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Adem Ayem Cafe - CLOSED
Category: Restaurants Indonesian Indonesian [Edit]
11945 SW Pacific HwySte 202
Tigard, OR 97223
Neighborhood: Southwest Portland
(503) 639-7770
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Price Range:
-
$
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Good For:
- Lunch
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
5 reviews for Adem Ayem Cafe
5 reviews in English
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Review from Olivia T.
Yooooohooooo Portland!!!
We have a new Indonesian restaurant and this one is AUTHENTIC. It's hard to find good authentic Indonesian restaurant in this fine city. Most of Indonesian restaurants in Portland closed and it's not because the food is not good but I think it's because it's not that authentic so even Indonesian people in Portland hesitated to visit these restaurants.
However, Adem Ayem Cafe is 99% authentic. This is coming from me, an Indonesian girl who was born and raised in Jakarta. I know my Indo food. I know how spicy it's supposed to be and I'm not talking about only hot spicy (which is common in Indonesian food) but also flavorful spicy. Full of spices, that's one of the requirement of good solid Indonesian dishes.
I visited Adem Ayem Cafe with my sister and my sis' boyfriend for lunch. It's a small place around the corner from Joy Theater in Tigard. Everything on the menu are below $10. My sis and I were pretty thrilled to see the menu offerings. They are serving food that we used to eat daily in Jakarta.
So we got the Martabak Telur (deep fried pastry made out of eggs, flour, and green onions) for appetizers. Three pieces for about $3. Then I got Empek Empek for my entree. What the hell Empek Empek you might ask. Empek Empek is fishpaste pastry filled with egg served on yellow noodle with spicy sweet and sour sauce. The sweet and sour sauce here is not the Red Chinese sweet & sour sauce. It's brown color like soy sauce but it's sweet & sour. The Empek Empek was delicious, but I prefer the sauce to be more sour than how it was.
My sister got the Nasi Gudeg which has steamed rice, jackfruit stew, white chicken curry, hardboiled egg, spicy tofu curry, sambal, and shrimp cracker. Both of us love the sambal which is the Indonesian chili sauce. It was so HOT which we loooooveeeeee...
My sis' boyfriend enjoyed his Nasi Kapau which has steamed rice, beef rendang, curry veggies, steamed kale, and green sambal. I didn't get to try his meal because I was full. He said it was delicious and he liked it.
They serve other basic Indonesian dishes too such as Gado Gado which has steamed veggie, hard boiled egg, tofu with peanut dressing. We saw other customers ordered the Chicken Satay which is chicken on skewers serves with rice and peanut sauce.
The only thing that kind of a let down for me is that they don't open for dinner for now. Lunch only from Monday-Saturday. Closed at 4 pm everyday and all day on Sunday. I wish they will be open for dinner pretty soon because I work in the east side, live in the west side and it will be wonderful if I could indulge on Indonesian dinner. Ahhhhh, hopefully it will come true soon. -
Review from Nga H.
Portland, OR
7/21/2010
You know how you go to a restaurant for the first time, and from what little you already know about it, you really WANT to like it? Sometimes you do, but sometimes you don't. I'm leaning on the 'don't' side. I measure a dining establishment as the sum of its parts. Food, portions, atmosphere. When two of these variables falls below expectations even though one may excel, the full experience just doesn't make it worth it to go out of your way to go back. The food here was good, but the portions were small for the price, and the atmosphere cold and uninviting.
They have a really small menu, although their website may suggest otherwise. They just don't prepare everything for every day. I was even more disappointed when the lady behind the counter told me they were out of Empek Empek, which is supposed to be one of their daily menu items. I ended up ordering the Nasi Kapau and their beef white curry.
The flavors are reminiscent of Thai, Vietnamese and Cambodian flavors, of which I am a supreme fan. But as a non-Indonesian, unlike several of the posts here so far, I expected more from this dining establishment than just the food's taste and authenticity. I also expect an inviting space, one where I actually want to sit awhile and just escape a bit. But here, I just didn't even feel invited.
I found the restaurant's decor and overall atmosphere to be cold. The walls were stark white, dotted with some tapestries and framed pictures. Aside from that and a couple potted plants, and a lonely wooden coat stand in the corner, there really wasn't much that made me feel warmed and welcomed.
So anyways, A + B + C = not gonna go out of my way to return, but just may if I'm in the neighborhood. -
Review from Sam w.
Updated - 11/6/2010
Unfortunately Adem Ayem is now closed down and completely empty. Sad times.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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5/24/2010 ROTD 11/6/2010
We've eaten here twice now and our experience has been excellent both times. It's a very small… Read more »
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Review from John K.
Portland, OR
8/15/2010 1 photo
Yum yum yum. I had the Gado Gado and a Kopi Susu coffee, and tried the Teu Kotak tea. All of it was great. Both of my friends enjoyed their food, too. The biggest downsides are the hours (10am - 4pm at the time of this review) and teeny tiny interior. But the food and drinks are authentic and delicious.
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Review from Seth C.
Salem, OR
Updated - 7/28/2010
Just returned to this place and had another fantastic meal. This time it was nasi goreng (fried rice) that came with two chicken sate skewers. I learned that they make their own sambal (Indonesian hot sauce) and it had just the right amount of fire and flavor.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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3/23/2010
I lived in Indonesia back in the early 90s and have been craving authentic Indonesian food ever… Read more »
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Specialties
Welcome to our Yelp Profile. Adem Ayem is an authentic, Indonesian food cafe in Tigard, Oregon near the historic Joy Cinema. Our menu features fresh ingredients and our preparation reflects the healthy and tasty dishes you'll find throughout Java and Sumatra. We do our best to stay true to the rich flavors and spices that make your taste buds happy.
History
Established in 2009
We have been in business just under one year but our menu has been developed for many. We've been collecting recipes from great Indonesian cookbooks, family secrets, and our own new ideas.
