I don’t normally write bad reviews about any restaurants. Usually when the food or even the service is not satisfying, I just let it go as I know how challenging restaurant business is. But my experience with Garuda Indonesian Restaurant at Indianapolis, IN was by far hands down the worst experience ever that I just couldn’t help but spilling my gut out.
We went to Indianapolis, IN to visit the Children’s Museum. While we were there, we called up our friends just to hang out. Our friends suggested to meet at this new Indonesian Restaurant that just opened about six weeks ago. Anything that reminds us of home of course gives us an excitement!
The Place
The place is actually pretty clean but tiny. Once we arrived there, the place was packed…. with Americans. I don’t like to give a stereotype but when an authentic restaurant is full with non-authentic people, the food is usually non-authentic. I’m sorry but that’s just a fact! The restaurant is actually pretty small and almost the entire tables were occupied. The service was very slow but understandable. There were only 3 people working, one waitress, the owner and the cook. And none of them is Asian, let alone being Indonesian!
The Food
Prior leaving we checked the restaurant website and found out the menu is very limited and basic. Everything they list on that menu I can actually cook myself (and I’m not a good cook)! But still I gave them the benefit of the doubt. How bad can it be? Once we got there, we ordered Bakmie Goreng (Fried Noddle), Nasi Goreng (Fried Rice), and Satay (Chicken Skewer). We ordered the Fried Rice first so that my son could eat right away, and for some reason it came out last. Again, don’t know why! When the food came out we were so blown away by the portion. It was so small for the price I thought it was a big joke! Fried Noddle is $9.95, Fried Rice is $8.95 and Satay is $9.95, and look at these portions:
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- Fried Noddle (Bakmie Goreng)
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- Nasi Goreng (Fried Rice)
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- Chicken Satay (Chiken Skewer)
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- see how small the satay is?
The noddle was overcooked and had no taste whatsoever. Quite honestly, Ramen Instant Noddle tastes so much better than this. Honest to Goodness! The satay was edible but peanut sauce tasted so horrible. It had no flavor and perhaps they don’t use fresh ingredients? The Fried Rice was no different. The funny thing is when my four-year-old ate it he said so loudly, “I don’t like this!”
Aside from the taste, Even if Americans like it I still couldn’t understand how they could get away with this tiny portion. Perhaps because the owner is Dutch and he uses European portion?
An Indonesian restaurant with no Indonesians working there, serving European portion…. just amazing!!
In case anyone is curious about the worst Indonesian Restaurant ever, feel free to visit their website at http://www.garudadine.com/ for the location and hours.
