When Onika Wiriadinata started baking bread “like everyone else” during the pandemic, she never expected it to become her own business.
But her first attempt, a mocha cream cake for her mother's birthday, sparked an unexpected passion for baking, and Wiriadinata was soon filling requests from other members of South Philadelphia's Indonesian community.
Three years later, that effort has expanded into Omi Kitchen, a bright bakery that opened May 17 at the intersection of 12th and Tasker, focusing on roti (an Indonesian bread that differs from the unleavened type found on the Indian subcontinent) seasoned with a variety of sweet and savory toppings and fillings.
Sweet options include roti with buttercream, chocolate, pineapple jam and a banana-choco-cheese combo (with the option to skip the sweet cheddar), while savory fillings include ham-egg-cheese, beef-vegetable curry, corn-cheese and pizza roti.
Besides traditional recipes, Wiriadinata has also created his own original dishes. The 40-year-old has adapted the flavors he grew up with, such as herb chicken, which is usually wrapped in sticky rice. Lemper Served on a fluffy bun, Omi Kitchen's roti is topped with sesame seeds and stuffed with crushed peanuts and brown sugar, making it “a cross between a traditional Indonesian snack and a Butterfinger,” Wiriadinata told Billy Penn.
Wiriadinata explained that much of the menu was born out of nostalgia. “We got a lot of requests from friends in the Indonesian community,” she said of the years leading up to Omi's opening. “A lot of people miss the food they used to eat back home.”
Three commonly requested items on Omi's menu include the abong (roti with pork starch and mayonnaise) and the long john (a bar-shaped doughnut popularized by local Indonesian chain Holland Bakery and topped with either chocolate sprinkles, sweet cheese or abong).
The bakery also serves pulled bread with a variety of fillings, teas including Indonesia's popular brand Teh Kotak, coffee from Vibrant Roasters, and drinks like Happy Soda, a traditional concoction of condensed milk, carbonated water and rose syrup.
Starting this weekend, they'll also be selling freshly baked bagels in plain, sesame and a variety of other flavors.
“As a family, we saw her potential.”
Wiriadinata and her sisters Adriana and Stevani (the youngest, Nadia, was born in the United States) left Central Java in 2004, two semesters into their interior design degree, to meet a deadline for citizen sponsorship through their parents, who had already settled in Philadelphia.
When the pandemic hit, Wiriadinata was working at an in-home daycare center run by her mother, Eva, who her grandchildren call “Omi.” Wiriadinata first started baking in her kitchen, after discovering a creative outlet similar to interior design and spending hours watching increasingly complex online tutorials.
“We as a family saw her potential,” said her sister, Stevanie, 35, “so we started encouraging her to open a bakery.” Over the past few years, Wiriadinata has balanced raising two children, working at a daycare center and staying up late to take online cooking classes in Indonesia, Stevanie said.
“This is truly a labor of love for her,” Stevanie said of her brother. “She put her blood, sweat and tears into it.” [learning] Her skill.”
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A selection of sweet and savory roti and chocolate and sweet cheese long johns at Omi Kitchen, 1600 S. 12th Street. (Ali Mohsen/Billy Penn) -
In much of the Indian subcontinent, the word “roti” refers to unleavened bread, but in Indonesia it refers to any kind of bread. Omi's speciality is slightly sweet, fluffy bread, like this roti with vegetable curry. (Ali Mohsen/Billy Peng) -
Formerly Golden Garden Grocery, 1600 S 12th Street now houses Indonesian bakery Omi Kitchen, serving roti with a variety of sweet and savory fillings and toppings. (Ali Mohsen/Billy Penn) -
Formerly Golden Garden Grocery, 1600 S 12th Street now houses Indonesian bakery Omi Kitchen, serving roti with a variety of sweet and savory fillings and toppings. (Ali Mohsen/Billy Penn)
Family support continues to be a big help for Wiriadinata. Her mother, sisters, and daughter, Andrea, frequently help out at the bakery. “We're kind of a family that does everything,” Stevany says. On average, the team makes 200 rotis a day, and 400 on weekends. They've had to close early to restock ingredients.
“We weren't expecting the kind of response,” Wiriadinata recalled, “but it's been great. We're really grateful for the support from the community and our neighbors.”
1600 S 12th Street | $3-10 | Mon-Fri 7am-3pm, Sat-Sun 8am-3pm | Outdoor seating only | Follow | We also accept private orders via Instagram.
