Time to go back to the root! In this occasion, I'm talking about getting a flavorful delicacy of our OWN heritage. Yes, Indonesian cuisine, everyone!! Not forgetting to mention that it's placed in Pantai Indah Kapuk, the latest hit of culinary destination: here comes a new potential challenger. If you're talking about North Jakarta cuisine, it's usually about Chinese delicacy, and yes it unanimously has the most abundance in it: But what about Indonesian cuisine? Let's find out if this one will etch its name to our list!
By the way, I have to tell you beforehand that this place is NOT located at the Ruko Crown Golf premises, but rather at its neighbor, Ruko Elang Laut. It's around 5 mins drive from the Crown Golf, passing through the PIK Hospital like if you were driving to Bay Walk Mall, but take a straight instead of turning left at Burger King T-junction.
Upon my arrival, this only thought came to mind: it doesn't look that big of a space at first, but! Using a 3-story building (I know, right???), they usually only need to open 2 floors, leaving the third for special events and bookings! 1 floor is said to be able to pack around 100 people, so it makes 300. Amazing!
Love their ornaments despite a quite confusing choice of furniture and walls. I heard that they renovated it from another restaurant before (forgot what it was! sorry for my lack of factual information research!) so it's no wonder that the design might go like this, but still respect the efforts they put into it! I've seen disastrous renovation design execution and thankfully it's not happening to them. Moving on!
TV, sound system, and a bar stool. Expecting availability to watch come ball game on weekends! Now it's not only happening in bars anymore, especially that they actually DO have their own bar, where you can get beers *yay!* but remember! Drink in moderation!
They also have a little of artistic touches, such as this old public phone...
..and this nostalgic painting that portrays authentic Indonesian lifestyle in the old times!
TROPICAL DRAGON IDR 30k
It comes first to the most interesting drink I saw, which is also the main recommendation by the waiters! It's a glass of fruit smoothie made of banana and.. as you see from the decoration, dragon fruit! Taste wise though, it's still delicious but the dragon fruit flavor was unfortunately overwhelmed by the taste of banana (which I do love, so I don't mind), a great tasting drink!
HEALTHY JUICE IDR 20k
All right I know what most of you might be thinking right now! The word "healthy" has its own pros and cons for everybody: appealing for some, horrific for the others! It usually comes to the belief, or myth, that "what's healthy doesn't taste good, what tastes good usually isn't healthy" (they must be thinking about pork bacon when coming up with this quote!) Since they put in some pineapple juice instead of "just" vegetables. Sweet, sour, and aromatic vegetables that will boost up your stamina!
MILO DINO IDR 20k
..or if you're not convinced at all with the health idea, there you go! Milo dinosaur, consisting milo, milk, and MORE milo powder WITH milo cereals! Sweet heaven! Contrary to how it's usually served, this one is not as heavenly (or hellish) sweet as the others. For me it's good since it doesn't taste as sinful, but some of you might get disappointed for expecting uber sweet flavor from it.
JERUK PERAS (FRESHLY SQUEEZED ORANGE JUICE) IDR 18K
Well well, look what we've got here: a classic drink for all Indonesians! If you're not aware of it yet, orange juice is somehow so widely served throughout Indonesia and is one of the most popular fruit juices in the nation. Watery fresh squeezed orange (unlike banana which has a creamy texture), sour and sweet, served with ice cubes. Simple as that. It instantly kills the heat of this tropical country and that's why it's gold!
CHOCO OREO IDR 23K
A bit sweeter than the milo dino itself, this one's my winner for the sweet drink! You can clearly taste the chocolaty flavor and the drink with bits of oreo in it. Only disappointment was that there was not much cookie bits in it so it was more milky than crunchy.
GULAI SINGKONG IDR 18k
Fun fact before we start: this cassava curry wasn't made using any oil! That explains why the soup is clear of oil trace, that you can taste the coconut milk and seasoning without being overpowered by the strong texture of oil. It's good and properly cooked!
SATE SERUNDENG PALA ADAS IDR 30k
Slow cooked beef with serundeng (shredded and sauteed coconut with spices). The presentation might look simple to you but don't let this one fool your eyes! I love how tender the meat was and their dedication to cooking. The slow-cook technique has borne its fruits!
SAMCHAN 3 RASA (THREE FLAVORED PORK BELLY) IDR 128k
This menu has the prettiest plating of all! They have 2 options for these, whether to choose the ribs or the pork belly. We picked the fatty option and here it is! I'm gonna review each one of them soon but let's first focus on that tiny bowl of chili! THAT one! It's called Pacak and it's one of the deadliest, spiciest chili I've ever tasted! You'll taste that most of the menus are not that "deadly" despite using a lot of chili, but the secret lies with this tiny guy! Get a tiny dip to it and prove it for yourself!
Samchan Cabe Rica
Going on with the first! It's the most classical spicy and savory with a bit of sweet! Different than the green chili, Rica has a different spicy aroma. Both are great and it's only a matter of preference though. Can't explain to you in words so you've got to find it out by your own taste bud and judge!
Samchan Hitam Manis
A bit too sweet to my palate, perhaps the progression of taste in my palate was unstable since almost all of what we ate that day was spicy! This one might have gotten overwhelmed a little bit, but it's sweet and also flavorful: their sauce's sweetness is more complicated than just using ordinary soy sauce, must've added some honey into it as well.
Samchan Cabe Ijo
My personal favorite of the three! Using a similar green chili to what they use in the duck (different in spiciness though, but still of similar flavor), and judging from how I love their duck (which you're gonna know about SOON) this is also the bomb!
TERONG BALADO IDR 18k
To be honest with you, I'm not a big fan of eggplants. It's stir-fried eggplants with balado sauce, which is spicy with just a hint of sweetness in it. Kinda good for eggplants though!
AYAM GORENG PALA ADAS IDR 58k
A simple classic! Seasoned and battered deep fried chicken with red chili sauce! The chili sauce, despite its bloody red color, has a hint of sweetness in it and doesn't give you a really spicy taste, it's harmonic instead with the savoriness from the chicken and seasonings from both the batter and chili. Nice going!
BEBEK CABE IJO PALA ADAS (GREEN CHILI FRIED DUCK) IDR 78k
One of my favorite. For real! Pala Adas has this signature green chili that is so good! It might look DEADLY spicy to you but on the contrary it's not! True that it's spicy to a certain degree but it's not something that'd kill you, it's more to give a rich, aromatic side to your senses, combined with crispy duck, this dish's a killer.
SOP IGA SAMCHAN CABE IJO (GREEN CHILI PORK RIBS & BELLY SOUP) IDR 78k
Here's my personal favorite!! Remember my review about Song Fa? This is the Indonesian version of Bak Kut Teh! Made by boiling it with stock from the bones in over 18 hours, You get the most tender of meat and flavor so rich from the soup! Wonderful! It's served with their signature green chili, which is spicy and savory that it kicks up a great, stronger flavor to add its depth!
BANANA PALA ADAS IDR 25k
Good simple piece of dessert. it's basically fried banana simmered with condensed milk, grated cheddar cheese, and milk chocolate sprinkles. It tastes good of course! As one of the most popular snacks in Jakarta (if not Indonesia, I'm not sure), it has a familiar taste to us locals: something we can't reject.
KOLAK IDR 18k
Now we're talking "traditional" here!! Kolak is a hot soup made with coconut milk as a base and brown sugar. Tastes sweet and it contains bananas, cassava, jack fruit, and sweet potatoes. Filling, but as many Indonesians LOVE sweets, this one is so popular!
ES CAMPUR (SHAVED ICE WITH MIXED TOPPINGS) IDR 18k
As it went with the Kolak, this also has coconut milk, but served cold with shaved ice, plus added toppings of grass jelly, cendol, red beans, it usually is interchangeable and each place has their own different toppings (slightly, but it differs one another). This one is fresh and sweet, as the day was so hot we really enjoyed this one!!
Finally! Another great restaurant (and most interestingly, Indonesian) has opened in PIK! Congratulations and thank you for the generous invitation! This place rocks and I'm definitely bringing my family next time for an authentic Indonesian craving!
PALA ADAS
Elang Laut Boulevard No. 8-10
Pantai Indah Kapuk, Jakarta Utara
(021)29219129
Opening hours: 11:00 - 22:00
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