July 14, 2024
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Two years ago Laura recommended Sendok Garpu to us, and this year while in Brisbane we took the time to cross the Victoria Bridge and try it for dinner. Its arcade location, low stools and adjoining grocery section hint that it's aimed primarily at city-worker lunchers, but it still attracts plenty of diners and delivery orders for an early dinner.
The Indonesian menu is enormous (I've linked to 20 pages below!), with vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and spicy options well marked throughout. It was tough to prioritise.
Laura had warned us that the food was very spicy, so we figured we should set ourselves up with cooling drinks. Michael's Es Kopi Gula Aren ($7) had high doses of sugar and caffeine, and kept him abuzz for some time. Es Soda Gembira ($6) was a new-to-me mix of raspberry soda and condensed milk. The carbonation-and-milk combo actually worked pretty well, and the flavour reminded me of jelly tips.
Michael focused on the range of rendang dishes on offer, and chose a vegetarian adjustment to the Mini Tumpeng Rendang ($29.95). Around a centre of yellow herb coconut rice, he received an excellent jackfruit rendang (instead of beef), garlic crackers (instead of prawn), chilli egg, crispy tempeh, a very hot shrimp-free sambal and salad. He loved it, and even wished for more rendang.
Instead, he satisfied himself with picking at my leftovers. I'd ordered the Ketoprak ($15.95), noted as a famous vegan dish in Jakarta, and available at three spice levels. The featured rice cake chunks are barely visible - they're steamed soft and starchy, not dense and bouncy like Korean rice cakes. They were tossed together with thin rice noodles, then topped with bean sprouts and a sweet, mild and thick peanut sauce. Around the edges I could pick at spongy tofu cubes, boiled egg (not vegan, in spite of that menu heading) and garlic crackers.
We were full, even satisfied, except that I'd noticed a poster advertising martabak (dessert pancakes) on the way in. Happily these were boxed up to take away, so we walked a serve back to our accommodation and enjoyed thick pandan pancakes sandwiching a cheese and condensed milk filling from the comfort of our hotel bed.
Sendok Garpu's CBD location didn't fit naturally into our other planned activities but we were so glad we made the effort to visit. The staff were very welcoming, the food was novel to us, and most of all it was tasty. We're likely to work it into the schedule when we're back in Brissy.
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The Hangry Chef was a big fan of the past Coopers Plains incarnation of Sendok Garpu.
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Sendok Garpu
Shop 6, 97 Elizabeth St, Brisbane CBD
(07) 4602 9979
story, recommendations 1, recommendations 2, entrees 1, entrees 2, set menu A, set menu B, street food 1, street food 2, rice dishes, wok dishes, soup, mains 1, mains 2, mains 3, mains 4, sides, sambal & extras, drinks, desserts
Accessibility: The entry is wide and the stairs up to the tables include a wheelchair lift. Tables are low with backless stools, quite densely packed with a wide pathway along one side. We ordered at our table and paid at a waist-height counter. Toilets are shared within the arcade and located two levels lower, accessible by both stairs and lift; an swipe card from the restaurant staff is needed to access them. The toilets are gendered and a large ungendered cubicle with supports is also available.
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