Tastes Like Home

It was a freeway day. We stopped in south Ellensburg at the Water Treatment Plant so we could leave town with clean, empty tanks before heading west on I-90 for Snoqualmie Pass and the west side. For the first time in years, Lake Keeclelus was full. A very different view from the old tree stumps that are often visible.

The priority for the day was to have lunch with family at the IndoCafe. After spending 13 years in eastern Indonesia, we're always on the lookout for good Indonesian food. We heard about this place last August and it's been on my list of destinations ever since.

I'm a fan of gado-gado, a warm salad serves with peanut sauce as the dressing. It is one of my litmus tests for a good Indonesian restaurant. This one was quite good, but missing the crispy fried shallot garnish that are essential to my preferred version.

The sate ayam (chicken skewers) were excellent. Plump pieces of chicken, perfectly prepared & served with lots of the essential peanut sauce. The peanut sauce was very mild and benefited from a liberal dose of sambal (hot sauce) to kick it up a notch.

The cafe had an extensive menu, and I would have liked to try more dishes, but there is a limit to how much a person can reasonably eat at one sitting.

Nasi goreng babi (pork fried rice) was tested as well and met with positive acceptance. They adjust the spiciness to order.

As you can see, we didn't leave much behind. Thinking ahead, I ordered a portion of babi kecap (pork belly with sweet soy sauce) in a to-go box, assuming I'd be hungry by supper time.

The one constraint was that IndoCafe is located in the back corner of a miniature strip mall at 13754 Aurora Avenue North in Seattle. The nearest parking for an RV is about two blocks south at a big box office supply store.

Home for the night was the back lot at the Tulalip Casino in Marysville, Washington.