WHY The nasi bungkus at Java Spice is a magnificent Indonesian meal, a picnic banquet swathed in fresh-cut banana leaf that looks something like a pregnant shoe box. Inside are generous chunks of coconut-infused chicken, smoldering chile-laced beef rendang, brightly spiced jackfruit curry, chunky fish cake, tofu nuggets and a blazing scarlet sambal-topped egg, all atop a rice plateau that soaks up the flavors.

WHAT If you can’t make it to this generic-looking strip-mall place on weekends for nasi bungkus, not to worry—the regular menu during the week is rich with aromatic, spicy-sweet Javanese classics, including the amazing fried chicken; shrimp and egg fried rice; elegant butter-sautéed frog’s legs with caramelized shallots; and beef rendang and rice disks floating on an amazing coconut-chile borth.

WHO Lively multi-generational Indonesian families fill the place on weekends for the nasi bungkus feasts.