Yuni's kitchen is an Indonesian restaurant, tucked away on the side of a church building on High st. Northcote. There is a sign at the front but at night it's hardly noticeable and on a windy day, you might see the signage on the ground rather than upright. It's a shame, because once you walk in to the side gate, the venue is quite amazing.
Gorgeous courtyard that's friendly and secure ( for kids to run around) and lots of outdoor seating for the warmer months. I can see many diners spending a relaxing evening here with delicious food and some beer or ice cendol.
Inside the restaurant, it feels like a reused old pub, with church like structure and walls. Lots of gigs posters around which sends the message that it's client group are maybe the hip young professionals. Certainly when I was here there was no other Indonesian diners.
Food wise, it's not the usual 'street food' you would find walking down the streets of Jakarta, so whilst the menu is familiar, it's certainly not a typical day to day meal. Looking at their Instagram account, I see Yuni visiting Bali and talking about lots of Balinese food, so maybe the flavours are more traditional Balinese ( but not the ones you find at popular tourist haunts).
It's definitely a home cooked traditional meal.
Although I was salivating scrolling through the their pics and menu, I have to admit that the flavours I got was not the ones I was craving. Not that the food was not good, it was delicious but like I mentioned, had flavours that maybe are specific to a region that I'm not used to. The tempeh for example was battered and deep fried, where you would usually find them crispy fried on its own or marinated and fried in its saucy goodness. The meals also came out more expensive than other places, especially if you were used to the student budget Indonesian haunts. The Nasi Ayam campur ( mix plate of rice, chicken and sides) were $22. Other mains were $13-$20 without rice.
So it does start to add up.
Overall, it's worth trying for yourself if you enjoy Indonesian food and see what you think read more