Yeni's Fusion

Yeni Rosdiyani moved to the US from Indonesia in 2011 and, after learning to cook (inspired, in part, by a spiritual advisor), opened a food trailer in front of The Aristocrat Lounge (formerly the Poodle Dog). Yeni’s Fusion fuses her native street-food cuisine with American, Mexican, and Texan touches. Indonesia is a mixing pot of more than 1,300 ethnic groups on about 6,000 of the 17,508 islands that make up the archipelago. Yeni comes from West Java on one of the larger islands, where Sundanese food rules the lunch counter and appears on her menu.

Featuring meaty and vegan menus, Texas enters the menu via smoked brisket in the Empal Gentong (coconut cream soup with smoked brisket and rice; $14 [and written up in a recent Austin Monthly) and grilled ribs in the Bakso (meatball soup; $11).

After learning that the Chicken Porridge ($10) was sold out, I went with the Grilled Chicken (with yellow rice and chili sauce; $13) while I ordered The Bride the Nasi Pecel (steamed veggies over rice with roasted peanut sauce; $11) along with the Batagor (fried wonton with peanut sauce; $11) as an appetizer.

The chicken was as savory as it looked with the turmeric rice nicely complementing the tang. The Batagor was stuffed with tofu creating a soft-crunchy texture with the spike of the peanut sauce. The Nasi Pecel came with fried tempeh and, true to Sundanese food, fresh, in-season vegetables.

One of the joys of trailer food is meeting the owners as they ply their trade, and Yeni is a real joy (and shows up to her trailer better dressed than I will be at my funeral). Hopefully you’ll get a chance to chat with her and her colleagues while you take your order to go or sit at one of the small collection of tables to the side of the trailer. And if you need a digestif afterwards, The Aristocrat beckons!

6507 Burnet Road Austin, TX 78757 Instagram - @yenis_fusion

Article by Austin Wanderlist

Austin Wanderlist are two Austinites who have lived here since 1991. They like music, art, food and the goofiness that Austin sometimes offers.

austinwanderlist.com | Facebook - @austinwanderlist