Just like home at D’Panyetz & D’Cendol. We’ve had the pleasure of eating at quite a few restaurants around Melbourne. By quite a few, I mean a lot. Like, too many, maybe. But when we walked by D’Panyetz & D’Cendol on a brisk weekday afternoon and decided to stop in for a bite, little did we know what awaited.
This character-filled hole in the wall is chocked full of delicious Indonesian favourites that will bring you back again and again. But before we get to the food, and trust me, we’ll get to the food. I have to say a little something about the staff. My oh my have we had many an encounter with hospitality in our line of work, and we’ve seen them all. Whether Carlton, North Melbourne, Fitzroy of Collingwood.
But nothing brings more joy to your day and a jump in your step like the sweet smile and salt-of-the-earth cheerfulness of the D’Panyetz staff. Maybe it’s the way they bring out your food, maybe it’s the way they help you order, or maybe it’s just the way they make the place feel lived in. It’s the same feeling you get when you’re sitting around a large family get-together, comfortably nodding off as the oldies ramble on and on in the kitchen, cooking up a storm. Yeah, that’s it.
The food, you ask?
What’s to say? Indonesian at its best. Not pretentious, overpriced, or ridiculously manufactured. None of that inner city flawtiness and upscale debauchery here. Sweet and tangy whole fish with a crispy kick that will melt in your mouth. The calamari is off the charts. You’ll get addicted, we’re warning you. You have levels of spicy and be careful, you think you can handle it, you can’t. Settle for medium and call it a day, there are no heroes here.
The highlights.
No doubt the showstoppers are their signature dishes, “d’penyetz” and “d’candol.” With a table full of spicy sauces, and bowls full of chillis, you know that a journey of colours, scents and tastes is about to begin. We started with the D’Penyetz. Deep-fried, crispy chicken pieces, seasoned to tongue-tintulating perfection. The bites seemed to explode in our mouths. Tender and crunchy yet delightfully juicy inside, one does not simply eat only one.
To wash it down, I had one of, if not, the best lemonade in Melbourne. Again and again, before ordering the D’Candol. A traditional Indonesian dessert with sweet, chewy rice flour dumplings bathing in a creamy coconut milk broth. Pandan leaves fill the air with a scent that might as well have blown over from Indonesia. It quenches the palate from the spiciness of the previous dishes and leaves you perfectly content in a world where content is a skill set.
What can we say? It wasn’t the first time we sat in one of those strange-looking outdoor booths and enjoyed a teleportation experience all within a single bite. I myself have stopped by the new must-try often for a lonely meal and a comforting smile. So, do yourselves a favour. Grab a friend, a partner, a stranger or, yourself, and drag them to this culinary adventure where you will delight in spiciness, lick your lips in tenderness, and wash it all down in sweetness.
Sorakan!
Address
112 Lygon St, Carlton VIC 3053
Website
Contact
(03) 9639 8777
Opening Hours
Every Day: 11:30 am – 9:30 pm
