Midtown Lunch

Sky Cafe is a small Indonesian restaurant in South Philly. I must really like Indonesian food, since I have loved all the Philly Indonesian restaurants I have been to so far. I like that they all have their own personalities. Hardena is the mom’s kitchen, Indonesia Restaurant is the most white person friendly, Java Colonial is the Indonesian diner, and Sky Cafe is the neighborhood spot. And at Sky, no menu item is over $8.

Sure you could go for the standard peanut satay. Or you could get the sate padang coated in a yellow, gloppy, rice flour sauce. It looks like baby vomit, but thats ok! It is spicy and fragrant with a ton of spices like turmeric and ginger and with fried shallots on top. The skewers were good, but it was the vomit sauce that was more memorable. Underneath were white cubes that may have been taro that worked well to sop up extra sauce.

Soto Medan, R16, is what makes me a Sky Cafe repeat customer ($6.50). This is the coconut chicken soup that is so filled with ingredients, it could be a meal on its own. Dip your spoon in and you are bound to come up with pieces of pulled chicken, bean sprouts, and vermicelli. Dig a little further and find the one potato ball, or you could ask for an extra like I do. (I was actually really proud of myself for remembering their Indonesian name- perkedel- thanks to my initial love connection with them in fried form at Indonesia Restaurant) The broth is rich and layered; its so much more than just a coconut broth, turmeric is definitely back again plus garlic and so many more spices I can’t even imagine. The soup comes with a side of rice and crackers.

R11 is a good choice- the Rijsttafel Rice Platter with Beef Rendang, rice, spicy egg, crackers, and a curry medley of potatoes and tempeh. There is a lot going on for $7 and nothing is too scary, plus the classic Indonesian coconut beef is moist and perfect mushed into the rice.

At Sky Cafe, they take an orgy-like approach to platters, the more involved the merrier. Another platter option is the Pork Rice Platter, R18 ($7) with pork sausage, bbq pork, fried pork belly, more egg, rice and some pickles. It is pretty awesome to have that many forms of pork to choose from. A small bowl of broth was also invited to this platter party.

The desserts we tried, a pandan cake and a nut cake, are more weird than good. Stick with the savory and don’t be scared of the multiple component dishes! The menu is basically divided into 3 parts, appetizers, rice platters, and noodle platters. Just dive right in and bring friends- the more the merrier!

THE + (What somebody who likes this place would say)

• Cheap Indonesian platters with multiple components
• Chicken soup you crave

THE – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

• Go elsewhere for dessert

Sky Cafe, 1540 Ritner St, 215-271-1983