DISH OF THE WEEK: Fried Calamari with Salty Egg Sauce at AWANG KITCHEN

Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City

I have tasted lots of sauces in my years of eating. But nothing ever with such a literal name like “Salty Egg Sauce.”

Awang Kitchen had been on my list for a while now after reading about it on local blogs and in the NY Times. Indonesian food is not as prevalent as one would think in the city, so any opportunity to explore it more is most welcomed.

As is usually the case with Queens restaurants, this seemed like the real deal. When I arrived many of the employees were having their lunch and others came in speaking a language I did not recognize (I can only imagine it was Indonesian).

The menu is similar to Malaysian cuisine, but there were quite a few specialties that I did not recognize. Some were very colorfully named like the “Tennis Meat Ball” and the “Pregnant Meat Ball” . Another was the Cumi Goreng Sauce Telor Asin or as translated, Fried Calamari with Salty Egg Sauce.

It’s available as both a full entrée size or as a smaller amount with rice. Since I wanted to try something else (I wanted to try it all if I’m honest), I went the smaller route. It was still plenty of food.

After my unusual salad called Gado Gado, which consisted of some cooked and raw vegetables with an intense peanut sauce and onion crackers, I dug into the calamari.

Thankfully these were more unique than what most Americans think about as fried calamari. Here it was just puffs of squid battered and fried looking like little cauliflower florets. The flavor was sneakily intense. Hard to explain what it tasted like but salty egg is pretty accurate. The dry yellow sauce was rich and decadent and each bite was saltier than the last.

The calamari was also mixed with bits of extra crispy fried shallots and garlic. The fatty flavors were foiled a bit by the accompanying vegetables but reinforced by a salty fried duck egg. Just in case you didn’t have enough salt or egg.

I was alone so had to devour the entire thing myself. But this is something I recommend sharing with a group so you can try other things and not spike your cholesterol and salt intake in one meal. At least I knew what I was getting myself into. Price: $9/$14