PUBLIK MARKETTE GRAND INDONESIA - JAKARTA

Slowly but sure, I feel like everyone - if not every foodies - is excited about new places and I am talking about the restaurants only, the art of new places opening or even the moment when you wait until it opens is always exciting (at least for me) and that's exactly how I deal with this one, another new comer, another Ismaya's creative venture, Publik Markette located inside the growing Central department store, Grand Indonesia just across NOMZ and near UNION DELI.

Just to let you know, I just had lunch here and here I am typing the blog post while I was waiting for my meeting, Initially wanted to work in Kempi Deli, but it's so sad knowing that Kempi Deli is now closing (I asked the security there), I don't know if it's temporary or permanent, but all the cakes and pastries purchase are now transferred to Sweet Boutique, Kempinski's recently launched signature bakery. BRING BACK MY GODDAMN KEMPI DELI! One of the coziest spot to work on my stuff, petite and comfy ah! *wipe tears*.

The soul of this restaurant reminded me of Kitchenette in a glance, not sure if it's because of the hanging cabinets or the color palette, but there's something Kitchenette about it, of course in a good way. I love the atmosphere of Kitchenette, I think Ismaya is the champ when it comes to the concept, even though sometimes the food turned out just OK. The ambiance of Publik Markette on the day was quite homey and comfortable with a little touch of industrial but looking nowhere near cheap. I love sitting on that little pot just near the window, aside from the photography reason, the sunlight kicked in beautifully and I found that "my own heartwarming reason". I also love how they managed to use a lot of greens inside giving the refreshing feeling to the ambiance.

It's not yet opened for public, I was one of their guest on the soft opening days. It will open for public this Thursday!

The concept of the order was as simple as the canteen method, you just need to take the number on your table (mine was #62 and photo below) and you made your way from the start point (left) to the end part where they displayed the juices (right), at the end, you only need to pay for the purchase and they will bring your order to your table so no need to wait!

The food was dominated with Western cuisine and they will be rolled daily to keep the guests entertained with the options, but everyday you're going to find proteins like chicken, beef, pork and fish. I had myself "Crispy Pork Belly" (IDR 155k) that came with roasted corns and green salads, "Baked Bolognaise Pipe Pasta" (IDR 55k) and for the drink, I ordered their "Tropical Sunrise" juice which is the mix of pineapple, cucumber, lemon, and honey.

Everything was displayed beautifully it's almost you want a piece of every freaking thing. They look so chunky and good damn it!

The Tropical Sunrise Juice (IDR 35k) was dominated with sour flavor with proper amount of sweetness and very refreshing. I like it better served with cubes!

TO REMEMBER: Publik Markette also offer another option for lunch and late lunch and it's the Ala Carte menus available everyday from 3-5 PM. They have two opening hours at the moment: the lunch time starts from 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM, then continued with the Ala Carte hours and finalized with the dinner from 6:30 PM - 9:30 PM. You better note this my friend.

The number that I talked about, you need to bring this when you're ordering the food.

Crispy Pork Belly
IDR 155k
Two big chunks of Pork Belly that came with two roasted corns, green salad and homemade sauce (guessing it was Wasabi and sorry if I am wrong but I kinda sensed something spicy and sour). I was quite stunned at how big the portion was because it looks more like a sharing portion! The pork belly was indeed crispy on the skin layer and the meat was very juicy and tender and it's marinated and seasoned beautifully, light without overlapping the meat's flavor. The roasted corns were beautiful as well, properly cooked and seasoned! Sort of proud of this dish! I was not disappointed at all and had no complaint for this, except the homemade sauce which I was not very fond about, I just didn't like the flavor.

Baked Bolognaise Pipe Pasta
IDR 55k
Flavor wise, this was beautiful! The pasta was cooked al-dente and you can clearly note that and the seasoning of the Bolognaise has got to be the bomb of this dish! It was that meaty-savory flavor, I normally don't like pasta with tomato sauce base because it could go sour, watery and just not how I like it, but it's thick and stick on the pasta. Love! For some reasons, I think it's quite expensive for IDR 55k considering this looks more like a side-dish presentation, if they can make it prettier looking then that IDR 55k would seem worth it.

Strawberry and Banana Cobbler
IDR 30k
I was quite fond of this dessert for a few reasons: the fact that it's not too sweet, the fact that they're generous in giving the fruit cuts and the fact that the texture of the "pie" was gooey, chewey and has this crusty biscuit like texture and fragrance. I think you should order this.

Pleasant time and good food were what I got for lunch, this actually changed my perception of Ismaya a little bit. Face it, Ismaya restaurant is never really bad, they always have the urge to grow and that's what I see from Skye (which btw the food turns good comparing to the first time I came) and this one! Keep up the good performance and good quality and soon you'll be getting loyal customers coming here ;).

BEST OF LUCK!

Publik Markette
Central Department Store East Mall - G Fl. (Across Nomz and below Social House)
Jl. M.H. Thamrin No. 1
Jakarta Pusat 10310
Opening Hours:
Lunch Time: 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM
Ala Carte Hours: 3 PM - 5 PM
Dinner: 6 PM - 9:30 PM
Pricing: $$
Dresscode: sporty casual
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PAO PAO SENOPATI - JAKARTA

I first heard about this new hangout place in Senopati from a friend and he told me about this place that uniquely sells only Dim Sum as the main course and liquors to go along, well, personally I don't drink but I am curious enough about their Dim Sum and a couple of days ago I fulfil my curiosity and long time Dim Sum craving!

Pao Pao is the name of this Dim Sum and liquor bar and they only open for dinner reservations, they're still quite new (as this post is made, less than a month). Went there on Friday night and it was just the perfect time to bond with the Jakartans (even though we barely communicate). My first impression as I stepped in: stunned of how dark the place was, it's almost underground like but somehow reminded me of these Melbourne pubs, aside from the fact that I'll put more effort to take decent pictures and editing, I love the ambiance and definitely the music, I must say I was quite entertained with the playlist featuring medium beat musics mixed with the lounge vibe. I could simply sit there for hours.

If you find the music not entertaining enough, wait until you visit their bathroom, it was amazing.

If you're having a problem finding it, Pao Pao is located next to Arasseo and both are located on the other side of the Senopati street, so instead of turning right from Yellowfin (if you make your way from Gunawarman), turn left to the Recidence 8 area, if not then I suggest you to turn around from the tip of Sudirman road (the traffic light) instead of turning left from SCBD.

The interior was this smart mixture of retro and fashion, I was obsessed with the rattan chairs, wooden table and the flower motif, they were such a beautiful combination. Period.

I came with friends who don't drink so we ordered the virgins (mocktails) and generally I found the mocktails very refreshing! Generally talking, they were fruity with lovely balance of sweetness and I had no problem or complaint about them, they were just decent and numerically speaking, an 8/10, but I've always loved a little kick of sour on my mocktails and if they could give a little kick that would be an impressive 8.5/10 :p. My favorite one was the Double Happiness with dominant pineapple flavor.

They currently only have three mocktails selections and we ordered the all three.

Left: Hustle Stormy (IDR 45k), Right: Lychee Little Shanghai (IDR 45k)

While we were taking pictures, a waiter came with a complimentary cocktail and I was cheap enough to be impressed HAHA, no but that was seriously nice of them. I didn't know the name of the cocktail so I couldn't give the info, but the flavor was just too intense for me, but they've prepared the cinnamon cream to tone down the aftertaste, which somehow...worked.

Left: Double Happiness (IDR 45k), Right: complimentary drink.

 I mentioned earlier that they only served Dim Sum (steamed and fried) as the mains here so you have to note this before you go here and expecting something else. The range of Dim Sum was pretty common with courses like Siewmay, Ha Kao, Xiao Long Bao, Dumplings, Steamed Paos, Deep Fried Taro, and many more. We ordered the Steamed Dim Sum platter (IDR 125k) and Fried Dim Sum platter (IDR 100k) to share, and since reviewing one by one would take this post longer then I would generally state that I LOVE THE DIM SUM...BOTH STEAMED AND FRIED! They were perfectly cooked and seasoned with generous filling. We just couldn't munching and as I am typing this post right now I feel like looking at the pics sort of killing me at the moment because I am freaking craving for them!

The serving sauce came in two kinds, the plain red one was the ordinary chili sauce but the bomb was the homemade chili, it was spicy and addicting and OMG so yum. Lost for words you better bring you ass here and experience it yourself.

 The steamed Dim Sum platter consist of more options that the fried one, that's why it's slightly more expensive. I love everything that you're looking at here, but if you ask me my most and least favorite then I would say I really like their dumplings and the softness of the paos, but the cha siu filling was just a tad sweet for me instead of savory.

 When this was served, the aroma was quite annoying as we realized we needed to take pics first instead of digging in! I super duper love the fried taro as it was simply perfect for me, if not one of the best I've tried.

For platters like that and the value we got, the money we paid for was very worth it and not to mention I was quite full even after sharing two platters for three tummies, it was simply an awesome dinner, along the fact that we tried this new place and were not disappointed :).

I highly suggest that you book a reservation (especially during weekends) because I think we were just lucky to have some space on a Friday night and the fact that we unplanned-ly came early, we came at 6 and just 15 minutes after that people started coming in and suddenly the venue was almost packed.

Pao Pao Liquor & Dim Sum
Jalan Senopati No. 16
Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan 12190
021 - 2751 0698
Opening Hours:
Sun-Thu: 6 PM - 2 AM
Fri-Sat: 6 PM - 3 AM
Dresscode: Casual
Pricing: $$
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Map for Residence 8

GONI COFFEE KEMANG - JAKARTA

This new coffee shop caught my attention straight away as my friend posted a photo of this particular on her Instagram. I've always have that thing for coffee shops and I found them really sexy in the most delicious and curious ways, there's something about the smell of coffee that's very addicting and comforting, it's almost like you can't have enough of them.

Goni, which by the way means gunnysack in English is this petite and humble coffee shop located in Jalan Kemang Selatan 1 in South Jakarta. I don't exactly know the philosophy behind the naming, except for the fact that gunnysack is the material used to carry the coffee beans, polish it a bit and gunnysack represents who they are: strong and confident with their products, needs to be covered gently as they have good products :). Based on my experience and self-proclaimed "research", I found that most of the best coffee shops are actually located in the South, including Crematology which Argam, one of the owners used to spend his time interning in. Goni might be petite but I won't use the word "cute" to describe it because it's the least thing that's equivalent with a coffee shop in my standard, but I love the ambiance about it, I love it even more for the fact that they're actually located around the Bajaj station, there's something very ethnic, local, unique, vintage and original about it.

For the coffee, they're currently focusing on the Bali Kintamani house blend, which by the way is the ultimate tag team with cappuccino and Padang Solok (this one I never tried before).

Here they do not serve main courses, they just provide light bites like pastries and cakes, well if only you consider croissants light.

Knowing that they're using Bali Kintamani house blend, that means ordering cappuccino (IDR 35k/hot) is a freaking must and yes it was beautiful. I love the coffee as the flavor is rich and with tolerable acidity. I also tried their Iced version of cappuccino (IDR 40k) and theirs was a little unique because they actually blend the cappuccino along with one scoop of vanilla ice cream, and the result? A good comforting-almost must have-drink to fight the day heat.

I tried their banana cake and I wouldn't recommend it to you as it's not my favorite, the texture was not solid and tend to stay apart after every cut.

Overall, I must say that Goni is a strong contender to the coffee shops in Jakarta. The place might be petite but their quality isn't exactly, and it's probably the fact that the owners both spent a couple of their years in Sydney (which by the way serves amazing coffee). It's good to know that there's FINALLY another decent place that sells good coffee despite selling the venue or location. Welcome to the jungle you guys and good luck!

Goni Coffee
Jalan Kemang Selatan I No. 20
(located at the Bajaj station, near HERO and Antipodean)
Kemang, Jakarta Selatan 12730
0815 1304 6461
email: hello@gonicoffee.com
Opening Hours:
Mon-Sat: 7 AM - 5 PM
Sunday: 8 AM - 5 PM
Pricing: $
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YING THAI PANTAI INDAH KAPUK JAKARTA

I don't really put that much care and attention when I first heard that little chaotic situation between this particular Ying Thai that I am reviewing with the one in Melbourne. There has been some "he said she said" thing going on, but I chose not to give a damn, because honestly, what I really care about is the food and that's what makes me feel happy.

Ying Thai is a Thai restaurant located in Pantai Indah Kapuk and soon enough declaring itself as one of the leading Thai restaurant in the neighborhood. This restaurant was quite spacious and me quite fond of their interior design, it's just my favorite: simple, proper with a little twist of playfulness and quirkiness from the mural illustration making it not only a good family restaurant, but also for the younger generation to dine and date here as well. I came here during lunch time and it wasn't very packed, their peak hour is during the dinner service.

Melbournians should know about this!

Their menu is (definitely) dominated with Thai cuisine, authentic with a little twist of adaptation to the local's palate (that's how I smartly explain it HAHA). Even though most of the menu is the sharing portion, but there are also the personal menus like fried rice and the good old Pad Thai.

Kiwi Lychee Tea
IDR 39k
This was for me, the ultimate thrist quencher that day. I love how refreshing this beverage was, sweet with a little hint of sour and fruity.

Yakult Blend
IDR 39k
Short to say, a Yakult smoothie. Flavor wise, rich Yakult flavor and not too milky for my taste bud.

Pla Lard Prik
IDR 69k
Pla Lard Prik is a traditional Thai dish of deep fried fish fillet with sweet and sour Tamarind sauce. I expected more sour from the sauce and personally since I couldn't handle crazy spicy stuff (and this is freaking spicy), I hope they could tone it down, but other than that, the fish was deep fried appropriately leaving the coating to be a little gooey and the fish was smooth and fresh. The sauce was tasty enough for me and fit the character of the fish pretty decently.

Gai Hor Bai Toey
IDR 39k
Gai Hor Bai Toey is actually the Thailand naming for "Pandan Chicken" and this Pandan Chicken from Ying Thai was beautiful! The marinated chicken wrapped in Pandan leaves and deep fried altogether. The benefit of using Pandan leaves is to have the aroma and essence of the Pandan leaves on the chicken so the chicken could be more fragrant and flavorful. I love how they cooked it in a good temperature leaving the chicken to be completely tender, not greasy. Flavor wise, it's a good balance between sweet, savory and smokey.

Som Tum Talay
IDR 32k
Som Tum is Thai's incredibly famous papaya salad, the character of Som Tum dish should be a damn good balance of sweet and sour and in away, fresh! I was glad that Ying Thai managed to create their own good version of their own Som Tum with seafood.

Yum Sam Grop
IDR 49k
This particular dish was my personal favorite and I highly recommend this to you all. It was an exciting Thai salad with prawn and salad as their main condiments, the highlight must be the crispy pork skin and I suggest not taking too long to photograph or else the crispiness will disappear. Overall, this was a beautiful flavorful dish, and I love the beautiful balance between the sweet and tanginess <3.

Ox Tounge Grapow
IDR 65k
This is their take on Gyu Tan Don but of course with Thai twist with the usage of deep fried basil leaves. The ox tounge was seasoned beautifully and the meat was tender enough for my liking. Again it's pretty spicy for my tastebud and I did expect the overall consistency to be a little moist, probably by adding more sauce on the rice, but that's just my personal preference, others might like it just how it is.

Tom Yum Seafood
IDR 49k
It's hard to find good Tom Yum in Jakarta, frankly speaking, this Tom Yum seafood from Ying Thai is the closest to my standard (or even on my standard). The soup was incredibly flavorful: spicy and tangy and you really-really need to have it while it's searing hot. I expected more generous seafood in the portion but for a IDR 50k and what I got, this was a good deal!

Thai Cassava with Coconut Sauce
Still my favorite Thai dessert! Ying Thai's version had decent texture (without being soggy) and the coconut milk sauce was the bomb to everything on the portion.

I browsed through their menu and they had so many menus, and based on what I experienced on my lunch time, I am so coming back for more. I wasn't disappointed with the food, there were just some minor issues (like the portion) but didn't really matter much on how I value the overall performance. The pricing wasn't bad as well, it was pretty worth it and the service was also good!

Short to say, it's not only a good place for you to dine, it's also a good place for you to hangout, not so many people actually hangout in Thai restaurant but this one just got the ambiance for it.

Ying Thai
Ruko Crown Golf Blok B No. 8-9
Pantai Indah Kapuk, Jakarta Utara 14470
021 - 2952 5756
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