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Originally Posted by Q Shoe Guy
Well , I survived........barely.
This was my fifth time in Jakarta and I've never been so tired! I just can't deal with the traffic anymore. Everything is so geared around getting by car to such and such a place etc. It just drives me nuts. I have to hand it to those here who live there.....I don't know how you do it! i complete understand you my friend.. [COLOR=Green]actually even the locals has gone insane many years ago, if you have the option choose the shortest distance of between office and home. most well to do locals especially the working groups opt to buy down town apartment to avoid the madness.. [/COLOR] if you work or do your daily activity in CBD, forget staying in so-called residential district such as kemang or pondok indah, these areas are bloody congested and traffic can take forever especially rush hour and rainy season. These places are not longer green and the food in Kemang really sucks..@! Stay as close to the CBD as possible .. I spent the first night in Kamang at my relatives home......it took 2 1/2 hours to get from the airport to there. The next day we all went to Rancemayah (sp) Golf and Country Club near Bogor. Apart fronm the usual traffic hassles, this community boasted fresh(er) air and places to relax and recreate. For those golfers here , it looked like a beautiful course. I don't play but from what I saw from the rented villa the greens were spectacular. We stayed here for 2 nights and I was able to use the gym and pool. The food was fine and lunch buffet suited my taste (and the local Indonesians) as well. It was the only time I was able to eat some Indonesian food. Rancamaya is actually one of the better courses near Bogor, altough i find the club house can bettter managed for a private club runned by an expat..another nice course public nearby would Bogor Raya (hot receiptionists...!!). the gated community is well maintained..actually i know local married couple who live there and commute to jakarta daily to work..so much sacrifice for clean air...i just hope they stop building more estates around the area...The food in all the golf courses in Indonesia is all the same abit of udon, nasi goreng or bimbimblap..they are average at best and over priced for sure...In food in rancamaya is quite bad and overpriced, the buffet is beyond recoqnition..did you try the local durian in the coffee shop. Unfortunately there is no option nearby else..which is why it is what it is..if you want to eat better food you need to Bogor downtown .. again traffic jam, but you can get better Sundanese food, chinese food and local specialities ngohiang, soup babat, asinan etc.. go locals my friend the experience is the fun part... Back in the city, I was taken to Sushi Nobu :td: which as I live in Japan, could not stomach the wierd taste......My family seemed to love it though :o ! sorry ...Sushi nobu is for local teenagers totally clueless about food...which is a pity to use a highly published Chef Nobu name but no one gets it ?? for Jap restaurant : the rule is : if the japanese aint the chef or the owner...stay away! easier way is to step inside and see if there is any japanese eating.. Was also dragged of to Scussa(sp) at the IC :td: :td: . The food was not worth the price and our seafood was over-cooked and tasted (at least to me ) not fresh. For a $800.00 USD(for 5) dinner I clearly expected more . Chef Luca too busy these days cooking up too much volume ?...If you read my earlier comments you'll agree. Executive chef in hotels Jakarta these days seldom cook anymore, the locals do it.. most likely its pak slamet who wrecked your dinner..stay away from any hotel owned restaurants, go to stand alone venue like Emilie French or furusato Japanese...i know their buffet offer is absolutely crazy cheap and insanelu plentiful..but dont let even the super deal all you can eat buffet tempt you...good from far, far from good, parma ham that taste like credit cards, huge oysters that taste like kerosene and cheap 6 dollar champange to wash it down...happy ??? I did notice that the price of many things has risen (30%) since my visit last summer.......I don't know how the majority there survive. yes .. its tough, but when the average indonesian who are already earning and survivung on less than 2 bucks a day another 30% dent wont matter... My drive back to the airport took about 2 hours, leaving at 4:30 PM for the last SQ flight at 8:15 PM........Those toll booth line-ups can be a real killer ;) ! suggestion next time take 2 pm flight on friday and leave town around noon when everyone goes for Friday prayer.. Next time I hope to meet some of you "real" Jakarta types, the expat style of Jakarta life clearly does not suit me :D ! to appreciate jakarta or indonesia any (expat) has to live and blend your lifestyle like the "real" Jakarta types..otherwise there is only so much even expat dollar cant buy. Otherwise the idiosyncrasies will persit.. |
Originally Posted by oontiveros
Hey Ducati, are you still in Jakarta or visit? We need to hit some of your favourites it sounds like!
sure ...i am in bangkok right now..will go to jakarta next month...will you be there ? we can chow down together.. :D :D :D :p |
luca :mad: :mad: of scusa is a bit of a smug...better to zigollini, chef aldo is more cuddle and funny...more meat less bs.. :D :D :D
actually the worst "farang" so called chef would the guy @ the KOI gallery :td: ..sigh ! he is like a ping pong wondering lost all the time ...for display only ! sorry for bad mouthing.... :rolleyes: |
Originally Posted by StarG
Never been to Lara Djonggrang, but I have to disagree about Dapur Babah, Kembang Goela, and Merah Delima.
I think it all depends on what you order, and based on what I have had at these places, they are quite good. "Pretentious setting": Not all restaurants can have the luxury of real culture/heritage at their venues. Aren't all others pretentious anyway? ;) I go to Dapur Babah for the Nasi Goreng Bang Samin, the Lumpia Semarang, and Ice Shanghai - not for the ambience. In terms of decor: Madelaine, heard the interior was done by this a** kissing socialite designer named Ted S*******. What was he trying to do? Replicate a french cafe in a mall? Give me a break. If that is his idea of a french cafe/bistro, may be he hasn't been to France. In terms of food: like what you mentioned, Dapur Babah and their "Nasi Goreng Bang Samin". I mean, who the hey is Bang Samin.... sounds like my satpam :cool: or is he that ojek guy who hangs around at Tanah Abang :confused:? Was he ever a famous nasi goreng guy or something? Also, to rate a restaurant for their nasi goreng is pretty lame :( If you are not there for the ambience then you are probably better off getting your nasi goreng at some street side, such as the one at Jl. Erlangga (next to the garbage dump, seriously). |
Originally Posted by oontiveros
Lao Beijing at WTC Manga Dua has PORK XLB. Good too. Yes I know a few things about Chinese food. :p
Guys, you should try KuoTie restaurant at Jl. Krekot.... lots of sinful, heart clogging, awesomely good pork dumplings that will send you high! |
Originally Posted by ducati999
luca :mad: :mad: of scusa is a bit of a smug...better to zigollini, chef aldo is more cuddle and funny...more meat less bs.. :D :D :D
actually the worst "farang" so called chef would the guy @ the KOI gallery :td: ..sigh ! he is like a ping pong wondering lost all the time ...for display only ! sorry for bad mouthing.... :rolleyes: |
Originally Posted by LezBFriends
Sorry G, don't agree with you there. Not all restaurants are pretentious...
Originally Posted by StarG
Not all restaurants can have the luxury of real culture/heritage at their venues. Aren't all others pretentious anyway?
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Originally Posted by ducati999
sure ...i am in bangkok right now..will go to jakarta next month...will you be there ? we can chow down together.. :D :D :D :p
I am open to something great for dinner and KuoTie for XLB at some point... |
Originally Posted by oontiveros
ok sounds like a rare FT Jakarta mini-do! March is 4x madness with UA so I have to run after March 10th for a couple of hops to the USA. When are you in town?
I am open to something great for dinner and KuoTie for XLB at some point... lets inform each other before we go to Jakkarta or should we eat somewhere else... whats good french/italian restaurant in Singapore these days ??? i am going there next month... :D :D :D :D |
Originally Posted by ducati999
lets inform each other before we go to Jakkarta or should we eat somewhere else... whats good french/italian restaurant in Singapore these days ??? i am going there next month... :D :D :D :D
All I eat in SIN is Hainam Gai Fan, Nasi Padang and Bah Kut Teh...:D |
Originally Posted by ducati999
lets inform each other before we go to Jakkarta or should we eat somewhere else... whats good french/italian restaurant in Singapore these days ??? i am going there next month... :D :D :D :D
and nice deserts/afternoon tea at the Fullerton hotel right when you get into the lobby, you'll see a nice courtyard. There are lots of comfy couches and chairs dispersed where you just take a seat and a nice mannered lady will come by to take your order.. had an elegant 3-tier platter of nice assortment of dessert yummies for $15 US. I liked how everything was served in small quantities but the quality and delicious factor was still there, hmmm.. the small quantity of each reminds me of going "dim-sum" -ing .. which reminds me how much i love dim sum because I'm a small eater who likes variety hehe.. well good little break from the hot heat that summer for me and my best BEST pal :D
Originally Posted by oontiveros
All I eat in SIN is Hainam Gai Fan, Nasi Padang and Bah Kut Teh...:D mmm.. hianam gai fan and bah kut teh. Send some over to Canada please!! ~Little Dragon Kitty |
wish I had found this thread three years ago
This thing has really turned into a restaurant thread - I thought restaurants in Jakarta were just places to kill time until 11 when the bars get going.
I have just discovered this forum and thread, but will subscribe now and check back to throw in my two cents. I spend about half of each year in Jakarta so while I'm not going to be as expert as some of the true expats, I've got a whole lot of nights in different hotels and restaurants (and bars). I have to admit that I am easily influenced by atmosphere over the food in a lot of cases, but I have hit most of the big names in town a couple of times. The one thing that I will say about Jakarta restaurants is that they are like much else in Indonesia - completely inconsistent. I've had a couple of great meals in Scusa, and a couple of very forgettable ones. I'll have to come up with my list of reviews on the next trans-pac. Oontiveros - your handle is similar to the name of someone I met the last time I was out. We stumbled into a party at his house in Kemang, one of my mates jumped into the pool with a girl he had just met and who hadn't planned on going swimming, and my other drunken Aussie friend got himself locked into one of the bathrooms for half an hour. Even after all of that he was good enough to join us at the Aussie Rules Football Grand Final at the Ritz. Not you by any chance, is it? I'll be back to Jakarta end of next week. Anybody have a contact at the Grand Hyatt for a smoking low rate for a long stay guest (60 days or so)? I've gotten nothing back from their general email address better than about US$110 a night. Otherwise it will probably be back to the Mandarin (not too bad if you are on one of the club floors) or the Borobudur (only because I can get a full apartment there for about $65 a night and they have a great gym). I want to stay in the vicinity of BH on north to keep my commutes down, but it would be interesting to see what kinds of deals the business traveler types have been able to pull down in the various 4 and 5 * hotels. Anybody been to the Cazbar yet? How is it shaping up? I'm visualizing a place along the lines of Aphrodite but that is based on nothing but Bart's expat newsletter. TJ |
Wow TJ...small world...yes it's me, hilarious...
Give me a shout when in town. I am in India now but should be back this week. See you soon. |
[QUOTE=oontiveros]I have to say that the Shangri-La is THE place to stay if you like the bar/club crowd at night. Not a quiet place.
Yep! You are correct! The Shangri-La "Cave" (club) is the place for us guys to party! Wall-to-wall fun! It can be addicting! |
Originally Posted by FlyerFrank
Yep!
You are correct! The Shangri-La "Cave" (club) is the place for us guys to party! Wall-to-wall fun! It can be addicting! BATS also has pretty good food, but depending on who you are eating with you may want to clear out before 8 or 8:30 when the doors to the chicken coop fly open. As these things go though, it is, IMO, the classiest of these types of bars and is a step up from Tiga-Puluh (le Meridien) and CJ's (Muliah Senayan) which are in the same category. TJ |
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