SpicyOne Indonesian Restaurant in Overland Park, KS
Just a few months ago, Overland Park welcomed its first-ever Indonesian restaurant (to my knowledge, it’s the only Indonesian restaurant in the entire Kansas City area too!) SpicyOne Restaurant, located in The Fountains area, is tucked in a spacious corner of a building. My husband and I visited the restaurant during the Indonesian Gourmet Day event hosted by the Chicago branch of the General Consulate of Indonesia and we ate so much food! So if you’re looking to learn more about SpicyOne restaurant and are wondering if it’s any good, this is the blog post for you!
The Short Version: What Did We Think of SpicyOne Indonesian Restaurant?
As someone who was born and raised in Indonesia, let me be the first to tell you that Indonesian food is NOT typically easy to make. To get the right depth of flavors, most foods are often simmered for hours using a variety of different ingredients.
So we came into SpicyOne expecting the food here to be an “Americanized” version of Indonesian food. But, oh boy, were we wrong!
The restaurant owner (who doubled as the head chef) nailed everything on the menu so well – and we later found out each menu item is cooked according to her own recipe! Amazing!
We got a whole bunch of different foods (about 8-9 plates) and each bite brought me back to childhood. My husband kept saying “wow this is so flavorful!”
Truly one of the most authentic Indonesian food I’ve tasted here in the U.S!! *happy tears*
Everything was so delicious, my husband is already planning our next visit!
The Owner’s Vision For SpicyOne
On the day of our visit, I was fortunate enough to meet the owner and hear her story about why she decided to open an Indonesian restaurant in Overland Park.
She told us that she used to work in the financial market back in 1989, and when she moved to the U.S, she started to miss Indonesian food but didn’t even know how to cook!
But with enough time and perseverance, she learned – and she learned well.
At SpicyOne Restaurant, everything on the menu is her own recipe, and everything is made to order and from scratch! Honestly, all the food tasted so authentic & delicious – I’m so amazed!
“One day,” she said, “I hope to make Indonesian cuisine as popular, if not more, than Thai, Japanese or Chinese cuisine – especially here in the U.S. I know it’s a big dream, but that’s my heart behind opening this restaurant. I want to share the foods I love so much with the community. We’ve had such amazing feedback so far, and people have been so supportive. We could not be more thankful.”
While our chat was brief (understandably, as customers kept coming in one after another for what seemed to be hours), I loved the fact that she made time to come out of the kitchen and greet her customers. When the cashier indicated that they are starting to overflow with generous orders, she quickly and very politely excused herself to return to the kitchen.
Spicy One Food Review
What’s a restaurant review without an in-depth review of all the foods we ate there, right? Here is everything we ordered on our visit and what we thought about them!
Martabak Telur
RELATED: How to Make Martabak Telur The Easy Way!
Martabak Telur (aka Indonesian Egg Wraps) is a popular street food/appetizer. For the Indonesian Gourmet Day event, each order of $15 or more gets a free plate of martabak telur, so we got 2 plates of this and they were eaten in no time.
These egg wraps are so flavorful and moist. The egg, onions, and meat inside were perfectly seasoned. The green sambal has a good kick and pairs really well with the martabak. As a pickle fan, I loved the acar!
This was my husband’s favorite dish and it was a close second for me.
Evan’s Score: 10/10, Michelle’s Score: 9/10
Chicken Satay
The chicken satay (aka sate ayam) brought me back immediately to when I lived in Bandung. There was a sate vendor just down the street from where I lived, and we frequented the stand often. This plate was a winner for me.
The meat was really tender, the peanut sauce has the right consistency and flavors (swirled with kecap manis, as it should be!), and the homemade ketupat (pressed rice cakes) has a good chewiness to it. Topped with crispy shallots, I couldn’t ask for more!
As for Evan, he has tried sate before and fell in love with the peanut sauce. This was also his first time eating ketupat.
We each got a plate, and the portions were generous (6 skewers of satay, about 10 cubes of ketupat, and a generous serving of the peanut sauce!)
Evan’s Score: 9.5/10, Michelle’s Score: 10/10
Potato Croquettes
I didn’t tell my husband what these were, so when he bit into them, he was surprised to find the potato croquettes had a meat filling. He said, “this is like fried mashed potatoes, but way better!”
The kroket was really good. Crispy on the outside, and fluffy and well-seasoned on inside. They didn’t skimp on the beef filling inside either!
The potato croquettes were the first thing we got from our order and served as our appetizers. They were delicious as is, but if you want a bit of a kick, try it with the sambal (same sambal as the one served with the egg wraps)
Evan’s Score: 9/10, Michelle’s Score: 9.5/10
Mie Goreng
When I was in high school, I would come home from school and make some mie goreng (Indonesian fried noodles). This hit the spot.
The flavors were there and it makes for a good side dish to everything else we ordered. I wish there were more veggies, meat, and a fried egg on top – but for what it is, it’s a solid mie goreng!
Evan’s Score: 8/10, Michelle’s Score: 8/10
Beef Rendang
RELATED: Rendang Sapi Recipe (Indonesian Spicy Beef Stew)
Out of all the dish we got, the beef rendang surprised me the most in how close it tasted to what I remembered from back home.
For those of you who may be new to Indonesian food, rendang is an Indonesian coconut beef stew – a popular dish for lunch or dinner. It’s extremely flavorful, rich, and tender – and this one is no different!
The nasi kuning (curry rice) was perfectly fluffy and paired well with the tender beef rendang, and the green beans added a freshness to the otherwise very rich dish. We got 2 plates of this and were glad we didn’t share 🙂
The rendang is mildly spicy compared to the other dishes we got, so keep that in mind if you are sensitive to a little heat.
Evan’s Score: 9/10, Michelle’s Score: 10/10
Es Teler
Es Teler is a refreshing Indonesian dessert drink that combines syrup, condensed milk, crushed ice and topped with jackfruit, avocado, shredded fresh coconut, and jellies.
This was such a sweet end to our meal (both literally and figuratively!). The fruits were fresh, and they were again very generous with the portions, specifically with how much jackfruit, fresh coconut, and avocados there were!
I will say that this drink was a lot sweeter than what I remember it. I would’ve preferred it less sweet, but my husband loved it as is.
Evan’s Score: 9/10, Michelle’s Score: 8/10
Final Thoughts
Based on our experience, I will note that you should be prepared to wait about 20-30 minutes to get your food as they are made to order (though it might also have been because it was super busy the day we came). But overall, our visit to SpicyOne Indonesian Restaurant really exceeded our expectations. Besides the food and friendly owner, we also enjoyed:
- cleanliness of the restaurant
- wide variety of menu options
- amount of seating options
- space was large
- extremely kind and friendly staff
- outdoor patio area
If you find yourself in the Kansas City area, we would absolutely recommend stopping by SpicyOne in Overland Park! For more information, visit their website HERE.
Looking for More Indonesian Recipes & Articles?
- Nasi Rawon Recipe (Indonesian Black Beef Soup)
- How to Make Martabak Telur The Easy Way!
- Tahu Goreng Krispi (Indonesian Crispy Fried Tofu)
- Nasi Goreng Kampung (Traditional Indonesian Fried Rice)
- Rendang Sapi (Indonesian Spicy Beef Stew)
- 10-minute Sambal Oelek Red Chili Paste
- Indonesian Tempeh Rice Bowl (GF, DF, V)
- Easy Pandan Cupcakes Recipe (With Coconut Vanilla Frosting)
- Balinese Milk Tarts (Pie Susu)
- Purple Sweet Potato Klepon (Indonesian Sweet Rice Ball)
- Top 5 Places To Visit In Indonesia
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Have you been to SpicyOne Indonesian Restaurant? If so, what did you think? Please leave a comment below – I’d love to hear!!
Copyright © All Rights Reserved. Content is written by Michelle Schmidt of dwellbymichelle.com.
I’ll have to visit soon, the rendang looks amazing.
We look forward to visiting! Sounds delicious!
Bravo… all the food is amazing
Can’t wait to visit that place