Just realized that we don't do review about Indonesian foods that often. Guess the last time was Fairmont's 1945 and Tambak Bayan, which are probably the only Indonesian restaurants we've ever talked about in this blog. This doesn't mean we dislike Indonesian cuisine though, it's just that we rarely ate out for Indonesian, seeing as we usually have that at home, plus we usually ate Indonesian food at a street food spot rather than proper restaurants. This relatively new Indonesian restaurant in Kemang however is pretty decent and it's called Soulfood! Even when this place is made to be a proper restaurant, they didn't want to lose that traditional kick, so they designed the place as humble as they can be with all the bricks, traditional plates, and let's forget that they also inhabited the environment friendly policy!
Located next to Monstore's old Kemang store, it used to be an Alfamart. Not really hard to find as long as you got a GPS on you! It's a 2 story building and this below is their 1st floor. Pretty low lighted for me, there's also huge window that lets you peek into a small part of the kitchen!
Too bad you can't choose these side dishes individually! It's all part of Kembulan platter, so you gotta get that to have these!
The interior is, like I said before, very humble! Everything's really simple and made to look like a proper version of a street food stall. They really want to show that Indonesian food can be proper and still be traditional!
Just wanna show you how cute their menu 'book' is!!
If you saw that #happyfoodrevolution writing on the first photo of this post, here's what it means. Yes, it's not just a random hashtag but there's an actual story behind it! Soulfood is created by a person named Nanduto, which is of course a pen-name, her real name is Ananda. Nanduto here is the mastermind and cook of these products below; Cassava Chips, Nachos, Chili, and many more! Why is it said that Soulfood is created by her? Well, it's because all the foods here in Soulfood uses Nanduto's product as their main ingredients!
For example, the chili she made can be used for the spaghetti or fried rice for Soulfood, which is why it's called food revolution! Get it now? What their trying to say is that even simple ingredients can be made into various decent dishes, so if you like the foods at Soulfood, you can try buying Nanduto's product and making the foods yourself at home! :D
See the "Telah Dipesan" sign below? It means 'reserved', so when they first opened, you can reserve a table here but since Indonesian has a problem with punctuality and is always late for the reservation, they decided to erase their reservation service, yet they still kept this sign on display and it's becoming a popular photo props for customers here. Now this sign could mean 3 things;
1. Reserved.
2. People that took picture with this sign, means they're taken..lol!
3. A thank you from Soulfood for ordering their foods.
Didn't expect such simple words could mean so deep! Cool, huh?
A complimentary, sort of like a fine-dining's welcoming bread! Made out of sticky rice (totally thought it was some kind of fried beancurd..my bad! :p), comes with a chili dipping sauce. May I warn you that the chili is super spicy!!
RACIKAN BISTIK LIDAH IDR 45K
Okay, I admit that it looks super ordinary but turns out to be SUPER YUMMY! The 'lidah' or tongue is super tender and what makes it different is the peanut sauce. Trust me when I say that this is beyond amazing! You gotta try it and the blanched fresh veggies and chips are a nice company as well!
TULANG JAMBAL IDR 25K
Super lucky to be able to have this, since it's said that this is one of their popular menu, so usually it would've been sold out! Usually 'jambal' is made out of salted fish and this one is made with their secret spices, which is incredibly delicious by the way! They weren't kidding with the food revolution thing! Inside this is 2 pieces of tulang jambal that you can chew on for it still got pieces of delicious fish meat on!
KEMBULAN LUNCH PLATTER IDR 175K
Nasi gurih iga, ayam merah, ikan sambal matah, tumis kecipir jagung, telur kembung, acar nanas kecombrang, sambel apel & krupuk barak.
Soulfood's mandatory menu!!! Another one of those usually sold out choices and again, we're fortunate enough to get the chance to have it while they're still full! They open at 10:30 am and because we didn't want to miss anything, we came right at 11 am! xD
This is actually a serving for 2, so don't be surprised from the huge portion! For me personally, I don't even think that 2 people will be able to finish this, since it's just really huge but we did finish it..can't help the fact that it's just way too good! I especially love their different types of fragrant and flavorful rice! Not only their rice but everything here has very strong flavors but because it's that good, I don't even mind the clashing of strong flavors!
This black colored rice is their delicious squid black rice that you have got to try!
I thought at first that this is gonna be a bit hard to chew like the ones I usually encountered but my, am I wrong! On the contrary, it turns out to be very tender!!
AGLIO OLIO PEDA IJO IDR 45K
Waited a very long time for this to be served, don't really know if it's because they forgot or it really does take that long to cook..hmm. Good thing it's worth the wait! So peda is a type of fish and I guess by ijo, which is green, means pesto? All I know that like most things here, this is very flavorful and totally generous with the topping!
NASI GORENG TOPPING IDR 40K
Served with telur kembung, acar nanas kecombrang & krupuk barak.
Lured in by the name and enraptured by the taste! The rice's consistency is not how usual fried rice is like but leaning more to the Hoka-Hoka Bento's rice. Again, their flavoring is super bold and strong, so the already flavorful rice meeting the also flavorful shredded jerky! For the flavor, you can choose either Peda Ijo or Jambal Merah and toppings, Abon Bilis Honje, Abon Jambal Jogya, or Empal Suwir Sambal Sereh. Our choices here are Peda Ijo and Empal Suwir Sambal Sereh, so be careful 'cause it's a bit spicy!
The egg is just a normal egg but with their special cooking technique, they're able to make it swell up hence the name, telur kembung!
ASEM-ASEM IGA KEDONDONG IDR 95K
Here's their new menu that is seriously wonderful! Tender meat in a spicy and sour soup with beautiful nasi liwet..Perfect! Fyi, their actual plating is with a stacking food containers, which is really traditional yet unique!
KEMBULAN MANIS-MANIS IDR 90K
Kue Mangkok, Balapis, Klepon, Putu Mayang, and many more! All of the desserts they have is gathered into this platter. Well, all except the Rujak Honje that is but other than that, the usual traditional Indonesian dessert that you'd find at a traditional market would be here. Still impressed by the fact that they support our traditional cuisine and could even take it to the next level, even in their taste! I especially love the Piscok, which is chocolate banana fritters, always been my favorite!
Now let's check out their 2nd floor, shall we? Here they wanted to have a different concept, whereas on this 2nd floor, they tried to create a feeling as if we're eating at a friend's house. Each of your orders will be cooked live here..too bad it's not applied yet, so for the time being, your orders will still be cooked on the 1st floor! :(
Oh! And another thing, 2nd floor here is the smoking room, so it's a non-smoking area for the 1st floor due to the fact that their customers consisted of people from all ages. Meaning there'll be kids and elders, so smokes will be bad!
Conclusion is WE ARE SO COMING BACK HERE! Why?! Of course it's because of how yummy their foods are, an incredible food revolution! What I will order again are the squid black rice and Racikan Bistik Lidah. True to their name, their foods really does feeds the soul, since you'll leave feeling happier, at least that's what I feel! Really respect the fact that they're able to attract younger people to want to eat Indonesian cuisines and just in a few months, they've already captured so many people's hearts! Another big news is that they will open another branch at Senopati, so stay tuned!
Soulfood
Jl. Kemang Raya, Centra Kemang 72 D
Mampang Prapatan, Kemang
Jakarta Selatan
021-22707049
Opening Hours :
Everyday : 10:30 am - 10:00 pm
