Restoran Asia, Where Cantonese Chicken Meets Wonosobo Tempe

TEMPO.CO, Wonosobo – If you want to taste a classic 1933 Cantonese meal combined with hints of Javanese flavors, just drop by Restoran Asia located on Jalan Angkatan 45 No. 43 in Wonosobo, Central Java. Domestic and international restaurant goers have raved about their addiction to the food served in this unique vintage restaurant.

When Tempo went to Restoran Asia on Wednesday, June 12, the tempo doeloe (classic Indonesian) ambience immediately grabbed its attention. The dim light illuminating the room, antique painting, and old fashioned tables and chairs warmly welcomed its guests.

The restaurant is always packed with visitors each day. The restaurant's owner Valentina Tinie Harijanto, said that her visitors always longed for the taste of her restaurant's Cantonese chicken.

"The Cantonese chicken has been popular since 1933," she said.

In addition to the Cantonese chicken, the restaurant's other favorite dishes include fried pigeon, sweet and sour gourami fish, and fish maw soup. Valentina said that the recipes for these Cantonese dishes have not changed since the restaurant's first generation. For example, the fried chicken is still as crispy as ever and is still served with Chinese aromatic salt and spices.

"We make our own Chinese aromatic salt. You cannot find it in any other restaurant," she added.

The fish maw soup priced at Rp 150,000 (around US$15) per portion is also a favorite of customers. Aside from serving authentic Cantonese dishes, the restaurant also has traditional Indonesian snacks as appetizers such as tempe kemul, geblek, kue mangkok, and sagon Wonosobo.

The restaurant was established by a Chinese cook who used to work on a Chicalengka yacht named Tam Hong. He resided in Wonosobo and opened a warung (food stall) that served Catonese food. During those times, his customers were usually the Dutch, Japanese, and Chinese who lives in Indonesia.

OLIVIA LEWI PRAMESTI