Hard-to-find Indonesian snacks sold at this Sin Ming Drive stall

How Singaporean interior designer Jason Sim, 54, and his wife Haryenny, 40, who hails from the Indonesian city of Bandung, met is a love story for the ages.

In 2012, Jason came across a photo of Haryenny, also known as Yenny, while browsing Facebook. She was a friend of a friend and he thought she looked “not bad”, so he sent her a DM (direct message). They started chatting online and before long, Jason was on a plane to meet Yenny and her family.

What was it that attracted her to him? “I don’t know. I chatted with him because he was a friend’s friend,” Yenny told 8days.sg shyly. “It didn’t occur to me that he could be a scammer.”

“She did tell me that I looked honest and felt I was very sincere. I think it’s fate,” Jason chimed in. 

After dating long-distance for six months, they tied the knot in 2013 and Yenny relocated to Singapore. They do not have kids.

The sweet couple recently opened a food stall in an industrial complex in Sin Ming selling popular Indonesian street snacks. Called Indonie, the two-week-old stall offers “hard-to-find treats” like Bandung-style bakso goreng (translated as fried meatball), pisang aroma (fried banana spring roll) and risoles ragout (chicken and vegetable croquette). You will see the couple reimagined as cutesy mascots on the stall’s signboard.

SHE'S A TRAINED ENGINEER-TURNED-HAWKER

Though Yenny holds an industrial engineering degree from a university in her hometown, her passion for food and cooking has her pursuing a career in F&B instead. 

Prior to meeting Jason, the avid home cook ran a small eatery selling nasi bakar (rice seasoned with spices wrapped in banana leaf) for a couple of years in Bandung, and later worked as a kitchen assistant in various restaurants in Singapore. Her last stint was as assistant manager in Japanese restaurant chain Guen Pin Fugu & Snow Crab for six years. 

She has been wanting to open her own food stall for a long time as she misses good, authentic Indonesian cuisine. “We go around trying Indonesian food in Singapore, but the food is expensive and the flavour is only okay. Maybe it’s just not to my taste, so I told my husband we’re better off eating at home,” she said.

STARTED OUT AS A HOME-BASED BUSINESS

Last year, the couple started a home-based business selling Yenny’s specialties of ayam penyet, ayam goreng and bakso goreng to neighbours in their BTO flat’s Telegram group chat on Sundays.  

“The reception was very good, especially for our bakso goreng. This gave us the confidence to open a brick-and-mortar shop,” shared Jason.

Yenny quit her job last November and opened Indonie at Sin Ming AutoCity mid-February. The initial plan was to offer a similar menu as their home-based business but was vetoed by the landlord as it clashed with a new Malay stall opening there, so they decided to sell Indonesian snacks instead. 

It turned out to be a blessing in disguise. 

According to Jason, their hard-to-find snacks have been making waves among the Indonesian community, especially their signature Bandung-style bakso goreng, which is unlike those commonly found in other cities.

“A customer tried our food and shared about it on Facebook. Since then, a lot of Indonesian customers have come down specially to buy our snacks and we even received orders from Indonesian embassy staff. They tell us they really miss authentic Indonesian snacks and are so glad they can get them here. We didn’t expect such a good response,” he said.

WHAT IS BANDUNG-STYLE BAKSO GORENG?

Bakso, or Indonesian boiled meatball, is a staple in the country’s cuisine, and bakso goreng is essentially meatball that is fried, well, in most parts of Indonesia, at least.

But the Bandung version, according to Yenny, is more like a deep-fried cracker. It is made by blending meat or seafood into a paste which is mixed with flour and shaped into jumbo balls. Once deep-fried, they puff up and expand into large crunchy crackers.

“I’ve only known of this type of bakso goreng which is commonly sold from street carts in Bandung. It is only when I tried the bakso goreng (at a Balinese food stall) recently that I found out that it is different in other areas of the country,” she said.

Yenny is a one-woman show handling all the prep work and cooking, while Jason, who admits to being clueless in the kitchen, serves customers.

From the fillings to the wrappers for the snacks, everything is handmade from scratch at the stall. “I really take my hat off to her. There is a lot of work involved and I really want to help, but she refuses to teach me. She insists she can handle it on her own,” said Jason. There are plans to add mains to the menu soon.

Since opening Indonie, the doting hubby has put his interior design business on hold to fully support Yenny. “I’m not interested in cooking but for her I will be interested,” he said. “If this business takes off, I am prepared to give up my business to help her."

THE MENU

Indonie offers five types of fried Indonesian snacks: Bakso goreng (prawn and fish), martabak telur (egg and chicken martabak), risoles (breaded croquette), lumpia goreng (spring roll), and pisang aroma (fried banana spring roll). Prices start from S$1 for a pisang aroma to S$2 for bakso goreng.

BAKSO GORENG UDANG, S$2

Indonie offers two variants of bakso goreng: Prawn and fish. We are surprised by how much the prawn version tastes like an amped up, more umami keropok. Made using frozen shrimp, the bakso goreng has with an intense prawn flavour. The treats are refried before serving so they are hot and crunchy, and slightly chewy inside. 

Yenny offers a housemade fiery chilli sauce as a dip, but we find the sauce too overpowering and tangy.

Yenny told us the tennis ball-sized orbs, which are cut to resemble flowers, are slow-fried for one entire hour for it to puff up and hold shape. Failing to do so, the crackers will shrink if left out in the open for too long. As it’s labour intensive, they currently only produce around 30 pieces of each flavour a day, so they advise customers to call to check on availability being coming down. 

The fish version, which is made using mackerel, is pretty good too but not as flavourful as the prawn.

MARTABAK TELUR, S$1.20 

The martabak telur (egg martabak) is similar to the murtabak found locally. But instead of making a big pancake, Yenny offers a small portion so it’s easier to eat. The crispy parcel loaded with flavourful minced chicken, egg and spring onion filling is meaty, eggy and satisfying. The handmade crepe-style skin boasts the right thickness and is slightly chewy.

RISOLES RAGOUT, S$1.20

Orange-hued, crisp breaded wrapper gives way to a creamy, savoury filling of potatoes, corn, carrots, French beans and minced chicken. Taste-wise, the filling is reminiscent of chicken pie. Comforting and delish.

PISANG AROMA ORIGINAL, S$1

One of two sweet offerings on the menu. Bananas drizzled with honey and sugar, then rolled in a crepe and deep-fried until golden. Yennie uses pisang raja and kepok varieties, which are known for their sweetness and fragrance. The skin is light and crunchy, while the banana filling slightly caramelised and creamy. We like that the treat is not overly sweet and boasts a slightly charred taste.

PISANG AROMA CHOCOLATE, S$1

However, we prefer the chocolate banana version, which is dusted with cocoa powder. The slight bitterness from the powder balances the sweetness of the snack and adds complexity and depth to it all. 

LUMPIAH GORENG, S$1.20
 

Crispy fried spring roll stuffed with minced chicken, shredded turnip, and bean sprouts. Heavily spiked with hae bee (dried shrimp), the filling is fragrant and umami and soya bean sprouts like those commonly used in Korean cuisine give it a surprising crunch and freshness.

BOTTOM LINE

We’re pretty impressed by Yenny’s hard-to-find Indonesian snacks and are glad she has introduced them to Singaporeans. Her addictive Bandung-style prawn bakso goreng is our fave and we also found ourselves enjoying the fried pisang even though we’re not usually a fan of sweets. Worth a visit if you’re in the area.

Indonie is at Sin Ming AutoCity, 160 Sin Ming Drive, Singapore 575721. Open daily except Sun, 8am-6pm or until sold out. Call or WhatsApp 9071 6919 (Yenny) or 9071 6909 (Jason) to pre-order. More info on Facebook.

This story was originally published in 8Days.