Bunk, Pullman Jakarta Central Park

Dear fellow tasters,

This was the second invitation from Pullman Jakarta Central Park Hotel, this time for an informal evening at Bunk, the lobby lounge at this modern museum-like “industrial raw” concept hotel.  Just opposite to the reception area, Bunk’s two striking features would be the dramatic spiral staircase and the colorful metal drapery.  With pop art works, printed sofas and cozy high-ceilinged area, the lounge provides a perfect place for casual business rendezvous or friendly chilling out.  There’s also a more private mezzanine level, suitable for a relaxing time with acquaintances.

Otel Lobby

Dear fellow tasters,

Jakarta, the city that never sleeps or rather the city with the never ending traffic jam, seems to never run out of new cool hip places that never stop popping in every corner.  And the latest hippest ‘it’ place in town is none other than Otel Lobby, a culinary and mixology establishment located in the annex building of Bakrie Tower, the architectural icon of Rasuna Epicentrum super block.

JackRabbit

Dear fellow tasters,

The buzz around JackRabbit and the rise to fame and celebrity chefdom of its Chef de cuisine, Junior Rorimpandey or popularly known as Chef Juna in currently airing reality show Master Chef Indonesia, has more or less incited my curiosity about this culinary-slash-party establishment.  I actually couldn’t care less about the chef or the MCI, but I was still pretty excited when a friend finally asked me to go there for lunch, such a perfect escape from a dreary Wednesday office monotony.  After double taxi rides due to map misinterpretation, we managed to reach the front door and stepped into the cool shade of the entrance canopy bearing huge neon-light letters spelling out its name.

Hacienda

Dear fellow tasters,

It was a public holiday on a Wednesday and I already planned on redeeming a voucher for Hacienda that I bought on maiplay.com.  So I invited my favorite couple to join me for a Mexican lunch and maybe a margarita or two.  Unlike Japanese restaurants which you can probably find just about anywhere in Jakarta, Mexican establishments are scarcely existent in this crowded metropolitan.  Hacienda is one of them and it has been on my to-visit list for quite some time. 

Luna Negra

Dear fellow tasters,

It is always exciting to write a post about a new hip, fancy restaurant and Luna Negra is one of them.  Because of all the built up excitement, I decided to move this review to the top of my to-write list.  I had heard and read rave reviews about the ‘black moon’ (translated from Spanish… or is it Italian?) restaurant-slash-bar, so I was quite excited when my friends finally agreed to go there.  This was after much rescheduling and long BBM contemplation.  Fortunately, another friend who couldn’t go with us that evening (you were missed) reminded us about making a reservation beforehand. Without this we probably would have ended up on the waiting list!

Potato Head

Dear fellow tasters,

This post is from my mobile photo archives and I found some from a new year’s brunch with my favorite couple friends.  The place was Potato Head at Jakarta’s elite shopping mall Pacific Place, subdued and homey semi-outdoor colorful-wooden-windows-accented restaurant by day, cocktail-serving beat-pumping club by night. 

Pastis

Dear fellow tasters,

This post is fresh from last week’s Thursday lunch and I think I’ll just write about this first before I go back and post other past tastings.  Pastis Kitchen and Bar, snugged in at Aston at Kuningan Suites apartment, has been on my list-of-restaurants-to-visit for quite some time.  So past noon that day, my friends and I battled against the neverending Jakartan traffic jam and the cruel glaring sun and landed in Pastis’ cozy snazzy chandelier-adorned lounge.  Ah, the bliss.

Bibliotheque

Dear fellow tasters,

It was another birthday dinner and my friends and I were pretty excited to try Bibliotheque, which is located on Sampoerna Strategic Square and supposedly one of the coolest place in town.  We arrived a bit early that evening and were welcomed by the friendly waiting staffs into the relatively quiet dimly-lighted high-ceilinged lounge.  To say cool was probably an understatement, impressive was more suitable to describe it.  

Immigrant

Dear fellow tasters,

Immigrant, located on the 6th floor of Plaza Indonesia extension, is probably one of the hippest party place in town.  However, when I decided to try the pasta fresca lunch promo there, there was no DJ or loud dance music playing and the restaurant looked pretty deserted and subdued with only few customers around.

Canteen

Dear fellow tasters,

After catching a glimpse of this new place that looked pretty crowded on a friday night, I decided to give it a try for dinner after work. Canteen, that’s what the place is called, is located in Plaza Indonesia and offers a restaurant-slash-bar-slash-hangout-slash-bookstore-extension spot for mall-goers, serious drinkers, food lovers, and bookish types alike since it’s connected to Aksara bookstore and operated by the same management, I presume.