Satay or Sate? Jakarta or Jogya?

One of my favorite Sate, or Satay as Singaporeans will call it, can be found in this open-air eatery called Pondol Sate Djono Jogya located in a place called Pejompongan, right in the centre of Jakarta. (I wonder why it is called Jogya when it is located in Jakarta?) Although it is open-air, the dining area is actually quite dim, hot and stuffy. It is usually crowded during meal time as it is a favourite amongst the locals. Quite a number of other stalls selling sate have begun to spring up along the same stretch of road but a local told me that this is by far the best and the original one.
This place is renowned for its Sate Kambing (lamb) and interestingly, it is served with a plate of steamed rice and not the usual ketupat (compressed steamed rice wrapped in leaves). The meat is not too thick by comparison to the other Indonesian sate which is usually thick and chuncky. I guess this is so that cooking it is much easier considering the high turnover required given it is a popular warong. Barbequed to perfection outside the shop (see picture on the left), the sweet flavour and tenderness of the lamb sate is simply yummy! The small portion of skewered meat means you can go on and on, stick after stick....... sinful! What is also similar to the Singapore style satay here is that the peanut sauce is served separately quite unlike other Indonesian outlets where they pour the peanut sauce over the sate before serving.
Another very nice side dish that this place serves is the Fried Toufu. It comes with a small plate of dark and thick sweet sauce and some small spicy green raw chilli to go with it. The fried toufu is crispy on the outside and steaming hot on the inside when served. Dipping it into the sweet sauce just adds flavour to the otherwise blend toufu. Simply brilliant!
So if you don't mind sweating it out for some good sate, you should not miss this place.

Pondol Sate DJONO JOGYA Pejompongan
Jl. Penjernihan I No. 5B, Pejompongan,
Jakarta Pusat
Tel : +6221 5701292
Operating Hours : 1100 - 0000hrs (daily)