Nasi Bakar: barbecued banana leaf parcel filled with blue coconut rice and rendang ayam (slow-cooked chicken curry), served with urap sayur (mung bean salad with coconut dressing) and caramelized tomato sambal
One of the great things about Oakland is that we have a thriving community of food pop-ups at various restaurants, venues, and events all around us. After following one pop-up vendor on Instagram, I was led to the wider community — one event saved in my calendar at a time. Three Salted Fish, an Indonesian pop-up run by Melati Citrawireja, was on my list for a while. I was happy I could try her food at an event at Standard Parts Studios on E 12th Street between 9th and 10th Avenues in East Oakland in late July.
I ordered the Nasi Bakar: a barbecued banana leaf parcel filled with blue coconut rice and a choice of rendang ayam (slow-cooked chicken curry) or kering tempe, served with urap sayur (mung bean salad with coconut dressing) and caramelized tomato sambal. I haven't had much Indonesian food and this was quite different from what I've had before, which were noodle and curry dishes similar to what you might find in Thai or Indian cuisines. Beyond being very photogenic, this self-contained banana leaf held a lot of tastes and textures in the chicken curry within. I liked experimenting with the different flavor combinations, seeing if the sambal was too spicy or when just enough accentuated the flavor in the chicken.
I really enjoyed trying Melati's food and I'll be looking out for the next Three Salted Fish pop-up in the area.
Three Salted Fish
Open: see Instagram for details
Standard Parts Studios
928 E 12th St, Oakland, CA 94606
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