My Jakarta Post

Pork Noodles in Jakarta Part 2: Bakmi GG Mangga

2014-09-14T23:44:00.004+07:00

Pork Noodles @ Bakmi GG Mangga

Jalan Gajah Mada No. 120
Central Jakarta

The restaurant: Simple, but really nice

Bakmi GG Mangga is one of the unmissable pork noodle restaurants in Jakarta. The interior is simple and nothing special. The restaurant is pretty neat (only the toilet was horribly smelly) and the waiters were surprisingly friendly. We really enjoyed the place and especially the food, which I would describe as Chinese semi-junk food with lots of pork (one of my favorites!).

We went to Bakmi GG Mangga on Saturday night and it was surprisingly empty. Only 3 tables were occupied. Maybe because we arrived quite early, around 6.30pm. Usually the place looks much more crowded at night...

Only two small downsides: not much parking space, dirty toilet.

The Food: Lovely pork noodles, bakso goreng, siomay & ngohiong

Pork Dishes @ Bakmi GG Mangga - Gajah Mada

We had one portion of Bakmi Lebar Komplit (wide pork noodles) and one portion of Bakmi Kecil Komplit (thin pork noodles), both IDR 40,000. They are not cheapskate on the meat and the pork meat was very tasty. I did not really like the chicken though.

If you want something different than regular noodles, they also have locupan (silver needle noodles), kwetiauw (shahe fen noodles) and bihun (vermicelli). The broth and chili sauce were nice, but my favorites are still Bakmi Abun and Bakmi Agoan.

We also ordered Fried Pork Meat Balls (Bakso Goreng Babi (IDR 6,000 a piece), Ngohiong (IDR 30.000 for a small place) and Siomay (IDR 6,000 a piece). All tasted very good, though I still prefer the bakso goreng babi at Bakmi Agoan.

One glass of Liang Teh costs IDR 12,000 and regular ice tea (refill) costs IDR 4,000. They also have some fresh juices, other types of tea and Bintang.

Even though it all tasted great, it was just too much to finish!

I will definitely go to Bakmi GG Mangga again. At least one more time to try their nasi campur, which also looked great on the menu.

Siomay @ Bakmi GG Mangga - Gajah Mada

Fried Pork Meatballs (Bakso Goreng Babi) @ Bakmi GG Mangga - Gajah Mada

Ngohiong (Fried Sausage Roll) @ Bakmi GG Mangga - Gajah Mada

Pork in Jakarta: Bun Ong (Restaurant Review)

2014-08-25T20:33:00.001+07:00

Bun Ong Kelapa Gading

The restaurant: a bit dodgy

The restaurant did not look very promising from the outside, but it was already late and not so many restaurants were opened, so we gave it a try anyway.

The place was a bit messy and "dodgy". Sticky tables, some flies...

The food: a bit disappointing

The dishes looked quite promising in the first place, but tasted just okay. The pork meat was not very tasty, maybe a bit old?

Bubur is not my favorite dish, and this one could unfortunately not change my opinion.

The pork sate (Balinese style) was a bit disappointing. Very dry and not tender. The nasi campur was nice, but nothing special. The broth served with the nasi campur was bitter and very 'veggie'. I don't think they really used meat to make it.

Only the cakwe was really nice, or maybe that's just because I basically like all cakwe everywhere.

The food looks delicious on the pictures, but that is because of the talented photographer. In reality it looked just fine :-)

Cakwe, sate babi and nasi campur at Bun Ong

Nasi campur at Bun Ong

Bubur babi (pork porridge) at Bun Ong

Sate babi (pork satay) at Bun Ong

Cakwe at Bun Ong

Food Avenue (food court) at Lotte Shopping Avenue

2014-08-24T10:51:00.001+07:00

Food Avenue (food court) at Lotte Shopping Avenue (4th Floor) is just a regular food court, very similar to many food courts in other malls in Jakarta.

If you like pork, nasi hainam campur from Putri Kenanga is quite a satisfying dish. You get quite a big portion for IDR 48,400 (incl. tax).

I also ordered kwetiau goreng sapi (rice noodles with beef) at Chicken Rice Palace, because the food stall looked pretty tempting and popular. And it was actually a very nice meal. You get quite a big portion for IDR 38,000 (incl. tax).

The best place for drinks at Food Avenue is Dapur Ibu. We ordered a huge glass of 'Terong Belanda' (Tamarillo) soda for only IDR 20,000.

Nasi Campur at Food Avenue (Lotte Shopping Avenue)

Kwetiau Goreng Sapi at Food Avenue (Lotte Shopping Avenue)

'Terong Belanda' soda at Food Avenue (Lotte Shopping Avenue)

Pork Noodles in Jakarta: Bakmi Agoan

2014-08-24T10:26:00.003+07:00

Bakmi AGOAN at Hasyim Ashari
Open from 8am to 10pm
20% Discount between 8-10 am (> IDR 100k)

Phone: 634 8117 / 634 8118 (delivery)

Other branch: Cabang Puri Indah

The restaurant: Just a simple restaurant (with very nice pork dishes)

Bakmi Agoan is just a simple, small restaurant (about 10 tables) which serves some of my favorite dishes: pork noodles and nasi campur. The place is not too crowded, has pretty good hygiene, no flies and mosquitos and clean tables, and the staff is friendly and very fast.

There are only two small downsides:

Only cash, no debit card accepted
Parking space in front of Bakmi Agoan is limited

The Food: one of my favorite pork noodles in Jakarta

The pork dishes are very, very nice! They have 2 kinds of noodles: 'alot' and 'keriting'. Mie alot is 'though', or chewy, while mie keriting is curly. While mie alot is more unique and nice to try, I personally prefer their mie keriting.

One (quite big) portion of mie alot casui or mie keriting casui costs IDR 38,000. Nasi Campur (Babi) costs IDR 32,000.

I also love their fried pork balls (basi goreng babi) and fried dumplings (pangsit goreng), which you can buy for IDR 6,000 a piece.

Bakmi Agoan is a must-try, and must-try-again (and again!) for pork lovers in Jakarta :-)

A table full a nice pork dishes at Bakmi Agoan

Nasi Campur (Babi) & Pangsit Goreng - Bakmi Agoan

Mie keriting casui at Bakmi Agoan

Baso goreng sapi (fried pork balls) at Bakmi Agoan

The Menu:

Restaurant Review: Wingstop at Kota Kasablanka Mall

2014-08-12T23:38:00.001+07:00

Wingstop
Mall Kota Kasablanka, Lower Ground

Also available at Setiabudi One (Kuningan) and Margo City (Depok)

The restaurant & the food: a bit disappointing

This newly opened restaurant looked promising and was very crowded the first weeks after opening. So I waited patiently until Ramadan to enjoy an empty Wingstop restaurant, but it was apparently not really worth: the portion as well as the taste were a bit disappointing.

I tried 4 types of wings:

Original Hot Wings: quite okay...
Atomic Wings: very very spicy!
Teriyaki Wings: so so...
Lemon Pepper Wings: weird taste...

The only thing I really loved was the 'hot aged cheddar cheese dip' (additional IDR 9,000, not included in the package).

Wingstop Kota Kasablanka - 2 portions of 5 wings with sauce

Wingstop Kota Kasablanka - 1 portions of 5 wings

Wingstop Kota Kasablanka - a bit of a messy and small wing...

The portions were quite small, so we ordered some additional french fries, which made us extremely thirsty, because they were extremely salty. So, drinks were really needed after the spicy wings and salty fries. We ordered minty green drink, which tasted very nice, and lemonade, which tasted just regular.

Large lemonade & medium minty green drink

The Price: just okay for medium quality wings

One regular portion consists of 5 wings (you may choose 2 different flavors) with 1 sauce of choice, which will cost you IDR 38.000 (incl. tax). A medium drink costs IDR 14.000 (incl. tax). I would say, its worth to try, because it's quite different than the regular fried chicken in most fast-food restaurants and freshly fried, but I think I will not go to Wingstop again soon (I prefer Cooking Panda, which is just a few restaurants away from Wingstop).

Wingstop Kota Kasablanka - The Menu

Wingstop Kota Kasablanka - The Restaurant (with kitchen view)

Wingstop Kota Kasablanka - Kitchen View

Modern Asian Diner (MAD) at Lotte Shopping Avenue Jakarta (Halal/Pork-free now...)

2014-08-12T00:22:00.000+07:00

First time at MAD:

Pork Dim Sum (not yet halal...)

A few months ago, I was happy when MAD restaurant opened its doors in one of Jakarta's nicest shopping malls, Lotte Shopping Avenue, and I could not wait to try their lovely pork dim sum.

That time, MAD definitely met my expectations: tasty and nice looking dim sum, good atmosphere, very reasonable price (for the dim sum, other dishes are quite expensive for Jakarta standard).

We had steamed BBQ Pork Rice Roll, baked BBQ Pork Buns (3 pcs), Steamed Shanghai Dumpling (Xiao Long Pao), Steam Shrimp Dumpling (Har Gao), Steamed Chicken 'Siew Mai', Onde-Onde and a big pot of Chinese Tea all together incl. tax/service charge for Rp. 182.000.

Second time at MAD:

All-you-can-eat dim sum for only IDR 90,000, but no pork anymore!

So we decided to buy the LivingSocial all-you-can-eat dim sum vouchers for IDR 90,000, but....our second time at MAD was at least a bit disappointing!

They are halal now. No pork dim sum anymore :-(
I booked a table the day before, but when we arrived, my name was not on the reservation list. Luckily it was quite empty, so we could still pick a nice table.
The dim sum did not look as nice and neat as the previous time. The squid sesame balls (onde-onde) looked squeezed and a bit depressing and the other dim sum was also just not nice to see (different sizes, messy steamer baskets etc.).
Some of the waiters were slow, powerless and did not look cheerful at all, which did not really contribute to the atmosphere.

The dim sum actually tasted quite okay, but next time I will go to a restaurant like Tai Pan to enjoy good (pork) dim sum. Will probably not go to MAD anymore.

Dim Sum Menu at MAD (OLD menu - before they changed to halal menu)

Har Gao / Hakau Spesial (Shrimp Dumplings, Rp. 22.800 before tax/service charge)

Onde-Onde (Crispy Squid Ink Sesame Balls, Rp. 16.000 before tax/service charge) - Photo taken during my first time at MAD. Doesn't look that nice anymore now...

Restaurant info

Anyway, for people who are still interested: they have a meeting room for 12 persons (minimum order Rp. 2.000.000). The wifi works quite well, but most tables (or maybe even all tables) do not have power outlet, so the place is not very suitable to work.

Restaurant website: http://www.modernasiandiner.com/

Restaurant Review: Hay Thien Mangga Besar

2014-08-05T23:05:00.002+07:00

Hay Thien Mangga Besar
Jl. Mangga Besar 1/34, West Jakarta
Open from 11.00 - 24.00

Second attempt was worth it!

Our previous attempt to visit Hay Thien failed, because part of the roof had just fallen down and the place was a mess, so we had to find ourselves another restaurant.

So, a few days ago we did another attempt. We went to Hay Thien around 11 at night and the place was surprisingly crowded and messy. Probably some of the waiters were still on leave (Idul Fitri holiday) and although the waiters clearly did their best, the place almost looked like a war zone :-)

The food: unique way of cooking and yummy pork

Nevertheless, when we got our table, we ordered some nice dishes and enjoyed the waiter cooking in front of us. A unique way of cooking, I had never seen this before (see pictures below). And the food was really good! The broth in which most of the meat was cooked was very flavorful and especially the pork was yummy.

Some of the dishes we ordered at Hay Thien Mangga Besar

Some of the dishes we ordered: babi lapis, bakso babi, bakso salmon, bakso cumi, sate babi manis, sate cha sui, wo tie babi... Or in english: pork, pork, pork (and some seafood) :-)

The price was also very reasonable: guaranteed full belly for about IDR 80.000 per person. So, even though the place does not look nice at all (messy, no aircon and quite some mosquitos), I would love to go to this restaurant again. It's really a place for people who can enjoy food without looking around :-)

Here are some pictures to show you the unique way of cooking at Hay Thien Mangga Besar:

Restaurant Review: T.G.I. Friday's Restaurant & Bar at Lippo Mall Kemang

2014-08-05T22:34:00.001+07:00

T.G.I Friday's
Lippo Mall Kemang (also known as 'Kemang Village')
Jl. Kemang IV, Ground Floor Unit OD 9-10, Jakarta
Phone: +622129528368

Also available at Pondok Indah Mall

The Restaurant: nice place, good atmosphere and friendly waiters

The restaurant is located at Lippo Mall Kemang's spacious outdoor area 'Avenue of the Stars'. It has a large smoking and non-smoking indoor area as well as quite outdoor area.

The only downside is that they do not have their own rest rooms and the closest mall rest rooms are pretty far away. However, that's just a small thing. The restaurant is very comfy, the atmosphere is really nice and the waiters were very helpful and friendly and a nice bonus is that they are able to speak English.

T.G.I. Friday's Restaurant & Bar at Lippo Mall Kemang

The Food: great platter and fall-of-the-bone ribs

First we ordered the Fridays Three-For-All Platter (portion for sharing) for IDR 159.900 (excl. tax). This is a platter with ‘loaded potato skins’, fried mozzarella and spicy buffalo wings accompanied with sour cream with green onions, marinara sauce and celery sticks with blue cheese dressing. A very complete, satisfying platter, I especially loved the potato skins filled with cheese.

Three-For-All Platter at TGI Fridays

We also ordered spareribs with Jack Daniel sauce (incl. bones: around 700 gram) for IDR 199.900 (excl. tax). The ribs came with a nice portion french fries, onion rings and salad. The ribs were very tender, fall-of-the-bone ribs. It was a good portion for two persons.

Spareribs with Jack Daniel sauce at TGI Fridays

Another nice thing is the bottomless soda (Coca Cola, Diet Coke, Sprite, Fanta Strawberry). You can drink a limitless amount of one of these sodas for only IDR 29.900.

To summarize: a great place with great food. I would say it's a must go :-)

Restaurant review: 'Meat Me' at Kota Kasablanka

2014-08-03T22:46:00.000+07:00

Meat Me Kasablanka
Kota Kasablanka GF Unit (Food Society)
Also available at Lippo Mall Kemang (Kemang Village)

Meat Me: Nice place with great meat

I recently went to Meat Me in Kota Kasablanka Mall (Kuningan) and I was happily surprised. I can honestly say their beef and lamb meat is the best I have had in Jakarta so far. The beef steak was very juicy (medium-cooked, which we asked for) and the three different sausages we ordered were very tasty and each unique in its taste. It was a surprisingly good meal in a nice-looking restaurant with good atmosphere and service. I believe this restaurant is a blessing for Western expats who miss a real western-style steak.

Free salad, sauce and side dish

One of the good things is that you get a free salad, sauce and side dish when you order meat. We ordered french fries, but other options were also possible, such as baked/mashed potato or mixed veggies. The french fries were just nice and not too salty and I really enjoyed the salad, especially the black olives and dressing. Both merlot and BBQ sauces matched very well with the meat.

So, I would definitely recommend Meat Me to every meat lover in Jakarta!

Juicy beef steak and lamb sausages at Meat Me

Lemon squash (IDR 35.000) & Iced Kiwi Tea (IDR 30.000)

Australian Grass Fed Cube Roll (beef) - 212 gram for for IDR 137.800 (IDR 650.000 per kilo)

Lamb Feta Sausage, Lamb Honey Mint Sausage and Lamb Merquez (IDR 28.000 per piece)

(Prices exclude 10% tax and 7% service charge)

Restaurant Review: Resto Ngalam (Malang Cuisine) at fX Sudirman

2014-08-01T17:29:00.002+07:00

Address: fX Sudirman (2nd Floor), Jl. Jenderal Sudirman, Jakarta

Phone: +622125554050

Resto Ngalam serves traditional dishes from Malang, the second largest city of East Java Province. The restaurant is located in fX Sudirman, which is a relatively small mall with mainly restaurants and some outlet stores.

The dishes: mie hijau, mie merah and pecel

We ordered mie hijau (green noodles), mie merah (red noodles) and 'pecel', (vegetable dish with water spinach or Kangkung, bean sprout, cabbage, tofu and chili peanut sauce). The dishes were simple but nice and tasty. I liked their fried dumplings (Pangsit Goreng) and variety of 'krupuk'.

The restaurant: simple, modern Javanese-style restaurant

The restaurant is large and not crowded. Actually, t was practically empty when I was there. There is enough space for large groups, though it lacks a bit of atmosphere for a family or friends gathering. It's just a simple, modern Javanese-style restaurant. All tables are non-smoking.

Mie Hijau (Green noodles) - Resto Ngalam

Mie Merah (Red noodles) - Resto Ngalam

Pecel (Vegetables and tofu with chili peanut sauce)

Restaurant Review: Gojumung Korean Traditional Grill Restaurant

2014-08-01T17:08:00.000+07:00

Address: Jl. Panglima Polim IX No. 7-9, Jakarta Selatan
(In front of Focus Nusantara Camerashop, see google maps)
Phone: +622172796708

Gojumung Korean Grill Restaurant - Interior

The food: Traditional Korean Grill

Gojumung is a typical traditional Korean grill restaurant where they grill the meat on your table. As it is quite hard to find pork dishes in Jakarta, we ordered some pork and it tasted good (though a bit overcooked). There is quite a variety of side dishes, which were all nice and juicy, but nothing very special. One of the good things is that the raw vegetables were washed properly (which is maybe a detail, but bugs or worms on lettuce can really ruin my appetite). They also offer two free desserts: pudding and coffee. Both were just fine, but again, nothing special.

The restaurant: comfortable place and friendly staff

The place itself is neat and clean, suitable for large groups and people with children. It was not busy at all and the waiters were friendly and professional. Would definitely go again if I happen to be in Jakarta South.

Here are some pictures to give you an impression of the interior and dishes served at Gojumung Korean Grill Restaurant:

Gojumung Korean Grill Restaurant - Interior

Gojumung Korean Grill Restaurant - Pork dish (forgot the name)

Gojumung Korean Grill Restaurant - Free dessert (pudding)

Gojumung Korean Grill Restaurant - Free dessert (coffee)

Having a cat (or other pet) in Jakarta - Part II

2014-07-31T19:14:00.000+07:00

Click here to read 'Having a cat (or other pet) in Jakarta - Part I'

Buying cat (pet) products in Jakarta

I find it very easy to buy 'retail' dry and wet cat food, and other basic needs for my cat, such as litter, in Jakarta. Below are some of the products I recently found in malls in Jakarta. The cat food pictures are taken at Farmer's Market, but I have seen the same products at Carrefour, Lotte Mart, Food Hall and other supermarkets in Jakarta.

Whiskas, Friskies (Purina)
and Catsan (litter)
at Farmer's Market

Alpo (Purina) and Pedigree for dogs at Farmer's market

Pets department at Ace Hardware Living World (Alam Sutera): quite a large assortment of pet food, toys, leashes, bowls, cargos, etc.

Cat scratch carpet

If you want to buy something for your cat to scratch, this product is available for only IDR 22.000 at Daiso. Daiso, a Japanese retail company, is available at several malls, including Kota Kasablanka, Artha Gading and Pluit City. However, my cat does not get the point of a scratch carpet and only walks/sits on it. She prefers to scratch the furniture :-)

Lint Remover

I recently bought a lint remover from Ace Hardware (this item is available at most Ace Hardware branches). I bought this product months ago to remove my cat's fur from my clothes, but have not used it often as it is not as effective as other tools I have. Also, it is a bit annoying that you have to wash it with water when it gets too furry and then you cannot use it until it is dry again.

Buckle fastener

I bought this buckle fastener (the pink one on the picture) at Ace Hardware Living World Alam Sutera. Unfortunately, this cheap product (~IDR 40.000) does not work at all! I find it a very frustrating product: unless if your cat already 'understands' the concept and has a very strong tongue, he/she will probably not be able to get the water out. It is true that it fits regular bottles (which I thought would be a very convenient feature), but unfortunately it leaks. I managed to make it leakage-free by wrapping a rubber around the bottle's neck, but this is of course not ideal.

Annoying buckle fastener from Ace Hardware

Cat Toys

If you are looking for cat toys, you can find quite a large variety at Ace Hardware and specialized pet shops, such as Groovy Pets (Kemang) and Zoo Pet Shop (Mall of Indonesia). Supermarkets have a very limited assortment of cat toys (more for dogs though). Some of my cat's favorite toys are these mice (especially the ones with feather!). Unfortunately, I have only seen them in some specialized pet shops and they were quite pricy (more than ~30.000/piece).

Toy mice for cats: my cat's favorite toys (hard to get in Jakarta)

My cat's favorite 'toy' is the Kitty Play Cube from Pet Lovers Centre (available in many malls in Singapore, click here for a list of their shops). This cat play cube is really worth its price (SGD 16). My cat uses it as a place to chill out, hide, and play. It really triggers her creativity and it is surprisingly strong. As far as I know, the Kitty Play Cube is not available in Jakarta yet.

Kitty Play Cube from Pet Lovers in Singapore, available in baby blue and pink for SGD 16

Cat's favorite water

Your cat may prefer certain brands of mineral water...

I never thought that cats might prefer specific brands of mineral water, but apparently my cat is a big fan of certain brands.

In general, she prefers cheaper mineral water brands (2Tang, Club 8) to more expensive ones (Aqua, Nestle). Her favorite brand is 2Tang :-) I also discovered that she likes cold water (from fridge) more than warm water.

Since it is very important for cats to drink sufficiently since they are prone to kidney/bladder problems when they get older, it might be useful to find out about your own cat's preferences.

My cat prefers 2tang, but that's probably just her personal taste :-)

One more tip: Sallo Pet Shop - Proplan Hairball Management

In my previous post about having a cat (or other pet) in Jakarta, I already mentioned several pet shops in Jakarta, but here is another one, in case you are looking for quality food such as ProPlan from Purina:

Sallo Pet Shop (Toko Hewan)
Komplek Flora Alam Sutera
Blok A No. 17 Serpong - Tangerang
Phone: +622170284369, +622170756238

I bought Proplan Hairball Management 3.18 kg for IDR 272.500 from Sallo Pet Shop at Cat Lover's Heaven (annual cat show at Living World Alam Sutera), but I believe it is also available at their regular shop.

Taking a taxi in Jakarta Part II: Blue Bird and Express are still the best (generally speaking)

2014-07-04T19:54:00.001+07:00

In May 2012 I wrote a post about taking a taxi in Jakarta (here is the link), in which I recommended to take Bluebird or Express Group Taxi. After spending many more hours in taxi in Jakarta, I feel like it is time to add some updated information.

Blue Bird Taxi

I still have mostly good experiences with Blue Bird taxis, though their drivers do not always seem to be the most knowledgeable. It happened several times that they even did not know how to get to Monas (from Kuningan), or did not know the fastest or shortest route to certain locations. In addition, they have raised their tariffs. On a 30-60 minutes trip, the difference with other taxi companies is around 15.000-20.000 rupiah. Not significant, but it makes quite a difference if you take taxi regularly.

In regards to ordering Bluebird Taxi by phone or through their app: it works just fine outside rush hours and when it's not raining or extremely hectic on the road. However, to my personal experience, 50% of times they do not show up, it takes very long before they show up, or their phone number/app is overloaded and you can't reach them at all.

Since Jakarta is even more hectic than a few years ago and it is more often hard to get a Bluebird, I would like to share some actually quite good alternatives. I want to be careful with my advice, because there are stories about people getting robbed or harassed by drivers from other companies, but I want to share my personal experience.

I have spent many, many (!) hours in taxi in Jakarta over the past years, so it might be helpful for 'newbies'.

Express Group Taxi

I take Express as often as Blue Bird. They are slightly cheaper than Blue Bird and quality is comparable. Maybe one out of 20 drivers is a bit of an idiot or at least drives like an idiot, but same for all the other taxi companies.

Taxiku

Their fleet is not very large, so I hardly ever use them, but I usually order a Taxiku for trips to the airport, as they have the unique feature that you don't have to pay toll yourself. Whenever I ordered Taxiku, they were always on time (even too early). I have to admit that I usually go to airport at dawn, so I am not sure if they are also on-time during busier hours.

TransCab

Quite nice to my experience. Their unique feature is that they have a small TV screen in their taxis, which can make your trip more fun. However, quite often the TV does not work (about 50% of times). Service quality is okay: they seem to know the routes, they are pretty friendly and have quite good driving skills, on average. Slightly cheaper than Blue Bird and Express.

Prima Jasa

Sometimes good, sometimes bad. I don't have any really bad experience except 2 times a cockroach in the vehicle (big drama for me, but actually not a big deal haha). Bit cheaper than Bluebird/Express. Quality comparable to Taxiku and TransCab.
Tip: make sure the driver turns on the argo meter! If not, take another taxi, because they ask crazy tariffs without argo and negotiation is quite impossible (especially if you don't speak bahasa well).

Korporasi Taksi

Their taxis often look very lousy, are often smelly, and their drivers are usually old men, but they are surprisingly friendly and really seem to know the city and alternative routes. I have never had any bad experience with Korporasi Taksi, though I also never felt extremely comfortable and I feel like being a bit more alert when using Korporasi Taksi. They are cheaper than Express (and definitely cheaper than Bluebird).
Tip: make sure the driver turns on the argo meter! If not, take another taxi, because they ask crazy tariffs without argo and negotiation is quite impossible (especially if you don't speak bahasa well).

Dian Taksi

Same as Korporasi Taxi: often lousy/smelly taxis and not the most hygienic drivers in the world, but I never experienced any problem. I used Dian Taxi only several times (maximum 10 times) and every time I got to my destination without trouble and even without giving instructions. And they are cheap too.
Tip: make sure the driver turns on the argo meter! If not, take another taxi, because they ask crazy tariffs without argo and negotiation is quite impossible (especially if you don't speak bahasa well).

Weird taxi named 'Golden'

(not sure if it's a company or just a "one-man show")
I would not recommend this taxi to anyone, however, I had a very quick and cheap trip back home and nothing bad happened at all (the driver was quite a friendly guy). Very dodgy though.

Food tips for 'fresh' expats and tourists in Jakarta

2014-06-11T20:32:00.000+07:00

Here are some tips from an experienced Jakarta 'food traveller' on how to prevent sickness caused by unhygienic food in Jakarta (while still being able to enjoy the wide variety of food available in this city).

There are 2 simple basic 'rules':

Stick with restaurants in malls, at least for the first few days, weeks or even months. After that, try small portions in food courts in decent malls and if you really feel like your stomach can handle it, try small portions of street food. You can find pretty original food in malls, so this does not have to ruin your 'food fun'.
Only go to restaurants that are quite crowded and if you really want to be safe, the ones with some foreign customers that look like they have been in Indonesia for a while. The good thing is: these are probably the best restaurants anyway, because the others are often empty for a reason :-)

However, I have heard quite some stories of people who got light food poisoning or diarrhea after eating in restaurants that are considered 'clean'. So, here a few more tips and tricks.

A few more things that could limit the risk of getting sick:

Do not eat raw vegetables. I found a small worm several times in my lettuce/cucumber, in regular mall restaurants, which shows that they apparently do not clean their veggies properly.
Skip ice tea with irregularly shaped ice cubes. They might have used dirty tap water instead of mineral water)
Be careful eating chili sauce and other sauces from small bottles/boxes on the table. They are often on the table for a long time in quite high temperatures (ideal temperatures for bacteria to multiply), they are often not closed properly, and refilled without cleaning).- Clean your utensils (spoon, fork, chopsticks, etc.) with a tissue before use. They are not always washed properly.

I would also recommend to have a typhoid vaccination (I had mine at MRCCC Siloam). I have heard quite some people who got typhoid (or 'typhoid symptoms', doctors here are sometimes a bit too enthusiastic in their diagnosis).

Anyway, I have to say that I have not had many problems while I have had countless nice meals in all kind of places in Jakarta. So, don't worry too much, enjoy the great food in Jakarta and just be a little bit aware :)

Foodcourt Eatery - Pasta Maru: Disappointing!

2014-06-07T17:46:00.001+07:00

Pasta Maru at Eatery Kuningan City was very disappointing!

I ordered mozzarella baked rice with beef pepperoni for 36.000 Rp. and it was tasteless. The only thing I tasted was the aluminium foil in which it was baked. The portion is also pretty small and definitely not satisfying. I also saw some of their pasta dishes and they didn't look good at all.

Other Restaurants at Eatery Food court Kuningan City are:

Java Express - Authentic Indonesian Cuisine

Pepper Lunch

Soto Ayam Semarang & Sate-Gule-Tongseng Solo

Bakmi Yogya (has pork!)

Happy Duck - Nasi Bebek Surabaya

Sego Pecel Bu Broto - Nasi Pecel Khas Jawa Timur

Nasi Campur Putri Kenanga (has pork!)

Ramen 38 Express

Taliwang Lima Rasa

Haji Kelik

Bakso Kota Cakman

Pasta Maru

Chopstix

A Fung Baso Sapi Asli

Tude Bakar Manado
Burger King unfortunately already closed down...

Tokyo Belly Grand Indonesia & Tokyo Belly Setiabudi One (new branch!)

2014-05-30T18:48:00.001+07:00

Tokyo Belly at Grand Indonesia

Tokyo Belly at Setiabudi One (GF - Ground Floor)

Shopping at Plaza Indonesia (one of Jakarta's most luxurious shopping malls)

2014-01-13T12:16:00.000+07:00

It's definitely not bad to spend a rainy afternoon at Plaza Indonesia...

Drinking a LARGE Ice Lemon Tea at Canteen (5th floor)...

...For only 30.000 rupiah (and the free wi-fi is good)...

...While enjoying the nice and relaxing atmosphere...

...And after that...

...Looking at Chinese New Year stuff at The Food Hall (sooo red!)...

...Seeing some fancy apples (79.000 rupiah for only six pieces!)...

...Eating some Chicken Bento at Mos Burger...

...And drinking some Ice Tea again...

...for 'just' 27.000 rupiah...

...Window shopping... Without having any intention to buy something of course...

...Discovering that Mango has 70% discount

...Discovering that Louis Vuitton does not have discount (as usual)...

...But that they do have nice window decorations...

Conclusion: Plaza Indonesia is a nice place to hang out... but not too often :-)

Restaurants at Kota Kasablanka Mall: Roppan, Kachi Sushi, Cooking Panda and Munchies, all yummy food!

2013-12-10T21:56:00.000+07:00

Kachi Sushi
This restaurant is usually quite empty, but the sushi is good. Inspired me to make my own sushi at home. It's a bit pricy, like most sushi restaurants, but this one is worth the price.
They have a smoking and non-smoking area.
Nice place for a bit more fancy lunch or dinner, but if you are hungry, you better go to Shabu Slim on the ground floor, which is an all-you-can-eat shabu-shabu coveyer-type of restaurant (which also has sushi).

Cooking Panda
Nice restaurant when you're hungry and don't want to spend too much. They have an indoor and outdoor area. Quick service.

Roppan - Japanese Toast
I wrote a post about this restaurant before. See link.
Nice Japanese toast, bento, sushi and milky tea.

Munchies
A bit more pricy, but nice atmosphere and very nice sandwiches served on a wooden cutting board. Their pasta dishes are rather small, but taste nice.
They have some nice deals for beer (like buy 2 get 3) and liquor (like vodka tower). They have a smoking area.

[Sorry! No pictures of Munchies yet...]

Roppan at Kota Kasablanka: Japanese Toast & other Japanese-style dishes

2013-12-10T21:07:00.002+07:00

Restaurant Roppan
Kota Kasablanka Mall
G Fl Unit 06 FG, Jl. Casablanca Raya Kav 88

Restaurant review:
This restaurant is always pretty crowded and after trying, I understand why.

They have very nice looking and nice tasting Japanese toast and also some other dishes (bento, sushi etc.). I forgot the prices but it wasn't expensive at all (considering the quantity). They also have many different kinds of milky tea.

Good wifi, no smoking area.

Would definitely recommend to try when you are at Kota Kasablanka.

By the way, Roppan is also available at Plaza Semanggi.

Indonesia's Official Tourism Website

2013-09-20T20:32:00.000+07:00

I discovered that Indonesia has an official tourism website and I'm actually quite impressed!

It's worth to have a look at it: http://www.indonesia.travel/

Restaurants and cafes in Setiabudi One (Kuningan, Jakarta)

2013-07-20T09:21:00.000+07:00

Setiabudi One building is located in Kuningan, South Jakarta. Ground and first floor are filled with restaurants. The place is very suitable for business meetings or a quick coffee or meal with friends.

My favorite restaurant: TOKYO BELLY

See link to my post about this restaurant

Coffee shops

Starbucks is located on the ground floor, Anomali Coffee on the first floor. Anomali is cheaper, better quality and more (unique) choices of coffee and tea, has quite good wifi and the food is also cheaper and better than at Starbucks. Coffee World is also located on the ground floor, but it's the least popular (cheapest) of the three.

Good (but Pricy) Restaurants

Pricy restaurants are Grand Duck Restaurant and Smokehouse, both have very nice food. Grand Duck Restaurant is more suitable for larger groups (big round tables), Smokehouse is smaller and more homy.

Porridge

Ta Wan is a porridge (bubur) restaurant on the first floor. I personally don't like porridge, but they have many other dishes and according to my porridge-loving friends, the porridge is good. For the other dishes, especially the sea food hot plates are very nice and I would also recommend enoki goreng (fried enoki mushrooms). It's not cheap, but it's worth. Busy during lunch time (week days), so be prepared to queue before enjoying the food.

Western Food

The best Western (Italian) food in Setiabudi One can be found in Pisa Cafe and Pizza e Birra. However, Pizza e Birra is like a big freezer, so it's not very convenient to my opinion. If you want to try Pizza e Birra, I would recommend the one in Plaza Indonesia. Pisa cafe has nice pizzas, especially the calzone is recommended. However, the place is not very fancy.

Greek Restaurant

I forgot the name of the restaurant (its something like El Greco), but there is a quite new Greek restaurant on the ground floor. The food is pricy and not very tasty. The portions are small and plain (lack of spices, lack of sauce). However, I heard that they have great home-made ice cream (haven't tried it myself though).

Bad restaurant

I would recommend everyone to stay away from Mie Thai on the first floor. It took seriously MORE THAN an hour to serve food for 8 persons (and we even had to go to the kitchen several times to ask for it) and after more than an hour waiting, we got a small portion of tasteless food (far from fresh and kind of cold, like they didn't put it in microwave long enough). The waiters and waitresses were extremely stupid and unprofessional.

Other restaurants in Setiabudi One:

Hoka Hoka Bento
Chatterbox (Closed down / being renovated)
Sushi Groove
Burger King
Solaria
Kafe Betawi
Gula Merah
Marco Padang
And more...

Where to buy the cheapest tickets from Jakarta to Europe?

2013-07-15T20:20:00.000+07:00

Several months ago I was looking for ticket from Jakarta to Amsterdam (round trip) and I would like to share which channels I used and which one turned out to be the best and the cheapest.

1. The Sky Scanner app and website provide a good indication of which airlines are available and have the cheapest tickets, however, not all airlines are included in the app, the ticket prices are not always the cheapest available and the app/website does not always show the real price. I find it pretty annoying to see tickets with low price that actually do not exist or turn out to best hundreds of euros more expensive.

2. I also checked several ticket websites, like worldticketcenter.nl and cheaptickets.com.
However, I did not find any interesting ticket.

3. After that, I also checked tickets on the websites of several airlines, like Singapore Airlines, KLM, Malaysia Airlines, Garuda Indonesia, Etihad, Emirates and Lufthansa.
I found round-trip tickets for less than 900 euros per ticket (July/August) on the Malaysia Airlines website, but when I tried to order them, I got an error. I tried to use different names, different credit cards, but nothing worked (after two days, I gave up).

Finally, I found cheap tickets (below 900 euros for a round trip in July/August) through a local travel agency called Dwijaya Tour, which is located in several malls in Jakarta.

Having a cat (or other pet) in Jakarta

2013-07-15T19:23:00.001+07:00

It can be somewhat challenging to find pet supplies, a good vet located in your own neighborhood and, last but not least, a nice place for your cat to stay when you are on holiday. Here is some information for new cat owners in Jakarta.

My cat in Jakarta (4 months old)

Where to buy cat supplies in Jakarta?

Most supermarkets (like Carrefour, Hypermart, Lottemart, Farmers Market) sell cat food - for kittens as well as for adults. They usually have Friskies and Whiskas, sometimes other brands, like Pet Forest. Don't expect a large variety of products and tastes, but it is at least not expensive.
Most supermarkets also sell litter, but mostly limited to 1 or 2 brands (I usually buy Catsan, which is around 50.000 rp for a 5 liters bag. One of the other brands is Hartz - which is more expensive and doesn't come with a strong bag, so I've never bought it).
The larger supermarkets also sell some collars, toys and cat shampoo.
Ace Hardware (located in many malls in Jakarta) also sells cat supplies: food, litter, litter boxes, cat cargos, cat cages (for people who keep their cat in a cage at home), food and water bowls, small water dispensers for pets, shampoo, ear spray, etc. Their price is good, usually slightly lower than in the supermarket.

So far, I have been to 3 pet shops in Jakarta:

Groovy (in Kemang, Jalan Kemang Raya No. 44)
Small pet shop in Ambasador mall (forget the name, it's very small and not memorable - but they do sell some good quality cat food, like Royal Canin).
Zoo Petshop (located in Mall of Indonesia (MOI), Kelapa Gading).

Zoo Petshop has the largest assortment of Science Diet products (Hill's Pet) and best price. For shampoo, Groovy has the largest assortment. The one I bought is 'BioGuard' shampoo for cats and dogs, as it is one of their best-selling shampoos. They also have a large assortment of Frontline products (anti-flee and anti-other-scary-creatures-that-can-make-your-cat-itchy-and-sick).

Where to find a good veterinarian in Jakarta?

I have only been to one vet, which is Pet+Vet (http://www.petvet.web.id/), located at Jalan KH Mas Mansyur (in front of Sudirman Apartments) in Central Jakarta. I have never been to any other vet, because I was directly happy with this one. The veterinarian (Dr. Rina) speaks english very well and they took care of my cat when I was on holiday and she was happy and healthy when I picked her up.

Photos Kafe Betawi (Mall Emporium Pluit)

2013-04-03T20:15:00.000+07:00

Photos made @ Kafe Betawi - Mall Emporium Pluit (Jakarta Utara)

Nasi Ulam Komplit

Soto Betawi Daging

Mie Tek Tek

Photos @ Comic Cafe Epicentrum

2013-04-01T20:16:00.000+07:00

Comic Cafe has closed down, but Comic Cafe in Tebet (Jl. Tebet Raya No. 35) is still open.

Comic Cafe (1st floor Interior)

Comic Cafe: Ice Tea Orange Mint (recommended if you like herbal drinks)

Comic Cafe: Nasi Goreng Buntut (Indonesian dish served with lots of emping!)

Comic Cafe: Fish & Chips (Western dish, dory fish with french fries, sauce and salad)