Makanmakan: What’s Vegetarian Editorial Review

Makanmakan has real Indonesian and Malaysian vegetarian dishes on its standing menu, including a Gado-Gado and a Meatless Nasi Goreng, even though nothing here is formally marked as vegetarian or vegan on the menu itself. It’s an Indonesian street food restaurant in Sandy, Utah, known for authentic cooking that reviewers say holds up to what you’d actually get in Asia.

What’s vegetarian and vegan at Makanmakan

Gado-Gado is an Indonesian salad built from blanched vegetables, fried tofu, cucumber, tomato, green leaves, and crispy shallots in a peanut sauce dressing, though it traditionally comes topped with a hard-boiled egg and shrimp crackers, both of which you’d need to ask to leave off for a fully vegan version. Beyond that, the restaurant’s family feast menu lists fried tofu cooked in a coconut red curry sauce, a Curry Tofu dish, a Meatless Nasi Goreng version of the restaurant’s fried rice, and Water Spinach in Garlic Sauce. The broader menu runs through fish, beef, and chicken dishes alongside noodles and rice, and the restaurant is generally described as offering vegetarian options rather than being vegetarian-focused. The Gado-Gado runs $14.25, in line with the rest of the menu, so you’re not paying a premium or getting a scaled-down portion for ordering the vegetarian option.

How to order

Ask for the Meatless Nasi Goreng or the Curry Tofu by name, since both are standing items on the menu rather than special off-menu requests you’d have to negotiate for. For the Gado-Gado, ask the kitchen to leave off the hard-boiled egg and the shrimp crackers if you want a fully vegan plate, since both are part of the traditional presentation. Indonesian and Malaysian sauces sometimes use shrimp paste as a base flavor even in dishes that read as vegetable-forward, so it’s worth confirming with your server before ordering if you’re strict about it.

What to watch out for

Traditional Indonesian cooking leans on shrimp paste, known as terasi, in some of its sauces, so confirm that a specific dish is genuinely meat and seafood free rather than assuming based on the dish name alone. Hours are limited too, the restaurant is closed all day Sunday, and on weekdays there’s a service gap between lunch and dinner from about 2:30pm to 5pm, so check the schedule before planning a visit around a specific time. Reviewers describe the kitchen as willing to adjust spice levels for Western palates without losing the authenticity of the cooking, which is a good sign if you’re also asking them to leave off a garnish or swap an ingredient for dietary reasons.

Is Makanmakan worth it?

Yes. With a strong 4.7 rating on Google and real vegetarian dishes like Gado-Gado and Curry Tofu built into the regular menu rather than bolted on as an afterthought, it’s a solid option for Indonesian and Malaysian food in the Sandy area. Just confirm ingredients directly with staff if you’re vegan, since the presentation of some dishes includes animal products by default, and it’s a quick fix once you know to ask before the food ever reaches the table.