AFTERNOON TEA IN JAKARTA: PORTICO SENAYAN CITY

Even though "high tea" never actually become a huge trend in Jakarta comparing to the presence of "Red Velvet" or "Nitrogen Ice Cream" but there's still a couple of good spots for you to have your delightful, dreamy afternoon tea (BY THE WAY I use the term "afternoon tea" and "high tea" in exhange but it actually means the same for me). I used to question my interest for afternoon tea but now I seem to know the answer. I don't think it's a part of my need or lifestyle, it's just the platform and my favorite excuse to hangout with my friends in the more stylish and luxurious way!

After touring the places that actually serve afternoon tea in Jakarta, I recently came to Portico to try out their high tea promotion, when it comes to desserts, I'll always be on board, even when I don't have time, I will make excuse for one! A little information about Portico for those who don't know (really?), you can say it's one of the poshest, famous, stylish restaurants in town located in Senayan City shopping mall (and been there for almost 6 years), it's where the fashionable social people (yes mostly) go for drinks or comfort food, nah but I am not stylish or nowhere near skinny but I love food so whatever. It's under the OPCO group which organized some of the top restaurants, cafes and clubs in town such as Warung Tinggi, H5, Yellowfin, Stark Bierhaus, Domain and some more. I love the ambiance of this restaurant during the day because I always enjoy restaurants with a lot of access to the sunlight and since their outlet's surrounded by glasses everywhere that should make sense.

The indoor venue wasn't as spacious as the outdoor but it's certainly way cooler (me talking about the temperature) and they set the outdoor to appear like terrace and there's also a mini bar.

The concept of their high tea is buffet and to be noted, it is only available on the WEEKENDS from 3 PM-6 PM for IDR 165k++ per pax and this already included tea/coffee. They're using the Gryphon tea and I FREAKING LOVE GRYPHON TEA. I tried their "Nymph of The Nile" at it was very fragrant in the sexiest floral scent, a little musky and mysterious, the flavor was rich and I love the beautiful and exquisite blend of the herb, fruity and rosy. Personally I found the tea more of an afternoon/night rather than the morning tea.

The range of their afternoon tea was quite decent and they have the sweet and savory menu. For the sweet meny they have Apple Cherry, Crepes with Vanilla Cream and Peach Filling, Jelly Spaghetti, Frozen Strawberry Cream Cheese, Banoffee Pie in a Jar, Strawberry Pannacotta, Chocolate Mousse Cake, Apple Crumble and assorted chocolates, and for their savory menu they have: Balinese Satays, Mini Sandwich, Beef Skewer, Salmon Roll, Frikandel Puff Pastry and Mini Spring Roll. I didn't try each and every one of it because I was quite full and since some of the menu was running out, but here is the overview of the Portico High Tea set!

General menu overview

Banana cupcake with butter frosting, generally not a big fan of banana frosting but this one was quite light and the banana flavor was quite rich

Banofee Pie in Jar (lovely), Chocolate Pannacotta in Jar, Jelly Spaghetti, Chocolate Mousse Cake (lovely density and rich chocolate flavor), Frozen Strawberry Cream Cheese, Apple Cherry

Left: Frikandel Puff Pastry, Right: Beef Skewer. The Frikandel Puff Pastry had this decent pastry consistency but since they're mini you can't really expect much from the filling, while the beef skewer was lovely since I am a sucker for ham and sausages.

The salmon roll was also lovely and one of my favorites of the night along with the well executed lumpia!

Cute assorted chocolates

Virgin Apple Mojito and Berry Spritzer. Their Virgin Apple Mojito was refreshing, fruity and proper balance of sweet and sour, and the Berry Spritzer had this strong fruity berry flavor (raspberry, blueberry and blackberry), not exactly sour (sweeter than the mojito), topped with passionfruit but it was another good day beverage.

I love the teapot and cup, somehow resemble "royalty"

For a IDR 165k++ I think it's a good deal, considering the high tea was buffet and all you can eat (the tea however was not), the selections was pretty good, I wouldn't say everything was nice because I barely tried everything but some of the ones that I tried were not bad leh, the chocolate mousse cake was my favorite from the sweet station while the lumpia and salmon roll were two of my savory station favorites!

Portico is another awesome place to have your afternoon tea, not to mention the convenient venue (esp. outdoor) would make you feel like you're actually in a garden, but then not so much when you realize you're in Jakarta, not London HAHAHA!

Portico
Senayan City, GF
Jalan Asia Afrika Kav. 19
Senayan, Jakarta Selatan 10270
021 - 7278 1787
Opening Hours: 11 AM - 1 PM
WiFi: Yes
Dresscode: Sporty Casual (NO SHORTS AND SLIPPERS)
Pricing: $$, IDR 350k for two
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Map for Portico

CLEA TEA BAR AND LOUNGE KEMANG JAKARTA

In my life, I have always been obsessed with flowers. I don't care if you guys find it feminine or what but I think flowers are one of a lot of God's most beautiful creations. They live, they are pretty, colorful and there's something very therapeutic when you look at them or smell them, it's almost like the recharging, refreshing and some parts of the stressed-self got de-stressed. Something about its presence that brings excitement. Okay, this conversation is getting very heavy.

I was very glad when I found out that there's a new florist and cafe opening in Jakarta, well, Clea it is and I just had lunch in this beautiful cafe earlier today! Clea is located in Kemang, just across the well known Italian restaurant, Toscana and not far from the D'Cost. Even though it's located in Kemang and technically miles away from where I live, again, I got excited when new places are opening and it's mandatory in my dictionary to be the earlybirds! From the staffs I learned that this was originially Tea Addict, and Clea's owned by the same owner only they changed pretty much everything. Frankly, I've never been to Tea Addict before so I couldn't do the judgement, but let's just put it this way: Tea Addict was the cocoon and Clea is the new born butterfly!

When I stepped inside the cafe, the refreshing scent of the flowers lingered all over the room and I found it very pleasant, but for some reasons I was expecting more flowers, all over the place, but I must admit that the interior design was beautiful: it's very minimalist, pretty and sort of vintage-ish from the wooden tables, chairs and the couches. I just love it!

The whole venue was separated into dining area and the flower area (I don't know what you call it), but there's a connecting door to the other room where they showcased the flowers and the venue was very cool (literally) because it had private AC to keep the flower fresh. I WOULD DIE to be locked inside.

The lighting in this place was magnificent, making the photo effortless. Oh, talking about photography, they didn't allow photography inside the cafe, I got the information from my friend who went here earlier, but since I asked for permission and luckily met the friendly staff, they allowed to take pics, but only at the limited areas.

The F&B menu here was mostly dominated with Asian menus but they also had several other options like western, local and fusion cuisine.

Iced Lychee Tea
IDR 30k
Their lychee tea had the best appearance I've seen so far, that little green liquid really gave much difference to the overall look it almost looked like cocktail to me. As in the flavor, I found it tad too sweet for me, if they could tone down the sweetness that would be better.

The Green Monster
IDR 35k
Since I am currently on my detox failing detox momentum (it's so hard for food bloggers to actually do detox, it's almost like suicide in the industry), and the least I could do was to order juice. Their Green Monster was the mixture of pineapple, green apple with spinach. I love the balance of sour and sweet in this drink and it's pretty refreshing, I just didn't quite enjoy the fact that I think the juice was like 40% liquid and 60% fruit waste.


Crispy Chicken Salad
IDR 40k
I didn't except the salad to look like this because it somehow reminded me of kebab, but still, credit for their uniqueness, their Crispy Chicken Salad needed a little more seasoning or a glaze of sauce (probably mayo) to live up the flavor and added a little play of consistency. I found it to be a little dry.

Tuna Spaghetti
IDR 58k
Their tuna spaghetti was very spicy but overall the texture of the pasta was lovely (they cooked it al-dente), the tuna was generous and the seasoning was well-executed. Next time if you want to order this, make sure to ask the staff to customize the spiciness.

Nasi Hainan
IDR 60k
I would highly recommend this and rave about this even more if they could have done better with the rice, it actually tasted more like butter rice instead of hainan rice, just a little unfortunate comparing to the well executed (as in seasoning and texture) of the chicken and the tasty savory soup (love the soup!)

Carrot Cake
IDR 25k
Their carrot cake was also quite nice for me, the texture of the cake was moist and gooey with the right density and the flavor was quite rich with just the right amount of cream cheese on top. Appreciate the almond dressing on top as they give a little texture to the overall performance.

I was happy with my visit to Clea as the food was good enough, it's the kind of place that I would go for quick lunch or me-time while working on my stuffs while fulfilling the desire of being surrounded with flowers. The service was also quite friendly and I was happy with this waiter named "Zen" as he was very friendly, helpful and attentive, hey you owner if you read this you should start paying more attention to him!

To sum it up, what they had in store was lovely, but the ambiance was lovelier. Too much flowers would never hurt :).

Clea Tea Bar and Lounge
Jl. Kemang Raya No. 95 (across Toscana)
Kemang, Jakarta Selatan 12730
021 - 719 0232
Opening Hours: 10 AM - 11 PM
Pricing: $$, IDR 200k for two
WiFi: Yes!
Credit Card, Debit and Cash payment accepted
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Map for Tea Addict (Clea Tea Bar and Lounge)

THE STONES HOTEL LEGIAN BALI: HOTEL REVIEW

I can't believe that it has been one freaking month since my last Bali trip. Indeed time flies and I am just stuck in between having my soul there while my body's here and looking back the old photos and all the calories that I have consumed, damn I ate so much in Bali I always gain more pounds everytime I got back, not to mention I spent one week there. It was fun but I might have to start considering gym right now ._.

One of the highlights of that trip was staying at this gorgeous hotel called The Stones. I stayed the whole week in Legian and I spent the longest here (about three nights). The location was very strategic as it's located at the heart of Kuta and Legian beach, just where most of the tourists go. It's a walking distance to the Beachwalk Shopping Mall.

This hotel is relatively new comparing to the other more 'legendary' names in Legian, this year and actually this month marks its two year anniversary (HAPPY BIRTHDAY!) and I was fortunate enough to have the experience of staying here and pampered myself with what they had in store, and here I am sharing it to you right now. The Stones is actually one of Marriott's group venture called "The Autograph Collection" so basically it's a five-star property, only the concept, the ambiance and the energy of this hotel are slightly different than the rest of the Marriott hotels which mostly are more classy and serious, well this hotel is classy, but different kind of classy: FUN CLASSY!

Likewise, this post is going to be photo heavy so complain less and enjoy the visual tour <3.

The entrance to the hotel. Unexpected enough, before actually getting to the hotel you'd have to pass some of the retail outlets.

The lobby area

The check-in was very smooth and easy. It took me probably less than 10 minutes to complete everything and being escorted to my room. What's even better than I got served these welcome goodies! Their homemade popsicles and it was pretty tasty and refreshing! So far I'm impressed.

I don't know if it's just me who's lacking of experience but it was clearly not my usual idea to have the bathroom area welcoming me as I opened the door. The bathroom area was not exactly spacious, just standard typical with separated shower and toilet area, private sink for one and a closet. The rest area (bed area) consist of one comfortable king size bed, iPhone/iPod speaker dock, telephones, large LED TV with access to the international channels (I LOVE HOTELS WITH ACCESS TO E CHANNEL AND ASIAN FOOD CHANNEL!!!) and a little working area in the corner with a table and a chair, but the best thing about the whole room was: the access to the pool view via the terrace while having your private bathtub time (yes, their bathtub is located outdoor). The upside was totally having the pool view and it's unique because I personally have always been a fan of outdoor bathtub, but the downside is that your "neighbors" might see you, but it's okay for the thick-skinned. However, they also provide curtains for privacy.

Curtains closed means it's time for me and only me.

I appreciate hotels that actually supply bath salts. Why don't all five star hotels do this?

Eye pampered! Bali was seriously flirting with me.

Postcard perfect!

Massive pool they got there! Funny thing is that I don't like and probably will never swim in public, the thing is I'm just not used to do the communal swim. I like my own private bath tub time or private pool.

Room complimentary, but to be honest I didn't have so much of these because I got a little stressed out and worried remembering how much I ate throughout the week and four days staying in The Stones equals to finishing a can of Yupi bears and one diet coke.

Yupi bear

Chupachups <3. I've always been a fan of their cola candy!

Time to jump in!

Decided to stroll around the pool and tour the hotel. The more I toured the hotel the more I feel like I was in W hotel, which is good because W Bali is one of my favorite hotels ever, it's nice to have that slight touch of W's ambiance in Legian.

The poolside bar

Fresh mocktails for me as complimentary from the hotel! Thank you so much!

This one was the most unique in presentation because they used the pineapple as the glass, the beverage was very refreshing with a little hint of sour.

This will be on the upcoming post! Publishing it very berry soon!

I was quite hungry but I wasn't in the mood and lazy enough to go out and eat somewhere, and not forgetting the fact that I was alone made me lost my will! So I decided to order the room service! As you can see, I think the presentation was very cute! They actually use the take out boxes (which until now I still find it fashionably and attractively delicious) and delivered by the room service staff dressed in delivery guy costume, I think more restaurants should apply this to theirs! I ordered their The Stones Nasi Goreng (IDR 99k) and it was very good and I did ask for the spicy one. The portion was quite big and came with chicken skewer, sunny side up, pickles, fried chicken, and crackers! Wasn't care about being sinful late night I bet my tummy was laughing very hard that night and pretty much ended the day watching cable TV and slept the night peacefully.

 I am going to do a separate post on the restaurant and food review because they deserve one freaking good post! Generally I super duper love the breakfast I think it's one of the best hotel breakfasts I've tried...ever! Just so you know, The Stones has three restaurants under the roof: The Stones Kitchen (photo below) where I had my breakfast and lunch among my stay, Big Fish bar & Grill and The Long Rice Table.

Teasers of the upcoming post!

I had bliss and fun staying in The Stones. I must say that generally they're good. The service was awesome and I love how the staffs were really helpful and attentive. You know, I love to test out the services to see how fast and attentive they were and The Stones' staff managed to pass my standard MWAHAHA, if they're bad I'm still going to point this out because this post is a bloody review. It took less than 30 minutes for my meals to be cooked and delivered to my room and when they came, still very warm, hence they're tasty and flavorful. When I asked for extra bath gel they delivered me two bottles in less than 10 minutes. Not only that, I also adore the smiley staffs around the hotel and always greeted me in a very proper and polite way (NOT POINTING MYSELF TO BE PRINCE LIKE OKAY). I don't think I have any downside to share about this hotel, the only thing I didn't like was the array of retail outlets that I have to walk through before reaching the hotel. Somehow it cheapen the look of the hotel and made it appear less-exclusive. Other than that, everything is completely fine!

Thank you for the beautiful 4 days stay! I couldn't wait to go back here, or at least to have scrumptious breakfast and lunch at The Stones Kitchen! Till we meet again!

Thanks for reading guys, if you have any questions please feel free to drop them in the comment box!

Ah, how I miss waking up lazy, stress-less and free from any pressure! Couldn't seem to find it in Jakarta :"(.

The Stones Hotel, Autograph Collection
Jalan Raya Pantai Kuta
Banjar Legian Kelod, Indonesia 80361
0361 - 300 5888
Pricing: $$$
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Map for The Stones Hotel - Autograph Collection