PAPPARICH PANTAI INDAH KAPUK

Precisely a month ago, Papparich opened its second branch in Indonesia at Pantai Indah Kapuk Jakarta. This is such a great news for those of you who are familiar with this Malaysian delight Kopitiam, or maybe to those of you who used to spent a few years of your life studying or living in Malaysia. Indonesia becomes the 11th country along with the 130 registered outlets within the growing milestone, which includes Hong Kong, Taiwan, Brunei, Australia, USA, Singapore, China, South Korea and New Zealand.

I came for lunch a few days ago and it was an awesome scene to witness that the restaurant is full house on a weekday afternoon, lately it's been quite a rare scene in town. I hope this is a sign of continuously good business, by the way they open early everyday starting from 7 AM and close pretty late at 1 AM!

The outlet was pretty spacious for PIK standard (they're currently still finishing the construction for the second floor), the interior design was rather simple but altogether very homey with a little touch of industrial, colonial (Malaysia is under the British colony) and vintage-modern from the details (Nyonya tiles, green-tosca colored wood windows, retro ceiling fan, marble tables, and wall mounted clocks), just the kind of design that I notice from Malaysian style Kopitiam on my latest visit to the gorgeous country.

The menus undoubtedly feature impressive range of Malaysian authentic traditional cuisine from rice to noodle creations, to various traditional desserts as well. Malaysia is a diverse country that is a home to local, Chinese and Indian people and if you've been to Malaysia before, I think you should know that you can easily find Chinese restaurants, Indian restaurants or even the beautiful fusion of two with a touch of everything else, and that's exactly what Papparich is trying to offer to us regarding to its opening in town! Talk about authenticity along with the hope that the standard they're aiming for matches our palate, which after my visit... hey keep on reading!

3-Layer Tea - IDR 30k / Lime Cooler - IDR 30k

If you fancy something fresh with a hint of sour and sparks, this is what you need to opt. It's their take of the classic Mojito with additional lychee flavor. Overall it's sour without being overly sour.

The 3-layer tea is simple, yet pure genius. The layers basically consists of red tea on top, evaporated milk and Malacca palm sugar (Aren sugar) as the base. It's almost like having Thai tea but not significantly that, the palm sugar is really what elevated the flavor and gave that extra kick. It's perfectly creamy, smooth, sweet, and fragrant on the sip, it's the drink that you have to order here! Period.

Ribena Melon Lychee - IDR 42k
This beverage is a refreshing mix of Ribena, melon and lychee. Overall this beautiful balance of sweet and a fresh thirst quencher to the hot day.

Fish Head Noodle - IDR 55k

I was excited when I knew they had this on their menu so I wanted to give it a try! I have previously had this type of dish at some other restaurants so I kinda had this picture in my head of how I wanted the flavor to turn out, and it was exactly that (only I expected it to slightly be more sour to be honest), but from the thickness of the soup, to the seasoning and the soaked-crunchy fish head, it surpasses my standard, DO ADD IN THE GREEN CHILI to really live up the flavor, honestly like twice better.

If I am not mistaken, you can adjust the noodle you want here, but I went with the vermicelli (suggested default), and please don't take too long on the pictures because this kind of dish is perfect when it's hot!

Nasi Lemak with Fried Chicken + Sambal Prawns - IDR 60k

When it comes to Malaysian cuisine, Nasi Lemak is probably one of the first ones that comes to everyone's mind, as well as one of the best that represents the country. If this is the first time you hear the word "Nasi Lemak", I wonder where have you been hahaha, no but seriously even though they have almost the same characteristic, Nasi Lemak is not Nasi Uduk, yes both are created with coconut milk, but the seasoning is slightly different. Nasi Lemak is made from heated coconut milk with pandan leaves before being steamed with rice for approximately 30 minutes to import the flavor, seasoning and aroma. Normally, a portion of Nasi Lemak consist of proteins you fancy (when I was in Malaysia I remember having the freedom to choose the proteins that I want), homemade sambal, fried anchovy, egg, peanuts, cucumber.

When I talk about sambal in Nasi Lemak, I refer to this tasty and nicely seasoned Malaysian chili paste made using 22 different ingredients (icnluding lemongrass, shallot, garlic and ginger). It might not be as spicy as Indonesian sambal, but it matches the characteristic of Nasi Lemak perfectly with a hint of sweet as well. The highlight for me has got to be the large and crispy Mamak fried chicken tho, it's crunchy outside with tender meat and when it's served to my table, it's SO FRAGRANT!

If you feel like adding more to your plate, they have quite a few selections as extra toppings such as nasi lemak, Hainan chicken rice, biryani rice, beef rendang, whole chicken leg and many more.

Garlic Naan with Curry Sauce - IDR 35k

Naan is a well known Indian bread and quite famous among Malaysians and they even treat this like their main course (it's an appetizer for me of course, something to warm me up before proceeding to the other courses). Papparich's naan is something delicious and well made! The bread is thick with semi-crispy coating, buttery, fragrant and pairing it with their thick and uber flavorful curry is everything.

Hainan Steamed Bread with Butter and Kaya - IDR 30k

The following menu might be the least photogenic or attractive to the eye, but this is a simple yet VERY NICE delicacy of homemade bread served with homemade kaya and butter! The bread recipe has bene perfected for more than 7 decades (that is 70 freaking years), and it's a legacy they should preserve as the bread is very fluffy & pillowy that when you press it, it would go back to its original form. I am not a big fan of butter, but theirs are just so creamy, melt in your mouth right away and the jam, OMG really nice with smooth texture I wish they have it in jars!

If you're feeling for something not too heavy here, go for their Hainan bread and their 3-layer tea. Such a perfect combination almost like your own awesome tea time!

I don't know how to explain it, but there's just something about Papparich persona that I feel match the PIK image, and it really does belong to PIK, and to be honest, I don't doubt why they're super crowded almost anytime, the good affordable well-seasoned food and this fancy but humble Kopitiam persona that everyone can accept might be the strongest two. I do hope they stay long in the business, and I can see myself coming back again and again and again. BEST OF LUCK!