ENAK by Nelayan — Restaurant in Melbourne

Lunch @ENAKByNelayan. I asked the waitstaff what dishes were recommended and chose several of them.

Gado - Gado: Mixed steamed vegetables, tofu, & tempe, served with delicate peanut sauce & bitternut crackers Who doesn't love satay? Delicious sauce, soft veggies, crispy texture from the prawn crackers, protein from the tofu and tempe, really yum dish.

Ayam Bakar Enak: grilled chicken marinated and served with rice and sambal chilli. The chicken is coated in a delicious glaze which I love and is served with steamed rice and sambal for extra kick.

Nasi Goreng Enak/Kecombrang: Aromatic wok-fried rice, served with fried chicken, egg, chicken, crackers & pickles Can't go past fried chicken but it's the fried rice which makes this dish and is so flavoursome.

Fried Oxtail Belado The oxtail is tender, I really like the deep marmite like flavour to contrast against the rich oxtail.

Salmon Lodeh: Pan Fried Salmon with vegetables curry Succulent chunk of salmon, immersed in the creamy coconut curry with Indonesian spices and plain rice, this was a delicious seafood dish.

Sate Ayam: Grilled chicken skewers with peanut sauce and pickles on the side. Satay skewers, can't miss out on a favourite, delicious coconut cream satay sauce, upon well cooked chicken. Thoroughly enjoyed this.

Fried/grilled Barramundi: fish served with sambal chilli. Whole barramundi deep fried in Jimbarran sauce. This dish is awesome. Tender fish that has been deep-fried so the spots where the bones are thin enough turn into crispy edible bones. The flavour of the Jimbarran sauce is superb. Definitely a crowd pleaser.

Calamari done in a sweet and sour like sauce but with a spicy kick. I quite liked the flavours but would prefer less sweetness in the dish which detracted from the overall flavour and tender calamari.

Lamb Skewers The lamb skewers are bit overcooked but nicely prepared in a deep soy sauce like flavour, a bit caramelised. Pretty good.

Awesome meal, my work colleagues loved it.

#IndonesianFood #gadogado #ayambakar #nasigoreng #oxtail #salmonlodeh #sataychicken #friedbarramundi #calamari #lambskewers #lunch #Foodie #melbournefood...

When Lunch Becomes an Adventure (And Why We Still Love You, ENAK)

Picture this: five friends rolling up to ENAK at early noon, stomachs growling, hearts set on that legendary beef oxtail soup. Four of us dive in headfirst, ordering the star of the show. Then reality hit us like a cold splash of... well, beef oxtail soup. Our oxtails arrived with what we'll diplomatically call "a little too much personality" – traces of blood still visible, potatoes playing hard-to-get in the cooking department, and carrots so fresh they practically still had dirt on them. Missing empings? That stung a little. We came for authenticity and got... a biology lesson. Our lovely waitress became the messenger between worlds when we flagged the situation. The kitchen's response? "It's supposed to be raw – makes it tender!" Cool story, chef. Cool story. Being the good sports we are (and frankly, too h(a)ngry to argue), we powered through. An hour later, our late friend waltzes in, orders the exact same dish, and gets served perfection on a plate – tender oxtail, properly cooked vegetables, the works. We couldn't help but laugh at the cosmic joke. (indeed we came too early)

The Plot Twist: Our Aussie mate's grilled barramundi was absolutely flawless. Every bite, every bone – pure poetry. Look, ENAK, we're not here to throw shade. We're regulars because we believe in what you do. But here's the thing – a little honesty goes a long way. "Hey, we messed up your order, let us fix it" hits differently than creative storytelling about raw meat techniques. We didn't document the drama, didn't demand refunds, didn't storm out. We chose laughter over bitterness because that's who we are. But not every table will be as forgiving. We're still team ENAK. Just maybe... double-check those oxtails before they leave the kitchen? No hard feelings, just honest feedback from friends who want to see...

Look. The food was good, no doubt about that. We had high expectations from the menu and reviews but were disappointed to learn after over an hour of standing in the cold that many of the items that were advertised outside the restaurant were not on the menu we were given. There were also no drinks available to order except what was in the fridge, and no water was made available to us.

Once we sat down, we were already famished and wasted no time to order (you’ll have to do so yourself at the counter). The atmosphere was good, noisy but lively. And most of the tables upstairs were empty despite having been made to wait in line for a long time. I suspect they simply didn’t have the manpower to manage any more patrons during the dinner rush).

To our devastation, it was yet another whole hour and more before we got our 2 mains. The waiter apologised for the delay, and had also gotten our order wrong after that, but when he asked if there was anything else, we reminded him about the bowl of rice yet to arrive.

We were already half way through our meal at this point (2.5 hrs since we first lined up), and it took another 10 mins to get the bowl of rice, so I had enough and went down to get it myself. Unsurprisingly, the waiter went to get the bowl of rice only once he saw me, which was quite upsetting.

I don’t blame the guy, he was clearly under pressure, and the food was good, but this business needs to seriously consider bringing in more help in order to keep the service as good as the food. There are plenty of unoccupied tables but plenty of people waiting in line, it seems almost a no brainer to employ more staff.

As good as the food was, the unexpected 3 hr dinner time was just unacceptable. If you’re looking for hearty Indonesian food in the city, there’s no shortage of superior options that won’t make you miss your post-dinner...