WARNING: This a long post. And you might want to visit Jakarta after you read this. We won’t be responsible for any financial damage you might incur after reading this post. Hehe.

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Hi Folks! If you’ve been following our Instagram, you’ve definitely seen pictures from our recent trip to Jakarta. We basically grabbed a quick mini-vacay during the Thaipusam/Federal Territory Day 4-day weekend. The last time we had been to Jakarta was 6 years ago. Jakarta became a lot cooler since we went there last. A lot more malls, and a lot more places to hang out. (Even cooler than KL’s malls we have to admit) Indeed, Jakarta has become a vibrant city which we had come to admire.

This time, however, we only had time to check out Jakarta’s cafe joints and eating places, and we did manage to chill at Monolog, Djournal, Magnum Cafe, Hard Rock Cafe, Ancol/Bandar Djakarta, and Paul’s.

Monolog

First day there we went to have early breakfast at this cafe called ‘Monolog’ at Plaza Senayan. It has a really cool ambiance to chill, with decent pastries and extensive menu. The breakfast selection (mostly western style) was quite good. Their coffee is excellent too. Very useful to wake a sleepy CheeseBoy up. 🙂 Check out the pics below:

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Djournal Coffee

Another stop in our coffee hop (hey, that rhymed) was Djournal Coffee at Grand Indonesia mall. It was quite packed (it’s weekend after all), and full of young hip crowd. Boy we felt old, when we both just ordered chamomile teas. The people around us ordered fancy coffee drinks i.e. lattes, espresso shots, drinks with too much foam and clever weird leafy drawings on them, etc. But then again, we just wanted to chill and watch people. So chamomile teas were good choices. Ahh, so relaxing. Zzzzzz.

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Magnum Cafe

Belacan Girl has had this itch to go to Magnum Cafe for awhile now. So she finally got her wish! You know those Magnum ice cream you buy at the supermarket? Well, Magnum Cafe at Grand Indonesia serves you with gourmet style concoctions of their famous ice creams. Suffice to say, the cafe is packed! We had to line up for about 20 minutes to get a seat. (Yeah, we know there’s one in MidValley, KL but we’d rather go to the original one…) Pictures below:

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Hard Rock Cafe

One night there, we missed dinner time because we were too busy exploring the malls. (By the way, you should really check out the mall called ‘Pacific Place’. Really huge and cool mall which has almost everything, minus the mad crowds) We were staying across Pacific Place and gotten hungry. The only family oriented and open restaurant was blinking neon signs at us ‘HARD ROCK! HARD ROCK!’ It wasn’t what we wanted to eat considering our tight budget, but beggars can’t be choosers. Off we went crossing the road to Hard Rock Cafe. And guess what? The air-cond area inside was closed for a private event. Meh. We had to settle eating on those tall table and stools outside. Luckily the weather was okay. Anyways, the food is standard Hard Rock fare but good thing it was halal. Check out these pics.

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Ancol / Bandar Djakarta

After all the coffee places, we were craving for some REAL food. (You know… The type of food that we actually eat with our fingers, instead of forks and spoons?) Our gracious hosts took us to Ancol, which is like a big theme park with all sorts of attractions. There’s a zoo, parks, roller coasters, even a beach! Settled nicely within the Ancol compound was this gem of an eating place called Bandar Djakarta. (Bandar Djakarta, Jakarta? Sounds like New York City, New York) At this place you can pick really fresh (I mean still-alive-type-of-fresh) fish, crabs, prawns, weird shellfish we’ve never seen, and many more! Honestly, we’ve never been so full! Guess what? A meal for 5 people costs only about RM200! Ridiculously cheap for seafood feast. Only in Jakarta!

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Paul

The last day we were there, we went to Paul (also at Pacific Place) for some French-type breakfast. (Told you Jakarta has gone very international) The decor is very European and they serve very nice sandwiches and pastries.

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There ends our Jakarta adventure for now. We look forward to coming back there, God willing. Any reader out there care to share their favourite eating place in Jakarta? We’re ever so willing to hear suggestions from you guys.

P.S: Special thanks to Uncle Azhar and Aunt Norizan (Busu) for hosting us and taking us to really cool places despite their busy schedules. You guys rock!