First part of my Japan winter trip -> HERE

I celebrated my birthday last year in Bali and stayed at the fabulous Katamama, back then they were doing the construction of an Indonesian restaurant called KAUM which I finally managed to visit back in January this year (but haven't done the full blog post) so I thought about merging the visits to a single entry. KAUM Bali is located inside the highly popular Potato Head Beach Club in Seminyak, on its second floor and in case you guys wonder, yes it's owned and managed by the same people who owns Potato Head.

...and today (May 22nd 2017) marks the opening of KAUM Jakarta and I was invited last Friday for an exclusive pre-opening preview and I am sharing it to you, but I have to be completely frank, for the food review, I couldn't exactly do an in-depth review because there was so much food presented and I honestly didn't try each and every single one and I really do feel like I need another visit here to really explore the food, maybe I was pretty full before coming to KAUM, I was busy browsing the uber gorgeous restaurant and taking pictures and that kinda set me back from paying more attention to the food and I end up not remembering the moment as vivid as KAUM Bali, but good news I totally enjoyed my lunch in KAUM Bali and remember how good it was! Generally I found their food to be fresh, rich, tasty, SPICY (gotta highlight this because even the default fried rice flavor was too spicy for my liking so DO ASK FOR NON or LESS), beautifully seasoned and altogether delicious.

KAUM Jakarta is located in the posh Menteng neighborhood where a lot of pretty restaurants are and upon arriving, I was stunned by how gorgeous the restaurant was! It's totally different that the look of KAUM Bali which was way smaller and more minimalist where KAUM Menteng was the posher version and literally a house transformed to a very beautiful restaurant hence the culture value, and the super ambiance! There are two separated dining areas and the VIP room was definitely my favorite (I don't know whether it's actually a VIP room because there are some tables inside) but that particular seating area gave me the most memorable ambiance, it's how they decorate it, the smell of the room, the romantic vibe the dim surrounding gave to me and the music! The music was seriously the highlight, it's this gorgeous mixtape of Indonesian 60-70s song, seriously MAZOR LOVE!

They currently open for dinner only and I heard that in 2-3 weeks from now they'll start to open for lunch. Ok restaurant tour now!

The VIP room that I talked about!

I don't normally talk about restaurant's toilet but their toilet was another LOVE! It's kinda this mini space for you not only to bowl but to chill a bit LOL (if you fancy!)

Now moving on to the food and drinks here, there are A LOT that I tried but again I told you earlier that I didn't try every single one so I couldn't really give my opinion on each and every single one, some that I found good were Lidah Sapi Bakar Sambal Tangkil (IDR 85k), Burung Puyuh Malon Goreng Bumbu Rica-Rica (IDR 65k), Laksa Bogor Oncom Merah (IDR 55k), Sate Kambing Buntel Acar Rujak (IDR 120k), Sate Sapi Wagyu Maranggi (IDR 120k) and Mie Gomak (IDR 85k), and of course don't forget their Sambal Selection (5 kinds of homemade chili - IDR 75k) for that extra kick if you like one.

Lidah Sapi Bakar Sambal Tangkil (IDR 85k)

Sate Sapi Wagyu Maranggi - IDR 130k

Their Satay was seriously the highlight of the dinner, ones that stuck on my head, they were fresh with tender meat, altogether beautifully cooked, beautifully seasoned and yes, simple.

Now sharing you a little peek of my visit to KAUM Bali in Seminyak, the following picture is the Sambal Selections (IDR 75k) where you can get 5 kinds of their homemade sambal in a single serving: Sambal Ikan Asin, Sambal Matah, Sambal Kluwek (the black one), Sambal Rica-Rica and Sambal Bawang.

Generally I found the food to be spicy spicy spicy and I highly recommend you guys to really adjust the spiciness of the food because again, not everyone has the same take on spicy food. The fried rice was overly spicy and not to mention most of the food that I tried here were generally spicy and because of that spiciness, I feel like they taste similar to one another and the spiciness kinda built one another too, hence the spiciness was the one that I can vividly remember.

KAUM Jakarta

Jl. DR. Kusuma Atmaja No. 77-79

Menteng, Jakarta Pusat 10310

021 - 2239 3256

Opening hours: 6 PM-12 AM

Average spending for two: IDR 300k

Dresscode: none

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Cold White (IDR 45k)

Their take on Iced Latte and nope they don't serve the classic 'on ice' coffee here but you can ask. Me loving this one, it's creamy with fresh aftertaste and the right balance of coffee and milk. You should try. I don't know why I freaking forgot to capture a photo of their Iced Mocha but it was SO GOOD!!!  It tastes like this amazing blend of only coffee and chocolate, just so creamy, sweet, enchanting and I like how they put real chocolate inside the drink for texture.

Straight up guilty-pleasure, indulgence after indulgence.

BBQ Brisket Burger - IDR 100k

I didn't have a bite on this one but my friend told me this was good, only the scrambled egg kinda overshadowed the BBQ brisket which should be the highlight of this dish.

Congrats Niko!

Sensory Lab for me is the more casual version of St. Ali and truth is, Kelapa Gading needs more cafe like this! PS: they're opening in PIK in a few months yay!

Sensory Lab Indonesia

Mall Kelapa Gading 3

Jl. Boulevard Utara Kelapa Gading

Kelapa Gading, Jakarta Utara

Opening hours: 10 AM-10 PM

Average spending for two: IDR 250k

Dresscode: none

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FIND ME HERE