Nusa

Incredibly delicious and beautifully presented. I really wish I'd taken a photo, but I was too hungry, so hopefully other people have documented the gorgeous presentation. I had the beef rendang and my spouse had the nasi goreng. Generous portions and super flavorful. Looking forward to returning soon!

NUSA is located inside Emeryville public market and serves Indonesian food and baked goods. We got a beef randang, nasi goreng and the desert sampler. I thought the nasi goreng was great value at $14 and and it comes with a fried egg and pickled veggies. Unlike Chinese fried rice, this dish has a much darker color and flavor. It's topped with fried garlic which adds some nice crunch and overall, it was a very comforting, enjoyable dish.I have mixed feelings about the beef rendeng - $22 feels a bit steep for the portion and the beef was a little tough, but the flavor was solid. Probably wouldn't get this again, but it's a good representation of rendeng for someone that wants to try it for the first time. Dessert box was good to get my fix of Indonesian desserts, but none of them were memorable enough to where I would go back and get it again.

Feeling nostalgic for some Indonesian food, I came across Nusa and instantly knew I had to try it. I had a couple mochi rice chicken rolls (lemper) and caramelized spice beef. I'm used to home cooked meals from my Oma (grandma) so I hold such food at high regards. The place was nice, petite, had seating in front. I was greeted immediately by a sweet woman who gave me a beeper after ordering so I could be notified that my food was ready wherever I was in the food hall. The wait for the food was about 8 to 10 minutes, which I believe was pretty quick, but on a busier night I'm sure it could take longer.The lemper sticky rice was "harder" at the ends, and the meat held no juice. It was a bit dry and the flavor got lost in the rice.The spiced beef was really good. The spices were dumbed down a bit, a little disappointing but It's understandable due to us being in California. I wish the plate had more vegetables vs rice and the leaves were taken out, but I understand their effort to display authenticity by leaving them in. Disclaimer I have an Indonesian background, and grew up around Indonesian food and spices. )

I was soooo excited for this place and had such high hopes because of the positive Yelp reviews but the food was quite mediocre. I'm going to give this place the benefit of the doubt and say perhaps it was an off day for them but the food was just nothing to write home about. I got the Nasi Goreng with a side of chicken satay (with no dipping sauce). Chicken was quite dry and scrawny, the rice was abundant but that was it - literally just a mound of rice with some little bits of shallots, garlic, and occasional vegetable. I wish I could've given this place a higher rating but it really was a let down for me. Maybe try anything but the fried rice and chicken satay?

Nusa opened recently next to The Calypso Rose in Emeryville's Public Market. Various decor thruout the venue.Offerings (Indonesian): small bites, big bites, sweets, drinks, desserts.. menus not all in one spot, easily to miss a few. Order, pd@counter. Food ready in 10ish minutes.Bites: Carmelized Spiced Jackfruit (vegan, 19)-similar to rendang beef (21) which was out. -intense spiciness not chili based. Flaky, layered spices of jackfruit has texture of finely braised beef. Portion small compared to actual beef rendang another patron later got.-jasmine rice was firm, fresh, slightly aromatic-comped freshly fried fritter crunchy, fad taste.Sips: iced rosella tea (5) -related to hisbiscus. Tea has antioxidant effects-Lowers "bad" cholesterol, inhibiting heart disease & blood vessel damage.-refreshing taste. No sugar present. Basil seed presence also beneficial. 4.5 stars would have preferred beef rendang or a salad instead. Quick, courteous service.

This is one of the places in the Public Market in Emeryville. I got the beef rendang and the chicken rice ball. I caught them a bit before closing, but they still had what I wanted. The menu is not big, which helps to make a quick selection. After ordering, they tell you how long it'll take. Both items had really great taste. The chicken rice ball is just like the ones I used to get at an Indonesian restaurant in Hong Kong where I used to get desserts and snacks bites. The beef rendang came with rice and some veggies. All three items complemented each other well, and made a great overall dish. I overheard some people congratulating the lady at the counter for opening that location. It sounds like she already had a successful business elsewhere and this is an expansion. If you are at Public Market, it's definitely worth giving the place a try.

I wanted to like this much more than I did. I really did. The people there are very nice and they seemed knowledgeable about gluten allergies. So I ordered the food after going through the menu. The woman behind the counter was very nice.However, the food I got was OK. The first thing I had was a chicken roll, which had chicken rolled in sticky rice. It was wrapped in a banana leaf. It was OK. The chicken was kind of bland, but the rice was cool. The best thing was the hot sauce that the woman behind the counter gave me. That was a good hot sauce.I had a salad and it was not fantastic. I could have made it. I wanted something kind of healthy, with red cabbage and carrots and green onions. But it wasn't great. It just tasted like cabbage and carrots. The dressing, was a white dressing, but it wasn't very flavorful.The cracker was supposed to be replaced with a garlic one, however, mine smelled of shellfish. I chose not to eat it. My husband had it and liked it, but he can eat shellfish. But for me, that would have been a huge issue for me.They also had a hibiscus dish that wasn't fantastic. It was OK, but OK isn't inspiring.I wish them well. I hope they figure this out, however, I know that I won't be back.

The food were delicious! Taste were point on - beef rendang was tender and flavorful with all the spices, and it was on the moderate spicy level, fried rice was simple and tasty along with the fried fritter, and the Ketan Srikaya (Seri Mika, Kuih Salat) was delicious without it being overly sweet. Service was very good. Since this is my first time having their beef rendang, a personnel was able to allow me a small spoon of rendang for tasting before ordering which helps. The atmosphere of the location can be a little loud depending on when you go and what else is going on at the public market. But love the children size tables and chairs which makes it family friendly. Minus one star due to price of Ketan Srikaya was advertised as 2 pieces for $6.50 but we only check our receipt after getting home that it was for $7.50 (a dollar more). Which we would be ok with it but I think ensuring posted price and price charged would be helpful.

chicken skewers were pretty good, had unbeatable flavor. 5 skewers for $10 is a nice deal although the skewers were slightly skimpy - but they're like that in nature, and still juicy. They come with rice cakes that we honestly did not appreciate. Braised beef dish and the fried rice were so solid. food took a bit bc it was busy, and there was a friendly lady taking orders:)

Delicious Soto Ayam (chicken soup). It was so filling and the hot sauce brought out all the flavors of lime and turmeric. I love that this place opened up. In addition to the soup, we got the rice cake and the Javanese salad. Everything here is legit. It reminds me of what the grandmas at church used to make. Try everything!