YOI
1/155 Franklin Street, CBD
03 8592 4957
Indonesian
$
Food
- Salted Egg Indomie
- Gyutan Don
- Salted Egg Chicken
- Sweet Martabak
The Good
We were off to a fantastic start to our meal with the Salted Egg Indomie. Topped with a sunny fried egg and accompanied by Corned Beef, the golden colour of the Indomie noodles were an instant standout. The salted duck egg sauce was simply irresistible, thick and rich, with a hint of salty sensation and an incredible eggy flavour that perfect coated each strand of the noodles. The corned beef of course did
We then sampled the Gyutan Don, which came highly recommended by owner Gideon. This dish most definitely was the highlight of our meal. The incredibly tender and flavourful Ox Tongue were first marinated, then lightly seared and cooked to perfection. The tender, almost crunchy slices of meat were combined with an appetising chilli and spring onion sauce that brought with it a beautiful fragrant freshness and plenty of heat and chillies to make your lips tingle. This dish was definitely not for the faint hearted, though the generous helping of white rice did help with the chilli.
Another signature dish at Yoi was their Salted Egg Chicken. The plump and juicy pieces of Fried Chicken were simply irresistible, coated in that once again insatiable Salted Egg sauce that has a hint of coconut, as well as more chilli stirred through to make it even more fragrant and rich. The salty, creamy and eggy sauce worked remarkably well with the umami of the chicken itself. As a direct result of us taking too long taking photos of the food, the batter suffered a bit from having sat too long in the sauce, and wasn’t as crunchy as we’d hoped.
We rounded off our Indonesian meal with a traditional street eat, the Sweet Martabak. It’s not hard to understand why this was described to us as a pancake that every Indonesian snacks on during midnight! The thick, fluffy pancake exhibited a spongy quality. Held within the folded semicircle was laden with slowly melting cheese, chocolate, coconut and peanuts. Sinfully sweet and decadent, the pillowy pancake perfectly embodied the richness of the sweet, creamy condiments slowly melting away within. For sweets lovers, this is simply a must.
The Mediocre
Nothing.
The Bad
Nothing.
The Verdict
YOI dished up undoubtedly the best Indonesian inspired food we’ve ever come across.
While we can’t quite vouch for the authenticity, we can attest to the fact that the flavours, textures, and aroma of each and every dish worked together remarkably well. It’s clear that much thought and effort has been spent creating these simple yet irresistible Indonesian fusion dishes. At this price point, the quality is simply unbeatable.
Would Penguin Eat Again?
You bet!
Penguineats would like to thank owners Gideon and Lily for inviting us YOI.