Kila Kila by Akasya (Indonesian Restaurant)
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Jakarta100bars
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Kila Kila is a brand new rooftop restaurant serving fine dining Indonesian cuisine. It is located not far from Pacific Place Mall and offers a beautiful view over SCBD. It is managed by Akasya Catering, a famous company owned by Enny Latief. They provided the food for numerous VIP events such as the wedding of Edhie Baskoro, the son of SBY. If their food is good enough for the president of Indonesia, it should be good enough for you too.
3rd Avenue is a bar located on the third floor of the building where Colette & Lola and Wilshire are. It used to be called Yeyo . The design is inspired by Art Deco and, from the words of the owner, the movie Gatsby. Their prices are rather affordable for Senopati: Cocktails cost around Rp100k net and bottles Rp1M-Rp1,5M net. Best nights are on Wednesday and Friday (live band) or Saturday (DJ). It is sparsely crowded the rest of the week. Most customers are regulars from the same community, particularly Indonesians in their 30s who studied abroad.
Savanna is a brand new rooftop bar and restaurant that opened in Kelapa Gading in March 2016. It is one of the nicest venues in the area to have a drink. It seems one of the owners is Dada Hartoto Hardikusumo, an heir to the shipping company Andhika Lines. She was the Chef of Moya's Spanish Restaurant and she was also involved in other Spanish venues (Gusto in Epicentrum and Que Rico Hamburguesa in Kemang). They have regular events such as live music and DJs. Friday night is Rn'B, otherwise it's more house and EDM. They also have stand up comedians on Saturday.
Popular Mansion is a bar and nightclub located on Jalan Gatot Subroto, not far from Dragonfly Club . It is owned by the company who published Popular Magazine, a male magazine similar to FHM. In case you don't know, many models in such magazines in Indonesia are very sweet and friendly, yet borderline prostitutes. If you flash your money around them, you have a big chance of getting a date and probably more. The cost is very high though as you will compete with some Indonesians loaded with cash and who are ready to spend hundreds of millions to satisfy their egos. They are actually mostly looking for rich boyfriends/husbands/sugar daddies, not one-night stands.
Bonobo is a bar and restaurant located in the ground floor of the Landmark building tower, near Nip & Dram . Recently opened in February 2016, it is part of the Stupa F&B group (behind Umbra in Kemang) and it replaces the late Downtown Bistro. They haven't changed many things compared to the old venue. Bonobo looks simple and cozy, with a nice bay window running from one wall to the other. It is too early to say anything about the crowd and the atmosphere, but we can expect trendy Jakartans and expats. The guest DJs they've had so far were excellent, playing hip-hop, soul and house.
Nuage is the bar of the Whiz Prime Hotel in Kelapa Gading. It is in the same location as Level 5 karaoke and Portable Kitchen and Lounge. It is rather basic, with cheap chairs and cabanas around a large swimming pool. It is technically a rooftop bar, but only on the third floor of the building so don't expect a spectacular view. The whole complex is owned by the infamous Stadium group (Malioboro, King Cross, Exodus, Nebula). Yet, there is nothing really kinky going on in Nuage. This might explain why the place is not so busy compared to the other ones. In spite of being quiet, they have enough budget to pay a team of resident DJs as well as a regular live band. In general, the DJs will play a mix of Rn'B, EDM and Top 40. Wednesday is 80s and 90s favorites and Friday live acoustic rock. Once in a while they have ex-Stadium DJs. You can get more information about their schedule on their Instagram account below.
Playground is a themed-restaurant located on the 4th floor of Plaza Indonesia. It is occupying an alley, not a proper, individual space. For this reason, it is suitable for people-sighting, but certainly not for a more intimate occasion like a date. Chicken Kiev Strawberry Juice I had the Chicken Kiev at Rp85,0000++. What they brought me was small and it tasted average. No need to make a long comment about it. I also had a strawberry juice which was rather tiny for Rp40,000++.
I went to Kupu Kupu Spa, conveniently located in Plaza Adorama on Jalan Kemang Raya. It is quite small, with only 4 massage rooms, all clean and nicely decorated. This is a rather famous address in Kemang, particularly with expats, as it has been established here for several years already. No "special massages" is done here but you will receive a nice and warm welcome from the staff and therapist! I think it is one of the best-value spa experiences in Kemang, along with Relax Living Spa :. You can have a gentle aromatherapy 60 minutes massage for 210 000 Rp (260 000 Rp for 90 minutes). They also provide Reflexology and Manicure/Pedicure.
I rarely go to Grand Sahid Jaya Hotel on Sudirman (it is located right next to Le Meridien Hotel), but I did go there recently because I heard there was a new Indonesian restaurant. The name of the new place is "Bengawan Solo" (it is not related to the popular coffee chain located in many malls in Jakarta), named after the longest River in Java. It is located on the lobby level of the Hotel. I had a great dinner there, I like the idea of having truly Indonesian (or Javanese) food like chicken satay, Sosis Solo, Nasi Goreng, Bebek Goreng, Gurame Bakar or Iga Sapi Asam with a modern presentation you would find in any western restaurant. The decoration of the place is also modern with Indonesian Wayang and other javanese objects. The place reminded me another Indonesian restaurant Seribu Rasa , located in Menteng, but with a more indonesian crowd. I would recommend Bengawan Solo for a business lunch or dinner or if you want take somebody who is in t
The Harvest must be the most widely-spread high-end bakery shops chain in Indonesia. They produce a whole range of pastries, cookies, breads and gift boxes, targeting mostly the middle-to-high class Indonesians. They are part of Mount Scopus group from Australian national Lal De Silva, who also owns several F&B venues in Jakarta, particularly Balboni , Negev and Chateau Blanc. I had tried their products on different occasions and my opinion about them changed over time. A few years ago, they were mostly about marketing and packaging. None of the food I tried with them was better than average. And then, I tried again last week their new Bali branch on Jalan Sunset Road in Kuta. I was really impressed there: The service was very attentive and professional. The menu and displays were attractive, with a profusion of choice (and even a full Western/Asian menu). The various pastries I tried were similar to what you could buy in Paris in terms of taste. At last, a
Yeyo Lobby & Eatery is a trendy restaurant in Senopati, located just above Colette & Lola. During the day, it is a bit sleepy and not so happening. On the weekend nights, it turns into a great place to have a drink and to dance as well. They often have good DJs and the restaurant quickly becomes a dance floor around 11pm. Overall: Yeyo is one of my favorite places in this area. Good crowd and good music on weekends. It is not the best for eating though. There used to be a terrace on the second floor, but it closed unfortunaly, making Yeyo quite smokey when there is a party. I hope they open it again...
I ended up at Junkyard on a Saturday night with a couple of friends. There was a really good crowd of party people and everybody was dancing. That's why I liked this place at first sight. The people there are clearly upmarket, but not too much the business type. It is rather students, artists or people working in media, advertising, fashion, etc... Junkyard is a located in Blok S in Senopati. It is a Café/Bar very active in organizing cool events and different types of parties. Their music is quite good and the DJ is usually playing Hip Hop, Jazz, Dubstep. Senopati is very busy with joints like this, either quite fancy or more laid back like this one. It is a good option if you don't want go to a very fancy place where girls are all wearing high heels. The design is minimalist at most... there is just concrete and a few art display which apparently they recovered from actual trash (hence the name Junkyard): In particular, I really liked the "W