I’ve always been so curious to check out what’s in this amazing glass building in Kemang, but never made my way over. Today in search of lunch with our other Fab Friend F (or FFF) I finally went inside!

Initially we planned on trying out VIN+ which is a wine shop and restaurant, but when we checked it out, the restaurant was deep inside the cavern of the store, was empty of people and looked like a place for trysting couples or unfaithful spouses…=P  Soooo we passed and walked over to The Papilion.

In the first floor is Dutch chocolatier and restaurant Huize van Wely. Though we were the only people there, you could tell that they served high quality cuisine, the interior decoration was superb, lots of natural light filtered through the glass walls.

They start you off with a curious looking biscuit that is actually layered pastry. Interesting. Then the soup and appetizer came. Please note that I am doing this from memory so it might not be the exact name of the dish on their menu. I was enjoying the conversation with FFF way too much to pull-out my BlackBerry and start taking notes! LOL!

Vol-au-vent is a baked patty shell filled with meat, fowl, game, or seafood in sauce. (Click here for pronunciation) 

Of course we had to try the truffles! (For future reference!) Truffles are spherical confectionery traditionally made with a ganache center coated in chocolate or cocoa powder – but there are so many variations of this! You definitely will see a lot of different kinds here!  We had one each and they were delicious.  Definitely inspires one to go back and try all the different kinds!

I also want to try their Bouchée (oversized chocolate with filling inside). Next time I’m going to try the Moet et Chandon Bouchée.

DID YOU KNOW?

Moët is pronounced with a T at the end (MO-WETT). I’ve been mispronuncing it the whole time! (Click here for the correct pronunciation) I only realized it after reading this article entitled Moët for Linguists. But don’t fear…  according to the article “the French representatives, when visiting New Zealand (a country where everyone pronounces it as MO-AYE), are accepting of the mispronunciation, realizing where it has stemmed from. ‘They are not snotty about it.“

We couldn’t really compare this to our favorite Strawberry Cheesecake from Harvest because this one was different. This one is also an excellent cheesecake – with gourmet touches. For example instead of any ol’ graham crust, the bottom was a cracker coated with dark chocolate powder – which gave us the taste of graham, but had this wonderful crunchy texture and chocolate taste which was a fantastic contrast to the soft & creamy cheesecake!

Everything was excellent! Thanks so much FFF for taking me! I must bring TD here soon – and afterwards explore the furniture store and other floors to help digest all that yummy food.  There is a popular hangout on the rooftop called SHY that I wouldn’t mind checking too! =)

By the way, does any one know the correct pronunciation for the restaurant’s name? Any Dutch or Dutch-speaking readers out there? Drop me a line if you do!

Huize van Wely

• 7 days a week 09:00 – 20:00
• The Papilion, 1st Floor, Jl. Kemang Raya 45AA, Jakarta 12730, Indonesia
• Telp: 62-21-7191975, 7195737
• Fax: 62-21-7181574
• www.huizevanwely.com