NaiNai Indonesian Food – Village by The Grange (inside the Food Court, 109 McCaul St #20, Toronto, ON M5T 3K5
Country: Indonesia     
Must-try dish: Nasi Goreng
Seating: It’s in a food court so you sit where you can find a seat or take it away. 
Dinner guests: Dancing Queen & Patreat
The high: This amazing kitchen is run by a woman who is both friendly and an excellent cook. 
The low: It’s deep in a food court around the corner from the Art Gallery of Ontario, so be patient as you look for it but it’s worth it.

It’s surprising that Indonesian cuisine isn’t more popular considering Thai, Indian, and Chinese cuisine are revered. There are a few Indonesian restaurants around Toronto but only one is known for its traditional and delicious food. NaiNai Indonesian Food is woman-run, and it’s located in The Grange, a food court attached to the OCAD campus in the center of the city. 

Prior to this, we had little knowledge of Indonesian cuisine, despite Mat’s quick trip to Bali, and Andrea’s first and only Indonesian culinary experience in Amsterdam. This was entirely new to us. 

NaiNai is famous for the Mie Ayam – a chicken noodle soup. It’s a chicken broth with egg noodles and ground chicken. We added beef balls and wontons to shake things up. There’s a beef ball soup available but there won’t be ground chicken in it, which makes a big difference, in a good way. With the additions, it becomes a decked out and dense soup that can be shared or act as a meal for one person. 

Beef Rendang is one of the most traditional dishes in Indonesian cuisine, yet it’ll never be the same recipe. Every cook makes it differently depending on the region, the ingredients available, and the way the chef was taught to prepare it. So even if you’ve tried one person’s recipe, another person will make another variation worth tasting. This particular dish had a rice base topped with a curried vegetable medley, a hard-boiled egg, and pieces of grilled beef. Despite being well seasoned, the meat was also so tender that it felt like biting into butter. 

The Sate Kambing are grilled lamb skewers. If you prefer chicken or beef, then those options are available alternatives. They’re a crowd-pleaser and are perfectly cooked – they’re certainly worth ordering in a group. 

The last minute decision to order Nasi Goreng made our evening because not only was it our favourite of the dishes, but it’s a classic Indonesian recipe that would be a shame to miss out on. It’s a fried rice base cooked with vegetables and meat. This wasn’t just any rice, it was marinated as though the sauces went deep into the veins of the rice. It must have been slow-cooking for hours to have such ingrained flavours. We added a couple chicken skewers to make things a little more exciting. 

Although it’s a take-out restaurant, we received excellent customer service from the owner. Our friend Patreat had ordered from NaiNai a couple of times, and the woman remembered her. It was a welcoming experience, which was further enhanced with the incredible food. Our group left looking forward to the next meal there – there’s no better way to leave a dinner. 

Eat with you soon, 

Mandrea Bike
(Mat & Andrea)