Rijsttafel

What: Laid back Indonesian fare           

Why: For a leisurely dinner with friends

How Much: RMB 218 buys a four course set dinner for two

Where: House 43, 3338 Hongmei Entertainment Street, off Hongmei Lu. Tel: 6465 9880

Rijsttafel’s owners obviously aren’t relying on a word-of-mouth marketing strategy, as nobody seems to be able to pronounce the name of the place. Luckily, when we heard about “this great Indonesian place in Hongmei Entertainment Street that starts with ‘R’ and has way too many consonants in the name”, we were able to track it down.

The décor and atmosphere is lighter than you might anticipate from an Indonesian restaurant, with a surprisingly sparing use of rattan (limited to the lightshades hanging over the tables). The effect is clean, casual and designed for groups, with almost all the tables built for at least four diners.

"Rijsttafel’s owners obviously aren’t relying on a word-of-mouth marketing strategy, as nobody seems to be able to pronounce the name of the place."

This isn’t a restaurant to visit if you're in a hurry. The dinner set (RMB 218 for two people) represents pretty good value for money with four courses starting with appetizers of chicken, beef and lamb satay sticks and assorted salads (pictured top), followed by chicken soup.

The main course is a platter of favourites from the menu, including beef in coconut milk, grilled grouper fish in coconut milk, smoked duck breast, roast chicken, stir-fried vegetables, curry rice, and peanut and anchovy chili paste.

Although it’s not the most authentic Indonesian food in the world (or even in Shanghai), it seems designed for Western palates and is flavoursome without being too spicy.

Other menu items not included in the set but worth mentioning are the tahu telor (beancurd omelette, pictured left, RMB 38) a delicious combination of eggs wrapped in crispy fried beancurd, topped with bean sprouts and cucumber, and coated in a thick layer of peanut sauce. The combination of crispy fried beancurd and peanuts is particularly delicious and balanced beautifully by the fresh texture of the cucumber and bean sprouts in between.

The chocolate mousse is the pick of the desserts, even though it is much more of a dense, rich pudding than a light, fluffy mousse. It’s built to share; this is just too much dessert for any one mere mortal.

Rijsttafel’s service is friendly but in our experience very slow, which could present problems if you have somewhere you need to be, but for those looking for a place to settle in for a night of good conversation and tasty food with friends, it’s an excellent choice.