Indonesian street food shines at Warisan, The Valley eatery celebrating the ‘good old times’
The team behind Luckies Kitchen in Bulimba is shining a light on the cuisine of Indonesia with its buzzy new Fortitude Valley restaurant, Warisan. Alfan Musthafa is giving diners a region-spanning tour of his homeland’s street-food scene, serving up plates of nasi goreng, Surabaya-style fried duck with yellow curry paste, Balinese pork belly and Jimbaran-style grilled snapper fillet. All of this is served alongside a list of refreshing cocktails, smashable wines and, yes, plenty of Bintang.
Warisan, Fortitude Valley’s brand-new Indonesian-inspired eatery, came about quickly. The time period between Nick Wigley and Alfan ‘Alfie’ Musthafa deciding to open the venue and the venue actually opening was brief – we’re talking a matter of weeks. But opportunity doesn’t wait for a convenient time to knock. When the perfect space became available on Hynes Street in Fortitude Valley (previously home to Ze Pickle), the duo decided to jump on it.
“We went as far as booking a trip to Bali to go do a recon mission in the middle of November, but then this space came up and we knew this was the place where we wanted to make it happen,” says Nick. “So we just pulled the trigger.”
That said, Warisan isn’t some half-baked concept – far from it, in fact. The duo had been toying with the idea of opening something new ever since Alfie joined Luckies Kitchen as its head chef in February, where he quickly started imparting his influence on the Bulimba-based restaurant’s menu.
“It probably took us a month or so after Alfie started before we started talking about doing something different,” Nick recalls. “We had started putting a few of his Indonesian dishes on for staff meals and whatnot, and we thought this could actually really work.”
Where Luckies Kitchen casts a wide net and showcases the culinary melting pot that is East Asian cuisine, Warisan drills down into Alfie’s Indonesian heritage, drawing upon his wealth of knowledge on Indonesian cuisine to deliver a menu that is all about punchy flavours, colourful presentation and, above all else, fun.
If you’ve followed Alfie’s career since he arrived in Brisbane, you may recall his lauded stint at Ma Pa Me, where the chef showcased family recipes and the cherished home-cooked comfort foods of his youth. At Warisan, he’s taken a different approach – electing to showcase Indonesia’s diverse range of street food.
“Indonesia is not only about home cooking – there are a lot of styles that people need to know about, especially the street style,” says Alfie. “Street-style food is very different from the home-cooked style – it’s bolder, it’s spicier, it’s cooler, it’s funkier
“The food we are focusing on is Indonesian-style street food – the kind of food that you can easily find from the Pecenongan Street market in Jakarta, in Semarang, Surabaya, Lombok and at Jimbaran in Bali. When people come to Warisan, they order the food with a bottle of bintang and they’ll remember the times they travelled to Bali with friends.”
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Warisan’s menu is designed to share easily amongst groups, with dishes categorised small, medium and large. You might begin with a serve of jagung bakar (grilled corn with your pick of garlic butter or sweet-and-spicy chilli sauce), otak-otak (steamed and grilled fish cake in banana leaf) and some tahu isi (crispy fried tofu stuffed with mixed vegetables and sambal asam). From there, steaming plates of tumis kangkung ebi (stir-fried school prawns, kangkung, chilli and garlic) and chicken lawar salad with long beans and jackfruit are great picks.
Among Warisan’s contingent of large plates you’ll find familiar dishes like nasi goreng (Javanese-style fried rice) and ayam bakar taliwang (grilled chicken marinated in Lombok red chilli paste). You’ll also find some dishes not commonly seen in Brisbane, such as the Surabaya-style fried duck with yellow curry paste and surendeng, Balinese pork belly with bumbu genap, lawar kacang and sambal matah, Jimbaran-style grilled snapper fillet, and central Java-style duck white curry with egg, jackfruit, lemongrass and kaffir lime leaf.
Much like at Luckies Kitchen, Warisan offers one of the best-value banquets going, as well as a dedicated selection of vegan and plant-based dishes. Lunch specials are also big here, with dishes like nasi goreng, mushroom ifumi and beef kailo pot pie available for a steal.
All of this is ably backed by a killer drinks offering, starting with a clutch of signature cocktails like the Warisan Fizzy Punch (pineapple, rum, salted coconut, lemon and bitters), Semarang Mojito (rum, ginger, kaffir lime, mint and pomegranate) and the Pandan Colada (a frozen pineapple slushie with pandan, Coco Lopez and lime). A number of beer taps dispense craft cold ones, while a wine list showcases a range of predominantly Australian varieties.
“None of the cocktails are serious – everything is just fun, easy to drink and fresh,” says Nick. “Imagine that you’re on a beach in Canggu – what would you like to drink? We’ve got it on our list.”
As for the space itself, Nick, Alfie and the Warisan team are leaning into the existing grungy aesthetic, brightening up the corners with a lick of yellow paint, a bunch of vintage Indonesian movie posters, arcade games and humming neons. While the majority of Warisan’s seats are found inside, those after a bit of sun can dine on the small alfresco deck area.
“This vibe was actually what we were looking for – concrete walls and dark ceilings,” says Alfie. “We could do it without changing a lot of things in the building itself, just adding a little bit of colour, new chairs, the posters on the wall and some neon lights.”
All told, Warisan is a much-needed addition to Fortitude Valley’s dining scene. For Nick and Alfie, it’s a chance to not only showcase the magic of Indonesian cuisine, but also to inject a bit of fun and casual approachability into the area’s day and night offering.
“[Warisan’s] ethos is ‘good old times’,” explains Nick. “It’s not going to break the bank, it’s tasty food and fun service. We’re playing music that me and Alfie used to listen to when we were kids, we’ve got arcade games – we just want to make a fun place that’s not sterile that serves quality Indonesian food.”
Warisan is now open to the public – operating hours and menu info can be found in The Directory.