"miami beach"

What a lovely way to spend a cool evening, meeting new people and enjoying Indomania Chef Ineke’s exotic Indonesian Rijsttafel at Miami River Wall! The evening was being filmed for Fox Style File news anchor, Belkys Nerey. Don’t blink or you’ll miss me, my husband got more airtime than I did, sniff, sniff. You can hear me though, I have a slight British accent. I also got a chance to video Chef Ineke when she sat down to finally eat her own dinner. If you want to celebrate a special catered event at Miami River Wall, contact them to arrange. It’s a beautiful setting inside with the two exquisite hydroponic vertical plant and herb walls and a back garden right on the river. You can see more where I posted about my Wok Star cooking classes held there.

Very few Miami restaurants serving Asian food give me the “experience” of wanting to be there. It doesn’t have to be fancy, in fact, often that’s a turn off cause you know you’re paying for the decor. On the other hand, many Asian restaurants (in my humble opinion) do not showcase the beauty of Asia in their decor or in their food. Indomania has succeeded in giving me both. When you walk in, you feel transported. The little touches with the batik tablecloth and the beautiful photos (Pieter is a photographer) all make it very personal.

Chef Ineke and her husband Pieter designed their restaurant as if it’s their own dining room. It’s small, cozy and intimate. They come over to chat with you, I know it’s not realistic when it’s busy but I felt truly special to be able to connect with the chef who just made my dinner. Unfortunately, I ate at their restaurant way before I started food blogging so not much photos to show the space so you’ll just have to go and ‘experience’ yourself. Everyone I’ve sent there agree they ‘love’ it too and keep going back.

When Ralph and I went, we shared a small Rijsttafel (see LOTS more photos) which gave us a tasting platter. But during the Miami River Wall feast, we got to taste a lot more and everything was spot on especially her Beef Rendang and Achar pickles. As you may or may not know, my mother was born in Singapore, so I grew up eating many of these foods. Eating at Indomania Restaurant always brings back wonderful memories for me. That’s what food is supposed to do – give you memories and associations. It’s what I tell people when I present my Wok Star cooking classes, it’s not just about the cooking, it’s about creating experiences and memories with people you enjoy!

I hope to organize a Hoh Wok Club gathering at Indomania soon and introduce you to Chef Ineke’s fabulous Indonesian food. But if you can’t wait, go, enjoy and tell Chef Ineke and Pieter you heard it from me.

P.S. Sorry about all the photos bunched together, but still learning new Blogger “editor” and after uploading photos, couldn’t get them to separate to put the text in, so frustrating! I think it’s obvious what the dishes are.

Here are more reviews of Indomania!
All Purpose Dark
Food for Thought
New Times Dining Review