Got the munchies for Acehnese at Seulawah restaurant

JAKARTA (JP): OK, OK, enough of the little nudges and knowing winks which always seem to appear when people talk about Acehnese cuisine.

Ganja leaves are a traditional flavor enhancer in the cooking, and that is why it is said police will turn a blind eye if they find a small stock of the green stuff in an Acehnese kitchen.

But ganja or not is something Ibu Ratna Dwikora, the owner of Seulawah, an Acehnese restaurant at Jl. Mas Mansyur 9, at the back of Sahid Jaya Hotel and a few meters from the Karet cemetery in Central Jakarta, would rather not talk about.

She acknowledged that she brought the original curry powder from her homeland and that, yes, it probably had a little of the hot stuff mixed into it. Subject closed. Now, let's try out the food on the menu at this restaurant named after a mountain in Aceh.

Open: 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Peak hours are at lunch time.

What's It Got: Acehnese delicacies strongly influenced by Arabian and Indian cuisines -- many of the dishes are spiced with lots of pepper and the special curry powder from Ratna's home area of Pidie.

Spicy curries with coconut milk include gulai bebek (duck curry), gulai kepala ikan kakap (fish head curry), gulai ikan hiu (shark curry), chicken curry, mutton curry, gulai bongkut (fish egg curry) and goat and cow brain curries.

Vegetarians can try Ratna's vegetables, which also spiced with curry powder; kuah pli'u (mixed vegetables in a yellow, rather watery curry) and sayur dalica (mixed vegetables and fruits with an Indian touch).

If you are worried about clogged arteries, try out some coconut milk-free dishes, primarily fish smothered in chili, such as asam ke'eung (fish with green chilies in a yellowish, thin gravy with the distinctive flavor of sour carambola),keumamah or ikan kayu (spicy shredded and dried tuna) and pepes ikan (steamed spicy fish wrapped in banana leaves).

There was a variety of rice dishes, such as nasi goreng kambing (fried rice with mutton), Nasi biryani (a take on the Indian baked rice dish, with mutton and spices such as pepper, cinnamon, cloves, turmeric, coriander and curry powder, plus coconut milk and raisins) served with pacri (a type of pineapple chutney), and nasi guri (rice with meat, anchovies and spiced grated coconut).

Also on the menu is roti cane, a pan-fried bread eaten with sauce -- another nod to Indian food.

There is shrimp in chili sauce -- known by the Acehnese as sambal ganja -- and traditional cakes like timphan (made of glutinous rice flour, pumpkin, egg, sugar and coconut milk, and flavored with screw pine leaves), plus rujak Aceh (mango, cucumber, papaya, pineapple slices in spicy dressing).

Price Points: Reasonable; our lunch party of four spent only Rp 84,000 for the main menu through desserts. On a different, Sunday lunch time visit, it was Rp 42,500 for two piece of duck curry (Rp 9,000 per piece), two small portions of rice (Rp 2,000 per serving), asam ke'eung (Rp 4,000 per piece), kuah pli'u (Rp 4,000 per serving) and mutton curry (Rp 7,500 per portion).

Looks: It looks no different from Padang restaurants, with plates of food stacked at the glass front window. It's bright colored walls and white ceramic floor were clean and free of flies. Accommodates about 40 diners. There is a small parking area.

Popular with ...: Many Indians and Arabs, according to Ratna, as well as office workers from the Sudirman office and Casablanca areas.

Taste Factor: Good in its small portions of nasi biryani, keumamah, asam ke'eung and rujak Aceh. They were spicy but not going to have you plead for another glass of water.

The duck curry was rather disappointing as the meat was tough. The mutton and fish egg curries were spiced like Padang food.

Minus Points: The all-female staff was friendly, but seemed to lack in the professionalism department, especially when it comes to appearance.

The place was very noisy what with the busy street outside, and there was no TV or music to combat the cacophony. Granted, first and foremost people come here to eat, but some people want a place to escape from the office environment.

More variety of vegetables would be a plus.

Verdict: An interesting introduction to Acehnese cuisine, but it lacks in comfort and service. (Deny Putri)