Le Seminyak

Back to local now.. Do you miss a Balinese foods? You no need to travel around Bali to satisfy your cravings, some Balinese restaurant already opened their branch in Jakarta one of them is Le Seminyak..


This restaurant is situated in Pacific Place, the restaurant located in the corner and tastefully decorated with simple and elegant Balinese theme..


The place looks so shady with some artificial trees inside of it.. Feels a homeliness and coziness ambiance..


Decorated with a Modern Balinese interior design..


They put a touch of Bali through elements such as woods, drapes, and art works on wall..


This Satay/Skewers Sampler (39.8K) was really nice as a starter.. Consist of 6 skewers, a combination of minced seafood skewers, minced chicken skewers, and tempeh (soybean cake) skewers served with shallots chili sauce.. The satay was so flavourful & burst with smoky taste..


Tahu Telur - Bean Curd Omelette (32.8K), fried tofu on omelette egg drenched in sweet soy sauce..I'm not sure does this dish actually originated from Java or Bali, but I don't care coz this is my fave.. The deep-fried egg crust was crispy, the egg fluffs were quite delightfully delicious, the tofu was well accompanied by the sweet soy sauce as well.. And not leaving out the beansprout and nuts were added to create an extra crunch to each mouthful..


Nasi Bali Kuning - Balinese Yellow Rice (44.8K), it's like a Balinese mixed rice but served with fragrant yellow rice (rice is cooked with coconut milk and turmeric) and other condiments like; stir fry long bean, sauteed shredded chicken, minced seafood skewer, prawn fritters, chili egg, and crackers.. Nice and a complete meal to satisfy your Balinese food craving.. This is become E's fave dish among the Balinese delicacies..

We enjoyed this Balinese meal and also the ambiance here, definitely will drop by again sometime.. If you want to bring back your memory about Bali delicacies, you definitely won't miss it..



Le Seminyak
Pacific Place 5th Floor Unit 38
SCBD, Jl Jend. Sudirman Kav. 52-53
South Jakarta
Tel. (62 21) 51400610

Penang Place

I passed by this restaurant several times in Plaza Indonesia, and never had a chance to try it yet.. One nite, we decided to pay this restaurant a visit.. Surely like its name, Penang Place they're introducing a Penang Nyonya style cuisine..


The place is nicely decorated with somewhat modern and simplistic furniture..


The interior of the place exudes a soothing, classy, and modern ambiance, complete with dim lighting..


The menu is quite extensive with an excellent selections of Penang/Malaysia dishes.. They also try to expand their menu to some Indonesian foods..

First up was Tempe & Teri Orek (8.8K), a stir-fried tempe and anchovies with sambal belacan/spicy prawn paste and peanuts.. This is one of their Indonesian dishes, the sambal wasn't to spicy but it went well with the crunchy anchovies..


Next came the Fried Fish Lemon Sauce (29.8K), a deep fried fish fillet sauteed with lemon sauce.. It's nice, the fish was fresh and not fishy..


I was craved for something gravy, so I ordered a Kway Teow in Fish Gravy - Kway Teow Siram Ikan (20.8K), a stir-fried rice noodle topped with mixed fish and veggies gravy.. The gravy was yummy, generous with ingredients, and very flavourful..


Last but not least, E ordered Indian-style Fried Noodle (26.8K), haha looks nice yaa with fried wonton crackers on it.. It's a fried yellow egg noodle with beansprouts, tofu, potato, tomato, egg, and seafood. And the best part was their slightly pungent sambal/chili makes great condiment to the already tasty ensemble.. It's sour, spicy, sweet, and tangy come through in this dish.. The meal was satisfactory

The food was pretty good here, and the serves are decent for the price.. Nice to try tho..


Penang Place
Plaza Indonesia 3rd Fl. F-12
Jl. M.H. Thamrin Kav. 28-30
Central Jakarta
Tel. (62 21) 3107620/651

Bebek Bengil

This time I would be introducing the Balinese-style local foods.. We decided to try Bebek Bengil restaurant which is very famous in Bali.. Yup, almost everyone who has been to Bali knew this restaurant, and now they are here in Jakarta situated in The Ubud building in Menteng area..


It's a semi open air dining area with several gazebos in outdoor dining area, nice and really enjoyable..


The place is spacious decorated with wooden furnitures to bring up the Balinese ambiance and I think they have successfully recreated that feeling.. It's a very much welcoming atmosphere here..

This was the first time we had a Balinese food, we didn't have any idea what to order.. The menu is quite various, you also can find some Western influenced dishes here like sandwiches, pastas, and more, but that's not what we looking for..


We started with Sate Lilit Palette (53K), fish, chicken, and beef minced meat on skewers with a strong hint of lemongrass and spices.. Delicious with a taste of smokiness that was delightfully pleasing to the palate.. I did feel that the portion was on the small side, making the price of this dish seem high in comparison, but it tasted good though..



E ordered off their regular menu Nasi Campur Bali - Balinese Mixed Rice (35K), he thought it's the most complete Balinese meal, has every Balinese dishes on it.. Yes he right, it's a steamed white rice with an assortment of Balinese dishes such as slices of marinated shredded chicken, half an egg with chili, fish sate lilit, fried shrimps, peanuts, and shrimp crackers.. Such a filling meal, all dishes tasted great and goes well with steamed rice..


And I ordered Gado-Gado (31K), a mixed vegetables, tofu, and potato with peanut sauce dressing.. The serving was quite a let-down, the peanut sauce is a bit diluted and not tasty enough to my liking.. And I think carrots on gado-gado is a bit weird.. Maybe this is a Balinese style gado-gado, but i still prefer the usual or Betawi style gado-gado hehe..


And this is that you shouldn't miss it, their signature chili Sambal Matah (left) which is the traditional sambal/chili from Bali and made with finely chopped raw shallots, cut chili padi and lemongrass it's really good to eat with all Balinese dishes.. It was fresh and has a spicy bite..

I'm not a fan of duck, so I didn't order their signature dishes which is Bebek Bengil.. But I'm sure this dishes is all customers favorite, since I saw almost every table ordered this bebek bengil.. Bebek bengil is a duck marinated in their special authentic spices and deep fried to crispy perfection.. This is a must order dish here..

Although we didn't try the bebek bengil, but we had a decent experience with Balinese cuisine here.. Definitely a good place where you can taste the authenticity of Balinese cuisine..


Bebek Bengil
The Ubud Building
Jl. H. Agus Salim No. 132
Menteng, Central Jakarta
Tel. (62 21) 3918016/3918091

Rempah Rempah

We went to this place called Rempah Rempah in Plaza Senayan.. Well, from its name maybe you can guess what cuisine they served.. Yup, they serve a local Indonesian foods..


The place is decorated with some ornaments made of several spices.. Creative yaa..


Entering the dining area, you will find the decor that is subtle.. It's simple but quite elegant too..


This is a very cozy and cooling place to have business talk, discussion, or chit-chatting.. I love the sofas hidden inside, that seems really comfy..


For the starters, we had the Fried Spring Roll (23K), it filled with minced chicken, mushroom, shredded carrot, and vermicelli.. Dipped into their sweet chili, Mmm it's crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside, but it's a bit oily thou..


Next, I had Mie Kangkung - Water Spinach Noodle Soup (35K), yellow egg noodle stewed with water spinach, bean sprout, sheered chicken in sweet tasty broth.. The broth was full of spices, it had a kind of sweetish, tangy (from the lime juice), and spicy.. Tasted so flavourful..


The noodle was not too soggy and not too hard, it's cooked very well..


And Betawi Laksa (33K) for E, a vermicelli with shredded chicken in a thick yellowish coconut milk based soup.. It tasted just right and also fragrant..

The food is wise, nothing to shout about.. The price is a little on the high side, coz I think we're paying part of it for the ambiance too hehe.. But still nice to try..


Rempah Rempah
Plaza Senayan, level P4
Jl. Asia Afrika No. 8
South Jakarta
Tel. (62 21) 5725813/31

The Taste Resto

This time I would be introducing the local food which I had a last week at Grand Indonesia.. Again?? Yup, Grand Indonesia has been one of my fave mall in Jakarta.. The Taste Resto serves an Indonesian cuisine and it's originated from Bandung..


The place is so simple, bright and comfy enough to enjoy your meals..


We very excited to try this Indo Sushi (27K), five pieces of sushi that comes with different Indonesian dish on it.. There are sushi with tempe, sushi with floss and topped with kremesan/crispy batter, and sushi with spicy chicken liver.. We never find a sushi with an Indonesian taste before.. Apparently, the taste is not as special as it looked.. It was so so only, the sushi was made from ordinary rice..


Tempeh Penyet - Smashed Tempeh (9K), two pieces of deep fried tempeh/soybean cake flatten and topped with some chili..


I ordered Mie Tek Tek Rebus (28K), an Indonesian noodle with tomato, veggies, shredded chicken stewed in some spices topped with tapioca crackers and fried shallots served on mini wok pan.. The dish was slightly soupy, a bit spicy with a hint of sweetness, it brought out the best of both flavors..


And E was craved for rice dishes.. So he ordered Nasi Langgi (35K), a warm rice packed in small cone shape served with empal (fried beef), tempeh orek, shredded omelette, beef floss, chili potato chips, and belacan/shrimp paste chili.. It looked nice yaa and the tasted good too..

The foods here is pretty palatable and the price is also affordable.. It's quite a decent place to satisfy your Indonesian foods cravings..


The Taste Resto
Grand Indonesia - West Mall 5th Fl. MD 2 No. 3
Jl. M.H. Thamrin No. 1
Central Jakarta
Tel. (62 21) 23580513

Kembang Goela

Back to Jakarta, so what we have here.. Hmm do you miss an Indonesian dish? Here it is, we have a fine Indonesian cuisine in Kembang Goela.. Actually the dish served here is not purely Indonesian, it's a fusion between Indonesian and Dutch cuisine..


Located in Sudirman area in Plaza Sentral, this restaurant is situated in the back of Plaza Sentral office building..


The restaurant is set up in a collaboration of minimalist colonial of Dutch style and old Java style with some old photographs hung on its wall and several antique wooden furniture set as a dining area components.. The place is very clean, bright, and has a pleasant ambiance to enjoy our meals..


The pianist to serenade the guest with some classical tunes the whole night long..


After we sat down, they served us with this deep fried spaghetti stick as a complimentary..


I found something unusual here with their Ice Tea (15K), it is just an ordinary ice tea but with a stick of fresh pineapple.. I don't know why the put a pineapple on it, but it's nice though.. hehe

Not long after the waiter took our order, our appetizer came up..


Wow looks unique yaa.. This is Sosis Om Yance - Uncle Yance's Sausage (75K), the one metre long boiled chicken sausage in a long wooden plate and served with mustard and tomato sauce.. It's quite a big appetizer for two people yaa hehe..


The sausages was cooked with some spices which you can taste it gently in every bite and it's juicy though.. Nice..


Next is Tahoe Telor Bledek - Bledek Tofu Omelette (27.5K), is an deep fried Indonesian tofu omelette with shredded cabbage, carrot, and bean sprouts served with sweet soy dressing.. It tasted wise, the omelette was nicely crispy on the outside yet still had a soft texture of tofu in the inside and the sweetness of the soy dressing really a good complement to the overall taste.. But I still have no idea why it called bledek hehe..


Mie Goreng Bang Doel - Doel's Fried Noodle (35K), is a Javanese-style fried egg noodle in sweet soy sauce served with shrimp crackers..


I loved they way they cooked this noodle, it was not too dry nor too wet with a simply sweet and savory taste.. This was pretty good, much better than I expected..

All in all, even though it was quite a pricey dinner, but definitely worth it due to the excellent service and great food using quality ingredients.. Worth a try for sure


Kembang Goela
Plaza Sentral
Jl. Jend. Sudirman Kav. 47-48
Central Jakarta
Tel. (62 21) 5205025

Harum Manis

It has been quite some time since we had Indonesian foods for dinner.. So, this time we headed to Harum Manis Restaurant to have Indonesian foods for dinner.. I've been curious with this place for long time ago, and at last my curiosity of this place paid off..


When you step into the restaurant, it's like stepping into an old traditional Javanese noble house with a passion and romance ambiance..


With traditional antique furniture and the decor which dominated by dark wood, this place really give a hint impression of Javanese..


Dinner while you being entertained by live music band, u also can request your fave songs.. Such a lovely dinner yaa..


That nite we had Tahu Telor Selamat Datang - Welcome Tofu Omelette (42K) for the starter.. It's a deep fried tofu with egg served with savory peanut and petis soy sauce.. It was nice and not a usual taste you can get..


We decided to try their single dishes.. E ordered Nasi Goreng Kampung - Kampung style Fried Rice (26K).. Frankly, at the first time I thought it wasn't a good choice to ordered fried rice here, since I thought that this is just another fancy and expensive place with tasteless food.. But guess what? I was completely wrong, this 'kampung' style fried rice was really have a good taste in fact, it had an authentic 'kampung' taste and it's spicy though.. This much better than I expected..


And I ordered Mie Tek-Tek (38K), Javanese wet fried egg noodles and vermicelli stirred with mixed veggies, meatball, egg, and shredded chicken served on mini wok pan..


Basically it was a local Indonesian dish which usually can be found on street vendor.. But I'm happy, Harum Manis still keep its original taste, it was delicate, quite fragrant and you can really taste the spice on it..


And this crackers come with the mie tek-tek..

All in all, the foods here is amazing, closer to the original taste.. The ambiance is exquisite.. The service is excellent.. And for the price is a slightly higher, but it still worth to give a visit..Coz they proclaims itself to serve the finest Javanese specialties using superior ingredients.. Oh ya don't forget try their specialty grilled satays/skewers with option including squid, prawns, chicken, lamb, even wagyu beef.. unfortunately, we were too full to ordered it..


Harum Manis
Pavilion Apartment Retail Arcade
Jl. K.H. Mansyur Kav. 24
Central Jakarta
Tel. (62 21) 57941727