A cool new Indonesian restaurant recently celebrated its grand opening in Toronto. Created by long-time industry professional Zulfikar Fahd, Java Bali Kitchen offers up a delicious assortment of authentic Indonesian street food which, believe it or not, makes it the first of its kind in Toronto’s downtown core.
Despite only just having launched last week, Java Bali Kitchen has been generating a ton of buzz in Toronto with offerings that range from Sumatran beef rendang and Javanese chicken soto to Jakartan gado-gado and Balinese yellow rice.
“Before coming to Canada as a queer refugee, I lived in East Java, Indonesia, the birthplace and native land of cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, and pandan. When traders came to Indonesia in the early modern period, they brought their spices that later heavily influenced Indonesian cuisine,” Fahd explains. “In case you've never had Indonesian food, the best phrase to describe it is ‘the lovechild of Indian and Chinese cuisines’".
Java Bali Kitchen is currently available to order online through the Cookin app. The menu is updated regularly and can be viewed in full on Instagram.
