Indonesian Instagram Pop-Up Yeni’s Fusion Is Opening an Austin Food Truck

Austin Indonesian Instagram pop-up Yeni’s Fusion is opening a food truck this summer from owner and chef Yeni Rosdiyani. The new truck is found at the Aristocrat Lounge on 6507 Burnet Road as of August 14.

The menu focuses on both traditional and Indonesian fusion dishes, which, to Rosdiyani, signifies dishes that blend Indonesian fare with others, ranging from American to Mexican to Texas barbecue. This includes bubur ayam (chicken porridge); bakso (meatball) soup paired with grilled beef ribs; burgers with smoked curry patties and perkedel kentang (potato fritters); and rendang (beef curry) with rice. There will be vegetarian items as well, such as a vegetarian burger and a sandwich made with tempeh or bacem (braised tofu and tempeh) where soy meats were cooked and marinated in spices, Indonesian curry leaves, coconut palm sugar, and soy sauce.

Rosdiyani began really cooking on her own when she moved to America in 2011, and started writing down her own developed recipes. In the middle of the pandemic last year, she flew back to Indonesia to take care of her father, who was sick. During that time, she built out and opened her own restaurant on her property — Saung Kalitalang — which is currently run by her family.

After Rosdiyani’s father passed away, she came back to America in December 2020 and decided to open her own food truck. But before she was comfortable embarking on that project, she wanted to test out the waters and gauge if the city was interested in her cuisine. So Rosdiyani launched an Instagram pop-up restaurant where she offered a weekly preorder menu to help her determine what dishes worked. “This way, I learned what most people liked and I also learned the process and the difficulty level from every dish,” she says. “I am quite happy with the reaction people give me about my food, especially American people.”

Yeni’s Fusion

Yeni’s Fusion

Before Rosdiyani moved to America, a friend took her to visit his spiritual teacher, who told her that she would eventually open a food business. At the time, she expressed her incredulity because she didn’t know how to cook then. His answer was: “Someday, you will.”

That helped Rosdiyani embark on her journey to opening this food truck. “I want to start my food trailer business not just because I listened to what he said 16 years ago,” she says, “but because I listened to my talents and my passion for cooking that just comes naturally. I love to share my vibe and my passion through my food.”

Rosdiyani reached out to the Aristocrat Bar owner Austin Kalman to see if was open to letting her park her truck there; he was. The bar’s previous food truck, the lauded Three Little Pigs, appears to have permanently closed sometime last year.

Since Rosdiyani is opening the truck, she has since halted her Instagram pop-up service. Similarly, fellow Indonesian barbecue truck Sate Texas is opening in Pflugerville at the end of the month.

Update, August 23, 9:18 a.m.: This article, originally published on July 20, has been updated to reflect the new opening date of Yeni’s Fusion.

• Yeni’s Fusion [Instagram]