Sisters to open new Indonesian restaurant Bento & Bowl next week in Rockford

Posted By: Chelsea
September 6, 2023 @ 6:00 am
Business, Eat & Drink, Featured, Restaurants, Rock River Current, Rockford, Top Stories

Bento & Bowl in Rockford Indonesian food — Juliawati Caudell, left, and Martha Susilawati plan to open their new restaurant, Bento & Bowl, 3206 S. Alpine Road, on Monday, Sept. 11, 2023, in Rockford. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)

By Kevin Haas
Rock River Current
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ROCKFORD — Sisters Juliawati Caudell and Martha Susilawati know Rockfordians may not be familiar with Indonesian food when they step into their new restaurant for the first time.

So, the natives Surabaya, Indonesia, incorporated a simple icon onto the menu at Bento & Bowl, 3206 S. Alpine Road, that separates cuisine from their home country from the other Asian fusion food they offer.

Indonesian staples such as beef rendang, nasi goreng, chicken mee goreng and nasi uduk are highlighted by an icon with the colors of the Indonesian flag.

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“I want to introduce Indonesian food to the community here in Rockford,” Susilawati said. “I know it’s not familiar yet, so I want people to try how Indonesian food is different from other Asian food.”

Koo’s Bento & Bowl is slated to open Monday after the family spent about two months renovating the vacant space that was formerly home to China Express and later Jamaica on the Grill.

Rockford Indonesian food at Bento & Bowl — An array of carryout bowls, clockwise from top left, nasi uduk, combo fried rice, fried wonton, yellow curry chicken, vegetable rolls, chicken and mushroom, and B&B special noodle at Bento & Bowl, 3206 S. Alpine Road, Rockford. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)

Susilawati, who has lived here since 2006, said she wanted to open her own restaurant because she never found one in Rockford that specialized in Indonesian cuisine. Now, that’s about to change.

There will be daily Indonesian specials along with mainstays on the menu such as the aforementioned beef rendang, which was ranked as the world’s No. 1 food in a 2017 poll by CNN. Monday’s special is soto ayam, an Indonesian take on chicken and noodle soup.

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The ultra-tender beef rendang is slowly stewed in coconut milk and a mixture of spices before it’s served with rice, eggs and cassava leaves for $13. A different vegetable is swapped in when cassava is out of season.

Beef rendang at Bento & Bowl, 3206 S. Alpine Road, in Rockford. The restaurant opens Monday, Sept. 11, 2023. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)

Bento & Bowl will offer carryout and catering. There will be two tables for limited indoor seating for anyone looking to grab a quick lunch. They also plan to add limited patio seating.

Delivery will be added soon through services such as DoorDash and Uber Eats.

The restaurant is located along South Alpine Road between U.S. Highway 20 and Collins Aerospace, one of Rockford’s largest employers.

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Susilawati and Caudell run the business, and they had help opening from their eldest brother, Janur Soegianto, who will return to Indonesia in about a month, and KH Food Safety Consulting.

The B&B Special Noodle ($12) at Bento & Bowl, 3206 S. Alpine Road, Rockford. (Photo by Kevin Haas/Rock River Current)

Aside from the Indonesian food, there are Japanese, Chinese, Thai and Laotian dishes. You can get popular bento boxes such as chicken teriyaki ($10), noodle dishes including barbecue pork noodle ($8) and rice bowls such as beef yakiniku ($10).