About us

Our cafe is inspired by mothers' kitchens, tiny warungs in Bali and Java with their offerings of freshly made, delicious, street food snacks, and the feeling I’d get  every time I stepped into Bandung. My parents met at Bandung University, and much of our extended family still lives there.

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On visits to our grandmas, aunties, uncles and cousins in Java, food was always at the forefront of any trip. We’d be greeted in Jakarta with a huge family gathering, complete with a banquet of sate, gado-gado, otak-otak, lonton, tempeh, tahu, rendang, wrapped in banana leaves, bowls piled high with rambutan, sirsak, nangka, nenas, mangga.

 

We would eat our way around our uncle and aunties favourite food haunts, from warungs to 5-star hotels, then leave the searing heat and jostle of humanity for Bandung, the ‘Paris of Java’. Lulled in by the tranquil tea plantations, mountains & volcanoes, the cooler climate, aunties cooking and the smells of sate on charcoal burners, nasi goreng and durian.

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My family moved to New Zealand in the 1970’s. Back then, the only place you could get rice in Auckland was Wah Lees in Hobson St. My mum had to work with what she had to recreate the food they missed so much. Influences from her Dutch ancestry were inspired by friends in the local Dutch community here, flavoured with a 70's Kiwiana twist. 

 

Our menu also reflects this use of classic heritage cooking; using what is available, seasonal & local ingredients to create our dishes.

 

Welcome to our little oasis in Parnell!