philadelphia's Indonesian restaurants, and community, are clustered south of Washington Avenue. Fenty Triany and Indra Cipto want to share their cuisine with the rest of the city.
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When you want to go out for Indonesian food in the Philadelphia area, you head to South Philadelphia.
“That’s where our community is,” said Fenty Triany, who like her husband, Indra Cipto, is a native of Jakarta who has been in the United States for two decades. (They met here.) Hardena, D’jakarta Cafe, Ramayana — all south of Washington Avenue.
The couple, who have worked in non-Indonesian restaurants all over town, saw a way to share their food, especially among the Center City delivery crowd. On Saturday, they will open Satay Bistro at 13th and Spring Garden Streets, in a section of town sometimes referred to as the Loft District. The couple also own NY Bagel & Deli Shop a few blocks away.
They maintained the vaguely industrial look from Bufad, the pizzeria that occupied the corner from 2013 to 2018, with its light fixtures of bundled fluorescent tubes, wood-clad counter, and rough-finished walls and floor.
The pizza oven came out, and Triany, Cipto, and their team of Indonesian cooks are putting out create-your-own rice platters and various satay dishes.
This is home cooking, as they’ve never offered their food in a restaurant setting: dendeng balado (stir-fry chili beef), sayur tempe tahu buncis (stir-fry tofu and tempeh with green beans), ayam rica rica (spicy red chili herb chicken), and udang kentang pete (shrimp and zator, or “stinky,” beans), all at a variety of heat levels.
Besides satay, first-timers may want to try beef rendang, a mildly spicy beef stew packed with herbs, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, turmeric, ginger, garlic, onion, and chili, or capcay is a stir-fry of mixed veggies with shrimp and chicken. Krupuk, a tapioca cracker, makes a great side. As the menu is not yet online, I’ve posted it here.
Shaved ice and smoothies are on the beverage side. It’s BYOB. I’d suggest beer, though an off-dry Riesling, Viognier, or Gewurztraminer might do the trick for wine.
Satay Bistro, 1240 Spring Garden St., 717-918-2161. Hours: noon to 8 p.m. daily. It will be available on Uber Eats, Grubhub, and DoorDash. There are two steps at the front door.