Manise Indo Cuisine has established itself as a reliable destination for authentic Indonesian home cooking at Lucky Plaza, serving the substantial Indonesian community in Singapore along with adventurous locals seeking the rich, complex flavors characteristic of the archipelago's diverse culinary traditions. This casual Indonesian restaurant offers an extensive menu spanning the many regional styles found across Indonesia's thousands of islands, from Padang-style rendang and gulai curries to Javanese gudeg and Sundanese grilled specialties. The kitchen prepares traditional dishes using imported spices and ingredients to ensure authentic flavors, particularly in signature items like nasi goreng (Indonesian fried rice distinguished by sweet soy sauce and sambal), gado-gado (vegetable salad with peanut sauce), soto ayam (aromatic chicken soup), and various sambal-based dishes that showcase Indonesia's mastery of chili-based condiments. The restaurant caters to Indonesian expatriates seeking familiar tastes from home while also introducing Singapore's multicultural population to lesser-known regional specialties. Located within Lucky Plaza's vibrant collection of Southeast Asian eateries, Manise Indo Cuisine maintains the casual, welcoming atmosphere typical of Indonesian warung-style dining, where generous portions and reasonable prices take precedence over elaborate decor, keeping the focus squarely on the food that bridges thousands of miles to bring authentic Indonesian flavors to Orchard Road.
It's my 3rd time here and I cannot recommend this restaurant enough. If you wanna get a taste of authentic indo (mostly javanese) cuisines that aren't commonly found in sg (gudeg + krecek, empal gentong), you MUST visit Manise.
Their sate ayam is AMAZING. Gudeg & krecek has been our go to order as well. This time we tried empal gentong, rawon, bubur ayam, they're also very good, would definitely come for the empal gentong.
Mendoan & bakwan are also good and they're served with rawit ijo 😭🫶, even the tempe mendoan got that dark edges which look exactly the tempe you'll find anywhere in Java.
Update: Nasi gorengnya enak banget. The best in SG so far for me 😭
Chua Bernard
Found this humble cafe, tucked away behind the main row of shops, away from the busting sunday crowd of Lucky Plaza… And we were glad that we did, as they serve some authentic Indonesian Cuisines, not cooked or tuned to SG taste buds.
We had their Gudeg With Rice set that boasted caramelized and subtly sweet tender stewed jackfruit, served with fluffy white rice, accompanied with succulent pieces of coconut-braised chicken, stewed beef skin, and a perfectly braised hard bolied egg.
Every bite gave a nice mix of sweet, savory and heat, after mixing sambal into the dish. The bold flavours and texture of this dish, had also reminded me of what i ate before in Yogyakarta, the place of origin for this heritage dish.
Their Empal Gentong had generous serving of tender beef chunks swimming in a creamy, spiced coconut curry broth with rich flavours from garlic, coriander and turmeric. Served with fluffy white rice, its hearty, fragrant, savory and a little spicy.
Other than the 2 mains, we ordered their Bakwan Jagung that came in three Golden brown pieces, Crispy and full of sweet corn Crunch on the outside, fluffy inside and balanced in flavours. Its nice overall and reminded me of what my auntie’s indonesian helper had made before. However i personally preferred the version where corn kernels are blended, mixed with the dough and full kernels again.
Tohu Goreng served, also came in 3 pieces. Crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, but fillings of cucumber and blanched beansprouts, were lacking in portion thus felt short of balance in overall flavours and bite texture.
Last came their Tempe Mendoan. We were confused on 1st bite as the battered Tempe for this dish was supposed to be briefly fried, resulting in a thin crispy crust but still soft inside (Semi-cooked like what the name of the dish suggested), but what served were normal deep-fried battered Tempe with well cooked internal instead, thus Tempe not soft. However, the dish was good, in terms of bite texture and flavours, as Tempe Goreng not Mendoan.
Overall, we enjoyed our lunch and managed to subdue our craving for authentic Indonesian cuisines. Service staffs or bosses were friendly and warm, efficient and attentive 👍🏻 We will return for their dishes for sure.
Dama Dhummakupt
I ordered the gudeg there and heavily enjoyed it. The lady there was also incredibly kind and was more than happy to provide more sambal. I would more than happily come back here to try some of their other dishes. .
Kent
Very homely food, authentic tasting, and friendly staff. I've tried their:
- nasi goreng (like street food fried rice)
- rawon (delicious and impossible to find in sg)
- sate (authentic)
- gudeg (delicious and impossible to find)
- bakwan jagung (crispy)
Evelyn B
One of my favorite Indonesian restaurants! Authentic and delicious Indonesian food with reasonable price. No GST and service charge added! Fell in love with their food from the first try in June 2024, coming back for more and they don’t disappoint. My personal favorites are Nasi Liwet Ayam, Gudeg, Nasi Goreng, Tahu Kupat and Rawon. The place is a little hard to find because it’s located in the back, not far from level 3 toilet, but really worth the search. Highly recommended!
