Depot Se'i Aroma — Restaurant in Surabaya

For people who are not familiar with se'i, it's basically thinly smoked meat with salt and spices originating from East Nusa Tenggara province of Indonesia, with pork being the most popular variant. It's similar to Western countries' bacon or ham, yet very different at the same time.

Here at Aroma, you can choose to either get Babi Se'i (pork se'i) by weight or by portion. The portion is a bit small but big enough with rice for 2 people.

The Daun Ubi Bunga Pepaya dish is pretty nice although a bit on the bland side for Surabaya's taste. The pork skewers look plain by appearance, but have tender texture and sweet taste with no gaminess I usually expected from pork.

Looking that the main specialties are pork dishes, you can expect that the place is not Halal-certified, which I am sure is a let down for Muslim population. However, price is pretty reasonable and the place has a very welcoming atmosphere.

A recommended place for...

Probably the best Babi Se’i you can get in Surabaya! They serve a lot of different kinds of pork dishes… of course as the name of the place known for their Babi Se’i which is smoky, tender, juicy, and you can definitely taste the spices present. It is served with other kinds of pork dishes like babi rica-rica and babi-tore which both are also delicious. Add rice, vegetables, and add a bit of the chili paste to the plate and it is perfect! Would definitely recommend the place for people in Surabaya to try this dish that originates from the...

I ordered Nasi Se’i Sambel and Sup Brenebon on delivery. I wanted to complaint the restaurant because I thought they didn’t include the pork se’i as delivered to my place. Eventually I realized that the pork se’i was feasibly sliced to the smallest size and served in small amount blended with sambel. The Sup Brenebon was served with large amount of broth and not more than 10 red beans. Overall, the quality of the dishes didn’t deserve such a high...