Fodor's Expert Review Toko Oen

A stalwart survivor since the colonial days (some of the waiters still speak Dutch), this atmospheric restaurant is a big local draw not only for its status as the oldest restaurant in Semarang (open since 1936, well before independence) but because the food really is good. A self-described "restaurant, ice cream palace, and patisserie," the menu is a fascinating mash-up of European, Indonesian, and Chinese cuisines, featuring dishes like chicken satay and peanut sauce, fried tofu and veggies with fermented shrimp paste, and wienerschnitzel. Homemade cookies are kept in large jars on the restaurant counters and can be bought to go, but it's the ice cream, freshly made on the premises, that keeps everyone coming back.