Written by Indu
with edits by Caleb
Shortly after we arrived in Belgrade, we decided to grab a late lunch. I looked up restaurants that were walkable from our hotel. As I scrolled through a flurry of results, I stumbled upon an Indonesian restaurant called “INDOfood.”
Now, don’t get me wrong. I LOVE trying the local cuisine of a country. It is one of my favorite parts of the experience. But after a month of non-stop Cevapi and grilled meats in the Balkans, I desperately needed to try something new.
We walked to INDOfood, which was only about 10 minutes down the street. When we arrived, a kind Serbian woman greeted us and sat us at a large table. We ordered a half liter of wine as we perused the menu.
I was happy to see only a handful of items listed under each section. I have noticed that in the Balkans many restaurants have a lot of options. While it sounds nice in theory, I prefer a simple menu because it is less overwhelming & it tells me that the restaurant is focused on making a certain set of dishes really well.
We ended up ordering: Tropical Salad. Lumpia. Empal Daging. Bakmi Goreng. And Nogosari for dessert.
I couldn’t believe it. The food was so good. You could taste the complexity of the dishes: the salty, the sweet, the herbs, a hint of spiciness. I was having some of the best Indonesian food of my life and I was in Belgrade, Serbia. Who would have thought?
We hoped we would have leftovers to bring home for dinner, but we basically inhaled the entire meal and were left with empty plates.
Were were curious about how a restaurant in the middle of Serbia managed to have such amazing Indonesian food. After we paid, we asked the woman who had seated us (Tamara) about the chef.
“The chef is my husband. He is from Indonesia.”
At first, I was really happy. It’s a little sappy, but I feel a special bond with interracial couples like Caleb and I. This was doubly so, given that we were in the middle of Serbia. Though the people of the Balkans are warm & accepting, we had not yet seen an interracial couple during our time there.
Secondly, I was intrigued. I had not yet seen a tremendous amount of diversity in the Balkans. I wondered so many things: How/why did a man from Indonesia come to Serbia? How did you two meet? How is this kind of food being received by the people of Belgrade? Why did we not order more food?
Tamara chatted with us about their background a bit. They had both worked on a river cruise years ago, which is where they met. I don’t know how to explain it, but Tamara has a spark that makes you want to keep talking to her. She is funny, candid, and speaks confidently and heartily. We enjoyed our conversation and she said we are more than welcome to come back the next day if we’d like to meet her husband too. We eagerly accepted the offer.…and hungrily anticipated.
. . .
The next day was my birthday and unfortunately we didn’t make it back to the restaurant in time to speak to Tamara’s husband. We had a full day in the city and Caleb sprung for a few in-room massages for us afterwards. Unfortunately, the massages were pretty brutal. Poor Caleb was tensing up the entire time from the pain and ended the massage in a bad mood.
Although I had envisioned having a beautiful birthday dinner on the river, after our massages, I wanted nothing more than to get takeout & relax at home. I think I’m getting old.
Unsurprisingly, Indonesian food sounded good again. We headed out to INDOfood. We apologized to Tamara for missing her husband, explained it was my birthday, and how we spent the entire day in the city. She said it was no problem and that we could come by tomorrow if we still wanted to talk. In the meantime, I placed a take out order.
At that point, everything on the menu sounded good to me. The Lumpia. The Tropical Salad. The Empal Daging. The Sweet Chili Chicken. The Bihun Goreng rice noodles. I wanted it all. I figured, it’s my birthday, why not?
While we were waiting on our food, Tamara insisted on giving us drinks on the house for my birthday. When she asked what I wanted, I told her to make me whatever she recommends. A few minutes later, she handed us delicious, red, icy drinks.
“What is this?” I asked.
She laughed and said “I don’t know. I just mixed together things that tasted good.”
While we were waiting, we talked to Tamara about our experience in the Balkans so far. How surprised we were by how sweet and outgoing the people are. She explained to us that most people in the Balkans are like this, and when they are not it is coming from more of a place of not knowing another culture versus not liking another culture.
She told us that some people come into the restaurant thinking they serve Chinese food, because many people in the Balkans just think “China” when they think of Asia.
By the end of our conversation, Tamara had us laughing until we were nearly in tears. Suffice it to say, we had forgotten all about our bad massages and headed home, takeout in hand…happy and ready to eat.
. . .
The next night, we returned and were able to finally meet Tamara’s husband, Agus.
We sat down at a table with Agus. Tamara brought Caleb and I wine and water. A few minutes into conversation with Agus, Tamara brought out Peyek, an appetizer that I can best describe as peanut fritters. The fritters were crunchy and savory.
Agus told us how he used to cook on the River Cruise and decided to open up the INDOfood restaurant in Belgrade to focus strictly on Indonesian cuisine.
Agus explained, however, that this venture isn’t without challenges. Although Belgrade has gotten more and more diverse over the years, many of the key ingredients he needs to cook were not always available.
He explained that a lot of traditional Balkan foods are seasoned very simply — salt, pepper, a light grill. But Indonesian food is full of different subtle spices (curcuma, coriander, lemongrass, etc.) that aren’t widely available in Serbia.
“How do you obtain your spices and ingredients then?” Caleb asked.
Agus explained that most arrive on the river cruises, brought through connections. Some are imported from Bangladesh or Cyprus. Other times, if they know the embassy is planning a trip, they will ask them to pick up some stuff. “We also can order some of it online, but that is expensive.”
Wow, I thought. I take the availability of different spices in the states for granted. You can track down anything you want in San Francisco. Yet here, in the largest city in the Balkans, key ingredients Agus needs requires a lot of forethought and planning.
“When we were first starting out, before Belgrade was as diverse as it is now, we could not find coconut milk anywhere. So, the first few meals we made we used cream instead,” Agus explained.
As he reflected on those days, you could see a look of disappointment on his face. Like a world class Italian chef who was reduced to cooking with packaged pasta instead of pasta he made by hand.
But those days are long gone now, Agus explained. Belgrade has gotten much more diverse thanks to globalization so some of the fresh staples he needs like coconut milk are readily available now.
Agus explained that there are some ingredients he simply can’t get, like a special type of soy sauce, so he has learned to make a lot of things himself.
Many of their patrons that dine at INDOfood are people who are well traveled. They have tried Indonesian food, or similar Asian cuisines, and have respect for what Agus has created. For many local Balkans, though, Agus is still trying to crack into the market.
Indonesian food is pretty different from food the people of the Balkans are used to eating. Agus explained that he has had to brainstorm ways to get the locals of Belgrade to try his food.
Agus has recently started to give cooking classes once a month so people can not only try the food, but learn how to make it themselves.
Agus and Tamara also have dancers from the the embassy come in one or two times a month to perform. Agus says the dancers always draw a big crowd. “The restaurant is packed on those nights, and it gives people a chance to try to the food.”
We talked for a while about everything from the restaurant to just life in general. We told Agus of our experience in the Balkans so far and he explained that he was initially hesitant about Serbia for people who have a skin color like his or mine. But he said not once has ever been discriminated against in Serbia. Rather, people are curious to know about him and welcome him with open arms.
He explained how the culture in Serbia, even in the big cities, is different than anywhere else. “Even in Jakarta, the attitude is more focused around yourself. How can I make a lot of money? What can I do with my money? Thing like this.” In Serbia though, people are part of a community, he explained. They want to talk, they want to help you, they aren’t so worried about more selfish needs.
Agus told us that back in Indonesia his only focus was work. And he, like many of his friends, spent most of their day at work, and even more time commuting to work. By the time he got home, there was no time to live. He could only sleep for a few hours and start over.
“What kind of a life is that?” He asked, as he started to explain how things are different now in Belgrade. He is in control of his business which may have its ups and downs, but he controls how he spends his time and can focus on the important things.
We talked about this for a while, because it’s something Caleb and I have reflected on a lot recently. We talked about how having a great job, career advancement and making a lot of money is a priority for most people. Hell, it was my priority for the last few years. But Agus asked us: If you are making a ton of money and don’t have time to do anything with it or people to spend it on, what is it really worth?
After our philosophical discussion, Agus invited us into the kitchen to help him cook. When he said “help” we insisted that we only watch, so as to not ruin his amazing cuisine / burn down his kitchen.
In the kitchen, Agus really showcased his talent. Inside of his realm, he is confident, knowledgeable and fluid. Agus tells us about the subtlety of various ingredients, along with short history lessons involving cooking and culture.
He gives us small bites of some vegetables and herbs, noting flavor and texture and aroma. He tells us fun stories of past meals and customer experiences. All the while, Agus is preparing multiple dishes and managing several others at various stages.
At one point, Tamara walked in and relayed a table’s worth of orders. Apparently one of these new customers had spent some time in India (holla!) and requested extra heat because she can definitely handle it. Agus acknowledges and adds this new order to his seemingly already full plate. Pun intended.
*Please note that Agus is referring to a scorpion pepper, not an actual scorpion.
Simultaneously, Tamara prepared lumpia. Our conversation never stalls. If anything, the conversation just gets even livelier with the addition of Tamara—these two are professionals.
We started with Bakso, which is a beef meatball soup. The broth was insanely good–complex and simple at the same time. I am currently looking out the window of our airbnb in a small town in Romania. It is chilly and dreary outside…and I long for some of that bakso.
For our main meal, Agus made us Sambal Goreng Udang with shrimp… which was amazing. It was a beautiful dish, full of flavor, and the right amount of spiciness. The shrimp was perfectly cooked.
He also made us an excellent seafood mix. By the time we got to this, we were only able to enjoy a few bites. We were stuffed!
Agus made all of the food fairly quickly too and explained that once you know what you’re doing, cleaning up should take you more time than cooking.…and now Indu is wondering: What is this “cleaning up” you speak of?
Since we couldn’t eat it all we decided to take what we couldn’t finish home (and, of course, I scarfed it down later that night).
We thanked them and hung around for a bit laughing and chatting with them. They complement each other, while playfully jabbing. Seriously, there is never a dull moment.
The next time you find yourself in Belgrade, especially if you have been eating Cevapi and grilled meat all week, please do yourself a favor and stop by INDOfood! The cuisine will blow your mind.
And do not miss the chance to have conversation with the owners. Tamara and Agus are as wonderful and as unique as the cuisine. They will treat you like old friends, and have you laughing until you cry.
