SAUNG LAYARAN ANCOL - JAKARTA - eatandtreats - Indonesian Food and Travel Blogger based in Jakarta

The F&B scene in Jakarta is being filled with various food genres, but when I really think about it, I can't escape myself from having Indonesian food as my main interest as I grew up being familiar to those since I was very little, and when you talk about Indonesian food itself, you can still divide that main subject to so many sub-categories as Indonesia is blessed with rich culinary scene and each province has their own unique cuisine, and most of them are so delicious it's probably hard to decide which one is your favorite (and you don't have to), and this time I am blogging about this new Sundanese-Seafood restaurant called Saung Layaran that just opened around two months ago (as this post is being written in September 1st 2016).

Boy how can I not love Sundanese and seafood combo? You know my formula for the ultimate Sundanese and seafood eating satisfaction: make sure you have a lot of rice with you + spicy tasty chili! BOMB. RICE IS JUST A MUST I DON'T CARE

Wilujeng Sumping, a Sundanese language which means "welcome" in Indonesian.

Saung Layaran is located at Taman Impian Jaya Ancol and across Mercure hotel, the restaurant is owned and managed by the same peeps that run Mang Engking in The Breeze BSD so you can expect to see pretty much Mang Engking's top creations but with more seafood selections. The restaurant was quite spacious and mainly consist of "saung" or dining cottages, but they also accomodate private VIP areas, and another dining area located on the second floor. Near the entrance was the aquarium as the home to the self-breed sea creatures. They wanted to keep the ingredients and the food as fresh as possible and that's why they're still applying the conventional processes starting from the breeding, cleaning to the cooking but still with a little sophisticated touch here and there. We're getting to that in just a second.

The restaurant area was so spacious, maybe it was the good amount of green plants surrounding it that made the air circulation here a bit better (and it was a tad windier, I know right it might sound a bit weird but that was what I felt), and the cottages were just like little retreats where you can sit down by the pond, relax and eat fresh seafood with your friends and family. You know the most painful thing about writing food reviews is that I actually start imagining the food I had here to be able to explain it to you and it drools the hell out of me!!!

OK LOCATION TOUR RIGHT NOW!!!

The menus in Saung Layaran features extensive range of seafood and Sundanese cuisine with portions that's meant to be shared, they also have various kinds of drinks and local and Western desssert menus as well. Ok you ready?

Milkshake Strawberry - IDR 21.5k

Their milkshake was very creamy and milky with strong strawberry flavor, this kind of drink is versatile, but I bet your kids would love this one, not to mention the simple but cute presentation.

Es Kelapa Muda Jeruk - IDR 28,5k

When having seafood, I always (like always always) pair it with orange juice or sometimes orange juice with shredded coconut. I don't buy all that stupid shrimps don't match with orange juice rumor because I am still here alive and fabulous, that's all I've got to say about it.

Udang Bakar Madu - IDR 115k

Udang Bakar Madu is the must have menu for seafood restaurants, especially if the restaurants look pretty much like theirs with the same concept and I just have the biggest crush on it. If you really look at it, it's actually a pretty simple menu consisting of mainly shrimps and honey, but the main kitchen's secret should be the marination of the shrimp and temperature. They managed to cook a delicious version of udang bakar madu with tender meat and spot on sweet and savory flavor. No complaint.

Bawal Acar Hidup - IDR 43k/ounce

I initially expected the acar flavor to be more to the salty and savory, but it's actually more to the sweeter side with a hint of savory flavor from the fish and still pretty refreshing to my palate.

Gurame Bumbu Cobek - IDR 92,5k

Say hello to my favorite menu of the lunch that day! It was really the sambal cobek that really gave all the flavor and excitement on this dish, it was pretty spicy with sambal matah flavor character to it and made such perfect combo with the crispy and tender fish and *ahem* rice! MUST TRY!

Iga Lada Hitam - IDR 75,5k

Saung Layaran's blackpepper rib was also one of my favorites of that day for its chunky appearance, succulent meat and generous blackpepper dressing, so generous that you almost can't have this without rice (rice is always going to be in the topic).

Gorgeous space for the family and the good food are the two main reasons why you should pay a visit to this new establishments, the only downside is probably the location and the fact that you will need to pay for the Ancol ticket entrance before actually coming here, but if you come in big groups, I don't see any problem and it's quite worth it (I actually noticed a lot of their seats were booked for several corporate lunch events).

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