Blok M Express

Great spot for authentic Indonesian food. We order the chicken mi goreng and spicy fried fish, which were both very great!

An Indonesian restaurant full of Indonesian patrons has to be a good thing. Traditional food at really affordable prices — I got beef rendang for $ 11 and a mug of ginger tea full to the brim for $ 2 — bargain! The food is simple but tasty. The tables and chairs are a bit rickety and could do with an upgrade.

I love Indonesian food. Indonesia is a massive region of over 17,000 islands which means that the cuisine is varied and wildly different depending on which part of the region you’re travelling in. Indonesian food in Australia is mostly representative of the food you are able to eat in Java, with some tastes of Sumatran and Balinese occasionally thrown in.
Blok M is a good option for this «standard» Indonesian fare. Don’t come expecting super spice levels or loads of freshness. That’s not to say the food isn’t fresh, but rather it’s not vegetable and salad heavy, which you will find in some parts of Indonesian (ie Bali). Expect a menu heavy with proteins (fried, grilled or satay chicken) and carbs (rice and noodles). My picks of the menu are the Ayam Belado, the Soto Ayam and the Mie Goreng.
Be bold and order one of the fresh drink concoctions.

Now, I am not Australian, so I am not lucky enough to have regular access to (1) Indonesian food, and (2) Indonesia itself. I was here with a group of fantastic Unilocalers who did, so that definitely helped. Any, you know, the company was great.
Blok M is easy to walk past, but you’d best stop in. The food is cheap, there is lots of it, and it’s quite delicious. Oh, and fast… pretty fast! I ordered the Lamb Tongseng — basically, lamb with a whole bunch of spices. That’s the easy way to put it, at least. It came out piping hot, had plenty of lamb in it, but still some veggies so that it wasn’t just a huge plate of meat (not that I would have complained with that either…). I was hoping for it to be spicy, but it really wasn’t. I would recommend ordering extra spicy, if they will do that. Next time, I’ll give it a try.
Everything around the table looked delicious, and everyone seemed happy. Perhaps the food envy of the night was towards the lamb ribs, which we all seemed to miss (except for one of us, that is) on the chalkboard in the corner. It took a while to come up, but at only $ 11, seemed to be worth the wait — huge, moist, delicious. I had one bite and wanted to order some to bring back to my hotel. Oh, and another table had the fish which looked absolutely awesome too, so maybe I’ll have to come back twice.

My husband and I were looking for some different cuisine to venture into, and found Blok M through Unilocal.We couldn’t be happier! Don’t judge it by the «hole in the wall» look — the guy in the kitchen is a superb chef. The food is home cooked, fresh, aromatic, and absolutely wonderful. We ordered the fried whole fish (in fresh sweet and sour home made sauce of tomato, garlic and more), and a beef dish (we spotted anise in the gravy– yummmmy!) which was so soft and delicious, we were in heaven. For 2 dollars more, we also got chicken soup, ox tail soup, and beverages of our choice. All mains came with a nice serving of white rice (perfectly cooked), salad, and a beautifully fried egg. Excellent experience!

Wonderful food!
Great deal.
We had dinner there: Ox tail soup was delicious, deep fried fish, beef in coconut sauce. Yum.
Low key, pay at the counter, get your own cutlery.
I liked it.

SQUEEE! I have just found delicious Indonesian and its affordable!
My friend and I had only 30 minutes to eat before we had to be at a Laneway Learning class at Little Mule and we found this gem. I had the grilled squid which came with rice and a side salad, it was accompanied with a tasty peanut sauce, very pleased. My friend had Mei Goreng and that was flavoursome and authentic, she even had enough to take home with her — says a lot about serving size.
Its a little bit like Christmas when you find a place that you can say has pretty decent food and isn’t going to burn a hole in your pocket. Very pleased with Blok M and I can see myself returning very soon.

Cash only!
Food was decent and prices reasonable. Not as spicy as typical Indonesian fare, so may be adjusted for the Australian palate!
We were not able to order smoothies on our visit, so it may not be the most reliable place.

This Indonesian restaurant is located just off the corner of Little Bourke and Hardware.
They have quite a large selection available on their menu, and I have yet to try all of them, but here are my faves, one for each level spiciness:
Not spicy: Ayam Bakar — chicken marinated in a sweet-​ish sauce (a tad akin to BBQ sauce) and grilled.
Medium spicy: Ayam Balado — deep fried chicken covered in Balado sauce, which tastes like blended chilli, tomato, ginger, abd garlic
Spicy: Chicken Tong Seng (ask them to make it extra spicy). Diced chicken in a curry, normally yellow in colour, but the extra spicy variety leans toward orange.
For fans of super spicy, ask for a side of pece-​lalal, they do this free of charge.
Most dishes are ten bucks plus or minus a couple of dollars.
Avoid their kerepok (crackers) because they aren’t made to order, and taste rather stale.
This place was my favourite, until Mamak opened up nearby… (my Review for Mamak:
)

I found Blok M by accident. Didn’t feel like waiting in line for Shanghai St, and was more than happy to stumble across this gem.
Offering a wide range of of Indonesian food at very cheep prices, this place is well worth a visit. My favourite dish was the lab ribs, meaty and grilled to perfection. Blok M also offers a wide selection of fish dished which my dining guest assured me were great.
The serving sizes are very large, but if you’re still hungry you can always add a side (soup, rice etc) for an extra few dollars (and yes I mean two or three dollars).
There is no table service so order at the counter and the staff will deliver when ready. If you are after cheep, yet quality Indo food Blok M is your place!

Blok M is a small piece of Jakarta squeezed amongst the hiking retail strip in Little Bourke. As enter past the cashier, grab a menu and choose your seating — upstairs is the best spot to admire the unique mural which tells the story of Blok M’s founder.
Ordering is simple, with a clear menu and even photographic explanations for some of the dishes. You’ll need to visit the cashier to order — no table service in Blok M. Once you’ve paid, she’ll pass you some cutlery to return to the table with. Knives and forks are available as well as chopsticks.
Drink orders are made in the front, by the cashier and I always know when my durian smoothie is on it’s way because my companions complain about the smell. Mmm… Yum. She’ll bring it to your table. The kitchen deliver your meals and they are great value — massive and very delicious. You can order variations, such as a fried egg onto of your rice, or chilli on the side and they tend to get it right. The wait time has always been minimal.
If you like Indo/​Malay food, treat yourself to a visit — their prices are very good and the servings are enormous.