Indonesian food is not a common cuisine people suggest when going out to dine. But having lived in Asia for many years and having visited Indonesia twice while living there, I wanted to try it here in LA and see how it compares. We actually had dinner one night at Banana Bay Restaurant when after leaving we saw Java Spice and decided to give it a try for some take home food. The restaurant is a small storefront restaurant with about 5 or 6 tables and a couple working the counter. The menu was posted on the glass storefront for us to peruse through. The prices per dish seemed reasonable, just like any other Thai, Vietnamese, or Chinese restaurant. I decided to order BEEF RENDANG which is a spicy Indonesian favorite of mine. I have 2 comments on this. ONE- the dish was really very good and was as authentic as the rendang I had in Indonesia as I remember. TWO- Unfortunately, it is way too overpriced!!! It costs $12.95 for that small container (see photo) which is only good for one person. I imagine the other dishes are sized and priced similarly. As such I can't recommend anyone to dine here no matter how good the food is. This is more of upscale dining prices for a typical storefront restaurant. I give one star for this place and an additional start only because the food was authentic. Nevertheless.... Highly NOT RECOMMENDED read more

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Not too busy of a restaurant and we wanted to change so we decided to check out Java Spice for some Indonesian food. It was small and they were very kind. We ordered their pork satay, seasonal cah kangkung (#67), sop buntut (#32), ikan panggang kecap (#39), and 2 rice bowls. For 4 dishes, it ended up being around $75 which is pretty pricey and their portions were a bit smaller than what we were picturing. The sop buntut and pork satay were fresh whereas the other dishes were okay. The seasonal cah kangkung came later in the meal and I was already full but otherwise, the taste was fine. The panggang kecap tilapia fish was burnt so I hardly touched it. We had a good experience with their staff as they were nice but for the size portion and prices, I would like to try somewhere else next time! read more

One Of My Fav's Indonesian Restaurant In Greater Los Angeles Area Since Younger Days. Order Nasi Campur , Gado-Gado , Ayam Goreng Kalasan Half , Sambal Goreng Udang , Babat Kecap. Full-Stomach. read more

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Nice little Indonesian Food Restaurant runs by family. Nasi Bungkus is good. I will recommend it. read more

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Very good good and super affordable! They also have traditional Indo food and deserts

I'm Indo and I approve of all of these dishes. We usually get the Nasi, Bami, saté, and Gado! Gotta start with a Chendol.

It's a solid spot to go to when you're craving Indonesian food and snacks. Service is friendly, not 100% in your face. The restaurant has a relaxed vibe that is clean. Prices aren't too bad and the wait was pretty fast! Would recommend this as a solid place. read more

Java Spice - Pempek Telor Komplit - Indonesian Near Me - Rowland Heights, California

Surprisingly good food. Satay was great. fried noodles were really good too. If you buy any of the sweet snacks on the counter, refrigerate it. They go bad really fast. The fried chicken was also exceptional. Drinks were way too sweet and thick. overall worth repeating. read more

Great food and tasty! Great service and friendly staff the food was excellent and true to taste. We ate everything.

Best Indonesia food in LA area. Food so authentic is like you're in Jakarta. Best customer service as always and many items to choice from menu. read more

Came to eat for lunch. Nasi rendang was good but had very little meat and lots of rice. The soup it came it was mid. The #31 soup wasnt terrible but it was like ,completely lacking in flavor or something. ONG everything was mid read more

Food is very good, reminded me of my visit in Surabaya. Best tasting Indonesian food in the area. read more

Found this place by accident (doing errands in the neighborhood) and was hungry and it looked interesting.... It was way better than just "interesting ". It was awesome! We ordered the fried smashed chicken in some kind of sauce I had never had before.... Spicy, tangy....mmmmmm. And this amazing fried tilapia with a tomato red pepper and sweet chili sauce that was outstanding. read more

Java Spice - Tilapia with tomato red peppers and sweet chili sauce - Indonesian Near Me - Rowland Heights, California

The food here tastes just like my mothers! Very authentic. The service was awesome and the server was patient with my family. All 3 of my kids loved the satay and fried noodles. Fried rice was fire! We're from Vegas and will stop by every time we visit California. We've tried other Indonesian restaurants in LA and this is by far the best we've had. Thank you! Side note: I've been looking for an Indonesian muscle pain reliever for my mom and they sold one here!! I'm so impressed. read more

Java Spice - Indonesian pain reliever - Indonesian Near Me - Rowland Heights, California

New to LA area, food came out fast. Some not so hot, fried rice and noodles not too tasty, fish cake with noodles a bit too sweet, Gado Gado very bland. But if you want Indo food, it is very decent place to go and try, soups quite tasty. Restaurant location is a plus; among many Asia establishments with plenty of varieties of food all around. Great area to check them out. read more

Whenever I'm home sick for Indonesian food, I went here and it's the closest spot from my house. In here I had their Nasi Bungkus which I ate really fast and I'm sorry for not taking the pic, since it's so good man! Hahahaa I only got a chance to take a pic on my husband Chicken Satay and had a taste of it and it tasted really good! I like it! They have a spacious seating area too and by time we came, there was so many people came in as well! And they greet the customer really friendly so I guess that's must be their regular ones! I really wanted to try their beef rendang and pempek! I'm definitely gonna try them once I'm back again! The thing which took time in here is to find parking dude! Oh man, it's so crowded and it took my husband 20 mins to get a parking! So you really had to know this part. Sides of that, the taste of the cuisine, surely I think and I hoped makes you feel ok, though the parking is dull. read more

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Do not order food to go. They will give it to someone else then tell you that they are sold out when you get there to pick it up. Very disappointed in this restaurant. read more

Great Indonesian food at reasonable prices. Chicken dishes seem to be their best, in particular the sate ayam and ayam kalasan. Now my go-to for Indonesian food. read more

There are not very many Indonesian restaurants, and we are so fortunate to have Java Spice in Rowland Heights. Java Spice is located in the Yes Plaza shopping center (close to Tastea). The restaurant is simple with no frills and no fancy decorations - so don't expect a romantic atmosphere. However, if you're looking for a wholesome family dinner, check this place out! My favorite dishes are two rice dishes, Nasi Campur and Nasi Ayam Komplit. If you're new to Indonesian food, I'd recommend the Nasi Campur. It is a rice dish that comes with marinated fried chicken, spicy beef, and a spicy boiled egg! There is a red sauce that you can use to flavor the white rice- be warned, it's quite spicy! You also get to choose a soup to enjoy with this entree, and by far, the coconut soup is the best! If you like the marinated chicken, then the Nasi Ayam Complit is your best bet. It's essentially the same as the Nasi Campur, but just the chicken and rice and 2 large slices of cucumber. Again, you get to pick a soup with this entree! If you're visiting the restaurant on a weekend, try the Nasi Bungkus. This dish is ONLY available on Saturday and Sunday. It's a mixture of rice, curried chicken, spicy coconut beef, and egg wrapped in a banana leaf. The portion size is huge. If you're not accustomed to spicy dishes, this is not for you! I've dined at this regularly roughly once a month for the past 3 years, and service is always efficient and easy. Recently, I started ordering takeout from here. They are speedy and accurate - they never mess up my order or forget to include anything. I have to admit their phone etiquette could use some improvement, but this family establishment makes wonderful food and gets it served in a speedy manner! Highly recommended! read more

Java Spice - Nasi Ayam Complit - Indonesian Near Me - Rowland Heights, California

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I went here and it was Just simply the best and authentic cuisine... definitely recommend their fried rice!!!

Every time we are back in So Cal, this is my favourite Indonesian restaurant. Everything we ordered is always good. The owner is very friendly. I highly recommend you go there, if you are unfamiliar with the food, the owner will gladly assist. There is rice dish & noodle dish, their local desserts. Everything is so yummylicious. Selamat Makan aka Happy eating! read more

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Please beware of this store! I bought a bag of snack and paid cash for it, but he intentionally gave me $1.00 less for the change knowing that I wouldn't check the change he gave me. It was very intentional since he folded the $17.00 change handed to me. Not an honest person and such a shame he needed to short his customers to make more money unethically! read more

My husband and I went for a hike and decided to drive 45 minutes away from L.A. After "the Hike" we were hungry and came across this little shopping strip. We saw Banana Bay and Java Spice...opted for the Indonesian cuisine since we rarely have them where we live. And no regrets!!! The food was amazingly authentic and the owner was so attentive. I highly recommend this place and would drive once in a while if I have cravings for Javanese fare. read more

Java Spice - Bbq Chicken, beef and jack fruit and rice wrapped in banana leaf, spicy and great - Indonesian Near Me - Rowland Heights, California

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I typically only get one thing from them which is the nasi goreng special without ebi (the dried up shrimp). Sometimes I will also get the chicken skewers. Really it's a hit of miss on them getting my order right BUT it is so good that I forgive them. Like some of the others mentioned, the guy who answers the phone is not the most hospitable and the females are the store tend to be a little bit nicer. Please note if you want to use a credit card it is a $20 minimum. You can use debit or cash for orders under $20. read more

Unprofessional!!! Ordering food at 12 and they keep saying 20 more minutes!! Its been an hour waiting for it. If you cant handle it then don't open a restaurant!! Don't just keep taking order if your too busy!! Stop using 20 more minutes as an excuse!!! read more

Java Spice - Mushy rice!!! Wait for an hour so not worth it!!! - Indonesian Near Me - Rowland Heights, California

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This establishment and their employees are strange or I should say very rude, it's almost like you have to guess if there going to decide to open or close, ‍ even though sometimes the lights are on, the TV is on and people are in there eating they will tell you they are closed ‍ today I decided I wanted a Cendul (Indonesian slushy drink) and I see the lights are on , TV is on and the door is opened so I walk in and there's an older Asian man slouched down with his legs up on the other bench, in a booth, texting away and I'm clearly waiting for him to get up and take my order and instead he says to me "We're closed! We only open on Friday" we'll hello don't you think that you should change that on your business hours that's posted on your front do and update this with Yelp? ‍ also try locking your door and don't make it look like you're open for business. read more

Java Spice - Business hours for java spice. - Indonesian Near Me - Rowland Heights, California

Asked for no eggs specifically (3 times) and there's still eggs in it. I'm vegetarian that's why. But overall quality has gone down the drain dramatically since I first ate here in 2018. Used to be my go to place for Malaysian/Indonesian food. But not anymore. read more

Java Spice - Indonesian Near Me - Rowland Heights, California

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Customer Services are non existent in this place, we arrived at this place around 7:40 pm and without anyone greeted us .. we walked in and found to a man behind the counter who working on few receipts.. while we standing right in front of him, still no one greeted us or spoke to us. After about 3 minutes waiting patiently the man lifted his head and said "we are closed at 7:45 PM" and not even apologizes for wasting our time. Please buy a closed signage for your store and update your operating hours.. This is our first time giving this place a chance and there will be no next time. read more

Stopped by here with a friend last Saturday to try their food since they were highly recommended to us for Indonesian cuisine. Since we weren't too hungry, we wanted to limit our order of food, but there were so many options that piqued our attention. In the end, we ordered Lamb Satay, Ox Tail Soup, and their weekend special, Nasi Bungkus (rice piled with beef rendang, ayem goreng, a hard boiled egg, jack fruit, all wrapped in a banana leaf and steamed until ready to serve. Nasi Bungkus was a nice dish, but seemingly mild in the different flavors from the combination of the ingredients, unless you mix the spicy green chile sauce into the rice. A popular dish with Indonesians, but for someone like me, who's trying it for the 2nd time, it seems to require an acquired taste for it. The Lamb Satay was tasty, brushed with a sweet soy-based sauce, and served with peanut sauce on the side. It's good, but my palate seem to prefer Thai and Malaysian style satays instead. The Ox Tail Soup was interesting. There are 2 versions of Ox Tail Soup, apparently the one we ordered had the ox tail boiled before the frozen mixed vegetables (fresh vegetables would have really elevated this soup) and stock is added to it and simmered until ready to serve. The other version sounded like the ox tail is seared/pan fried before the soup stock was added to it. We'll have to get that one next time. Lastly, we couldn't help but notice the array of packaged desserts at the display station by the cash register. My friend recognized some of them and said this was the first time he's seen a couple of them since they are very labor intensive. We each chose an item to share. Some people may be put off with the gummy/gelatinous texture of the these desserts, but they were a nice way to end the meal (not too heavy, not overly sweet). The one filled with mung bean paste was good. Wish they would have the version made with red bean paste instead. The sweet potato one did not have the flavor of sweet potato, but it did have an interesting sweet and savoriness to it. Definitely, will have to come back and try more dishes, and desserts as well. Friendly family owned business. 3.5 stars, bumping them up to 4 stars since this was a pleasant dining experience. read more

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This place has the best nasi bungkus in So Cal. Personally I don't get the craze about nasi bungkus. It an ethnic thing, you have to grow up with it, but this is the place for it since I have tried many other places on this popular Indonesian dish. The oxtail soup and satay were ok, not exceptional. The kueh ku was 100% authentic, a tradition handed down from ancestors from fuzhian. The skin was a little tough due to it sitting aound for a day. Nothing you can't fix with steaming or a brief microwaving. They also have kueh bomb which is palm sugar wrapped in glutinous rice and coated with fresh grated coconut. Quite a lot of authentic Indonesian and chinese foods to try out here. read more

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Decor 3.2 stars Service 3.3 tars Food 3.3 stars The food were hit or miss. Today was my second time and I decided to order take out instead. The price are NOT the same with the menu on yelp. I ordered 2 nasi bungkus (available Sat & Sun), 1 lontong komplit and rice crackers. The price of lontong komplit on website was $ 8.5 and I got charged for new price $9. 45. The restaurant needs to update the price otherwise is misleading for customer. The food taste were okay , for lontong komplit which is one of my fave Indonesian food I got one slice of beef then the rest are veggies.I have had it better so definitely not worth to try unless you miss the food and don't know how to cook them. Nasi bungkus were the same thing. Although I do like their chili sauce . So, make sure you check the prices and know what you order. read more

Java Spice - Indonesian Near Me - Rowland Heights, California

This is one of my go to places for Indonesian food. I have been here multiple times and I gotta say it has one of the tastiest Southeast Asian fried rice dish in town. Do yourself a favor and order the Nasi Goreng Combo or Nasi Goreng Kambing (if you prefer lamb). It never fails to impress me and my friends when we visit here. I did try other food items in this restaurant but nothing else really stood out to us aside from the fried rice. The prices are okay, portion size is fair and service is decent. However, I did noticed that if you get the fried rice to go, it wouldn't taste as good and that has been the consistent result. So I would advise against ordering the fried rice to go but rather have it in the restaurant. Because the fried rice is the only dish that impressed me and nothing else, I gave it a 3 star. The rest of their food choices are acceptable. Would come again just for the fried rice and my friends share the same sentiment about it. read more

Java Spice - Nasi Bungkus (Wrapped Rice), just okay... Their Fried Rice is better. - Indonesian Near Me - Rowland Heights, California

I was so disappointed. They only have the banana leaf-wrapped meals on the weekends! I guess I should not have expected too much since overall they're only rated three stars. I came for late dinner on a weekday and there was no one else in the restaurant. An older lady seated my party and I at a booth. For the rest of the night, I saw her just sitting around. A younger lady took our orders and served the food. She was nice and told us their popular dishes since it was our first time. She gave me a juice box for checking in on Yelp. Service was just eh since it was just us that night. They seem like nice people though. I tried the combination fried rice (#5, $8). It had some shrimp, small chunks of chicken, and a fried egg on top. I thought it was slightly lacking flavor and on the dry side. I would have liked the egg cooked over easy instead of medium so that the rice wouldn't be so dry. I asked for more fried onion to make the rice taste better. I also tried some of the noodle with beef ball soup (#47, $7). The soup was so salty; I had to wash it down with water. The only part that was good about the noodles were the fried onions and beef. The noodles were dry and also lacking flavor. I thought that dish was unbalanced. I probably won't be back unless it was the weekend to try their nasi bunkus and exotic smoothies. read more

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We've been coming to this place for years, so yes...this is one of my fav place when craving for Indo food....great selections of authentic street food and reasonable prices (the price went up a couple of years back but now it's come down to a more competitive rate) right here in SoCal....so what else do you want? (just DON'T EXPECT GREAT SERVICE...hence you won't be disappointed...as a matter of fact, you might be quite pleased instead) I could understand why some people had bad experience with the service here, but the food is really one of the best around LA, even when some folks visiting from Indonesia we took them here and they were quite impressed...which says a lot about the quality of the food...'nuff said FOOD **** 4 to 5 STARS ***** 1. Ayam Kalasan **** 5 STAR ***** $7.95 for half chicken You've got to try this perfectly marinated and fried chicken that tastes so yummy and tender...comes with special gingery chilli sauce that's quite addicting and really complement the sweetness of the chicken. Must eat this with steam rice (not fried rice otherwise you will kill the the flavor) and do NOT forget the special chilli sauce.......by the way this chicken is soo good that it's still tasty even when cold 2. Nasi Goreng (Fried rice) $6.95 - $7.95 **** 4 STAR **** they have quite a variety where you can choose from lamb (meat is marinated and very tasty), beef, chicken, salted fish, corned beef (yes, that's right --- corned beef fried rice, quite unique but tasty nonetheless), pete (stinky sator bean - my fav), all comes with the trademark fried egg on top, ask for spicy or medium spicy at least 3. Gule kambing (lamb soup) $8.95 ***** 5 STAR ***** Tender chunks of meat in a savory coconut based soup, the lamb is not gamy at all and really good to eat this with steam rice, which really brings out the flavor when you dip a spoonful of steam rice into the broth, trust me! 4. Bihun goreng (fried vermicelli) from $6.95 **** 4 STAR **** choice of meat (beef, pork, chicken, shrimp) 5. Pempek (fried fishcake) ***** 5 STAR ***** This is such a great delicacy, nice and crisp on the outside, moist and chewy on the inside, complete with a whole egg hidden inside! And the brown spicy sauce...is really to die for.... 6. Nasi Bungkus (rice wrapped in banana leaf) available on weekends only, comes with beef rendang, ayam kalasan, fried egg, some veggie and sambal (green chilli), perfect for a picnic or get together with friends 7. Sambal Goreng Udang & Petai you can also have this tasty dish of shrimp and chilli without the petai (stinky bean) in case this is a first date and you don't want to embarass yourself later on (trust me, petai is really tasty but also smelly....in more ways than one..you'll know what I'm talking about and you WILL thank me!) And many many more dishes...but if you are not familiar with Indonesian food please do give the above dishes a try and you won't be disappointed if you are the kind who are into spicy food......if you don't like spicy food then I have to warn you that Indonesian food may not be your cup of tea...since you probably won't be able to withstand the heat, or it will be somewhat bland without the chilli and the spices read more

Java Spice is an Indonesian restaurant located in an Asian strip mall in Rowland Heights. I was visiting my sister and her fiance who live in the OC. I am going to Penang soon so they brought me here to familiarize myself with the food of the region. Indonesian food is very similar to Malaysian and many dishes overlap between these two countries. The restaurant is very casual. It is not a huge place, but comfortable enough. The menu is reasonably priced, so you will get good bang for your buck here. They even have a Yelp check-in deal here for a free soda or Tehbotol. The latter is a popular Indonesian drink of Jasmine tea. I let my hosts order as they are regulars here. Tried four things including mee goreng, satay with peanut sauce, nasi bungkus and cendol for dessert. Mee goreng is basically a fried noodles dish that is like chow mein and yakisoba. Predictably I enjoyed this dish as I like noodles a lot. Same can be said for the satay. Meat on a stick. I am sold. Then there is the nasi bungkus which is only available on weekends. It is a meal wrapped up in banana leaves. Inside the wrap is chicken, egg, fried tofu and jackfruit. The big surprise is the spicy green chili sauce which can be overwhelming to the uninitiated. I had some Mexican food earlier in the day and found the nasi bungkus to be too massive to eat in one sitting. So much food. Not a problem though as this makes for a good leftover meal for later. Lastly is the cendol which is a bit unusual looking. It is a dessert with green colored noodles made with a rice flour that is mixed together with shaved ice. I liked it, but did not love it. Nevertheless, I would definitely try it again when I visit Penang to see how it compares to the one at Java Spice. Now I know what to expect. I enjoyed the food at Java Spice. It served as a great introduction to the food of the Java region. If you are tired of Thai and Vietnamese food, look to the south. There is more to Southeast Asian food than those two cuisines. Give Indonesian cuisine a chance. I think you will be pleasantly surprised. read more

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When coming here, you need to know two words of bahasa...Nasi Bungkus. Unfortunately, you can only order this deliciousness on the weekend, but that's enough to keep me coming back. Yelp offer is no longer valid, but I don't know why they don't take it down. = L O C A T I O N = It's located in the YES Plaza, which contains a lot of Asian restaurants and shops. There is ample parking available. Inside, it is simply decorated, even plain, like many other family owned Indonesian restaurants. = F O O D = + OTAK OTAK ($6.50): Comes with 4 pieces of fish cake, and is the reason why my mom wanted to come here in the first place. Unfortunately, this was the low point in my meal. They are measley pieces that don't taste like much. + SOP BUNTUT GORENG ($11): Fried Oxtail Soup. Came with 4 oxtail on the side with rice and krupuk. The oxtail tasted good, but there just wasn't much meat on it. The soup wasn't as good as the one my mom makes (she wanted to order this to compare), and the veggies were from like...a frozen peas and carrots mix. + NASI BUNGKUS: The star of the show and enough reason for me to rate this place higher, even though the other stuff was not great. It consists of rice, egg, beef, chicken, tofu, and spicy green chili sauce, all wrapped up tight in a banana leaf. It is huge and super filling. It's delicious and full of flavor! = S E R V I C E = The service was ok. Nothing memorable. My water wasn't refilled at all, and we were hardly checked up on. So it's kind of hit or miss, but I just loved the Nasi Bungkus so much that I rounded it up. Plus, we kind of tried some items that are not so common...so I'm willing to give them another chance. = = = = Food: 3 // Service: 2 // Environment: 3 // Price: 3 read more

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This is my go to Indonesian restaurant when I'm craving for Indo food and don't want to make it myself lol I guess they have raised the price and given less portion than I remember. But overall it's good not the best but it's not as far as other Indonesian cafes or restaurants. We love the snacks that they have every weekend and basically bungkus. But watch out for the sambel or hot sauce, they are dangerously hot and it lingers lol but it's so good that you keep eating even if you are sweating and crying because of the hotness. read more

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Just ok. The nasi campur was not memorable like what I was used to eat in Indonesia, not one bit...the chicken was dry and stale, rendang was strangely flat in flavor. And the portion size was too small for this restaurant being in the US! Service is okay and selections in the menu look quite decent. But there's something missing here. I'll have to try their nasi goreng special and update this review. Their nasi jamblang (rice combo wrapped in banana leaves) was a bit above average (better than Simpang Asia) but unfortunately is only served on weekends. read more

Java Spice - Excited to have some Indonesian grub! - Indonesian Near Me - Rowland Heights, California

Java spice is a good place to eat on the weekends. I usually order the "nasi bungkus" because it is the dish that is closest to "nasi padang" in Indonesia. But the fried rice is a no-no because it tastes okay and bland. I found a tiny stone in my rice too :( read more

Java Spice - Indonesian Near Me - Rowland Heights, California

Had dinner there and was disappointed with quality of food. I hear that the main chef has changed so that maybe the problem. Had the Tahu goring and it had no gravy on the tofu, and a far cry from what is Tahu goreng from the Far East. read more