The Fort Orange Club, Albany, NY
Article by Ilona Weisman, Vice Chargée de Presse
Photos by William Harris, Bailli
As a city near sea level ringed by ancient hills, Albany is often grey and cloudy. But one spot in New York’s Capital Region is always sunny—that is, wherever one finds our cherished friend Widjono Purnomo. As Conseiller Culinaire Provincial Honoraire, Purnomo nears his 40th year as a member of the Albany bailliage. He and wife Donna, fixtures in the Albany restaurant scene, opened their popular fine dining venue Yono’s in 1986. But for the past two years restaurant goers, members of the Albany Chaîne, and the culinary world watched in concern as Yono battled kidney disease waiting for an organ transplant that didn’t materialize. When a donor stepped forward last spring, Yono got a new kidney, and the rest of us breathed a sigh of relief.
On September 15th the Albany Chaîne met at Yono’s namesake restaurant to celebrate his return to good health. Yono was in the kitchen once again, the menu was all-Indonesian, and he worked his fusion flair on dishes from his native land. Southeast Asian garb was the order of the day, batiks and floral prints dotted the crowd as we embarked on a culinary tour of Yono’s Indonesia.
The Republic of Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelagic state—it consists of 17,508 islands that span more than 735,000 square miles, making it the 14th largest country by area. The country’s cuisine is as vast and varied as its geography; Sumatran dishes hint of Middle Eastern and Indian influence, Javanese food is mostly indigenous and reflects Chinese influence. Specialties from Eastern Indonesia bear an imprint of Polynesian and Melanesian cuisine. Rich flavors predominate, often savory, hot and spicy, or with a sweet/salty profile.
Our tour of regional favorites began with “Goho from Ternate Village,” tuna poke with mango, avocado and casava chip well-paired with a pleasantly granular consistency in unfiltered Tozai “Snow Maiden” Junmai Nigori Sake. Ternate is a city in North Maluku known for its nutmeg and clove production. Our next stop was “Empek, Empek from Palembang,” an airy-as-clouds seafood mousseline of salmon, shrimp, trout and scallop poached in banana leaf with Bumbu Rujak sauce. Perfumed with lemongrass, tamarind and palm sugar, it complemented limestone and fresh fruit in 2022 Chateau Gaudrelle “Clos le Vigneau” Vouvray.
“Bebek Betutu from Bali’’ featured meltingly soft duck confit in Sauce Opor, ‘betutu’ signifying a braise in coconut milk. This one with candlenuts and Five Spice matched 2007 Domaine Joseph Faiveley Nuits St. Georges. Onward to “Daging Rendang from Padang,” a spicy beef dish—in this case dark and caramelized short rib—from the Minangkabau region in West Sumatra. Accompanied by a crispy chunk of compressed rice to slather with the meat’s luxurious jus, the course made the most of spice and firm tannins in 2012 La Serena Brunello di Montalcino.
For dessert, we made a stop in Nusantara, soon to replace Jakarta as Indonesia’s capital city. On the plate rested an elaborate confection of Gula Jawal (Javanese palm sugar) atop spiced Napoleon filled with Kolak cream (palm sugar and coconut milk) with coconut sorbet and Macadamia chili brittle, while in the glass was NV Bodega Pablo Fallabrino “Alcoyone,” a fortified wine from Uruguay with notes of creamy caramel.
When the kitchen could spare him, Yono in toque, chef’s jacket, and ribbons stopped at tables in the dining room, clearly delighted in his Chaîne guests. And we rejoiced that he was hale and healthy.
Notes on the Cast
For an in-depth profile of Chef Yono, please see Cuvee, August 16, 2024 “Chef Yono Purnomo Built His American Dream” by Judith Stanford Miller.
Maître Rôtisseur Lou Agostinello of Albany’s Fort Orange Club and Maître Rotisseur Jose Arteche joined Yono’s kitchen for this special evening, along with Chef Al Zidan, Chef Rafi Abdul, and Vivi Cahyadi, Yono’s first exchange student from Indonesia enrolled in the culinary arts program at SUNY Schenectady.
