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New Haven’s Toka Asian Kitchen brings Indonesian food to State Street

June 28, 2021
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New Haven’s Toka Asian Kitchen brings Indonesian food to State Street
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NEW HAVEN — Google “Indonesian food Connecticut” and you’ll get a few restaurants — in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens — along with an eatery or two in Connecticut that have one or two Indonesian dishes on their pan-Asian menus.

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But even though search engines haven’t caught up yet, you don’t have to drive to New York City to get a nasi goreng, beef rendang or gado gado fix.

Not anymore.

As of just weeks ago, Toka Asian Kitchen is open at 996 State St., just off Edwards Street near the corner of State & East streets, around the corner from The Pantry, Mezcal, Chestnut Fine Foods and Han Mi Oriental Food & Gift Shop.

A bowl of buntut -- aromatic Indonesian oxtail soup -- at the new Toka Asian Kitchen, 996 State St. in New Haven on June 23, 2021. Toka brings a full range of Indonesian food to New Haven for the first time, along with other Chinese, Japanese and Singaporean-influenced dishes.

A bowl of buntut — aromatic Indonesian oxtail soup — at the new Toka Asian Kitchen, 996 State St. in New Haven on June 23, 2021. Toka brings a full range of Indonesian food to New Haven for the first time, along with other Chinese, Japanese and Singaporean-influenced dishes.

Mark Zaretsky / Hearst Connecticut Media

It brings something to New Haven that you might otherwise have to go to New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Houston or San Francisco to find — and it was co-owner Rohana Sari’s desire to get out of New York City in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic that made that happen.

“I love this area,” said Sari, who a few months ago bought a house in Bridgeport.

A platter of behoon goreng, or Indonesian fried cellophane noodles, with chicken at the new Toka Asian Kitchen, 996 State St. in New Haven on June 23, 2021. Toka brings a full range of Indonesian food to New Haven for the first time, along with other Chinese, Japanese and Singaporean-influenced dishes.
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A platter of behoon goreng, or Indonesian fried cellophane noodles, with chicken at the new Toka Asian Kitchen, 996 State St. in New Haven on June 23, 2021. Toka brings a full range of Indonesian food to New Haven for the first time, along with other Chinese, Japanese and Singaporean-influenced dishes.

Mark Zaretsky / Hearst Connecticut MediaShow MoreShow Less

Shadow boxes built into a back wall at the new Toka Asian Kitchen, 996 State St. in New Haven, photographed on June 25, 2021, showcase Indonesian, Thai and Chinese art. Toka, which opened less than a month ago, brings a full range of Indonesian food to New Haven for the first time, along with other Chinese, Japanese and Singaporean-influenced dishes.
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Shadow boxes built into a back wall at the new Toka Asian Kitchen, 996 State St. in New Haven, photographed on June 25, 2021, showcase Indonesian, Thai and Chinese art. Toka, which opened less than a month ago, brings a full range of Indonesian food to New Haven for the first time, along with other Chinese, Japanese and Singaporean-influenced dishes.

Mark Zaretsky / Hearst Connecticut MediaShow MoreShow Less

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Rohana Sari, co-owner of the new Toka Asian Kitchen, 996 State St. in New Haven on June 25, 2021. Toka brings a full range of Indonesian food to New Haven for the first time, along with other Chinese, Japanese and Singaporean-influenced dishes.
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Rohana Sari, co-owner of the new Toka Asian Kitchen, 996 State St. in New Haven on June 25, 2021. Toka brings a full range of Indonesian food to New Haven for the first time, along with other Chinese, Japanese and Singaporean-influenced dishes.

Mark Zaretsky / Hearst Connecticut MediaShow MoreShow Less

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But when she went about looking for a place to put the restaurant she now runs with her sisters, Maria Hutapea and Nani Noverita, her Pakistani-American business partner Imram Farooq and his daughter, Alaiza Imram, she fell in love with State Street and the adjacent East Rock neighborhood.

“It’s feels like a small Manhattan,” Sari said. But “COVID is like crazy in New York City. That’s why I decided to move to Connecticut from New York.”

And “that’s how we found this place,” she said while sitting in the restaurant, which had its liquor license application pending, Friday afternoon.

Shadow boxes built into a back wall at the new Toka Asian Kitchen, 996 State St. in New Haven, photographed on June 25, 2021, showcase Indonesian, Thai and Chinese art. Toka, which opened less than a month ago, brings a full range of Indonesian food to New Haven for the first time, along with other Chinese, Japanese and Singaporean-influenced dishes.

Shadow boxes built into a back wall at the new Toka Asian Kitchen, 996 State St. in New Haven, photographed on June 25, 2021, showcase Indonesian, Thai and Chinese art. Toka, which opened less than a month ago, brings a full range of Indonesian food to New Haven for the first time, along with other Chinese, Japanese and Singaporean-influenced dishes.

Mark Zaretsky / Hearst Connecticut Media

What attracted them to the location?

“We have a few reasons,” said Alaiza Imram, who was at the restaurant. “One reason is that we know State Street is right next to Yale” and there are not only many Asian students but also many adventurous, well-traveled foodies with an appreciation for other cultures, she said.

Walking into Toka is like stepping into a wonderland of aromatic, piquant flavors and scents — with dishes from the vast southeast Asian archipelago.

Its menu, which might remind some longtime residents of Bentara, the celebrated Malaysian restaurant that for years dished out some of the city’s best food at Orange and Center streets downtown, includes a bunch of Indonesian staples such as nasi goreng (fried rice), mee goreng (fried egg noodles,) behoon goreng (fried vermicelli noodles), satay and spicy, aromatic, coconut- and lemon grass-accented beef rendang.

Also on the menu are some harder-to-find dishes such as buntut (oxtail soup), bakso (meatball & vermicelli soup), rock shrimp (deep fried in spicy cream sauce) and fried tempe, along with a few Chinese, Japanese and Singaporean-accented dishes.

A platter of tempe goreng, or fried soybean cake, at the new Toka Asian Kitchen, 996 State St. in New Haven on June 25, 2021. Toka brings a full range of Indonesian food to New Haven for the first time, along with other Chinese, Japanese and Singaporean-influenced dishes.

A platter of tempe goreng, or fried soybean cake, at the new Toka Asian Kitchen, 996 State St. in New Haven on June 25, 2021. Toka brings a full range of Indonesian food to New Haven for the first time, along with other Chinese, Japanese and Singaporean-influenced dishes.

Mark Zaretsky / Hearst Connecticut Media

The early reviews of Toka Asian Kitchen on Yelp have been stellar.

So far, Sari and her sisters — including Hutapea, who sometimes stays in Bridgeport and sometimes commutes from New York, and Noverita, who came up from Texas to help get things going — have had plenty of help. They’re backed by a total of eight close friends and family members.

Among those helping out is Hendra Timbowo, a family friend and unofficial “cousin” whose main gig is as an artist and New York City gallery owner.

A platter of rock shrimp with a spicy cream sauce at the new Toka Asian Kitchen, 996 State St. in New Haven on June 25, 2021. Toka brings a full range of Indonesian food to New Haven for the first time, along with other Chinese, Japanese and Singaporean-influenced dishes.

A platter of rock shrimp with a spicy cream sauce at the new Toka Asian Kitchen, 996 State St. in New Haven on June 25, 2021. Toka brings a full range of Indonesian food to New Haven for the first time, along with other Chinese, Japanese and Singaporean-influenced dishes.

Mark Zaretsky / Hearst Connecticut Media

Timbowo was responsible for the art on — and in — the walls, including several shadow boxes on the back wall filled with Buddha figures from several countries, Indonesian folk art and other items of interest.

Imram said she’s got a good feeling about how Toka Asian Kitchen will do in New Haven.

“I’m very confident that things are going to go way better than we’ve expected,” she said.

Shadow boxes built into a back wall at the new Toka Asian Kitchen, 996 State St. in New Haven, photographed on June 25, 2021, showcase Indonesian, Thai and Chinese art. Toka, which opened less than a month ago, brings a full range of Indonesian food to New Haven for the first time, along with other Chinese, Japanese and Singaporean-influenced dishes.

Shadow boxes built into a back wall at the new Toka Asian Kitchen, 996 State St. in New Haven, photographed on June 25, 2021, showcase Indonesian, Thai and Chinese art. Toka, which opened less than a month ago, brings a full range of Indonesian food to New Haven for the first time, along with other Chinese, Japanese and Singaporean-influenced dishes.

Mark Zaretsky / Hearst Connecticut Media

mark.zaretsky@hearstmediact.com



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