Melly's Garden at Kebon Sirih, Jakarta

The night is young. Tuko still locked from inside, so Tuko can't get back and sleep by now. There's some friends asking and actually forcing to go for a rather new place called Melly's Garden at Kebon Sirih, Jakarta.

So we went there. The place is actually not in the main street of Kebon Sirih, but more like in one of the small streets. Easy to find though. But the problem is that the parking area seems to be very full at the time Tuko arrived. And the security guy actually asked for IDR35,000 or around USD2.80 for the valet charge. Are they insane? That's even more expensive than the one in the malls. But because of we're already there, we'll have to take it.

The entrance door / gate to the bar is actually very small and Bali feels.

This is what Tuko means by the bar on the left hand side and bar stools + tables by the front and right hand side.

These are the open air area. Pretty interesting design with Balinese architectural designs. There are small fish ponds and fountains around the area. The open area maybe can hold up around 50 - 60 people.

Tuko and friends were sitting inside since the outdoor is already full. The inside is the area where they say not supposed to smoke inside. But once you are inside, there are  many people just smoke casually and the waiters just let them be.

So for the start before we even order up, the waiter let us know that within 15 minutes their hourly promotion will be over. The promotion for that time was Balonku Ada 5. It's a bucket with 5 laboratory's glass filled with 5 different type of liquor. The original price is IDR54,000 or around USD4.30. Gone down on promotion to only IDR25,000 or around USD2. Amazing, so tuko and friends order it up.

And then for the food, Tuko ordered Nasi Goreng Melly's and Gorengan Kampoeng. The nasi goreng price is IDR29,000 or around USD2.30. And the gorengan is around IDR28,000 or around USD2.20.

The nasi goreng is just ok. Edible but something Tuko will want to order up again though. There's 2 pieces of fried chicken + shrimp cracker + sunny side up + pickles and normal nasi goreng. The nasi goreng doesn't even taste interesting.

The gorengan is actually combination of 2 fried banana, 2 fried tofu, 2 fried tempe and 2 fried cassava. With a few chilli being prepared to be eaten with if that's what your palate asked for. Among all these, the good one is only the tempe. Others just simply edible only.

The Balonku Ada 5 drink sucks terribly. What kind of spirits do they put inside? It's just burning feeling, Tuko really doubt and even have the perception maybe this is a knock off fake drink. It's being sold on a very crazily cheap price here Indonesia. Tuko met this kind of knock off cheap drink before and it tasted like you're drinking gasoline.

Hourly promotion certainly is a very interesting idea and can attract people. There's even popcorn up to grab for free. The waiters are very polite. The atmosphere and place's design is impressive.

But with this kind of food and drink, Tuko really will think twice to come back. Not that Tuko doesn't want. Tuko will still want to come back but only with a really good reason.

Pasar Santa at Senopati, Jakarta

Been quite some time that Tuko had a visit at a market. But friends said this market is different. This is the happening place of today. The place's name is Pasar Santa located at Senopati area of South Jakarta. 

Coming into the area, it's really hard to find parking. Tuko managed to find parking by the street outside of Pasar Santa's complex. The complex itself is really like any other market. Nothing resemble cool from the outer look.

But it all changes once you got into the second floor of this Pasar Santa. So there's this new evolution here where the traditional market are located at the basement, the specialized shops located at first floor and the second floor is where the interesting part is. A lot of small restaurants with very unique designs.

Tuko will keep updating this page until everything is covered. So keep logging into this page Komeners.

First Chapter

This time around Tuko visit the very packed bakmi shop, Miechino. The only menu here is Bakmi Ayam Jamur. You can either choose with or without Bakso (Meatball). The price is IDR22,000 or around USD1.76.

The noodle is very spongy.Tuko has taste a similar kind of noodle like this before and it's called Mi Karet (Rubber Noodle). But this time it's different. There's still a good taste behind it. The noodle is cooked first by the chef on white shirt and then will be put on the big pan with some seasoning and sauce inside. The guy black shirt will mixed them all up. After that from one pan it can be divided into 3 portions. The chili sauce served by the table is amazing. The spiciness level is just so right. Not too spicy and not too mild. Tuko likes it a lot.

Look at the people who are waiting to get a seat by the table. Tuko and friend luckily get a seat by the counter and get a shot at the chefs doing the job.

Next stop, Tuko went for a dessert at the place called Sepotong Kue. The specialty of this shop is it's Kue Sus with Ice Cream. It's something like cream puff but without cream filling and filled with ice cream instead. The ice cream is home made and recommended flavor by the owner is Green Tea. Tuko's friend gave the Kue Sus a try. While Tuko went for Earl Grey Bun. Sounds more interesting.

The design of this place is a mixture of country house in United States with traditional warung (small shop). The interesting part is they make use of old looking tea kettle for tissue, sugar, spoon and so on.

The Earl Grey Bun + Green Tea Ice Cream is not bad. Tuko will not say it's really a recommended to try. But if you really feels like wanting a decent dessert, go ahead. The price is IDR15,000 or around USD1.20. For the exact same price, you could get a better one. But to get the experience, sure why not.

That's it for this time around. Let's wait for the next trip.