FILOSOFI KOPI MELAWAI - JAKARTA

First of all, I would love to thank Dewi Lestari for creating such a nice story about coffee and Angga Susangko for creating such a nice movie. A little story to share, I was happy to be invited by them to attend the gala premiere of the movie Filosofi Kopi back in April, and overall, it was a good movie starting from the storyline, cinematography and casts. Chicco Jericho and Rio Dewanto both played Ben & Jodi very well. If you love to watch a little story about Indonesian coffee and happen to love coffee, this is a movie worth watching.

Anyway, if you’ve watched the movie, you must have noticed this vintage coffee shop used as the main setting in the movie literally called “Filosofi Kopi”, and from what I heard, and that is due to the high request, finally there’s a real physical “Filosofi Kopi” outlet that everyone can visit on Jalan Melawai VI, Little Tokyo just exactly in front of Blok M Square. It’s actually not hard to find, it’s just that Melawai area has quite a few alleys, but if you drive, it’s actually on Waze and I am here to give you that extra information and the peek of Filosofi Kopi!

The coffee shop was slightly smaller than what I initially had in mind, well that I think because Angga Sasongko shot the coffee shop on the right angle, but it was just as vintage & retro as I thought it would be. The shop itself is located on what used to be an old (and sort of abandoned) building as you can still see the non-operating second story from the outside and those (in a way) awesome crack on the old unfurnished & unpolished building, but don’t worry, the coffee shop’s actually well air-conditioned (apparently not as shabby as what YOU probably had in mind), and the venue was just designed simply but nicely, not only that, I think it’s also the people who were there when I visited having conversations with their friends, and not to mention, the good friends I was with that made the ambiance just felt right with lingering smell of the coffee.

However, at the moment, it’s not the kind of coffee shop you go to to work on your assignments or projects as they don’t have WiFi and currently, so many people are packing the coffee shop so I think your common sense would prefer not to stay there very long LOL.

The menu is still quite limited, they currently serve coffee, non-coffee drinks & snacks. For the coffee you can find some of the “commons” in Perfecto, Tiwus & Lestari blend (your choice), such as cafe latte, cappuccino, espresso, manual brewing, long black & tubruk, but if you’re an iced coffee drinker only cafe latte & cappuccino are available in iced, and also their special signature creation: Affogato Orgasm with durian ice cream (IDR 40k), my friend who came earlier ordered this and it was quite an interesting drink with medium level acidity of the espresso and bold durian flavor. The pricing for the coffee was quite affordable from IDR 20k-40k.

For the non-coffee beverages, they have chocolate latte, green tea latte, red velvet latte, ice tea, iced lemon tea and iced lychee tea, while for the snacks, they currently have waffle, french fries and fried cassava. The non-coffee beverages price range started from IDR 32k-35k (lattes), and IDR 18k-30k (iced teas) and the snacks range from IDR 18k-30k.

I had myself and iced cappuccino and it was quite good, even after I walked around shooting the place, it’s still pretty good (should’ve ordered after I finished shooting but it was packed and my friend ordered it for me), so I assume the coffee flavor was pretty strong with just the right amount of acidity. My friend, whom I met there, told me he ordered the manual brewing with Lestari grind & V60 brewing and it was pretty decent.

Overall, I was honestly glad that there’s finally a real physical “Filosofi Kopi” coffee shop & cafe and I guess since the hype of the movie is still running strong, the coffee enthusiast, the curious people and the people who are not really big on coffee but big on Instagram came to pack the place. I heard they're expanding the franchise to game series, and I wish Filosofi Kopi all the best of luck! CHEERS.

Filosofi Kopi
Jalan Melawai VI (in front of Blok M Square)
Blok M, Kebayoran Baru
Jakarta Selatan 12160
Average spending: IDR 100k for two
Dresscode: as casual as fuck
WiFi: No
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Map for Jalan Melawai 6

WILSHIRE SENOPATI - JAKARTA

HAPPY NEWS! One of favorite restaurants is now re-opening and I guess before everyone, I visited their newly located outlet above Colette & Lola in Senopati, which used to belong to YEYO. Basically when you enter the room, you’ll experience almost the exact same decor of the old Wilshire in Foundry 8, only this time in a smaller venue with more homey, simple yet industrial ambiance.

If you’re wondering why they moved to the more packed Senopati area, you know what, just rest your thoughts and I don’t feel like talking about it HAHAHA but I can assure you everything is totally fine.

 My favorite seating must be the one next to the window, I love how the window was designed to add in that more minimalist feel to the room.

 Just like the old Wilshire, the lighting’s still dimmed, yellow and quite challenging to take (even) decent pictures here.

They’re currently building the larger bar area on the third level, but currently still on progress.

Had a pretty big lunch yesterday and let’s just stop the yakking and get to the F&B!

As you guys (probably) know, I don’t drink, but since I came with a friend who drinks like a muthafucka and since Wilshire’s highly famous for their signature cocktails, here are their recommended drinks, well I tried a bit and found them quite pleasant, even though I still don’t exactly know how to explain as I only understand “bold” and “lighter”.

Orange Is The New Black (for me the stronger one in terms of flavor)

IDR 99k

Orange, vodka, Amarertto

Lavender Field (the lighter one, more like female drink)
IDR 99k

Gin, lemon, lavender

Crispy BBQ Pulled Pork Open Faced Tacos
IDR 99k
One recommended appetizer. The tender pulled pork works well with the rich and rather bold BBQ sauce and all that served on top of crispy tacos. Flavor, texture, interesting factor...checked!

Slow Cooked 55 Degree Wagyu Bowl in Hot Stone
IDR 195k

This is the modification of their original “Slow Cooked 55 Degree Wagyu” (which originally being served with mashed potato & sauteed butter corn) and this was delish! Even though I expected more sauce or that extra kick of seasoning (in forms of sauce or butter or anything), but for some reasons, after I think about it, I choose to love the fact that the wagyu was very lightly seasoned, hence that natural & good quality of the beef speaks for itself. I was pretty satisfied with this one.

Garlic Udon with Prawn
IDR 125k

I am not a big udon guy and to be completely honest, I’ve always found udon to be extremely boring, almost like fat noodle with no appealing factor (well literally), but guess what? I must give it to this one because it was executed nicely. It’s actually pretty simple, just udon served in hot stone with basic seasoning and bold garlic flavor, but it’s just so tasty! The udon was cooked until it’s very soft & gooey, and that I think supported the concept of the dish, comparing with the firmer, harder type of udon. Another personal favorite of mine!

Urban Eggs Burrito
IDR 75k

Short to say, it was Nasi Gila in the form of burrito! I didn’t notice that (barely looked at the menu because my friend ordered everything) until I asked why the flavor really reminded me of Nasi Gila. It got that sweet, salty, savory flavor that balanced quite well altogether and wrapped in soft burrito (the burrito was not that firm solid type).

Portobello Cheese Bomb Burger
IDR 119k

This one was one of my favorite meals of the day! I don’t know how to say it but I guess I am going to say it loud and clear: THIS WAS ONE OF THE BEST BURGERS I’VE TRIED IN TOWN! Imagine this, you got that perfectly cooked beef patty (with juicy fatty fat), and finally a beautifully fried portobello mushroom with melted cheese (Monterey Jack) inside. The beef patty was very tasty, it was just altogether DA YUM and beautiful, and the melted cheese just live up that extra creamy texture and the flavor! MUST ORDER!

Crispy Pork Belly with Rice
IDR 125k

First of all, this dish was pretty spicy, but I just the bold and rich sauce that works well with the juicy pork belly. I just expected the pork belly to be a little crispier than what I had.

Grilled Beef Tongue with Sous Vide Egg
IDR 155k

Personally, I found the portion a little small for the price, but to be completely honest, in terms of flavor, this was one of my most favorite of the night. I just love how the simplicity is the key when it comes to Wilshire, simple comforting meal like this one with perfect execution of the seasoning made such a beautiful (yet addicting) meal. By the way, the grilled-sauteed corn was totally yum!

Carrot Cake Pot
The carrot cake was a tad firm to my liking but still quite moist. The flavor had this beautiful balance, when most carrot cakes are pretty intense on the cinnamon, this one was a little more well balanced.

I had this chat another day with my friend, Ivy as we were wondering why despite the very rapid growth, the quality of the new F&B ventures is either so so or draw the line at good. I have always loved Wilshire, and finally...yes finally, there’s another candidate for the best meals of 2015! Just so you know, eating in Wilshire is not cheap, but I just feel like the price seems worth it with the quality that I expected. I don’t know if the menus we had were accidentally ordered that way but I think the menu tasted a little more “Asian” with all the seasoning and stuff, and also BIG on egg as almost every dish contained egg, but since their food concept is modern Californian cuisine, that would make sense, and I have zero complaint about it! May the new venue brings a whole lotta new luck. Let’s cheer for Wilshire!

Wilshire
Jalan Senopati Raya No. 64
Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan 12120
021 - 722 8129
Opening Hours: 11 AM - 11 PM
Average spending: IDR 500k for two
Dresscode: sporty casual
WiFi: yes!
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Map for Colette & Lola (Wilshire's located on the same building)

MS. CHOO BRASSERIE & BAR SENOPATI - JAKARTA

If you’re familiar with Publico and wondering where it’s going, well, you can now consider Publico taking his retirement because Ms. Choo is the one substituting him.

According to one of the owner, the F&B scene in Jakarta is being dominated with the western themed cuisine and it was exactly Publico, as one of the strategies to survive in the fun-delicious-but could be intimidating biz, one needs to be unique, and executing the evolution to Ms. Choo was their idea. While Publico’s menu was highly dominated with western cuisine, Ms. Choo came with pan-asian themed cuisines on the menu with a little modern twist.

There wasn’t any changes from the interior, it was exactly Publico’s: still beautiful with industrial and raw elements to it, dimmed and urban during the night (the second floor is meant for smokers fyi), only the music sounds a little more “Asian” now, but stil have that modern lounge vibe to it. I came as a guest on its bloggers food tasting event, there were 20+ menus served and we all ate like crazy.

PS: opinion on each food remains my own, I didn’t receive any monetary compensation or whatsoever.

Let’s start off with the beverages, the price range for the beverages here is from IDR 35k – 100k

Pink Blossom

IDR 75k
Beautiful combination of Gin, raspberry, yoghurt milk and lemon juice. Lovely balance of sweet & sour, fruity and pretty light, the “it” ladies drink.

I forgot to snap a pic of their White Empress (IDR 65k) but it was my personal favorite cocktail served that day! I am not an alcohol drinker, and since it’s very light and not to mention, dominated by lychee, there I fell! White Empress is an awesome combination of Gin, lychee liquor, rose petal syrup, egg whites & lychee juice.

Watermelon Cooler

IDR 35k

Refreshing fruity drink, light and easy.

Soymilk Pandan Grassjelly

IDR 35k
Their soymilk pandan grassjelly was unlike the common soymilk I’ve tried as the palm sugar flavor dominated the taste, but in a good way.

I noticed that they are big on porks and when I try to they indeed claimed that pork became one of their main proteins here, well I think Asian food does have a strong connection to pork and I love it, that shouldn’t be a bit of problem.

Food price range started from IDR 35k to IDR 280k

Charcoal Oven Barbeque Pork “Mu Yang” with Nam Jim Jaew Dipping Sauce

IDR 48k
This was hands down one of my personal favorites! The red pork was beautifully marinated with sweet-savory sauce & cooked perfectly leaving the meat to be completely tender. The Nam Jim Jaew sauce had this beautiful sourness to it and somehow balancing the sweetness of the meat. MUST TRY!

Szechuan Chili Salt School Prawns with Shrimp Paste Chili and Sriracha Coriander Aioli

IDR 48k
Deep fried crisy prawns that won’t make you stop munching, it’s those little addicting treats that could go with rice and more like toppings.

Crispy Dry Tom Yum Salt & Pepper Soft Shell Crab

IDR 48k
I wasn’t exactly thrilled of the certain parts of the crab, I understand that you can eat soft shell crab just like that, but it’s just my personal thing, I wasn’t comfortable having all that when I know there are certain parts that I shouldn’t eat. I expected that extra Tom Yum flavor as I found it was quite lacking.

Deep Fried Prawn & Almond Ball with Sriracha Coriander Aioli

IDR 48k
One of those simple comforting treats that I like! Bouncy balls, meaty and all together tasty!

Soft Shell Crab Pomelo Salad with Cashew, Green Mango Salad with Nuoc Cham Dressing // Crispy Barramundi & Mango Apple Minta Salad with Green Nam Jim Dressing

IDR 55k/IDR 58k
I initially thought both salad was going to be the same, only different toppings, but it’s actually quite different. The crispy barramundi salad was tad too sour for me while the soft shell pomelo salad had better balance thanks to the pomelo. Both salad had generous toppings and the greens were majorly mint leaves.

Deep Fried Soft Shell Crab Yellow Curry and Kaffir Lime Leaves

IDR 78k
Unlike what I initially thought, their yellow curry was creamy, but less creamy than what I initially expected and tasted lighter, but in a way, considering we had so much food that night, something light would really do, and in a sense, the lightness of the sauce and consistency somehow match the soft shell crab’s character.

Twice Cooked Beef Short Ribs with Coriander Nam Prik Pla

IDR 95k
Lucky for me, I think I’ve always been lucky when it comes to short ribs, well I think one shouldn’t mistakenly cook short ribs as it’s an admirable part of beef. Their short ribs was tender, beautifully marinated and fragrant.

Crispy Barramundi Fillet with Choo Chee Curry and Kaffir Lime Leaf

IDR 85k
This particular dish reminds me of E&O’s winning crispy barramundi dish, only I found the naming wasn’t exactly what it was as the barramundi wasn’t crispy, it’s more like a smooth & silky fillet. The Choo Chee Curry sauce was homemade and sure was tasty!

Grilled Dry Spice Rib Eye Beef Fillet with Nam Jim Jaew

IDR 98k
The rib eye honestly looked a little dry to me but as soon as you tasted it, it was unexpectedly still pretty tender, lightly seasoned and still leaving the natural meat flavor to speak for it self.

Charcoal Grilled Lemongrass Pork Chop with “Matah” Chili Relish

IDR 95k
Frankly speaking, this was my least favorite of the night as the meat was dry, the seasoning was light, but I expected the common traditional sambal matah instead of the one with too much shallot (and smell) inside.

Roasted Seabass Fillet with Coconut Red Curry, Thai Basil Lime in Banana Leaves

IDR 85k

If you know “pepes ikan” then it’s the classier and more advanced version of the good old yummy treat. Another personal favorite of mine for the bold seasoning and smooth seabass meat, just the perfect pair with rice!

Crispy Twice Cooked Pork Belly with Caramel Tamarind Glaze and Nam Prik Pla

IDR 95k
This happened to be on my top 2 of the night (if I could rate it), the pork belly was big, chunky, incredibly juicy, tender and marinated beautifully! Some of you might not like the sweeter type of pork (and I do too normally) but when you pair it with pork belly, it just feels right, the fat & juicy part of the pork belly really add in a little texture & flavor play to the whole dish. I highly recommend you to have this on your order.

Crispy Pork Hock On The Bone with Tamarind Sauce & Nam Jim Jeaw

IDR 280k
We’ve come to my personal favorite of the night, short to say, their pork knuckle dish! It was HUGE chunk of pork knuckle, cooked just on the right timing & temperature with crispy coating, juicy fats and tender meat! The tamarind sauce played a big role here, it really lived up the overall flavor and my appetitite. I think one portion could be shared for four people.

Stir Fried Prawns Pad Prik King with Red Curry Paste Kaffir Lime & Green Beans

IDR 65k
Obsessed with the big chunky prawns as it’s very juicy!

Stir Fried Clams Nam Prik Pao & Thai Basil

IDR 65k
The clams were generous but unfortunately the actual meat pieces were small.

Pad Kee Mao Spicy Rice Noodle with Prawn, Bean Sprouts, Chinese Broccoli & Basil

IDR 60k
Pad Kee Mao can simply be translated as “drunken noodles” or “kwetiau”, and this dish was another favorite of mine for its proper seasoning (even though I expected it to be a little salty, but so far so good), proper default spiciness, that smokey wok hei aroma and flavor, and simply the scent of the cooked basil leaves that made it very Thai. Don’t mistaken Chinese Broccoli as it’s actually kailan, not actual broccoli. MUST TRY!

DESSERT!!!
We’ve come to my favorite part of the post! Gosh it’s freaking LONG my fingers are numbing.

Fried Hazelnut Nutella Sesame Balls with Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

IDR 40k

If you normally find sesame balls with mung bean filling, red bean filling or chocolate (the more modern touch), here comes Nutella! I never expected a simple dish could taste this good, but in the end, it’s freaking Nutella and anything with Nutella is NEVER wrong, well that if you don’t mix terasi with Nutella, as what Aline told me because we’re raving about how Nutella changes out lives! Anyway, this is the dessert that you have to try: simple, sweet, tasty and one hell of a guilty pleasure!

Valrhona Mint Chocolate Mars Bar Peanuts with Salted Caramel Sauce

IDR 48k

This Valrhona chocolate dessert is such a Publico trademark, and now Ms. Choo is doing a more fun changes to it by changing the filling to mint cream. The dessert was ultra smooth, tasty with perfect combination of mint and chocolate and melt in your mouth! The salted caramel sauce was thick and add in that more pleasant flavor to the serving. Much love for this one, God I love desserts!

Vanilla Pandan Pannacotta with Salted Gula Malaka & Coconut Chantily

IDR 40k
This particular dessert was more Indonesian & Singaporean, in terms of ingredients and flavor. It reminded me of es dawet ayu for the salted Gula Malaka which played a big role to the dessert. I expected the pannacotta to be a little softer and creamier, but flavor wise: GOOD!

Deep Fried Chinese Doughnut with Valrhona Pandan Custard

IDR 35k
Underestimated this one for its boring cakwe look, but I actually mistaken it as it’s actually shaped doughnut. The doughnut was not greasy, but texture wise: soft & fluffy! The Valrhona pandan custard was not overly sweet and compliment well with the doughnut.

Coincidentally, some of the food reminds me of E&O signature dishes, even though E&O still won me over (until now there isn’t any restaurant that surpasses E&O on my personal list) for its more advanced & bolder flavor, but I must say that the food in Ms. Choo was fresh, refreshing and generally nicely executed! They used a lot of coriander, kaffir lime & Nam Prik Pao & Nam Jim Jeaw on the menu but all that just made the food tasted better. I really wish them all the best of luck and please keep up with the good quality, even better if they can always be creative with the menu. That’s what they really need to do to survive in the business. BEST OF LUCK!

Ms. Choo Brasserie and Bar
Jalan Senopati Raya No. 65
Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan 12110
021 - 5296 4960
Average spending: IDR 300k for two
Dresscode: sporty casual
WiFi: yes!
INSTAGRAM

FIND ME HERE

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email: eatandtreatsindo@gmail.com

Map for Ms. Choo Brasserie & Bar