By Ili Aqilah
Residing at one of the oldest buildings (1949), in Ipoh, lies a cafe with a unique name and a lengthy menu that will cater to the needs of any foodie. Started in September last year, ‘Warteg’ (stands for Warong Tegar in Indonesian language) has slowly gained the attention of food hunters, thanks to its various food and drinks.
Owner of the cafe, Ika Mansor together with her husband, have been in the food and beverage business for some time with Warteg being Ika’s 8th cafe.
“I see it as an experience, where I get to learn from my mistakes and be better. The menu in Warteg is created by me and our team. We are still learning and trying out new recipes for our customers’ satisfaction,” said Ika.
At Warteg, visitors are welcome to try out their selection of Javanese sets; selected seafood such as crab, giant squid, prawns, mussels and vegetables (long beans, brinjal, fried tofu and bean curd) together with crispy glass noodle cooked in a sweet, mildly spicy and sour traditional sambal gravy. The price for the meal is between RM25 (comes with plain rice for two and complimentary drinks) to RM450 (for Javanese King Crab served together with plain rice for four, 4 sago dessert and watermelon juice).
“The Javanese set is definitely one of our customers’ favourite. They can choose Javanese Crab (RM25), Javanese Jellyfish (RM30), Javanese Lobster (RM150) or the most special menu we have, the Javanese King Crab (RM450). Our sauce is one of a kind and you won’t get it anywhere else,” added Ika.
Ika also suggests to customers to try Warteg’s version of ‘Kacang Pool’, a local dish from Johor where cube meat are cooked with baked beans and ful medames (Egyptian fava beans) and served with fried eggs, onion and chillies complete with lime on top for garnishing, priced at RM9. Other items available on the menu are: Lamb Kahari Linguini (RM18), Nasi Uduk (an Indonesian dish, the rice is pink served with fried chicken, tofu and raw vegetables) (RM8), Nasi Ayam Pedes (spicy chicken with rice) (RM9) and more.
Warteg opens every day except Monday from 4pm till 1am from Tuesday to Saturday and 3pm till 12am on Sunday. Located at 73 Jalan Raja Musa Aziz, Kampung Jawa, 30300 Ipoh. For more updates on the cafe, readers can check out their Instagram at www.instagram.com/wartegipoh.
