SINGKAWANG CAFE

A Hidden Gem for Authentic Indonesian Flavors! Singkawang Cafe in LA brought me straight back home with every bite. The flavors are truly nostalgic and 100% authentic—nothing was missing! From the first spoonful to the last, every dish was packed with that rich, comforting taste I grew up with. To top it off, they surprised us with a complimentary dessert: bubur ketan hitam (black sticky rice porridge), which was absolutely delicious. Their desserts alone are worth the visit. If you're craving real Indonesian food that tastes like home, Singkawang Cafe is the place to go. Terbaik!

I went to this place, and my Dad's first question wasn't who I came with, but, "Do they serve beer?" No, sorry Dad! But they do serve up some pretty decent food! His loss for not trying it out! Pad See Ew was nice! Crab cakes had a nice sear to them. Heck, everything had a nice flavor to it!

The best foods. I order nasi padang, nasi kuning and jam mian Price is super affordable with lots of flavors and super delicious!!! I order it togo and they kindly over me to vacum the meal so i can bring on flight with me. Still good even tho its already overnight!

fast food restaurant, very tasty and clean, i always come to this restaurant and the employees are nice and friendly, serve you well.. i like the food very tasty and delicious🤤🤤

First time here-Singkawang Cafe. The food was good, tasty, a little on the salty side. The waitress was a little inexperience, that is, when we asked if we could relpace the popcorn chicken with regular non-fried chicken. She said, "NO!" They did not have that option. We should have asked her to check with the cook. The reason we said that in here, was that the cook/owner came by our table to talk to us. NOTE: the owner did a "customer experince" gesture which is the utmost customer swrvice, which the "hospitality industry" training classes told the students to pay attention when serving the eating public. The owner did this well!!! He told us we could substitute the chicken as we desired. See - the ower knew how to serve the cystomers. The customer would tell at least 5 friends about this restaurant and its owner. Word of mouth is a powerful tool/public opinion in the restaurant industry. It will sink or make it a "GO" for the restaurant. Mark this review. .

Food: Ordered their curry laksa, nasi lemak, pad see ew, young chicken, and fried calamari. I didn’t see a lot of people get this online but the calamari was really good. They way they fried it made the batter light and crispy. The pad see ew was good but the beef was a little chewy for me-not that big of an issue for me. The beef of the nasi lemak was so tender and juicy. It was served with a fried boiled egg, dried-crispy fish and shrimp. I highly recommend this dish along with the curry laksa. For the laksa you have the option to pick rice, vermicelli or egg noodles. The young chicken wasn’t so bad either. I’d love to come back to try their other dishes. Service: Staff was really caring and friendly. You feel like you’re at your grandma’s house because of how well you’re being taken care of. Side notes: DESSERT WAS FREE :D They accept card with a minimum of $10. They are a small cafe with a mini-mart. They have daily specials too so look out for that.

This place is amazing and it should always have lines out the door. The food is great both the Indonesian and Thai food options are incredible. Had the bakso and the mixed rice and would definitely get it again. The staff is incredibly friendly and the bonus is the Indonesian market items in the back. Definitely check it out.

Highly recommend the steam dumpling, fried banana, mixed rice and jump mien.

5 stars ***** i love it hear Crab Rangion ~~#1 forever and the thai ice te w Boba

I had forgotten I've visited this place 3 years ago and it's still good. I liked the curry laksa a lot better in person, as this bowl was rich and had lots of goodies (shrimp, fish cake, tea egg, tofu puffs). Only noted that there was a ton of bean sprouts, a little too much for my liking, but overall, a very good laksa. Family members had various dishes that they said they enjoyed. We were a large group of 10 and I would say the kitchen hauled butt to get our order out in a timely manner, as I felt like we didn't wait too long. This place feels like a family run business that's authentic in flavors and cooking and probably needs support. It was a quiet Friday evening (there were 2 other groups when we were there around 6:30). We will definitely be coming back!!

TLDR: Amazing gem on a busy street; easy to pass by. Highly encourage stopping by to give it a try. - - - - - - I visited Singkawang Cafe with a friend, not knowing it was so close to either of us - what a surprise! Parking was fairly easy on a Monday afternoon, and we ordered Nasi Padang, Nasi Lemak, Crispy Fried Chicken, and an Es Doger, more than enough food for two people. The staff member who served us was extremely informative and worked with us to the dishes: - Nasi Padang - juicy chicken, a mean beef rendang (though on the drier side), nestled next to portion of curry, homemade chili, and a hardboiled egg. That green chili sauce was GOOD! - Nasi Lemak - a similar dish, though substitute the juicy chicken for crisp prawns, and the green chili sauce for some anchovies and peanuts. The anchovies were fun to snack at, though got old fast - perhaps meant to be eaten with rice. Crispy Fried Chicken - a nice crispy outside with warm inside. Overall was fairly bland without the sweet and sour sauce which was too strong. Es Doger - Never had jack fruit, but, but the cassava with their sweet, black rice were delicious! I'm generally not a fan of desserts but would easily order this again. My only dislikes were the dry beef rendang, bland-ish fried chicken, and being talked out of the nasi kuning (really wanted to try that yellow rice). Otherwise, solid place for afternoon lunch specials - very tasty!

Card and cash accepted. Restaurant was half shop and half dining. They had a ton of snacks for purchase. They also had live Kaffir Lime Plants for sale, about foot and half to two feet tall. Food was good, tasted pretty authentic. Servers were Indonesian natives. 6. Es Cendol (Pandan Jelly Coconut Drink)- texture of pandan jelly was gross, extremely mushy. I wouldn't reorder this. 2. Thai Coffee - really really sweet. Strong but way too sweet to enjoy. 7. Fruit Salad/ Rujak - so good, refreshing. Not too sweet and rich from the crushed peanuts. 18. Mixed Rice/ Nasi Campur -chicken was well marinated and tender. Barbeque Pork was quite dry. Crispy Pork wasn't flavorful. Egg was marinated well! But I'm not sure if I would reorder this specific dish. 26. Mie Goreng Skw (with Egg Noodles)- so flavorful! Texture of noodle had a nice bounce to it. Chinese Broccoli with Crispy Pork - veggies were cooked well and not over done, still had a crisp crunch to it. Crispy pork was fried to perfection. 62. Crab Meat Fried Rice -you can taste the wok heat! Topped with plenty of crab meat. 51. Red Curry (with chicken)- there was more curry sauce/soup than meat and veggies. It's great for those who love to pure over rice. We ordered with medium spice and it gave the right amount of kick.

Wanted to get take-out on NYE, when I called around 7:30pm , they said they closed early for NYE. So on 1/2, we tried again and got the crab meat fried rice and Nasi Padang. The crab meat fried rice tasted like shrimp paste. Very strong flavor. The Nasi Padang was quite spicy and delicious. Highly recommended this place if you are in town!

Came back here and the food is delicious at a very reasonable price. Took my wife and her mom, they are Indonesian and approve of the food here. This time around I tried these out. Empek Empek - Still my favorite and this never gets old. Crispy outer layer with a soft fish cake inside. Love it. (5/5) Nasi Lamek - This one is also very good. The coconut rice is where its at and overall everything else was good. (4.5/5) Nasi Capcai - Basically rice with vegetable & seafood in gravy sauce. It's good and tasted healthy. I enjoyed it. (4/5) Ong Choy - I was surprised that I really enjoyed this. Flavors were strong but so good. Vegetables were fresh. Would recommend even though its a bit pricey. (4.5/5) We ended up ordering an extra side of coconut rice and it was $3, thought that wasn't bad at all. Overall, if you want Indonesian food I feel this place is very good for a reasonable price. They speak both Indonesian and English here. 4 dishes and an extra rice came out to be $60 which was pretty reasonable.

A nice pleasant cafe , with good food , reasonable prices, peaceful kick back guitar music, good food and good friendly service. Was not crowded at lunchtime. Good parking next to a badminton club. Check them out

We came here after another place was randomly closed for a lunch date. The interior is large and clean. It seems like they have items for sale like a grocery store on the other side of the restaurant. They have outdoor seating with heat lamps. Service was fast and friendly. We ordered a Thai tea and Thai coffee. The Thai coffee was delicious, I will definitely order this again The Thai tea was okay, the Thai coffee definitely outshines the Thai tea. We ordered spicy basil chicken rice off the lunch special and it came with a sour soup that has veggies and pork meat. It was pretty delicious considering I don't like sour food . The chicken rice also came with 2 fried wonton chips with a filling inside and a sweet sauce. We customize the spice level to mild because I'm scared of their spice levels lmao . The mild was definitely do able for me because the other dish was crazy spicy. I also ordered a nasi padang which came with an egg, beef rendang, coconut rice, a super soft chicken, veggies, and a spicy green sauce. Worth! For dessert we got the mango sticky rice. Mango was perfectly ripe and the rice was piping hot and sweet. They brought it out just at the right time Parking is shared with several other business and ample. They have their own parking spaces right in the front as well. Restroom: clean!

Came for a late lunch on a weekday so we had the whole place to ourselves. There are Thai lunch specials, pretty good size! The chicken basil was good and came with a sour soup, and a fried wonton. The pandang is a nice assortment of rendang, fried egg, curry vegetables and chicken with steamed rice. The fried chicken was ok and the noodles with assorted meats. Good selection of foods and big flavors, the house spicy sauce is good! The purple rice dessert was a perfect way to end the meal. There is also a small Asian grocery store inside that sells Indonesian snacks, noodles and goods.

Wanted to try this place for a while now. They are closed on Sunday though so be sure to check your calendars before heading here. The food is amazing and service is quick. The ambiance is very relaxed and simple. They also have an area where they sell indonesian goods. We ordered the Nasi Campur which has fried pork belly, chinese sausage, marinated beef, bbq pork, and the Nasi Padang which has curry sauce on Chicken drumstick, marinated beef, eggplant, tofu, and greenbean. They also give you this Terasi sauce which is quite spicy. Overall, very tasty meal.

Nasi lemak is very tasty and spicy for me I love Indonesian food! I have not taste the best Indonesian food

The pad see ew with fried tofu is ahmaaazziinggg and their vegan pad Thai too! I eat here about 2-4 times a month. It HITS ‍‍

Haven't have in long time.. Love this Best ever You need to try this... you'll not be disappointed

The foods are very tasty and the customer service so friendly. Fast order togo and pick up. The lunch special comes with soup and fried wontons

The price was reasonable. Service was a hit or miss. The store is hybrid grocery store specializing in Indonesian and Thai Food. Ordered Papaya Salad and Thick Fried Noodles with Sausage, Shrimp, Fish Balls. Papaya Salad had a kick to it. 4/5 Thick Fried Noodles 3/5. The taste was little redundant, but it was warm comfort food. I would probably go to try the food and decide if it is your cup of tea :)

This is one of my go-to's for Indonesian Restaurants. Singkawang has one of the best pempek (fish cake with sweet sour vinegar sauce) that I've tried so far in California area. Being Indonesian; of course I am a bit picky when comes to my own but Singkawang does deliver. I always order their pempek. Their Soto Betawi (beef soup) is also pretty good - always comes super hot, not luke warm like some other restaurants. The Laksa is great - comes with vermicelli/rice noodle. Soto Betawi and Laksa would be my 2 choices for soup dish there. I ordered the Nasi Padang - which usually comes with chicken curry but when I was there, they were out of the chicken curry so they gave me fried chicken. It also comes with Beef Rendang (Rendang is one of the top/popular Indonesian dishes). It also comes with curry veggies and chili sauce which completes the dish. What is Indonesian food without their chili sauce? This restaurant is connected to the badminton arena. They usually open the side door so people who play there, can order food or drink and they can just get the food through that door without going around through the entrance. But I think since they open that side door, the air inside the restaurant becomes kind of warm. This is the downside. Other than that, I think the food and service are great. They give a complimentary sweet black rice dessert at the end for each person.

I ordered the Nasi Campur, and it comes with bbq pork, sausage, fried pork chunks, chicken, eggs and rice. The rice has flavoring in it, similar to the rice you get with Hainan chicken. The portion size was perfect, flavors on point. I ordered a Thai coffee for my drink. It came with a black/purple rice, coconut milk dessert to end the meal. Customer service is on point. The waiter made sure we were okay and our water was refilled. Very attentive. Overall 5/5 stars. This was my first visit and it wont be my last.

Pretty good for a mixture of Thai, Singaporean and Indonesian food You can taste different country food in one restaurant with I like that.

*** $10 minimum for credit card transactions *** Singkawang Cafe is an Indonesian/Thai restaurant in El Monte and I recently came here for in-person take-out. [Parking]: The restaurant has a free and private parking lot - no issue finding a spot on Saturday at 6:20 PM. [Atmosphere]: The restaurant was completely empty at 6:20 PM on Saturday and it has two large TV showing sports games. Apparently the cafe is located right next to a hidden indoor badminton court (Los Angeles Badminton Club) and badminton players can even place orders through a small ordering window between the two buildings. Outdoor dining tables are available. There's also a small section selling Indonesian snacks/other pantry items like sambal. [Service]: I placed my take-out order at 6:25 PM and received it at 6:40 PM. Service was alright. [Menu]: I had some issues finding Yelp's recommended items on the menu so here's a quick summary - #17 Curry Laksa (Egg Noodle, Rice Noodle, or Vermicelli), #18 Nasi Campur, #44 Pad Se Ew, and #45 Pad Thai. Special items such as sambal shrimp, nasi padang, ayam goreng kunyit dan ketumbar (turmeric and coriander fried chicken), sambal sticky bean and shimp, and pork belly/chicken skewers are listed in a separate one-sheet menu. *** #17 Curry Laksa (served with coconut curry broth with shrimp, fish cake, tofu, egg, and bean sprouts - egg noodle, $12.95): Curry broth was excellent with perfect spicy level. I would absolutely recommend this item. Chicken Skewers (5 pieces - $9.95): Honestly these skewers and spicy dipping sauce were mediocre at best. It felt somewhat unsatisfying due to small portion and so-so flavors. *** I personally prefer Borneo Kalimantan Cuisine in Alhambra, but that restaurant can get really crowded so I can actually see myself re-visiting Singkawang Cafe when I (1) don't want to wait in line (2) crave for curry laksa or Thai noodle dishes and (3) want easy parking.

Tried a range of Indonesian noodle dishes, plus the shrimp cake and the grilled squid. Family liked the laksa best. We're used to Southeast Asian food but some people might find some of the flavors too strong/exotic. Very friendly service. Small casual outside seating area with a few tables in front of the restaurant.

Great food and fast service. First time here and was happy to see so many great options. Highly recommend trying this place for great Thai and Indonesian food. Got the Nasi Campur and Padang and they were both great! They have offer Terasi, which is a red hot sauce, which you could mix with the dishes to add a little spice. They also have lunch specials from 12-3pm. Closed on Sundays.

Great place for asian fried noodles ! Make sure you order the thai ice tea. Togo or dine in are both good !

The food is not bad, not too sweet. Customer service is a bit underwhelming. We ordered the Indonesian gravy noodles, which the menu says includes eggs because eggs and noodles are my favorite. The dish came out and I could find any eggs in it, so I asked if there's supposed to be eggs included. The lady looked at the menu I pointed out and said they changed the menu so it doesn't have egg anymore. It would cost an extra $2 to add egg. But the menu says it has eggs... sigh. Otherwise, it's pretty clean and they sell Asian groceries in the cafe, too. There's also a door where you can see people playing badminton in a huge gym next door. Random, but interesting.

Food was very good. Service ok. Menu leaning heavily on Thai cuisine. Best to go with other people and eat family style.

Great tasting food and good portions Service as good to great Ambiance is okay. Part market, part restaurant type of place but it doesn't impact the overall experience

Best Indo and Thai food restaurant , service is always good , and restaurant is clean. Recommended food Singkawang fried rice ,Singkawang Fried Noodles, Nasi Campur and For Dessert fried banana

Delicious food, kindly waitress..thank you for good service..i will come again.. Happy tummy

Southeast Asian restaurants are somewhat rare, and Indonesian-specific ones being even rarer, but most of the ones you come across are pretty solid. Singkawang is one of those; they've been around for a couple of years now and feels very hole-in-the-wall but in one of those endearing familial ways. I remember coming here when they first opened and it didn't quite stick, but recently had a chance to come dine again and found new appreciation for this place. They have a solid and inexpensive lunch special menu which was quite tasty with friendly service. They also converted a part of the store to an ethnic goods shop which was really interesting and I actually think it's a pretty good idea. Certain products from overseas can be difficult to find even in the SGV and its plentiful Asian supermarkets.

It was an Indonesian Thai restaurant that had a small section of mini Mart with Indonesian snacks. I love to buy my kecap Manis refill and mie telor to cook my mie goreng. The service was A+ friendly waitress and owner. Has been open for 5 years and they're 2 miles away from the Medan kitchen. We ordered nasi campur (mixed rice) and it had really good crispy pork! The jump noodle tasted good but I am not a fan of small yellow noodles (similar to Hong Kong noodles) and I wished they used a bigger type of chewy noodle, smells good tho. Use the hot sauce to elevate the taste. The empek2 was a bit off. The texture was too soft, not crunchy enough and the sauce was more savory than sweet and tangy. Es doger was good but I wonder if they can add more tape and filling and make it less sweet? They gave us a black rice dessert which I enjoyed! I would love to try their nasi goreng and Laksa next time. You can see the badminton court from the restaurant side door :) Thank you for your hospitality!

4.5/5 The +0.5 for service. Stopped by before playing badminton next door. Fried calamari was just ok. I did enjoy the takoyaki.

Tons of variety of Indonesian food. the laksa, and the jump mien is a must try. Coipan and pisang goreng is also very good.

Not sure why it took me so long to come here but really happy that the husband and I did. Nasi Lemak - one of the better nasi lemak's in LA that I've had. Rendang was tasty (wish I could have more of the sauce), rice was so flavorful, and the entire thing hit the spot. Husband ordered Nasi Campur and said the crispy pork belly was one of the best ones that he's ever had at a restaurant. Apparently it was so good that I didn't even get to try it Also ordered Kang Kong (Ong choy) and it was amazing. Seasoned really well, not over cooked by any means. Really enjoyed our meal here and can't wait to go back.

We've come to this place a couple of times. There is plenty of space to sit and bring your family, with this heat it was nice and fresh inside. They also have seating outside There are alot of tai food restaurants in El Monte .. but by far they have the best orange chicken! And the soups were delicious! And let me tell you the portion size is definitely worth the price they will not cheat you. So yes I would definitely recommend this place !

Average. But I find the need to qualify this. It is nowhere near gourmet Indonesian food. Far from it. In fact, it's almost highschool cafeteria quality. But then, I find the need to qualify that too. After going through 6 different dishes, from laksa to kangkung, and satay to nasi padang, I finally figured it out. Their sauces and soups are DELISH! Truly authentic. But their proteins (chicken, rendang beef, beef balls, etc) are pretty low on the totem pole. What you get is a great initial bite, followed by a horribly mediocre chewing process, but then ending with a really good aftertaste. I won't come here again because at my age, I have a pretty rigid, non-compromising palate. But I do have to give credit to their flavors. I just don't like what they mix with the flavors. In fact, I'd actually recommend ordering (or taking home) all the different curries and sauces, but then adding your own proteins. Not bad, and there'll be a lot of people that may like it. Just not me. But that sauce IS really good....

Came by during lunchtime on a Wednesday. Nice and friendly servers and was greeted when entering the restaurant. Decided to have takeout for lunch and they gave me their handout menus. My girlfriend and I ordered these items: Pad See Ew (Lunch Special with 2 Rangoons & Soup) Nasi Padang Chicken Wings The Pad See Ew was extremely flavorful and well seasoned. No need to add any sauce or additional toppings. It's great as it is. The serving portion felt quite small but the overall experience was improved by the Rangoons and house special soup. The Rangoons taste great with the sweet and sour sauce. The soup is very unique and I would come back just for it! Would highly recommend. The Nasi Padang had a great presentation and the food held up well as we were going back home to eat the lunch. I think the rice was the best part of the dish. Has a great coconut aroma around it and the meats and eggs were very tasty as well. In my opinion, not better than the Pad See Ew but still not too shabby. The chicken wings were nice and crispy. Properly cooked, but felt under-seasoned. Definitely needed to add some garlic chili paste to make it more flavorful. Great place. Been opened for more than 5 years now and I expect this place to continue to prosper.

One of the best indonesian restaurants in LA All the foods we order are delicious specially the Laksa and the Service are good.the server are friendly.definitely will be back here again

I'm thrilled to finally visit Singkawang Cafe in person. I'm super excited because I remember how delicious the food was when I ordered it through Uber Eats. I tried the Jum Mein, and the noodles were fantastic. The service was also excellent. They even offer a free drink if you write a review. I highly recommend giving this small, family-owned restaurant a try.

Thought we'd try something different today and boy oh boy do we regret it. We ordered online so there was no service to review. This is solely on the food. We had the shrimp pad thai and the mixed bbq. The portion was somewhat reasonable for the price. The flavor was not. Chinese fast food joint tastes better. The pad thai was nothing special. The mixed bbq... well.... Whatever was in there made me vomit. I don't recommend.

Ordered the spicy basil chicken rice lunch special, comes with a soup. Got a Thai tea. Not bad and will come back :)

Tried their Nasi Lamak and was satisfied with its portion. Also tried their chicken skewers but was disappointed with the taste and portion for the price of $11.

Delicious lunch special. Reasonable prices and great customer service. Free Thai ice coffee with yelp check in.

Adorable space with a retail snack beverage and condiments wall where they have Kara coconut cream.... Clean, friendly committed to great service and delicious food! I ordered the pad Thai tofu no egg! Perfect! I ordered Thai ice tea for which they had no non-dairy creamer: enter Kara coconut cream! Hallelujah Monsa Musa!

I came here for many times and always love all the foods that I ordered. Delicious and yummy, especially the Yam mien ( Noodle with seafood toppings), char kwe tiau, Pad see you, and the pork skewers. Highly recommend for all the food lover to try in here.

This place is my favorite spot to go for Thai food! I love their shrimp cakes, and their green curry. I usually get it take out, and they have everything packaged amazing and they have it ready once you order online! They always have amazing service and are really nice! They have a good amount of tables inside and a little area for snacks and everything. Will definitely be going back!

My review is solely based on food. I always order from Singkawang because the foood is gooood. The foodie in me love the fusion dishes. My ultra favorite is the basil chicken. Big serving, reasonably priced and most of all, service is fast!

Good environment, good service's. Good place for rest. The chicken skewer taste goods

We have been here regularly since our first time here. Searched for a good Asian restaurant and found this fantastic place. Always feel good to come back and have our comfort food. Some highlights: Crispy Chicken Wings are a must try. Pad Se Ew will definitely surprise you. And the house fried rice is amazing!

Such a hidden gem! Any of the dishes here will always be a good choice! They also have lunch specials from 11-3pm daily!

Many of the reviews made me think this is a Malaysian restaurant but it turned out to be a Thai/Laotian restaurant. They had many selections to choose from and they were still offering a lunch special on a Saturday so I wasn't too disappointed. I opted for a curry noodle soup based dish with popcorn shrimp and a Thai ice coffee