abolt wrote:Superficial conversations?

My use of the word was not meant in the derogatory sense.

Won't rush back, but will give Rickshaw another go.

Don't want to "Gang On" following GWiv's and others sentiments-
but.......me neither.

As much as I enjoyed the great design that SUHAIL's wrought, ya don't "eat" dangling marionettes.
But, when the food's about as "exotic" as what you might find @ North Halsted MarketDays,
that even a Whopping-topping
of Sambal won't kick-it-up-a-notch- ya gotta question the authentic-ness of Rickshaw Republic.
I truly felt that Mama-san has dumbed down the flavors- focusing on what she "thought" the American pallete was/would be-
as opposed to what's servered in any of the islands that make up Indonesia (& Malaysia).

But, then again- if they are closing down mid-week for a Private Party
(according to their website),
then,
perhaps others don't necessarily feel the same!

My impression from eating traditional Indonesian food is that it is not a particularly hot cuisine, but it is a huge country so there are probably extensive regional dishes. But I've never had an Indonesian meal where my face hurt, a common occurrence for me when eating traditional Thai food. What has really impressed me about some of the Indonesian food I've had in Amsterdam though is not the spiciness in terms of hotness, but in terms of richness, which I would like to see more of here. I had an Indonesian dish once where it was the first time I realized that black pepper could really be a dominant interesting flavor.

What I find unpleasant about Rickshaw is the location. The menu is being crowdsourced, which is cool, except will it be distorted by Carrie Bradshaw automaton Trixie clones many of us have already encountered?

Hombre de Acero wrote:I truly felt that Mama-san has dumbed down the flavors-

Maybe part of the problem is that they hired a Japanese chef.

I haven't had a chance to write up either meal, but about a month ago I ate at Fat Rice one night followed by Rickshaw Republic the next. I've eaten plenty of Indonesian over the last 2 decades, because one of my best friends is Dutch-Indonesian and lives in the Netherlands. I haven't had Macanese food except for a visit to a prior Fat Rice pop up at Dodo. I was wowed by Fat Rice, and sadly thought Rickshaw Republic was bland and underwhelming by comparison. I'll probably head back at some point, but would rush back to Fat Rice today if I thought I could get a table without a lengthy wait.

chgoeditor wrote:I haven't had a chance to write up either meal, but about a month ago I ate at Fat Rice one night followed by Rickshaw Republic the next. I've eaten plenty of Indonesian over the last 2 decades, because one of my best friends is Dutch-Indonesian and lives in the Netherlands. I haven't had Macanese food except for a visit to a prior Fat Rice pop up at Dodo. I was wowed by Fat Rice, and sadly thought Rickshaw Republic was bland and underwhelming by comparison. I'll probably head back at some point, but would rush back to Fat Rice today if I thought I could get a table without a lengthy wait.

I was there last night at 7:00 and we were seated in about a half hour. And the waiting area is lovely. If you aren't averse to going early or on the later side on a week night, I don't think the waits are long at all.

boudreaulicious wrote:

chgoeditor wrote:I haven't had a chance to write up either meal, but about a month ago I ate at Fat Rice one night followed by Rickshaw Republic the next. I've eaten plenty of Indonesian over the last 2 decades, because one of my best friends is Dutch-Indonesian and lives in the Netherlands. I haven't had Macanese food except for a visit to a prior Fat Rice pop up at Dodo. I was wowed by Fat Rice, and sadly thought Rickshaw Republic was bland and underwhelming by comparison. I'll probably head back at some point, but would rush back to Fat Rice today if I thought I could get a table without a lengthy wait.

I was there last night at 7:00 and we were seated in about a half hour. And the waiting area is lovely. If you aren't averse to going early or on the later side on a week night, I don't think the waits are long at all.

I got there at 6'ish on a weekday & there was no wait. It's just earlier than I'd normally like to eat.

A couple of the dishes we ordered, we were offered the option of getting it spicy and even extra spicy. We had the Mie Goreng spicy and found it delicious. It looked very different than what I assume is the non-spicy version that other people had ordered.

I stopped here for the first time this evening for a post-Music Box snack, so I haven't much to add, but here are some salient points:

1. The Rickshaw Wings were huge. Like "four of them could assemble a nightmarish, full-sized 'Voltron-chicken'"-huge. I think they'd call this an eight-piece in most fried chicken places (more cluck for the buck)
2. The wings were scalding, as was their sugary sauce, so if you'd prefer a hot meal, look no further
3. Whomever's ultimately responsible for the sauces has a hell of a sweet tooth; some of them were downright syrupy. The sauce for the wings was about as sweet as the token Asian sauces you'd get at Buffalo Wild Wings or Pizza Hut

The tasty martabak were light with a mild beef flavor that was complemented nicely by sweet (again!) pickles and really sweet (!!!) sambal. I've forgotten the name of the special we shared, but it was chicken, those little dried anchovies, basil and red peppers with coconut rice, wrapped up and grilled in a banana leaf, and served with a pickle of some kind and shrimp chips, presumably to be used as a delivery mechanism. I liked it all, but might chance asking for spicier/less sweet fare when I return (and I shall - Rickshaw Republic has great potential as a destination restaurant that could draw outsiders into Lincoln Park, which really could use the traffic from other, more fortunate neighborhoods).

There are more fortunate neighborhoods than Lincoln Park? Oh, you probably mean the Gold Coast. Still, Lincoln Park's not doing too badly.

I think syncretism meant from a food stand point, not economic. Just take a look at the map of GNRs if you don't believe him...Lincoln Park is definitely lacking in comparison to nearby neighborhoods like Andersonville, Wicker Park, and Logan Square.

Ah, I see, that makes more sense. I don't live in either neighborhood but have family members who do. Upon reflection, Lincoln Park --- at least around the DePaul campus --- does seem sparse with respect to dining options.

Rickshaw Republic has survived several years and a major construction project with the demolition of the old children's hospital across the street. And thanks to the new high rises that replaced the hospital, the restaurant is in a good position to keep going. Unfortunately, the food is still kind of meh. The gado gado (Potato, fried tofu, mixed greens, boiled egg, sprout, peanut & Indonesian sweet soy) was super peanut buttery and a bit sweet. The fish pepes (swai coated in a variety of spices, topped with basil and wrapped in a babana leaf prior to cooking) was a well cooked piece of fish but would have been a lot better with some acid or some heat in there. I enjoyed it but don't think I'd get it again.


The bright spot of the meal was definitely the sambal tasting was very good. There are four sambals with a variety of crackers to taste them with (shrimp chips, prawn cracker, a tempeh cracker and a couple others I can't remember). No plans to rush back to Rickshaw, but if/when I do return, I'd definitely get the sambal tasting again.

This Sunday (4/28) the restaurant is doing a special Crazy Rich Asians/Newton Food Centre inspired hawker experience. Tickets available here. I love the idea but I'm not sufficiently confident in their ability to execute to drop $50 on it. Hopefully I'm wrong.