The
growing F&B trend at the moment has got to be "food court", or
fancier described as "one stop dining destination". After Pasar
Santa, Food Fighters, and Southbox, now we're welcoming the newest addition to
the scene: FOOD CONTAINER, a brand new food court themed dining destination
which just opened literally today in Lebak Bulus.
Getting
here is quite easy, if you're pretty blind to the area, you can just google
"Hotel Keraton", and Food Container is going to be beside the hotel,
if you make your way via Jalan Lebak Bulus Raya, it's located before the hotel,
on your left side. It's pretty eye catching and colorful, almost impossile not
to notice.
Food
Container adapts pretty much the same concept as Food Fighters, where there are
not too many tenants opening (unlike Pasar Santa), so in a way it's more
focused when it comes to the food genre. There are 18 tenants opening here, and
are mostly independent establishments and start-ups, even though you're going
to find some famous names such as Krispy Krips and Ichitori. Don't expect
something fancy here as it's not the place for it. Here you can find good range
of local cuisine, western (pasta), Japanese, coffee and desserts.
The 18 tenants are: Betterlife Coffee, Cendol’O, Gritology, Pempek Kita, Radja Pisang Ijo,
Ultradon, Offle, Kelasi, Nnalar, Ichitori, Mr. Panda Dimsum, Pipabite, Bakso
Kota Cak Man, Riche/Pan and Cheese, Bebek Pedrik, Krispykrips, Warung Mamacha, and Nasi
Kentjana! I sample most of the dishes, tremendous amount
of food as usual, brace yourself for major foodporn!
Betterlife Coffee
This is a new establishment
and this is the very first time they open their coffee business (I did ask
them). I honestly like their coffee, it’s nowhere near bad. Rich with a subtle
touch. The only suggestion that I can give is to probably make the texture a
little more creamier and thicker, but again, their coffee’s not bad at all. I
love good looking latte arts, but in some cases that’s the least of my worries.
Had their caramel latte and it was enjoyable, even though I did ask for ice
because it was just too hot to have hot drinks.
Gritology
They are the “Nasi Kebuli
Bakar Ternate” specialist and is one of my personal favorites here! I love
their fun concept of mid-west cuisine all cooked using fresh local ingredients.
I honestly didn’t know what I had (the name), because my friend took the order
and there were so many food I couldn’t remember everything, but maybe you can
show this picture.
The chili OMG BOMB! So
spicy but tasty and really changed the whole flavor of the dish. The chicken
was saucy and tender, honestly if you look at the ingredients, they are pretty
homecook-simple, but it’s just the execution’s so smart and nice.
Ichitori and Krispykrips
If you’re one of those
bazaar freaks you might be familiar with these names, as based on my experience
visiting bazaars, these two are among the best seller brands, so being sold out
must be something they’re very common about! Ichitori specializes in fried
chicken snacks (karaage like) with simple menus creatively curated for everyone’s
interest, while Krispykrips has very tasty mushroom snacks, you should their Spicy
Extra Mushroom Krips. YUM!
Bakso Kota Cak Man
Don’t call yourself an avid
local meatball fan if you don’t know any shit about Cak Man! It’s one of the
most popular meatball specialists in town. They might not be extra big on
social media since they’re still very traditional, but that’s exactly what I
love about meatballs! The more local and traditional that is, the more I love!
Obsessed with their “bakso urat”, must order, enough said.
Bebek Pedrik
A good option for those who’re
craving for local traditional cuisine, I had this Nasi Bebek Goreng (rice with
fried duck) with chili that’s to die for! So so good. I just expected the fried
duck to be a little crispier and probably had it served with crumbs!
Pan n Cheese
Loads of cheese covering
the rice dish, a big cheese fan would like this! Seasoning was light but spot
on.
Nnalar
Hands down to the most
interesting dish I’ve had in Food Container and no offense to anybody you’re
awesome, but this was something different, flavor and quality wise. They serve fusion gyu tan (ox tounge) dishes, and what’s so interesting is the sauce options. I
had the cheese sauce & the sambal roa sauce, and I found that to be very
interesting! When you mix everything it actually tasted dominantly like baked
cheese rice dish with a little hint of spicy from the flavorful sambal roa. The
portion’s topped with one quail egg, never been big of quail egg so I guess
better off without.
Pipabite
Appearance wise, this is
pretty unique as I never actually had dessert like this before, so basically it’s
like this thin pastry (bread-like) wrapped in your favorite condiments
(colorful ceres, almond, etc.). The bread was firm enough to keep the pipe
shape, but soft enough for you to bite, and just love how it’s not overly
sweet. I saw that they’re launching the pizza bread version of this, can’t
wait!
Cendol’O
Holy shit if you love
durian you just gotta have their Durian Cendol’O (IDR 20k after soft opening
promo), a simple blend of traditional-modern cendol drink with one scoop of
Durian ice cream on top! The flavor combination of cendol and durian are just that
major yum. Tasty, creamy and refreshing.
Radja Pisang Ijo
Another local dessert worth
trying, ok a little about pisang ijo, it doesn’t neccesarily means a green
colored banana, it’s actually a fresh banana wrapped in this green colored
crepe and a main part of this dessert along with ice, bubur sum-sum, coconut
milk, tapioca balls (pearls), and syrup!
Kelasi
Another popular one, Kelasi
is a dessert inspired by Thailand’s famous coconut ice cream dessert where they
still use the coconut shell as the dessert plate, and the fillings? Depending
on your liking. It’s a refreshment to the hot day.
They also have a separated
drink booth where you can go for the easy and casual mineral water, tea and
soft drinks.
Based
on my visit, I have a good feeling that they will do good and soon enough, popular! Also how they'll have its own market, it's already
a good idea to open in Lebak Bulus (and an idea I love), it's just the matter
of time! The downside is that it was pretty hot and humid that afternoon, not too mention the whole are
is built and surrounded with this tin material. and they do
need better air circulation and more standing ACs maybe?
But anyway, GOOD LUCK!!!
Update:
19-31 December 2015 is their soft opening days and they're giving everyone 20% OFF discount! DIG HARD!
Food Container
Jalan Lebak Bulus Raya No. 30A
Jakarta Selatan
Opening hours: 10 AM-10 PM
Average spending for two: IDR 500k should make you throw up, IDR 200k it is
Dresscode: casual, I suggest loose instead of skimpy
INSTAGRAM
FIND ME HERE
Map for Jalan Lebak Bulus Raya
