15 delicious spots for the best Indonesian food in Singapore

Warung Leko

Warung Leko is an Indonesian restaurant from Surabaya specialising in iga penyet, or smashed beef spare ribs. (Photo: Warung Leko)

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While ayam penyet — deep-fried chicken, which gets smashed with a pestle for better penetration of spicy sambal — is easy enough to find in Singapore, its beef-centric cousin is comparatively rare.
Enter Warung Leko, a Surabaya import known for its iga penyet, or smashed beef spare ribs, served on a bed of fiery sambal terasi.

Don’t worry if you can’t take the heat: The spice level is customisable, and you always have the alternative of washing it down with Indonesian oxtail soup.

Find out more here.

The famed Indonesian Padang restaurant Sederhana recently opened its first outlet in Singapore, on the very corner vacated by local legend Warong Nasi Pariaman. Clearly, it’s got big boots to fill — though that shouldn’t be a problem for the Minangkabau nasi padang specialist, since it’s got the backing of more than 200 stores in its home country, along with a solid half-century of history.

Bestsellers include beef rendang, dendeng balado (beef jerky with a spicy chilli sauce) and ayam pop (chicken that’s boiled in coconut water, then fried and served with sambal).

Find out more here.

Cumi Bali

Photo: thehungertrack

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Located on Tras Street, this long-standing restaurant is celebrated for authentic, rich Indonesian flavours while being surprisingly light and healthy.

The kitchen emphasises fresh ingredients, intricate spice blends (bumbu), and low-oil cooking techniques, creating hearty yet guilt-free dishes.

Warung Ijo proves that vegetarian food doesn’t have to be boring or tasteless. Using beancurd, mushrooms or meat analogues to replace meat, you can expect your favourites such as Rendang Fried Rice, Gulai Fish (fish in curry), Ayam Penyet, and Nasi Lemak.

IndoChili has won various accolades for its food including the Food Republic Hawker King Challenge so you know you’re in for a treat. Serving up cuisine from Java, Padang, and Bali, star dishes include Gado-Gado (salad with peanut-based sauce), Sop Buntut (oxtail soup), Ikan Bakar Bali (grilled fish), and Nasi Kuning (yellow rice).

Located in Singapore’s CBD, Warung M. Nasir is another place for nasi padang. Dishes that people fan over include Beef Rendang, Sayur Lodeh (vegetables in curry), Sambal Goreng, Ikan Assam Pedas (fish in sour and spicy sauce), and Bergedil (stuffed hash).

Founded by an Indonesian mother and son duo, Kulon serves only bakmi but they do it so well. Bakmi is a dish of Indonesian dry noodles where thin strands of noodles are coated in a variety of sauces. The noodles are then finished with various toppings ranging from bakso beef balls, Javanese marinated fried chicken thighs to braised sweet soy sauce chicken and spicy sambal.

Pondok Jawa Timur is another restaurant to refuel at after shopping along Orchard Road. The restaurant first opened within the Indonesian embassy in 2006 before expanding to a shopfront. Star dishes include Bakwan Jagung (fried corn fritters with prawn), Gulai Kepala Ikan (red snapper curry), Ayam Penyet, and Sambal Goreng Kentang Kering (sambal with fried tempeh and potato chips).

Bara has an ambitious aim of reintroducing Indonesian flavours amidst the competitive sea of “penyets and padang options”. Their answer? Nasi Bakar, spiced rice that’s wrapped in banana leaves before it is grilled and served with a host of side dishes. These sides include Sambal Udang Kentang (prawn and potato with sambal), Ayam Goreng Serundeng (fried chicken with crispy topping), and Ayam Bakar Betutu (Balinese-style grilled chicken).

Kintamani Indonesian Restaurant

Photo: Kintamani Indonesian Restaurant

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You don’t want to miss the nasi tumpeng (pictured) here. Originating from the island of Java, this coned-shaped turmeric-flavoured and coloured “rice mountain” comes with eight delectable vegetables and meat dishes that symbolise gratitude and good fortune.

Perfect for sharing, you get to sample different types of side dishes together with your family.

Rumah Makan Minang

Photo: Rumah Makan Minang

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This heritage restaurant on Kandahar Street started in 1954 specialising Minangkabau (an ethnic group indigenous to the Minangkabau Highlands of West Sumatra) cuisine, such as nasi padang (rice with various side dishes), rendang (spicy meat and coconut dish), and sayur lodeh (soup with vegetables in coconut milk).

Tambuah Mas

Photo: Tambuah Mas

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Tambuah Mas is a home-style Indonesian restaurant that has been operating since 1981. The restaurant wears its age well — not least for its stylish yet comfortable digs in the basement of Paragon and Great World — which make it equally suited for both business lunches and convivial affairs.

Expect a gamut of dishes from Padang, Sulawesi, and Java, with signatures ranging from tahu telor (deep-fried tofu in a sweet-spicy sauce) and satay to a hearty rendang stew.

Find out more here.

Pondok Wak Nah

Photo: Pondok Wak Nah

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We can’t forget the yummy food from our beloved hawker centres! Over at Block 16 Bedok South Road, we hear this place is the place for the best nasi rawon (rice with black beef soup), nasi jenganan (rice with peanut sauce), and nasi sambal goreng.

Ayam Penyet Ria

Photo: Ayam Penyet Ria

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Even if you are clueless about Indonesian food, we’re pretty sure you’ve heard of ayam penyet. You can find this “smashed fried chicken” all over Singapore, even at hawker centres. It’s a simple dish, but it packs a (spicy) punch.

You can also replace the chicken with fish, beef balls, prawns, beef, and even beancurd, but you really can’t go wrong with fried chicken.

Bumbu Restaurant

Photo: Bumbu Restaurant

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We’ll throw this in the list for good measure. Bumbu (which means seasoning or spices traditionally mixed with a pestle and mortar) serves Thai-Indonesian food, and an interesting pick is pandan leaf chicken.