Cake and Satay House

Eating out is something I love to do for a variety of reasons, one of the least of which is simply to satiate my hunger. Yes, I'm a hungry hedonist, but the emphasis is strongly on the hedonism - I eat out for the pleasure of it. One of my favourite activities is exploring a country through its food - ideally in a street market or bazaar, but otherwise while discovering new flavours right here in one of our Durban restaurants.

The Cake and Satay House, specialising in Indonesian food is just such a place where one can go to experience something new. Often described as being in Umbilo - probably because of its proximity to Umbilo Road, it's actually situated in Glenwood, in Albert Dlomo Road (formerly Willowvale), not far from Parc Café and Glenwood Bakery. From the street, a small sign indicating 'Cake and Satay House: Indonesian Delicacies' is the only hint at what lies behind the door that leads up a short flight of stairs to the front room of Anita Leong's house. Here, her and her husband serve up a variety of Indonesian, Chinese and Thai inspired dishes to a small, but appreciative audience.

At the top of the stairs, a security door is opened before you can be beckoned inside. There are two eating areas: a small, enclosed outside room, ringed in fairy lights, and inside, a slightly larger room with a row of tables running down the centre and a display case featuring a handful of sweets and sauces for sale. There are only four or five tables in the restaurant, with a potential capacity of about 20 diners. On the night that we visited, however, we were the only customers. You have to book for dinner here, not only to ensure that you get a table, but also because there is a fair chance that the restaurant won't be open otherwise. 

Ambiance comes courtesy of a single CD of traditional Indonesian music, which reminded me vaguely of the Midi soundtrack on a 1980s video game. It's probably not the ideal restaurant for a first date, but it's a great place to come with a bunch of friends who are happy to create their own buzz. They aren't licensed, so its strictly BYOB, but they don't charge corkage, and they do stock a variety of cool-drinks if you prefer. Also, remember to bring cash - they don't accept credit cards.

Starters are limited to a selection of fried delicacies (wontons, spring rolls, crispy prawns) or soups (chicken or wonton). They also serve those colourful, tongue-sticking, deep fried prawn crackers - either individually, or by the plate. The wontons are hot, crispy and filled with minced pork; the spring rolls are enormous and bursting with crispy vegetables, pork and prawns. A bowl of bright red sambal oelek (basically raw chilli paste) and soy sauce is served alongside, with a small plastic spoon. It's Asian street food, simple, tasty and good for sharing.

The main course options are more extensive, with separate sections for Nasi Goreng (fried rice); Mi Goreng (fried noodles, much like Chinese chow mein); sweet and sour dishes; cashew chicken; black bean dishes, and the titular satays. There are also a handful of sea food dishes, including curried and chilli crabs, which are apparently excellent.

I went for the house speciality and ordered the chicken satay, served ten kebabs deep, with a fantastic, spicy peanut sauce. The pieces of meat are smaller than on a typical South African sosatie, and more tender, coated in a sticky sweet and salty sauce which has blackened on the edges where the flames have caught at it. The satay is served with a small bowl of plain steamed rice - good for when you accidentally eat too much sambal oelek.

We also ordered beef in a black bean sauce and sweet and sour pork. Both came with plenty of lightly fried peppers, onion and carrots. The sweet and sour pork was crunchy-edged, and came with a dark, pineapple-sweet sauce. The black bean dish was full of tender beef, mushrooms and vegetables, although the sauce lacked depth and could have used more black beans and coriander.

As far as I know, Cake and Satay House is the only restaurant in Durban specialising in Indonesian food. If you get a taste for it though, as I have, you can also get lucky at the Durban Night Market where you'll find Suki's Indonesian Food, offering a fantastic selection of satays, Nasi Goreng and Mi Goreng. Now I have to go try that Ethiopian place on Cowey Road...