#FoodFri Glutton in Jakarta
It’s lunchtime here in Singapore so I thought it’s an appropriate time to launch this week’s #FoodFri.
I was in Jakarta last weekend and was quite disappointed by the food there.
But I only have myself to blame. Despite all the research on food in Glodok, I didn’t really jot down the locations nor print out a Google Map of Chinatown.
Well, not everything was terrible so here’s a less hunger-inducing version of the Glutton series.
The Good

The portion that came was quite small but D reminded me that what we have back home are actually supersized.
The whole dish was slightly spicy but tasty. I even had a fish paste on a lemongrass stick which was cute.

The main mean spread was alright. The sushi counter a bit too stingy–salmon was gone and never to appear after one hour. The cold seafood was fine, although I would love to have raw oysters instead.
The redeeming feature were the desserts. My favorite was the sticky toffee pudding.
What I enjoyed most at the restaurant was gawking at the lifestyles (and hairdos) of the rich and famous.

They had a buffet breakfast spread so we got that. They served fried rice, fried eggs, fried chicken, fried potato patty, non-fried fruits. I had a lot of the coffee and tea as well.


Drinks



The menu was a fake newsletter, telling people the origins of the place. (“No, it did not really exist in olden days. The coffeeshop is a recent creation”.)
I had two coffees there. The kopi jawa was a really “manly” drink with its dark liquid and coffee grounds while the Vietnamese-styled coffee lack the buttery taste.
I had one too many cups of coffes, as I found out an hour later. I was feeling nauseous for a long time after that.
The Ugly: Why is Bakmi GM popular?

Unfortunately, we visited Bakmi GM. It was the only visible (meaning a HUGE sign) bakmi place around and we thought the quality would be good.
When we reached the first floor of the building, we found ourselves with plenty of other Indonesians. This must mean that the food is good.
Our order was taken and paid on the spot. However, it took a really long time for our change to come back. In fact, our food arrived before the change did.
The avocado juice was incredibly good (as expected of Indonesia). However, the main dishes were not as tasty. D liked her veggie with oyster sauce but the rest were a joke.
My noodles were limp and all stuck together when I poked them with my chopsticks. It was not a good sign. I nibbled on it and discovered it tasted exactly like the terrible noodles I had as a kid.
Flashback of terrible noodles: It was a road trip and mom’s friends drove us to Kinabalu Park. We stopped by a shop for noodles. The dish was too disgusting that we children didn’t have much of it. Mom’s friend (Auntie L) insisted that the noodles were packed and brought along with us to eat later. In the end, I “accidentally” left the gross bad of soggy dough in the changing room. End of flashback.
Our fried siowmay followed. Instead of a fried meatball, it tasted like turnip cake. I felt like sobbing over the meal (mostly caused by caffeine induced overdrive of emotions).
We had to order another glass of avocado juice and pangsit or fried wonton to get the taste of noodles out of our mouths. The pangsit was ok with the meat as sidekick to the fried dough.
Overall, it was not a good meal. I’m sorry for being disappointed.
Gayatri Nadya
August 10, 2012* Mie Aceh Seulawah @ Rumah Makan Seulawah, Bendungan Hilir, spicy noodles with meat or prawns.
* Mie Kering Titi @ Rumah Makan Pelangi khas Makassar, Wahid Hasyim near Jaksa, crispy noodles with veggies and seafood
* Ketoprak Ciragil @ Dapoer Ciragil, Kebayoran Baru, Blok M. rice cakes with peanut sauces and veggies
* Nasi Goreng Kambing @ Kebon Sirih, near Jaksa. Fried rice with lamb meat, order extra pickles.
Hope you can try all :)
yqtravelling
August 10, 2012All of them sounds yummy! Thanks!
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