Chennai gets a Dutch-Indonesian rijsttafel lunch experience

Weekday lunches are usually functional affairs. You eat, answer a few messages, glance at the clock and move on. Soy Soi’s new lunch experience has other plans.

From satays and sambals to slow-cooked rendang, this Chennai lunch menu turns the Dutch-Indonesian rijsttafel into a leisurely afternoon feast

The restaurant’s take on the Indonesian-Dutch rijsttafel makes lunch into a leisurely spread. A Dutch-Indonesian tradition that Chef Rajat Gurung describes as “small portions in platters, which they can sit together and enjoy.” What started as Dutch colonisers wanting their own kind of meal using locally available Indonesian ingredients eventually became, in his words, “a part of the Indonesian food scenario.”

We started with the sprout salad. Iceberg lettuce, cherry tomatoes, all of it mellow and refreshing, right until a slice of chilli showed up. But Chef Rajat had a different opening suggestion. “Indonesians generally prefer the grills first,” he told us. “Soup and salad go along the food, and then in the last, you go to the curries.” So we did exactly that.

The Ayam goreng came first. Succulent, crisped up beautifully, Indonesian version of popcorn chicken but with a marination that had real depth to it. Then the Prawn satay, a little oily but well-seasoned, sweet, not a second overcooked.

After a quick detour through the crackers, we followed the chef’s suggested order into the gravies. The Ikan goreng nyat nyat featuring sea bass stopped the table. Zingy, fierce, a Flores-style chilli sambal that cut through everything around it.

If you’re new to this cuisine, start with the Ayam kalio instead. Coconut milk base, familiar warmth, a good entry point. Then move to the Rendang kambing. Lamb, slow-cooked, rich, deeply spiced. It’s not too foreign, but it will absolutely convince you to keep going.

Then came the Gulung dadar. Pandan crepes, rolled around sweetened coconut and palm sugar. It was the perfect close to a meal that had already asked a lot of your palate.

Meal for two: Rs 2600++. Available only on weekdays. From 12 noon to 3.30 pm. At Soy Soi, Kotturpuram.

Email: shivani@newindianexpress.com
X: @ShivaniIllakiya

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