UnDiplomatic Wife

  • About TDW
    • Contact
    • FAQ
    • AS SEEN ON
    • Collaborate
    • Policies
  • Diplo Picks
    • Diplo Mama
    • Diplo Home
    • Diplo Tummy
    • Diplo Tips
    • Diplo Travel
    • Diplo Style
    • Diplo Baby
    • Diplo Inspiration
  • Living in
    • GENEVA
      • good to know
      • food & drink
      • shopping
    • Berlin
      • Good To know
      • To Dos
      • food & drink
      • Shopping
    • MANILA
      • good to know
      • to do
      • food & drink
      • shopping
    • JAKARTA
      • good to know
      • to do
      • food & drink
      • shopping
  • TRAVEL DIARIES
    • Finland
    • France
    • Greece
    • Germany
      • BERLIN 2022 ITINERARY
      • Willkommen in Berlin
    • Indonesia
    • Italy
    • Japan
    • Malaysia
    • Myanmar
    • Netherlands
    • Philippines
    • Poland
    • Spain
    • Singapore
    • Switzerland
    • Taiwan
    • Thailand
    • Vietnam

JAKARTA EATS: Unforgettable Dapur Babah

April 22, 2011

I’ll be honest with you. This restaurant was recommended to me by Tita Noreen, not for the food but to experience the highly unique interiors. She recommended that I take my in-laws to lunch first at Kembang Goela then just have coffee and dessert Dapur Babah.

It was definitely worth the trip to Jakarta Pusat and I definitely want to bring TD here for lunch some other time. He was unable to come because he had to work through the weekend. =(

I hope you enjoy the pictures. It is strange to say the least but an experience for sure! My MIL said it reminded her of Manila Peninsula’s Salong de Ning however she felt that Dapur Babah had more character because of the antique items which had more stories to tell for sure. Despite being only 6 years old, the restaurant is filled with unique antique treasures!

“Babah is the term used for the culture that resulted from the intermarriage of Chinese settlers and Javanese women during the Dutch colonial era. Babah cuisine was a fusion of both culinary traditions, with the addition of a Dutch influence.”

I shared the Oliebollen IDR 35,000* with my FIL (Father-in-law) and had a cappucino IDR 28,000*. I will be honest, we were already told that the food isn’t great (it was okay) which is exactly why we went for only dessert and coffee. My MIL (mother-in-law) loved the Javanese Coffee IDR 22,000*. Next time I want to try the A chicken soup with galangal

*Add 5% Service Charge and 10% tax to all of the above prices.

Despite the just okay food, I highly recommend that you check out Dapur Babah if you have never been. It is a unique experience. The decor is crazy. I didn’t have time to ask the wait-staff who I heard are well versed in the stories of the different pieces but I will definitely be back to ask them with TD.

Decor of Dapur Babah is a melange of cultural influences, featuring antiques and artifacts from as early as the 17th century, and statues depicting Chinese, Hindu and Buddhist gods. Owner/designer Anhar Setjadibrata, who also owns Tugu Hotels and is an avid collector of Indonesian antiques, refurbished and decorated the two 1940s shop-houses in which the restaurant is located, creating a series of rooms all with their own unique atmosphere and fascinating stories.

The painting is one of the mistresses (I surmise of Babah descent)

This bird on top of the elephant holding a lamp caught my attention

Antique carved doors

TAO Bar

The corridor on the way to the toilet is quite dramatic

DAPUR BABAH ELITE

  • Jl. Veteran I No. 18-19, Central Jakarta
  • Tel. 021 7060 2256 / 385 5653
  • dapurbabah@tuguhotels.com

4 Comments · jakarta food & drink

Comments

  1. Chuzai Living says

    April 22, 2011 at 3:30 PM

    Wow, the pictures are amazing!!! Great job, DiploWife!! So your in-laws were in town. What a neat place to take your visitors. The story behind the decoration and all the influences that this interior design as well as food received is very intriguing. The corridor on the way to the bathroom is beautiful. Thanks for the inspiration!!

    Reply
  2. diplomaticwife says

    April 22, 2011 at 5:58 PM

    You should definitely check it out Kaho! I highly recommend.. but perhaps on date night with hubby. I don’t recommend bringing the children because it might overwhelm of freak them out =P

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. RESTO RAVE ❤ Our favorite Restos in Jakarta | The Diplomatic Wife says:
    October 23, 2013 at 4:59 PM

    […] Dapur Babah – Dutch Indonesian cuisine. One comes here for the history of the antique artifacts that surrounds you, not really the food. I recommend coming over for Javanese coffee. […]

    Reply
  2. HIT LIST: Jakarta Food and To Dos | The Diplomatic Wife says:
    October 23, 2013 at 5:03 PM

    […] Have Javanese coffee and Dutch-influenced desserts at Dapur Babah * If you want you can also check out the first ever dutch ice cream parlor 2 doors down the road from Dapur Babah – BUT it is not air-conditioned, smoking allowed I don’t recommend this on weekends […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

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.

READ MORE
 

LET’S GET SOCIAL

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

Glass Restaurant Rovaniemi

Glass Resort Finland

GENEVA FINDS: Victorinox Souvenirs

Patisserie Sofia Geneva

Natürlich Geneva

DISCLOSURE

I am an Amazon affiliate, but all opinions are my own. The content of all my blog and social media posts are products and experiences that I truly enjoy and I only work with brands that fit my life and style.

GOOD TO KNOW GUIDE

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM @UNDIPLOMATICWIFE

SNOW FUN IN LAPLAND We arrived at the perfect tim SNOW FUN IN LAPLAND

We arrived at the perfect time in @santaclausvillage_rovaniemi. It was cold but not like the week before wherein it was -18 C low.

So we managed with our UNIQLO Ultra Light Down Jackets. I still brought waterproof jackets just in case but the most important to bring were the WATERPROOF SNOW GLOVES because @diplobaby loved playing with the snow so much & its essential for SLEDDING. When they fall of they need the gloves to protect their hands from getting wounded and the ice.

@glass_resort lends out kids sleds for free. My son loved it!

Hope you enjoyed seeing us enjoy the snow. SAVE THIS post if you plan on visiting Rovaniemi in Finland with your kids!

#udwinfinland #udwinsantaclausvillage #diplofamily #diplobaby #undiplomaticwife #thediplomat
GLASS RESTAURANT We were so lucky our GLASS APAR GLASS RESTAURANT 

We were so lucky our GLASS APARTMENT in @glass_resort was so near their beautiful restaurant GLASS RESTAURANT.

I initially wasn’t attracted to Finnish food but they changed my mind guys! Who knew?!?

Read my review of their BREAKFAST BUFFET & ALA CARTE MENU here:

https://undiplomaticwife.com/glass-restaurant-rovaniemi/

It was the perfect place to eat after a long day of walking. It allowed us to try the best versions of FINNISH FOOD that we might not have been brave enough otherwise. 

We got to try moose, reindeer & salmon soup which are delicacies of the region. We were all very surprised by how delicious everything was.

You can see @diplobaby’s face after he found out he was eating reindeer. I told him they are retired reindeer and he ask for a bit more. I guess the foodie in him is strong. 😂🤭 taste surpasses all!

We also had TD’s birthday dinner there and they were so nice to serve the cake with a candle & a song. So sweet and definitely made us so happy!

We also enjoyed their breakfast buffet. The meatballs were especially delicious. 

The restaurant and buffet are small but mighty. You can tell you are having high quality food.

So many firsts in this restaurant & so many memories we treasure as a family.

Have you had Finnish cuisine? What’s your favorite?

#udwingeneva udwinfinland #udwinsantaclausvillage #diplofamily #thediplomat #diplobaby
ARCTIC OUTDOOR HOT TUB + SAUNA Did you guys know ARCTIC OUTDOOR HOT TUB + SAUNA

Did you guys know that 

“The Finnish sauna is a substantial part of Finnish and Estonian culture. It was inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists on  December 17, 2020”

With over 3.3Million saunas for 5.5million inhabitants in Finland, it’s normal for a home or even a flat to have a sauna. (Figure from @vivefinlandia) 

Naturally our GLASS APARTMENT in @glass_resort had a fabulous on inside the bathroom.

It was @diplobaby’s first time & we asked the staff for recommendations to make his first experience a good one. He told us to lower the temp to 55C & have Jim’s sit in the bottom.

Our nervous son who usually doesn’t like the sound of fire crackling was able to over come his fear because he wanted to be the one to pour the water on the piping hot rocks. I just had to tell him not to do it so much so it wouldn’t be too hot.

I asked the staff how young kids sauna here & he said he’s been going since he was a baby!

As for the HOT TUB - it’s all of our first time to do it outdoors in the freezing arctic.

They showed us how to open & close the tub plus where NOT to step because it’s slippery. That’s why TD had to hang our robes from inside the tob.

It was a magical experience to be in a hot tub while looking up at the stars surrounded by snow in the Arctic. It was freezing for sure going in and out. Just think that cold exposure is actually healthy. SO against Filipino culture agains LAMIG (cold)!

Such a wonderful experience as a family! So grateful that we decided to do this for TD’s birthday last April! So worth it. We have him small inexpensive gifts because the true gift was this experience.

#udwinfinland #udwinsantaclausvillage #glassresort #diplobaby #diplofamily #undiplomaticwife
Can you spot the rainbow 🌈 we saw on the glass Can you spot the rainbow 🌈 we saw on the glass ceiling?

#udwinfinland #udwinsantaclausvillage @glass_resort #udwtraveldiaries
DINO WORLD EXPO One of the exhibitions that weren DINO WORLD EXPO

One of the exhibitions that weren’t here when we first went to @signaldebougy is the @dinoworldexpo. I was delighted that it was as interesting for the adults as it was for the kids. 

It closes at 7pm & we started at about 5:40pm already but it only takes 1-2hrs so we just hurried walking around so in other parts there was time to play.

What were the highlights for us?

- EXCAVATION a sandbox upgrade, making the littles feel like paleontologist
- ROBOTIC DINOS with interesting information
- QR codes if you want an AUDIO GUIDED TOUR
- GIANT AERIAL TRAMPOLINE was something new for @diplobaby
- AUGMENTED REALITY SANDBOX was super cool!
- DINO GOLF was fun for our group

What we didn’t get to do:
- BOUNCY LABYRINTH coz we didn’t have time anymore 
- THE FOSSIL RIVER coz you have to buy a bag of sand to do it

I’m glad we had time to have this fun experience after @accrobranche (see previous reels) because not only did we learn stuff, but it was a lot of fun!

DINO WORLD EXPO is open everyday 10am to 7pm until 20 August 2023 Signal de Bougy. There are 2 parking areas, but we opted to go later in the day - 230pm - so some people were already leaving and we found parking easily.

This place is around 40minutes give or take depending on where you live in Geneva.

#UDWinGeneva #diplobaby #diplofamily #dinoworld #signaldebougy
Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2023 · Designed by Fancy Girl Design Studio.