PAO PAO SENOPATI - JAKARTA

I first heard about this new hangout place in Senopati from a friend and he told me about this place that uniquely sells only Dim Sum as the main course and liquors to go along, well, personally I don't drink but I am curious enough about their Dim Sum and a couple of days ago I fulfil my curiosity and long time Dim Sum craving!

Pao Pao is the name of this Dim Sum and liquor bar and they only open for dinner reservations, they're still quite new (as this post is made, less than a month). Went there on Friday night and it was just the perfect time to bond with the Jakartans (even though we barely communicate). My first impression as I stepped in: stunned of how dark the place was, it's almost underground like but somehow reminded me of these Melbourne pubs, aside from the fact that I'll put more effort to take decent pictures and editing, I love the ambiance and definitely the music, I must say I was quite entertained with the playlist featuring medium beat musics mixed with the lounge vibe. I could simply sit there for hours.

If you find the music not entertaining enough, wait until you visit their bathroom, it was amazing.

If you're having a problem finding it, Pao Pao is located next to Arasseo and both are located on the other side of the Senopati street, so instead of turning right from Yellowfin (if you make your way from Gunawarman), turn left to the Recidence 8 area, if not then I suggest you to turn around from the tip of Sudirman road (the traffic light) instead of turning left from SCBD.

The interior was this smart mixture of retro and fashion, I was obsessed with the rattan chairs, wooden table and the flower motif, they were such a beautiful combination. Period.

I came with friends who don't drink so we ordered the virgins (mocktails) and generally I found the mocktails very refreshing! Generally talking, they were fruity with lovely balance of sweetness and I had no problem or complaint about them, they were just decent and numerically speaking, an 8/10, but I've always loved a little kick of sour on my mocktails and if they could give a little kick that would be an impressive 8.5/10 :p. My favorite one was the Double Happiness with dominant pineapple flavor.

They currently only have three mocktails selections and we ordered the all three.

Left: Hustle Stormy (IDR 45k), Right: Lychee Little Shanghai (IDR 45k)

While we were taking pictures, a waiter came with a complimentary cocktail and I was cheap enough to be impressed HAHA, no but that was seriously nice of them. I didn't know the name of the cocktail so I couldn't give the info, but the flavor was just too intense for me, but they've prepared the cinnamon cream to tone down the aftertaste, which somehow...worked.

Left: Double Happiness (IDR 45k), Right: complimentary drink.

 I mentioned earlier that they only served Dim Sum (steamed and fried) as the mains here so you have to note this before you go here and expecting something else. The range of Dim Sum was pretty common with courses like Siewmay, Ha Kao, Xiao Long Bao, Dumplings, Steamed Paos, Deep Fried Taro, and many more. We ordered the Steamed Dim Sum platter (IDR 125k) and Fried Dim Sum platter (IDR 100k) to share, and since reviewing one by one would take this post longer then I would generally state that I LOVE THE DIM SUM...BOTH STEAMED AND FRIED! They were perfectly cooked and seasoned with generous filling. We just couldn't munching and as I am typing this post right now I feel like looking at the pics sort of killing me at the moment because I am freaking craving for them!

The serving sauce came in two kinds, the plain red one was the ordinary chili sauce but the bomb was the homemade chili, it was spicy and addicting and OMG so yum. Lost for words you better bring you ass here and experience it yourself.

 The steamed Dim Sum platter consist of more options that the fried one, that's why it's slightly more expensive. I love everything that you're looking at here, but if you ask me my most and least favorite then I would say I really like their dumplings and the softness of the paos, but the cha siu filling was just a tad sweet for me instead of savory.

 When this was served, the aroma was quite annoying as we realized we needed to take pics first instead of digging in! I super duper love the fried taro as it was simply perfect for me, if not one of the best I've tried.

For platters like that and the value we got, the money we paid for was very worth it and not to mention I was quite full even after sharing two platters for three tummies, it was simply an awesome dinner, along the fact that we tried this new place and were not disappointed :).

I highly suggest that you book a reservation (especially during weekends) because I think we were just lucky to have some space on a Friday night and the fact that we unplanned-ly came early, we came at 6 and just 15 minutes after that people started coming in and suddenly the venue was almost packed.

Pao Pao Liquor & Dim Sum
Jalan Senopati No. 16
Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan 12190
021 - 2751 0698
Opening Hours:
Sun-Thu: 6 PM - 2 AM
Fri-Sat: 6 PM - 3 AM
Dresscode: Casual
Pricing: $$
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