Indonesian food is rare commodity in Los Angeles, and Simpang Asia is one of the few restaurants around that offers its take on the  exotic flavors of Indonesia.

Usually the dining room is buzzing on the weekends for lunch. They even started a weekend brunch last year with french toast, paratha and Portuguese sausage. I’ve been meaning to try the brunch, but have yet to do so.

My daughter enjoys the smoothies here. In fact, this is the only place she’ll order smoothies, recently enjoying a mango smoothie on our last visit.

Since we all like noodles, we tend to order noodle dishes all round.

The kwetlaw goreng is a favorite of my daughter’s, as she loves eating flat rice noodles. The mie tak trek with egg noodles is also a solid choice.

On our last visit, my husband mixed it up by getting the romantically named Serendipity. Served in a wok-type vessel, the seafood garlic noodles came with shrimp, fish cakes, eggs, cilantro and fried garlic.

The most popular dish is #8 Nasi Bungkus, which has chicken curry, beef rending and a vegetable curry with rice, all steamed in a banana leaf. The servers were bringing this banana-wrapped handful out to a majority of diners. Unfortunately, they seem to have pulled the vegetarian version, the Sayur Bungkus, featuring both vegetable and tofu curries, tofu tempeh and a chili relish egg – an odyssey of flavors in one dish.

Specials tend to have the spicier dishes. We once had a fish special here that was so abundant in spices, it was a shock to my system.

Cheviot Farms, an Indonesian market, resides in the adjoining spot. Strolling through the market while you wait for your food or after your meal, you can check out Dutch, Indonesian and other Asian products that you won’t find in your local market.

Take a trip to Southeast Asia and visit Simpang Asia. If you like to play it safe, the noodles and sate are a safe bet, but if you’re more daring, order one of the specials or one of the padangs or the nasi bungkus. Oh, and if you sign up for their email list, you can even get a 20% off coupon. Deal! Once you sign up, you’ll even get a monthly email with a coupon for discounts on your meal, making a monthly trip to Southeast Asia even more affordable.

Location – 10433 National Blvd., Los Angeles, 90034
Website – http://simpangasia.com
Kid-Friendly – Yes
Kid’s Menu – No
Pesco-Vegetarian Friendly – Yes
Vegetarian/Vegan Friendly – Yes
Gluten-Free Options – Yes