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DIPLO HIT LIST: Jakarta Restaurants

February 14, 2011

Off the top of my head, these are our personal favorites in the short time that we’ve been living in Jakarta. Jakarta has an exciting food scene that is combine with great interior design, however not everything on my list is high end. I also listed some hole in the walls that we liked for cheap eats. Please click on the links to find further information on the location and (if I managed to do a post on the restaurant) dish recommendations too. 

I will be adding to this list from time to time, if we discover other awesome restos.

BRUNCH

Social House Brunch Eggs Benedict

  1. Social House Grand Indonesia My favorite brunch in town is their Eggs Benedict with Turkey ham and the pork bacon
  2. Sekitei Saturday Brunch I absolutely love this Japanese brunch buffet. It’s a bit more upscale but the quality of the food is worth it. This is great if you want to do something more special.
  3. Pearl Restaurant JW Marriot for affordable casual Chinese sunday buffet brunch! Love the roasted suckling pig, peking duck and fried prawn wanton!
  4. Koi Kemang The eggs benedict for me is not as good as Social House, but eating here is always a fab experience with the fab art and furni which are also for sale. Great ambiance. Go up to the 2nd floor for some furni/decor shopping to work off the calories.

CHIC DINNER & DRINKS

Birdcage Restaruant and Bar Jakarta

Birdcage drop lights on the trees surrounding Birdcage restaurant

  1. Social House – I also love going to SoHo for dinner. The vibe is great and the view of the Bundaran when they open the “terrace” is lovely.
  2. Potato Head Pacific Place for light meals like sandwiches and super chic drinks. My favorite is thing on their menu is the super cheesy Onion Soup.
  3. PEPeNERO for well-priced Italian – pizza with prociutto & mushrooms, spinach pasta with creamy mushroom sauce. The bottles or red wine are very reasonable too. And the complimentary breads and chocolate liquor at the end of the meal is the cherry on top!
  4. Pizza e Birra Plaza Indonesia for their classic pizzas (none of those breakfast pizza’s with egg on top) and awesome beer towers and flavored beers (love the peach!)
  5. Birdcage Restaurant for the relaxed vibe and good paninis & pastas

INDONESIAN FOOD

Sate Ayam Ponorogo (Daging) or sweet chicken sate (Rp 53,000). My friend it's really good, but I think I prefer the sweet & spicy one.

Te Sate chicken sate

  1. Seribu Rasa – Love the posh interiors! Surprisingly reasonable if you eat as a big group (i.e. Last time we ate there, we were 6pax, and we ended up paying Rp 170,000 each)
  2. TeSate – for reasonably priced Indonesian food. Tahu Telur FTW! TD’s favorite dishes are the sate and the beef rendang.
  3. Sate Khas Senayan – For casual Indonesian food, I go to the one beside Penang Bistro near Pakubuwono
  4. Kembang Goela – Fine Indonesian cuisine. I highly recommend this. We entertained Diplo Friends from Switzerland here.
  5. Mera Delima – Fine Indonesian cuisine
  6. Dapur Babah – I recommend this place for the history of the antique artifacts, not the food so much. I recommend you try it for Javanese coffee and Dutch-influenced desserts only.

* If you are in Dapur Babah, you may want to check out the first ever dutch ice cream parlor in Indonesia. It is 2 doors down the road from Dapur Babah, but please note that it is not air-conditioned, smoking is allowed inside. Personally I don’t recommend it on weekends.

CHINESE FOOD

Crystal Jade Tim Xiao Long Bao Ayam ala "Shanghai" or Steamy Soupy Chicken Dumpling (5pcs for Rp 22,000)

Crystal Jade xiao long bao

  1. Grand Duck King (Grand Indonesia) – love the dim sum, fried bihon noodles, and the Pecking Duck skin wraps #Foodgasm-ic!
  2. Crystal Jade Best Xiao Long Baos in Jakarta (for me even better than Din Tai Fung). Other favorites are Nasi Ikan Ayam Asin (salted fish fried rice) and fried Salted Egg Prawns. The basement resto in Grand Indonesia Mall has closed but the one on the upper floor is still open. They also have a branch in Plaza Indonesia.

SEAFOOD

  1. Pandan Bistro – Our favorite place to go when we are craving for seafood. They cook it Indonesian Chinese style or Peranakan
  2. D’Cost – this is practically a fast food chain, for seafood. Super cheap.

JAPANESE FOOD

Lunch Meals at Sekitei - Dharmawangsa

Lunch Meals at Sekitei – Dharmawangsa

  1. Sushi Tei for cheap but fresh Japanese food. This is perfect for a quick bite!
  2. Sekitei – The Dharmawangsa Hotel I highly recommend their affordable lunch meals at starting at Rp 110,000 and their Saturday Japanese Brunch. OMG I am still dreaming about that Wagyu Fried Rice!

KOREAN BBQ17-chung gi wa korean bbq restaurant jakarta cheap-016

  1. Chung Gi Wa – our favorite place for cheap Korean BBQ. Remember to order Pork instead of beef – it’s cheaper!
  2. BornGa – If you are looking for something a little more upscale. Great Korean BBQ too.

 HOLE IN THE WALL

Places to try for those who are feeling adventurous! I never got a bad tummy eating in these places I promise!

  1. Loobie Lobster – This hole in the wall has to be the best value for money when it comes to King Prawns
  2. Kenanga Roast Pork – their pork BBQ and roast pork with Hainan chicken rice rocks!
  3. Ramen Sanpachi Blok M – this is the original branch and it still serves pork. Hole in the wall.
  4. D’Cost – this is practically a fast food chain, for seafood. Super cheap.

PORK IN JAKARTA:

If you stay long enough in Jakarta you will definitely need this list!

paradise dynasty restaurant xiao long bao pork jakarta

  1. Chung Gi Wa – favorite Pork Korean BBQ
  2. Spanky’s – favorite place for baby back ribs!
  3. Kenanga Roast Pork – cheap hole in the wall that wont make you sick
  4. Ramen Sanpachi Blok M – this is the original branch and it still serves pork. Hole in the wall.
  5. Paradise Dynasty Legend of Xiao Long Bao – Pork and truffle Xiao Long Baos and la mian noodle soup!
  6. Katsusei – for Pork Katsudon
  7. If you are feeling adventurous, head up north to Pluit and go resto-/warung-hopping like we did! 

CLICK HERE to see more posts on restaurants that serve pork in Jakarta.

FAST FOOD1-mozza burger curly fries best fastfood jakarta A&W

  1. A&W – For me their Mozza Burger is the best burger in town. I definitely miss it!
  2. Bakmi GM – Indonesian fastfood. I always order the same thing: Nasi Ayam GM Pangsit Goren. It’s
    Rice with Chicken & Mushroom in Special GM Sauce plus Fried Wonton. Aaaaaah I am getting hungry just writing about it!

OTHERS:

Huize Van Welly Lobster Thermidor
  1. Huize Van Welly Kemang – Upscale Dutch Cuisine. I love their Lobster thermidor. They also have a chocolaterie.
  2. Darmawangsa Hotel Afternoon Tea – yummy scones (their Martinis rock too!)
  3. Go Curry – My favourite Japanese Brown Curry EVER

DESSERT21-Pipiltin Cocoa Chocolate Bar Restaurant-020

  1. Pipiltin Chocolate Bar

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If you wanna see other posts, you can click on below:

  • Jakarta buffets
  • Cheap Jakarta eats
  • All Jakarta Food & Drink

 

2 Comments · jakarta food & drink, jakarta good to know

Comments

  1. Cass says

    December 5, 2013 at 11:21 AM

    Thanks for sharing these! Will definitely check out the indonesian restaurants you recommended, as I haven’t really found any yet! By the way, I love the Kenanga Mie Ayam 🙂

    Reply
    • diplomaticwife says

      December 6, 2013 at 2:30 PM

      Wow you are so adventurous! It took me a while before I started exploring hole in the wall places haha. I admire you for it! Have you tried the roast pork and pork bbq with Hainam rice? =)

      Reply

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Welcome

Hello! I’m Ayessa, trailing spouse to a diplomat, mama to DiploBaby and DiploDog and founder of Declutter MNL. I love talking about how to achieve a minimaluxe lifestyle one step at a time.

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GOOD TO KNOW GUIDE

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM @UNDIPLOMATICWIFE

HOW NEAR IS @geneveaeroport? We are very lucky th HOW NEAR IS @geneveaeroport?

We are very lucky that the Geneva Airport is very near because it is located 4 km northwest of the city centre. It takes us less than 15mins by car & is easier to get to than airports outside the city.

BUT also means that many of the Geneva residents suffer from AIRCRAFT NOISE POLLUTION. 

In some parts of Geneva, like Vernier, Meyrin, Bellevue, Versoix, etc will have the airplane pass on top of you or very near you. This is something to consider when you are MOVING TO GENEVA & looking for a home.

When we were in @bioparcgeneve recently, it felt like airplane after airplane was going overhead every few mins. The poor animals were screaming each time.

A  report by the European Environment Agency(EEA) in 2017 said that 12% or 73,500 Geneva residents have their hearing disturbed by aircraft noise. Probably the figures have risen with the natural increase population & travel?

“The EEA describes noise as a pervasive pollutant that directly affects the health and well-being of humans and wildlife. Populations exposed to high noise levels can exhibit stress reactions, sleep-stage changes, and clinical symptoms like hypertension and cardiovascular diseases. All of these can contribute to premature mortality. The World Health Organization (WHO) reckons that humans exposed to noise levels above 40 decibels at night experience adverse health effects.

Across Europe it is estimated that noise contributed to at least 900,000 additional cases of hypertension in 2011.” - @le_news_ch 

DID YOU KNOW that owners of homes affected by the noise can request for soundproofing to be paid for by GVA? 

Check if your home meets the conditions for FREE SOUNDPROOFING c/o Genève Aéroport here:

https://www.gva.ch/en/Site/Geneve-Aeroport/Questions-Reponses-FAQ/Bruit#

SAVE or SHARE this now with someone you know who might be moving to Geneva or is already suffering from aircraft #noisepollution. 

#UDWinGeneva #UDWgenevagoodtoknow #expatingeneva #diplofamily #expatlife #genevaswitzerland #expatingeneva #filipinoingeneva #pinoyingeneva #movingtogeneva #movingtoswitzerland #movingtogeneva #genevaexpats #switzerlandexpatlife #geneva #genevaswitzerland
MERCADONA HAUL Whenever we go to Spain, we love t MERCADONA HAUL

Whenever we go to Spain, we love to go to @mercadona. It might be small but has a good affordable selection. It’s my thrifty Spanish MIL’s favorite.

We were so lucky that we had a @mercadona right beside our hotel Marina Badalona. Very convenient.
Our favorite things to bring home are:

☕️ frozen porras (bigger than churros)

🐑 baby lamb chops (the only lamb I eat coz it’s not malangsa & all you need to do is fry till crispy in olive oil with S&P) it’s called Chuletas Cabrito but TD calls it lechal 

🐽 chicharon or crispy pork rinds

🥔 Homemade potato chips. The best potato chips for me are from Spain. I don’t know how it’s so much yummier! The olive oil???

🎣 canned Sardines & tuna for me and Yaya B

TIPS:

🧊 For frozen items, we usually ask the hotel before we buy if they can put it in their freezer until we fly.

✍️ I usually bring different sizes ZIPLOCK BAGS, MASKING TAPE & MARKER when we travel so we can put everything in, label with our name and room number.

📸 then I take a photo so we can just show it to the staff and they can easily find it in their freezer.

✈️ When it’s time to pack, I placed our beach towels around the frozen packages coz I know they will SWEAT & I don’t want our other things to get wet 💦 

What  grocery do you usually like to shop for when in Spain? Where do you buy them?

#udwinbarcelona #udwinbadalona #udwtraveldiaries #udwtraveltips #udwtraveltip #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
FREE GEAR RENTAL @boxup.app + OUTDOOR GYM at ISW C FREE GEAR RENTAL @boxup.app + OUTDOOR GYM at ISW Calisthenics Park 

📍Chem. des Tuileries 140, 1293 Bellevue

After the lovely BIOPARC we headed across to this chill park with ample PARKING that had so many things for kids & anyone who wants to move & work out:

⚽️ The kids wanted to kick around a football so we borrowed a ball from @boxup.app (they also have pumps, 🏓, 🏐, 🏀, etc) just download the app & turn on your Bluetooth & follow instructions! Return after 3hrs.

👟 Outdoor gym - this was a huge hit with the kids

⚽️ football - this too!

🏀 basketball court

🏓 Ping-pong 

🏐 Beach volleyball court

🤸🏻 Monkey bars

🛝 small playground

Thanks for the wonderful afternoon guys @lidia_otilia_botezatu! 
How lucky are we to have these beautiful, clean open spaces. And the free rental gear is AMAZING! so convenient.

This is in Geneva, about 15mins drive from where we live.

SAVE THIS on your list of PARKS to visit!

⚠️ WARNING

it’s in the airplane path so there will be loud noise from that. It’s not as close as the bioparc but bring earplugs/earphones if you are sensitive.

#udwingeneva #genevaswitzerland #genevaforkids #diplobaby #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
BIOPARC GENÈVE Yesterday was a holiday in Switze BIOPARC GENÈVE

Yesterday was a holiday in Switzerland (except for Geneva). It was raining & miserable so I wanted to take @diplobaby out for a few hours. Thankfully midafternoon it stopped raining.

We met with our friends @lidia_otilia_botezatu in @bioparcgeneve and had a lovely time in this volunteer run zoo.

TIPS💡

🆓 It’s free for families on your FIRST visit!

🦢 you walk inside animal enclosures so wear shoes that you don’t mind getting dirty/stepping on poop. We wore boots & happy we did

🅿️ there’s parking inside on wood chips, if it’s full there’s another pavement parking (free up to 4hrs) across the roundabout 

🦔 Do not feed or touch the animals no matter how cute they are

🗺️ There are 2 routes (purple & blue) and 1-1.5hrs #diplshould be enough 

❎ Park closes at 4pm

SAVE THIS NOW if your looking for a fun & not too you can do in well und2hrs. It’s nice that you can go inside unlike most zoos so it’s quite unique.

⚠️ WARNING

it’s in the airplane path so there will be loud noise from that. @diplobaby who is super noise sensitive did not mind as much as I thought he would because he was so entertained by the animals.

#udwingeneva #genevaswitzerland #genevaforkids #diplobaby #diplofamily #filipinotravelblogger #pinayblogger #diplowife #diplomatswife #filipinoabroad #tdwtraveldiaries #takekidseverywhere #travelblogger #travelvlogger #travelvloggerph #filipinoblogger #filipinablogger #filipinavlogger #filipinoineurope #welltraveledkids #expatwoman #pinayblogger #familytravelblog
MARINA BADALONA HOTEL At first we were going to MARINA BADALONA HOTEL 

At first we were going to stay in the heart of Barcelona, where we stayed 8 years ago (I didn’t even know that @diplobaby was already in my tummy at 2 weeks old) but the “hotel” is now expensive with no amenities & small rooms. So TD found a hotel in #badalona - a 20min taxi ride from Barcelona city center - that was so fabulous & slightly less expensive.

SAVE THIS NOW for future trips to Barcelona

WHY I LOVED marinabadalona
🤍 All white interiors was so beautiful & calming
🤍 Gorgeous view of the Marina 
🤍 Everything was so aesthetic, even where you tap your card to enter the room
🤍 Massive bed
🤍 Electric curtains
🤍 Lots of closet space & hangers
🤍 2 TVs
🤍 Refrigerator
🤍 White/cream Nespresso & kettle
🤍 Architecture & interior design is sooooo me!
🤍 Small rooftop pool with unbelievable views (need to do a separate post)
🤍 5min walk to the beach
🤍 Gorg esplanade
🤍 Yummy restos beside
🤍 Mercadona right beside - so convenient!

FEW RECOS FOR IMPROVEMENT:
✌️ Loved the textured wall paper, but it’s difficult to keep clean inside the bathroom
✌️ The bathroom surface area was a bit small & our stuff kept falling off the sink
✌️ Not a single chair in the family room so when we had room service we had to eat standing
✌️ No salt & pepper with room service so we called to ask & were told we would be charged for them taking it up. After TD clarified that there was no S&P with our meal, they said they would bring it up. The person brought a small bowl of of salt & pepper combined. The salt was for DiploBaby’s salmon, but he can’t eat pepper, I wanted both for my pesto. Had to run down in my slippers & the resto staff were very apologetic coz who serves a mixed S&P ever? They gave me individually packaged ones which I really appreciated.
✌️ Since the hotel has a pool & is by the beach, I wish there was a place to hang & dry swim suits. Our suits & watershoes did not dry in the tub.

All in all the value we got from staying in this hotel was so high compared to a more expensive hotel in Barcelona. No hotel stay is perfect.

Now, would I stay there again? YES PLEASE! Would you?

#udwinbarcelona #udwinbadalona #udwtraveldiaries
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