Borneo Kalimantan Cuisine

I really feel terrible for giving this mom n’ pop shop three stars, but honestly it was just «a-​okay.» I visited Borneo recently and ordered one of their speciality noodle dishes. I studied their menu extensively and ended up getting the Mie Hakka, which was a dry noodle dish with bbq pork, fish cake, and egg. The noodle texture is spot-​on and the flavor were there, but something was missing. I finished the dish and was full, but not satisfied. Perhaps I ordered the wrong dish? Needless to say I wasn’t really impressed.

Bormeo is a southeast asian specialist restaurant. Majority of food are Indonesia style which is rare even in 626 area. It is nice to had more choice of food. I when here twice and was satisfies on my first visit but second visit not so much. I order the same the oxtail curry which omg the price jack up a lot this time. Quality is actually not as good and wasn’t much oxtail despite price when skyrock. Friend order the popular noodle dish and was too satisfied about it. I don’t had other indonesia food so is hard to compare about it.

This is one of my favorite restaurants for Southeast Asian food (Indonesian, Singaporean, and Malaysian). There aren’t enough of these restaurants around LA!
It was such a difficult decision to pick what dishes to order. Everything looked really good, but we wanted a selection of rice, noodle, and appetizer.
— Singaporean Fried Rice was full of flavors and spices. Since it was a big portion, I had this two days later and it was still really good.
— Curry Laksa with their house noodle ended up being my mom’s favorite. They had all kinds of meats/​veggies in there — tofu, chicken strips, bean sprouts, eggs, shrimps, etc.
— Pancake with Curry Sauce: the curry reminds me of Cambodian curry so I loved it. The pancake was so soft and crispy.
I would absolutely come here again and try their other dishes.
There’s a free parking structure in the back of the restaurant.
CASH only.

i think this was my first time trying indo/​singaporean/​malaysian food.
the people recommend i get the Laksa curry noodle dish, and the nasi campur.
the laksa is a mildly spicy soup dish consisting of rice noodles or rice vermicelli with chicken, prawn or fish, served in spicy soup; either based on rich and spicy curry coconut milk. it was very delicious on a cold day. it kinda reminds me of thai coconut soup i’ve had before.
this laksa even comes with a tea boiled egg!
as for the other dish… the nasi campur. i think we should have skipped it and got two laksa instead. the nasi campur is a rice dish with three different types of meats with a tea boiled egg. they also give you this interesting gravy so you can pour it onto the rice for extra flavor… when the waitress first brought it to our table, i thought it was soup, so i started drinking it, but she quickly informed me that it was used to put over the rice instead… lol.
this rice dish is kinda bland without the gravy sauce.
the people working here are sincere and nice.
reason why this place is only 3 stars? mainly cuz of the cash only policy. if they started letting people use their credit cards, i’d bump it up to 4 stars.

Deeeeelicious.
My cousin and I have passed by this place a few times and were VERY curious since we’ve never had Malaysian food before. One of her classmates happens to be Malaysian and shared that this place is legit.
I went here one night with the boo. The wait was a little long, but it could have been worse. For that reason, I wouldn’t recommend coming with a group larger than 4. Of course, since it was our first time there we ordered more than we should have. The rice dish was a little dry, but it came with a sauce that made it right. The dish was definitely comforting. Mm like home cookin.
The dry noodles were ok. The stand out was the laksa. I can’t explain it. You’ll have to try the creamy bowl of soul comfort yourself.
Cash only, ya’ll.

I’ve been here a couple times, and I really enjoy their traditional noodle dishes. Granted, I’ve never had this kind of food before so I don’t have a point of reference … but it is so delicious.
I always get their noodle dishes with medium width noodles. When it arrives, you pour the savory soup over the noodles and meat and it is just delicious. There is a mix of salty, sweet, crunchy, and chewy at once in every bite! Their bbq pork and fish cake is delicious and the noodles are a perfect handmade al dente. Such a unique taste the first time!
Once I tried the wide noodles and it just takes too long to come out because it takes longer to cook. The stir fried noodles didn’t taste anything special.
Restaurant is small and doesn’t seat more than tables of 4. Cash only.

Wow, this place is incredible. This is the only… yes read this again, the ONLY Kalimantan-​cuisine restaurant in the USA. The food here is excellent!!!
***NOTE: This place is Cash-​only! (Like a lot of places in the SGV), so bring cash!***
Kalimantan, or Borneo as you geography buffs might know it, is an island in the Indonesian archipelago that three countries share: Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia. That said, the food is a bit of a mixing of each of these distinct cultures, and full of all the nomz!
The restaurant is a nondescript place next to what many say is the best Phở in LA (Phở 79), with a parking lot behind the restaurant through a little alley beside the store (yay, free parking!). When we came, the wait wasn’t that long, and we were quickly seated. The place is clean, but very bustling.
The menu isn’t huge, but they have a number of specialties. I recommend the Satay as an appetizer — the chicken was crispy on the outside, so tender inside, with perhaps the most amazing warm spicy peanut sauce to ever grace my lips. Top it off with the fried onion crisps and I was in heaven!
For dinner, we had the Oxtail soup — which was amazing! The sauce is a curry/​coconut milk mix, and the meat literally fell off the bone — so good! We also shared one the specialties, Nasi Campur, which is a rice dish with three meats (char siu, sausage, and chicken) — all cooked to perfection.
Their other specialty is the noodle dishes — you can choose from the Hokkien style or Hakka-​style, which are an homage to the Chinese immigrants to Kalimantan — and account for the thickness of the noodle (Hokkien are similar in style to ramen noodles, with Hakka being thicker, like udon). Both tasted amazing.
All of these dishes, plus a couple of the dessert teas/​coffees to try (all were tasty) came out to ~$ 47.00. Super cheap for the huge portions of all we ate!!!
The service was a little slow, and we had to ask for bowls and stuff multiple times, but I felt sorry for the waiter — he seemed like the only guy there and was working his tail off.
So, here’s the final score:
Ambience: ⁴⁄₅ — nothing special, but there was a cool over-​the-​rainforest bridge picture in the back; 1 star off for loud clanging noises disturbing our dinner.
Food: ⁵⁄₅ — I’d give it ⁶⁄₅ if I could!
Price: ⁴⁄₅ — very reasonable, but 1 star off for cash-​only!
Service: 3.5÷5 — chaotic at best, because of overstaffing
Overall: ⁴⁄₅. Great job! My favorite Indonesian/Malaysian/Bruneian…or just Kalimantanian place in the USA!

I recently moved to the Alhambra area and set out to explore some of eateries close to my apartment. I usually like to look at Unilocal reviews when I’m not familiar with an area. I saw that Borneo had pretty good reviews and, based on the user photos, yummy looking food. I’ve also never had Malaysian food before so I decided to try it out for dinner with my boyfriend. At first glance, the place looked like a hole in the wall. We went in and were immediately greeted by the waitress who sat us down and took our drink order.
Everything sounded delicious, the descriptions had simple ingredients, and the pictures helped to visualize some of items on the menu. I ordered the oxtail soup and Borneo flat noodles, and my boyfriend ordered the mie hakka. The food came out fairly quickly and smelled soo good. The first taste was an explosion of wonderful, rich flavors. Needless to day, we devoured our food and left full and satisfied. Try them out, you won’t regret it!

Food Rating: 4.5
I was craving Indonesian food. After a few minutes of research, I found Borneo Kalimantan Cuisine listed on «Eater’s The Essential Guide to San Gabriel Valley, America’s Asian Food Mecca».
Significant other and I arrived on Saturday afternoon around 2pm, and the line was still out the door. There is a waiting list that appears to be permanently posted on the wall. The restaurant itself is small and seats only 30 people.
Between the 2 of us, we ordered:
Appetizer
— Roti Prata — fried flour pancake that is cooked over a flat grill; served with vegetable and spice based curry (Malaysian /​Singapore)
— Chicken Satay — seasoned skewer (grilled diced marinated chicken meat) with homemade peanut sauce
Soup
— Indo Beef Meatball Soup (Bakso Sapi Gerobak) — Beef Meat Ball, Fried Tofu, Vermicelli, Fried Shallot, and Vegetables
— Borneo Oxtail Curry Soup — slowly cooked and tendered in a spicy coconut milk with raw fresh tomatoes, cabbage, green onion, and fried shallot
Rice Dish
— Nasi Campur Kalimantan — listed as authentic heritage rice dish. Plate has chinese sausage, hakka-​style red barbecue pork, and crunchy fried chicken with marinated spices boiled egg. Garlicky chicken broth gravy on the side.
Tip:
— Cash Only
— Bring a snack to eat in line while you wait, so you’re not hangry!

Dinner review:
Hakka Noodle — msg ladden & tasty
Nasi Lemak — mehhh OK only (especially after we just got back from village park KL)
Kwetiau Siram — succulent tasty, not bad
May try back again if we r in town.

Had a #9 chewy flat noodle, plus the pancake and satays. Satays were incredible — drenched in peanut oil with high-​quality tender chicken. Ditto the pancakes. I found the noodles a little less inspiring, mainly because of how salty the broth was. What’s with all these places just going hard on the salt for flavor?!
Why am I only giving Borneo 3 stars rather than 4? The logistics of seatings are just nuts. It’s a cramped space with no reservations. This helps the restaurant create a «crowd mystique» that many interpret as a marker of quality. It’s awful to be waiting in, though, especially when there’s no waiting area to sit. You just sort of stand around, crowded, as servers and other patrons go by, sometimes only inches away from seated diners. It creates an unpleasant dynamic: people waiting staring you down, passive-​aggressively waiting for you to hurry up and clear the handful of tables in the restaurant. Or how about trying to enjoy your noodle only to stare up for a second and see someone’s lower rear torso in your face? That’ll kill an appetite.

Borneo Kalimantan is one of the few Indonesian restaurants that I know of. The first time I came here was about a year ago. In all honesty, I wasn’t impressed by the Jam Mien Hakka, I thought the noodles were over cooked and when served to me, it wasn’t as hot as I’d like to be. Don’t get me wrong, the flavor was on point but the execution was lacking. I was impressed by their Roti because it was delicious.
However, I decided to give this place a try again yesterday. My friend and I ordered the Chicken Satay, Jam Mien Hakka, and the Oxtail Curry Soup and happily, my experience this time around was a lot better. The food was delicious and was well executed. The Chicken satay was delicious, it was moist and flavorful. The Jam Mien Hakka was better, it was served in a better temperature and the noodles weren’t over cooked. The oxtal curry was delicious, it was well cooked. I ordered a side of rice because no carbs accompanied the soup. I did wish there was more pieces of oxtail which was only two. Over all my experience was great, I will definitely come back.
A warning tho, they are cash only and can only seat 30 people. I came here on Sunday at 8pm and was turned away because they were at capacity. I’ve also read on Unilocal that you can call to reserve.

After 20 years of not even trying to look anymore, there it was.
Perfection on my table.
I found home on a dish. No, several dishes.
No heavens opening with angelic choirs. No Beethoven’s 9^th. No Queen’s ‘Champions’. Just a flood of childhood memories.
Perfection… on several dishes.
Yes, I found the ONLY true Indonesian restaurant that tastes «street level» good like it does in Indonesia. Satay. Gado-​gado. Rendang. Young chicken. Even Es Milo (Indonesia’s answer to chocolate Nesquik).
I did get a bit doubtful when I saw some Singapore and Malay dishes, but those fears quickly dissipated. The Singapore Laksa was magically true to the homeland too– so good it passed my family’s biggest critic, mom.
A-​MAZ-​Zing!
True to the homeland, it’s cash-​only, so come prepared.
I really hesitated to write this review, but it’s Thanksgiving week, so I’m being emotional.

Came here with the GF for dinner. She treated! It was her first time having Indo/​Malay food. The business is located in the middle of Downtown Alhambra area. The restaurant is pretty small and it was crowded at around 630pm on a Sunday night.
We ordered: Jam Mien Hakka, Appetizer Chicken Satay Skewers, Roti Prata.
Jam Mien Hakk
It a dry noodle dish and came with a very rich but light soup. It contains fish balls, eggs, meat in it. I don’t know what the sauce was but it tasted good. There was so much flavor in the soup it was crazy.
Roti Prata
I liked this. It was some crispy-​flaky deliciousness. The dipping sauce was BOMB.
Chicken Satay
I like the chicken skewers. The chicken was a little dry but the satay sauce was on point.
PS: Cash Only!

I love this restaurant.
I’ve been here about a few times. It’s a little Malaysian restaurant across the street from the movie theater. I was looking for a Malaysian restaurant and wasn’t sure what to expect but I love trying the different dishes here.
My favorite dish is mie hakka, nasi campur, roti, and the laksa is pretty good.
The mie hakka is a dry curly chewy noodle with like the bbq pork, eggs, and some veggies on it. I love the texture of the noodles kind of reminds me of mie goreng but soo much better. The nasi campur is a rice plate with like the Chinese bbq pork but their bbq pork is a little sweeter along with some pork belly. Not too much a fan of their gravy they put all over their rice though. The roti which is like a flat bread is a must try. It’s thin and flakey amazing with their curry dipping sauce.
I like their homemade hot sauce too a little goes a long way if you don’t eat too spicy.
The only minus point is there’s no ac here so it sucks to go here during the summer. And I have notice they decreased their portions since I last went here.

Thank you Borneo for always satisfying my craving for protein and carbs! I only get their Mie Haka because it’s so good and sometimes I seriously just crave dry noodles with soup on the side.
Portions are super generous and parking is really easy. There is a free, public structure right behind Borneo.
This place is CASH ONLY so plan ahead.

It was my first time trying Indonesian-​Singaporean-​Malaysian cuisine, what a mind blowing experience. Located in the heart of Alhambra area, this place was pretty crowded during dinner hours.
I ordered Jam Mien Hakka, Appetizer Chicken Satay Skewers, Roti Prata.
Jam Mien Hakka– 4 Star
It a dry ramen dish and came with a soup. They have fish balls, eggs, meat in the noodle dish. I don’t know what the sauce was but it tasted good. I love the pairing soup, there was so much flavor in the soup so I poured some soup into the noodle and it tasted even better! I saw one lady sitting cross to me adding spicy sauce into the dish so I did the same thing. She looks like she knows how to eat the dish. It just added some spiciness nothing special.
Roti Prata– 3 Star
I don’t really like the dipping sauce of the pan. It tasted too milky for me. The pan were warm and soft.
Skewers– 4 Star
I like the skewer. The chicken was a little dry but the satay dressing definitely erase the dryness of the chicken. The satay flavor was kind of strong.
Cash Only!
The price range here is average so I would not mind to come up when I am craving for some exotic Asian food.

CASH ONLY
WARNING: People with MSG sensitivity need to avoid this place like the plague, because they are not transparent about it. You don’t want to risk any reactions.
The ice milo is awesome. It’s an iced chocolate malt drink.
Love the flavored egg. They’re sweet and savory. Super yum.
The mie kecil Hokkian is my favorite. The one with the fine curly noodles. And secondly, the Nasi Campur. Thirdly, Nasi Goreng. I always order extra flavored eggs.
I always ask for my food to be made with no MSG, because I am sensitive to them, but hell they still put some in it anyway. Maybe because their sauces are ready made.
You can park in the parking structure located behind the restaurant. It’s free.
Staff is always meh… Your usual Asian service quality, but actually a little better than normal.
Despite it all, I’ll still come back because they have a good variety of Indonesian food.

I’ve never had Singaporean/​Indonesian food before so I was very excited to try something new! Five stars for this hidden gem. This place is easy miss! The waiter recommended us dishes and it didn’t disappoint!
Mie hakka noodles-​soft, ramen like noodles without broth. Noodles are homemade with an interesting vinegar flavor. My favorite dish… get this!
Nasi campur Kalimantan– meat and fish dish with egg. there’s a gravy that comes with the dish. Pour it over the meat and rice. Savory and yummy! I love how the sauce from the meat soaks the rice.
Borneo spicy fried flat rice noodles– very similar to chow fun. It was good but too similar to other Asian dishes.
Three dishes for $ 25…heck yeah! Plus, great service and food comfort food. I felt like I was in Southeast Asia trying out street food! Only con is that it’s cash only! But that won’t stop me because I will be back to try more dishes :)

No. No, no, no, no, no.
I’m always craving Indonesian food whenever I’m missing home– my mom makes the best indo food around. However, if you’re looking for authentic Indonesian cuisine, this is NOT your place. My family and I came here and ordered a few items, all of which we weren’t very fond of.
Chicken satay skewers and Ayam Goreng Muda were unfortunately dry and bland. Good thing they had sauces /​kecap manis– I basically created the taste myself. The worst was the soto ayam (chicken soup), which does not taste like soto whatsoever. Did they even bother to use a soup base or did they just toss the ingredients in and hope that together it created some sort of taste?
Kwe Tiau Goreng was the best thing there, but don’t me wrong, it’s not phenomenal in any way. The fact that everything else sucked just made this dish that much better. f