Upi Jaya
“I have been here several times, the standout on the menu: Ketoprak, Batagor, Ayam Panggang, Rendang, Gulai Nangka.”
“Beef Rendang (a bit tough and chewy but delicious)
They have a combination platter where you can choose 2 items including rice.”
“Rendang Padang was delicious (dry, intentionally), Gado Gado, Chicken Sate, curried jackfruit, and the kale were all cooked amazing well also.”
Upi Jaya
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Important – this place is cash only! Located on a quiet street in Woodside, but pretty well known among Southeast Asians as a couple of famous Indonesians have eaten here. I got the rending padang (basically curried beef – so spicy, a little dry, but very flavorful). Also got the ayam goreng (fried chicken, wasn't as big of a fan of this as it was just fried chicken and didn't has much spice with it). And of course, you have to get the Es Cendol, the traditional Indonesian drink with your meal.
Overall, three dishes between my friend and I came out to about $30. A really good deal for how full I was.
Upi Jaya is the first authentic Indonesian restaurant that I've ever been to in NY. I got the ayam panggang plate which came with the Indonesian barbecued chicken, rice with sauce, and some greens. It was really great and took me back to Jakarta. We also got the fried banana for dessert which was delicious.
Came here in a Saturday afternoon for late lunch. Almost all the tables were taken, but only one person working as server, counter lady, cashier, table buster all at the same time. Food were exceptional, ordered rice with chicken balado+curry and mee goreng. Definitely worth our trip all the way from Bergen County, NJ. But the service was kinda slow. We ordered teh botol and she totally forgot about it until we reminded her at the end of the meal. It was really hard to get her attention when we wanted our check.
This review is based mostly on service:
came with some friends on a saturday afternoon and there were no customers. there were just family friends eating there. no one greeted us or seated us but that's ok, we sat ourselves. the ac wasn't even on until later which was weird cause it was super hot. i understand there's only 1 person working which may be the boss lady? but at the time there were no customers… so she could have tended to us and given us menus at least. anyways, the food was ok. i had the chicken rengdeng. not much meat in relation to the rice. flavors were ok. a little spicy for people that can't handle spice. would i come back again, i think so but to try something else.
My Indonesian friend took me to try some food here. This was quite different than the Indonesian food I had in Medan or the food my dad cooks. Possibly because my family is Chinese-Indonesian and they brought us food more suited to our Chinese tastes? Not sure. The food was good, but unbelievably spicy.
Favorites:
– Tahu Isi (fried tofu stuffed with vegetables)
– Gado Gado (indonesian steamed vegetables served in a tangy peanut sauce)
– Sate Padang Pakai Lontong (spicy beef skewers covered with chef's special sauce made or rice flour & served with indonesian herbs & spices) – This was my favorite because it was served with this delicious white rice cake covered in sauce. The texture was so soft. Never had a rice cake like that before.
Not so favorites:
– Ayam Goreng Padang (padang special fried chicken) – I don't remember much about this dish, except it was a little dry.
– Ayam Goreng Balado (deep fried chicken smothered with hot chili peppers) – Oh man, be careful of this dish. The chili peppers really pack a punch. I couldn't taste anything after eating this and needed a lot of rice to put out the fire in my mouth.
– Rendang Padang *(traditional indonesian beef dish, tenderly cooked in hot spices over low heat) – The flavors for this was good, but it was far from tender. The meat was extremely dry and hard to swallow.
We also ordered a Teh Botol juice box. This was my first time having this Indonesian tea, woah the taste was unique. The other person who tried it with me agreed it tasted like the smell you get when visiting a horse's farm. Apparently, the box we received must have been really expired, because I tried it again later and it tasted nothing like the first time.
I think I felt the beginning of indigestion, but thankfully nothing happened. I like my dad's cooking better, but I'd like to come back to try more of their dishes.
Food:4 Service: 1
Went here on a weekend and had the chicken fried rice special. Noodles had a good kick to it and wasn't too spicy. However there was only 1 waitress and it was tough to get her attention and take our order. Ordered an iced tea and never got it until we had to remind her. I would come back if the service was better, but for now stick with Sky cafe down the block.
Upi Jaya came highly recommended by an Indonesian friend of mine as they claimed that this was the most authentic Indonesian restaurant in the area so I had already put the restaurant on a pedestal prior to our arrival. Bad idea. It was our 1st experience having Indonesian food and, in our opinions, unfortunately the food was just OK. I hate giving local restaurants like this average reviews because the restaurant seems like it's family-owned and the people were very friendly and hospitable, but the truth … is the truth …
We came here to have dinner on a Saturday evening and there weren't many people here at 7:30pm-ish. I was expecting the restaurant to be crowded at this time already, but it basically empty. However, the restaurant quickly became full around 25 minutes later so it seems like we got here at exactly the right time. In addition, the restaurant is really small with about 8 tables so try to get here a little bit earlier than you might want to.
The menu was big, and quite frankly, could be a bit intimidating with lots of appetizers, soups, beef/chicken/seafood/vegetarian dishes and Nasi Rames (combination rice specials). If you're not familiar with southeast Asian food you could easily be stuck between getting a few dishes. Fortunately, my friend recommended a few dishes, so we followed their wisdom and got the following:
SATE AYAM – BBQ chicken skewers with peanut sauce
This appetizer was absolutely the best part of our meal. The chicken skewers were smaller than I pictured and was served with 4 skewers, but nevertheless the bbq chicken was tender and the peanut sauce was perfectly sweet. The peanut sauce was strong, but not overwhelmingly so where you couldn't taste the chicken. I highly recommend this as a starter! We actually wished we ordered another one!
RENDANG AYAM – Chicken Rendang (Nasi Rame) / RANDANG DAGING – Beef Rendang (Nasi Rame)
The Nasi Rames were disappointing for us. Our expectations were probably too high and we thought it would be similar to a Filipino or Malaysian meat rice combination dish, but the meats were dry and tender and the white rice was just white rice with not much sauce on it. We are the type that love flavoring in our rice (i.e. garlic fried rice) or tons of sauce on the rice, but it was pretty plain with just a bit of coconut sauce on it and not enough to spread the flavor around.
The Beef Rendang was served as 1 big piece of beef and very spicy, but also very dry. I was told that was very typical of Indonesian Beef Rendang, so I was guess it depends on personal preference. Some might like it, some might not. The chicken in the Chicken Rendang was a bit better as the chicken was more tender and juicier. It was still dry, but definitely not as dry as the beef.
The good thing about Upi Jaya is that there are many other dishes on their menu so I haven't given up yet. The rice in the Nasi Rames just needed more sauce and as for the meats, I'm guessing that's just how they are usually cooked in the Indonesian culture. With that said, I do want to give it another shot as there were a few other nasi rames that peaked my interest so there will be another next time!
It was my first time trying Indonesian food and I wasn't impressed at all. The portions were too small and you get the smallest pieces of meat imaginable. In all 3 dishes that I ordered, the tiny meat piece wasn't enough for all the white rice they give you. The restaurant is also very low maintenance and not pretty but I was fine with that because I knew that going in. Overall of the meal was satisfactory and the portion sizes more than anything was a disappointment. I will not be coming back here again.