Suku restaurant review: Indonesian diner in the heart of Fremantle saves spice lovers a trip to Bali

The fragrant spicy aromas of rendang and nutty satay wafted through the air, mingling with the smells of incense. Lowering the bottle after a sip of ice cold Bintang revealed a tie-dyed streetscape of yoga studios, henna tattooists and crystal healers. This wasn’t Kuta nor Semanyak in Bali, nor some bustling village in Sumatra. This was, of course, Fremantle. Specifically, Suku, a little Indonesian food stall in the hawker-style section of FOMO Freo, which seems to have done better than Yagan Square and worked the first time around. This is the passion project of Indonesian expats Ria Zulkarnaen and Nick Mailenzun, who moved to Perth more than a decade ago. They opened Suku in 2019 as stall in the Fremantle Markets before moving across William Street to their current location. Specialising in traditional Javanese, Sumatran and Malay dishes and borrowing the Indonesian word for “tribe”, Suku is like a trip to Bali without having to endure a Jetstar flight nor pay 150,000 rupiah to get through Denpasar Airport. You might not even get hassled if your boogie board bag is full of herbal remedies. Suku is a warung (or shop) or rumah makan (eating home). That is, simple dishes in a simple setting. Low tables with stools. The traditional, comforting food is served on proper plates, and you get proper glasses if you BYO wine ($3 corkage per person). In addition to Bintang stubbies and two WA wines (one white, the other red) by the bottle or glass, this understated Fremantle favourite offers jasmine tea, coconut water and Indonesia favourites such as es kopi susu (cold espresso topped with milk and ice) and es cendol (sweetened coconut milk and bright green pandan). The menu is divided into nasi campur — self-contained dishes served with rice and condiments — and small plates, including the compulsory sate lilit, or chargrilled minced chicken satay skewers served with house-made sambal matah, a hot salsa made of chillies, shallots, coconut oil and lime. Four small skewers cost $15. Get one per person. At least. Dip the tender smoky chicken into the sweet peanut sauce, which is served in a bowl that you just wanna pick up and drink from, then chomp that skewer like a savoury Paddle Pop. Heaven, or perhaps Ubud, on a stick. Peanut allergies don’t seem to be such a big deal in Indonesia. There’s also a delicious chook stick on the nasi Bali plate ($18.50) alongside fragrant and piercingly spicy shredded chicken, rice, hard-boiled eggs and a side of chicken crackling, peanuts, cucumber and sambal matah. Speaking of sambal, the gado-gado ($17) comes with chilli sauce that kicks harder than Wewey Wita, a world champion in the popular Indonesian martial art of pencak silat. Gado-gado is a classic seasonal salad that has, in this case, mixed vegetables, bean sprouts and tempeh (fermented soybeans, similar but different to tofu) topped with prawn crackers. This standard was very eggy thanks to the chopped-up soft-boiled lovelies strewn generously through the plate. Did I mention the sambal was hot? It was. Waiter, please make me an extra milky kopi susu! Now we get to the best part. While rendang originated from the Minangkabau Highlands in West Sumatra, it’s no surprise that this dry-style curry has spread throughout Indonesia and the world. Done right, it’s fragrant, earthy and carries a depth of flavour from the use of ginger, galangal, cinnamon, turmeric leaves, garlic, shallots, chillies and other spices ground into a paste called pemasak. The rendang at Suku is very good and comes as a dry beef curry ($19.50) or vegetarian version incorporating eggplant, tofu, egg and jackfruit ($19). Vegan and gluten-free options are also available. The partially shredded slow-cooked beef comes with various spicy condiments surrounding a mound of rice topped with tempeh and fried shallots. As with the nasi Bali, the rendang is an ideal lunch for one, especially if you don’t mind returning to work with sweat on your brow. We shared our meals as a family of four. Our six-year-old son found the spice levels challenging at times, though that could have been a cunning ploy to get dessert. We wrangled a serve of the burnt coconut gelato ($8) for the kids but made sure that the first taste of creamy textured ice-cream with caramel and sweet condensed milk was as good as we imagined by having a second spoonful. Not a bad way to quench the fire from the sambal. Service is fast at Suku, where you order and gather plates and cups of water at the counter. The kitchen is tiny, while Zulkarnaen and Mailenzun have done their best to add a little colour and atmosphere to their little corner of what is fundamentally a better-than-average food court. If you’re in Fremantle, hungry and fancy something wholesome and spicy, join the tribe of foodies perched on stools at Suku. Suku FOMO Freo, Shop G8-V3/28 William Street, Fremantle OPEN Wednesday, 11am-4pm. Thursday-Saturday, 11am-8pm. Sunday, 11am-4pm. Closed Monday and Tuesday. CONTACT sukufreo.com BOOKINGS No THE VERDICT “Selamat datang” to spicy Indonesian favourites in an unassuming but welcoming food court. Order the rendang or Balinese chicken rice plate for yourself or devour a big mess of chicken satay sticks drowned in delicious peanut sauce. Watch out for the sambal, it’s hotter than the exhaust on a Kuta rental scooter. 13.5/20