Kwetiau Akang Arteri PI: Tomato Toh..Maay..Toooh..

Kwetiau Tomat Akang

I know for sure that there are definitely countless of kway teow (not exactly sure how to spell this) or noodle places in Jakarta, in West and South especially where parts of it has long been considered as the chinatowns of the city. In fact, most chinese places would serve most kinds of kway teow, and most of the time, they are delicious too. (albeit rather generic due to the heavy use of generic MSG too). Just adhere to the thumb rule of 'look where all the crowd goes'. Stir-fried, in clear soup, thick sauce, with beef, seafood (the most common), pork, are just few that came to mind. 

For that reason, kway teow isn't really something I'd like to 'try'. Except when maybe there's just a slight different touch to it-- like this kway teow:Akang's Tomato Kway Teow (Kwetiau Tomat). The other reason that got me psyched about trying the place is that they opened a branch to their Muara Karang shop in Pondok Indah Arteri which is conveniently close to where I live. As a lot of Jakarta now grow more and more conscious of, we just reserve in going across district (even those that are just side by side) for something nearly life threatening or changing at the least. 

Last time I checked, (they do have a facebook page, twitter, and a website),Kwetiau Akang has its branches in Arteri Pondok Indah, Muara Karang (Pluit), a stall in Living World, Alam Sutera, and Pasar Ah Poong (Sentul City).

One clear Sunday, I went on for a quest of Tomato Kwetiaw with my cousin and friend, who, like me, were starving after a morning "swim" (the quotation mark is because I can't really). We relied on people's online footprint on google maps (thanks people!) to locate the restaurant, which was smack dab on the side of Jl. Sultan Iskandar Muda Street (famously referred to Arteri Pondok Indah). If you're coming from Pondok Indah, it will be on the left side, next to a Honda Motor dealer. 

Unfortunately, I did not take picture of Kwetiaw Akang's interior, which was not awfully big, yet clean, neat and air conditioned. Like many Chinese restaurants in the city, the kitchen area is in the front so you can see (and definitely smell) what they are cooking. As we were seated, on the table I noticed a canister of what seemed to be my favourite condiment in the whole wide world.. PICKLES!!! huge chunks of both cucumber and shallots! Success!!

mmm...pickles..

We got down straight to business by ordering ourselves food. I ordered a portion of Kwetiau Tomat,  my cousin opted for the Kwetiaw Siram Sapi (Kwetiau with Beef and Thick Sauce), and my friend a plate of Special Fried Rice (which has pieces of pork in it, so be careful for halal eater). Our food came literally minutes after we ordered, probably because the place was not too busy that day. My kwetiaw has quite the amount of silky looking broth and nice chunks of meat, (What seemed to be) sliced seafood cakes, vegetables, and of course tomato. I had wrongly assumed that the broth would be red, what came out instead was a savory yellowy goodness with a hint of sweetness and tomato somewhere. Complemented with my pickles, you got yourself  a plate of wholesome and satisfying meal. 

The Kwetiau Siram Sapi's sauce is almost gooey-- thickened with starch and drizzled with egg-- with less ingredients added to the mixture; just a few Cai Sim (sawi hijau, as us Indonesians are familiar with), and slices of beef. This kind of dish was never a favorite of mine, but having said that, it's pretty good. Just appropriately seasoned but not too much that the MSG activates your whole taste glands. Yet for the nasi goreng, because the 'spesial' one had pork in it, I had to work my way around the bits of pork and tried just a teeny bit (this is not acceptable still for most muslims but, hey, everyone got their own thing :) of fried rice and some pieces of shrimp. The rice has that typical chinese nasi goreng (at least here in south asia), but boy oh boy was that plate are full of chunks of all the meat you can think of; beef, as I have mentioned--pork, shrimp, squid, chicken parts, etc. The dish is served on top of a banana leaf which is always a good aesthetic touch and usually does add a subtle fragrance.

For drinks, this restaurant serves quite interesting types of refreshments like Liang Teh (actually quiet common in casual Chinese restaurants such as this, Es Lidah Buaya (Iced aloe vera drink), Es Kacang Ijo (Mung Bean Drink), Teh Tarik, to Terong Belanda drink (Tamarillo drink, almost identical in taste with Passion Fruit). All in all, living in the southern part of Jakarta where the food is often bad, the place is flashy, and the price tag ridiculous, I am just glad there are more 'west-bound' place like Kwetiau Akang providing us yummy choices for lunch! :D   

Kwetiau Siram Sapi Akang

Nasi Goreng Spesial Akang

Kwetiau Akang

- Jl. Muara Karang Raya No. 21, South Jakarta

   phone: (021) 6610359 - 68890303

- Arteri Pondok Indah, Jl. Sultan Iskandar Muda No. 25E 

   phone: (021) 7291664

- Kelapa Gading: Jl. Boulevard Raya Blok TN II No. 36, Kelapa Gading

  phone: (021) 4508888