Pondok Laguna (HALAL) — Restaurant in Melbourne

My indo blood is sooo happy when I get to try more Indonesian restaurants in Melbourne! 🇮🇩 We got:

☕️ Es Teh Manis & Es Soda Gembira

🍖 Signature Iga Sapi Bakso This is a MUST TRY for sure! I must’ve been living under a rock cause if I knew this dish existed, I’d be here sooner 😂 It’s like the viral dish in Indo that I didn’t get a chance to try, but knowing it’s here is soo good. The meatballs themselves were well cooked & seasoned, the ribs inside the meatball was soft, good portion of noodle & vegs too.

🍛 Nasi Ayam Goreng Kremes This is a classic that just can’t be wrong! I always mix the kremes (crunchies) with the rice, sweet soy sauce + chili. Best to eat with hands!! 👋🏻 that’s the indo way 🇮🇩 The chicken had a nice texture but needed a bit more seasonings.

🐟 Pempek Campur This is my faveee snack but the portion here is definitely for a full meal! The varieties of fish cakes (one with egg filling, one crispy, most are soft) were served with a bed of yellow noodle, chopped cucumber, and the vinegary sauce. Just a great blend of sweet, savory, sour flavors - the complex flavors that I crave often.

Overall, the portions are amazing for the price (you can find meals from around $17‼️). The staff were friendly, the place was close to the tram stop and there were many seatings. Some of the food did need more seasoning, but adding some salt/soy...

😋🔥

Carlton possesses a good number of Asian restaurants and this place serves authentic Indonesian food at competitive prices. With ample seating space, à la carte menu and buffet ones, there's a wide range of culinary adventures that one can go to.

🍗🍚

On one occasion I ordered Ayang Goreng Kremes (Fried chicken served with crunch rice and Indonesian style salad , $17) for lunch. The food felt authentic, and was well made and nicely served. The chicken was delicious, and it was a big piece! The salad was okay, although it didn't have enough veggies. The sambal wasn't spicy but tasty, although the quantity wasn't sufficient since the dish was mostly dry by nature.

As stated earlier, their buffet options are pretty solid, and recently I and my friend picked some items for lunch. I chose Beef Rendang, Chicken Curry, an Onion Pancake, a Sambal Egg with Rice, while my friend had Tofu curry, a Soy Pancake, Fried Rice Noodles with Rice. All of it cost us ($37.80) so not the most budget friendly but the food was very good. The meats were delicious, especially the beef rendang. There's a reason it's such a popular food, and this place does it right. Overall, I was very satisfied with my plate.

💯🤗

Friendly staff, clean place, and use tissues sparingly! No joke, this is actually a good thing. A good Indonesian restaurant in the city, much...

Very dry beef rendang and the chicken tasted so plain in the chicken curry. I love savoury but everything else was completely salty. The tempeh tasted oily. Quite expensive for the dish and not worth the money. The dryness and bland issue with the rendang and curry has been mentioned by previous reviewers, but clearly, this issue has not been rectified to satisfy customers. What a waste of money.

Edit: forgot to mention; the pork ball soup looked nothing like in the photo with the variety of noodles and veggies/toppings that come with it. I received vermicelli noodles with Spinach leaves laid on top. Soup was salty, also. Pork balls are clearly made of fat and processed meat and either flour or corn flour. Absolutely slack of effort in this dish, too. I felt sick in the stomach and couldn't finish any of it.

Edit part two:

I was meant to say beef balls, but nice deflection. You know very well i am referring to you guys because of the other dish mentioned (beef rendang, chicken curry, tempeh, topings, rice) which are 100% in your menu, and ofcourse, mentioned by other reviewers who have had the same problem, even if you don't use spinach but I know you that you are aware that I was referring to some type of green leaves. Will upload photos soon to verify.

Just take responsibility...