Es Teh Manis, Satay Junction, New York, NY

In Indonesia, Coca-Cola is not the popular drink of choice. It is too expensive of an import for people to drink everyday. To quench one's thirst in the hot, tropical weather, Indonesians prefer sweet iced jasmine tea, es teh manis (es meaning ice, teh meaning tea, manis meaning sweet). This is my kind of place! I'll actually be heading to Indonesia in June for two months! I'll be sipping on this iced tea everyday to save me from dehydration! The most popular types of es teh in Indonesia are the ever popular companies Teh Botol Sosro and Teh Kotak. They taste very similar, with Teh Kotak being a bit sweeter of the two, in my opinion.

Anyway, NYC just recently was hit with a lovely sliver of a restaurant on my favorite street: Greenwich Avenue in the West Village (not far from Tea and Sympathy!) Satay Junction is serving up some delicious Indonesian street foods like Nasi Goreng (fried rice), Mie Goreng (fried noodles) and a wide assortment of Satays! I met up with fellow food blogger, the incomparable Dani of Romancing the Scone (www.romancingthescone.blogspot.com [she has the food report so go check it out!]) and we had a wonderful time chatting and laughing as the tiny space that holds only 16 diners at a time filled to capacity. It helps that Dani is Indonesian and knows what is good!

We both ordered Satay Junction's Es Teh Manis to cool down our palettes from the lovely, spicy food. Satay Junction's es teh is a lovely, fragrant cool jasmine tea with sugar settled at the bottom. You stir it up and enjoy. This version of es teh is not as sweet as Indonesians in central-eastern Java take it (the way I like it as well!), but it was still very refreshing! Go spice up your dining options and try a cuisine less indulged in by Americas. And drink es teh manis! As they say in Indonesia, Selamat Minum (Cheers)!

Es Teh Manis!
Thanks to Dani for the Picture!

Satay Junction
28 Greenwich Ave
New York, NY