Dita

Hungry on a friday afternoon from campus, Ta Wan made my choice due to its low-budget and big-portion menu.

Food and beverages: 3/5
Ta Wan is a Chinese restaurant well-known for their porridge. I had their Bubur Special Tiga Rasa ala Ta Wan (their recommended dish), Bakmie Ayam Jamur, Bakmie Goreng Ayam, for greens Kailan Cah Bawang Putih, and Sweet Iced Tea. Starting out with Bubur Special Tiga Rasa ala Ta Wan, the porridge itself is quite bland, it’s better to mix it with salty soy sauce and pepper. “Tiga rasa” which translates into “three flavors” referred to the toppings on the porridge: fish, chicken, and shrimp. They could be more generous on these meats since the porridge was so big. All three were tender. Bakmie Ayam Jamur I had here somehow was different than the one I had in Citos. It was more greasy and the broth was more oily, but the noodle was still on point and the chicken and mushroom bits were plenty. Bakmie Goreng Ayam was too sweet, somehow creamy, as if they put too much soy sauce and seasoning in it. Kailan Cah Bawang Putih had a bitter aftertaste but it was quite savory. Their iced tea had a distinctive Chinese-tea flavor to it. All in all it was quite alright.

Price: 4/5
The price is quite low but their portion is generous. Bubur Special Tiga Rasa ala Ta Wan (large) costed IDR 26k, Bakmie Ayam Jamur IDR 26k, Bakmie Goreng Ayam IDR 30k, Kailan Cah Bawang Putih IDR 33k, and Sweet Iced Tea IDR 9k each. Their portion and budget covers up the average taste.

Ambience: 3/5
Located in the ground floor of Margo City, this place is quite strategic, considering tons students around the area. Minimum decorations. All-wood setting, tables and chairs. Spacious place, large round tables are available for family dining.

Service: 4/5
Waiter was very friendly. Always smiling and repeated my order without me having to ask.


Highlight: cheap food with large portion and near from campus! Try their porridge, it’s quite good.

Chatime will always be one of my first options on a sunny day or when I’m not that hungry but extra thiiirsty. They offer a wide range of drink selections from tea, coffee, to juice.

Food and beverage: 3.5/5
I had Matcha Mousse (less ice, normal sugar) and Hazelnut Chocolate Milk Tea (with Pearl, normal ice, normal sugar). Matcha mousse was refreshing and pleasant. Although a little too watery, the green tea taste was still distinctive and fits together with the cream. I put a small tear on the rim to drink this rather than mixing it and using a straw. Hazelnut Chocolate Milk Tea, has been my Chatime go-to drink since god knows how long and never fails to satisty! It was chocolate sweet with a hint of hazelnut and the pearl had the right texture that complimented the drink so well.

Price: 4/5
Very affordable, drinks were worth the price. It costed IDR 23k for regular Matcha Mousse and IDR 26k for Hazelnut Chocolate Milk Tea with Pearl topping. 

Ambience: 3/5
Located in the foodcourt, Chatime doesn’t offer its own seating. The line is most probably always full, no matter the time of day. Very easy to spot, just to the left of the elevator.

Service: 4/5
Doesn’t take long for the drinks to be served.

Highlight: Hazelnut Chocolate Milk Tea is bomb diggity.

Went here cause it's the closest option from my campus in Depok. I chose this place mainly because it opens 'til late night (accompanying my boyfriend to do his thesis final project).

Food and beverages: 5/5
Since I'm not a fan of coffee, I ordered hot chocolate 16 oz. Very pleasing. The chocolate taste is prominent, the combination of milk and chocolate is just right, leans a little to the sweeter side, but all-in-all it's a great hot chocolate. I also ordered caramel macchiato 8 oz and it tasted wonderful and not the least bit bitter.

Price: 4.5/5
Reasonable pricing. Drinks are worth the price.

Ambience: 4.5/5
This coffee shop has a terrific music playlist and the volume is not bothersome. Very up-to-date without having an impression of trying-to-hard-to-be-hip. The tunes goes very well with the settings. Nice place to just chat and chill. There isn't any sofa here though, so if you sit too long your bum might ache a little.

Service: 5/5
The baristas are attentive.

Highlight: Music playlist and opening hour (opens 'til late night). P.S. don't throw away your receipt since it contains the wifi username and password at the bottom!

Christmas is nearing up, cold and rainy weather is upon us, what’s better than a cup of hot chocolate to accompany you during this time of year? Caribou’s hot coco has booked a special place in my heart ever since the first time I took a sip of this heavenly goodness.

Food and beverages: 4.5/5
As stated above, I absolutely love their hot chocolate (milk). Topped with whipped cream, this cocoa drink leaned a little to the sweeter side - which I love. The chocolate was not as prominent as the milk (personal preference), but if you want it to be more thick you could opt for dark instead of milk. Tasted like chocolate milk straight out of your childhood! I also had Granini Banana Juice, which had the texture of juice but tasted like fresh banana smoothie, and Poppy Seed Bagels, just a regular bagel sprinkled with poppy seeds. I tried dipping the bagel in the hot coco and it made it 10 times better.

Pricing: 4/5
A little pricey, but standard if you compare it to other big coffee stalls. For a large hot chocolate (milk with whipped cream), it costed me IDR 56k, and the Banana Juice costed IDR 25k and IDR 15k for the bagels. Worth the price? Definitely. 

Ambience: 4.5/5
Caribou offers a very homey atmosphere that makes you want to stay here all night long. Its interior is mainly wood - wooden chairs, wooden tables, and wooden cabinets - that adds warmness to the package. They also provide sofa seatings inside (in the non-smoking room) with their tagline hovering above that reads “Life is short, stay awake for it”, a secluded private room with cute murals. There is one special spot that I’ve admired from the second my feet landed in this place - a fireplace. A freaking small fireplace in the middle of the shop! Located in the center, with two plush chairs and one small table attached to the fireplace, this is one hell of a deal maker. They really put an effort on the design and boy it paid off.

Service: 4/5
Baristas were really friendly and all smiles. Even when I took quite a while in deciding what to order, they didn’t make that please-hurry-up, people-are-waiting face

Highlights: Milk hot chocolate by the fireplace with your significant other would be great for this cold weather.

Ever since the reviews went up from fellow foodies, I was interested to try out this newly opened burger joint under Goods’ wing. I mean, take a look at those pictures! Aren’t you tempted?

Food and beverage: 4/5
After a deliberate consideration (I wanted to taste so many of their menu), my boyfriend and I finally settled on J.L.M (Jakarta Loco Moco), Mac and Cheese Dog, and Arnold Parmer. J.L.M was the star of the show, hands down. Fried rice topped with beef patty and medium raw sunny side up coated with cream, this dish upped the rice bowl game. Fried rice alone was seasoned right, had the right balance of sweet and savory with a little bit of spice. Patty was a great addition to the whole dish although it was a little overcooked hence it wasn’t as juicy as I expected. Sunny side up was divine, you know that moment of yolk slicing and it just melts everywhere. The cream complemented every aspect and tied the whole thing splendidly, but they could reduce the salt since it was a bit too salty. Mac and Cheese Dog - I had pretty high expectation on this but sad to discover that, well, it was just decent. Not as good as I hoped for. It tasted like regular hot dog, but their mac and cheese was quite alright. Arnold Parmer is half iced tea and half lemonade which combines into: iced lemon tea. It was very refreshing. Went so well with J.L.M. Next time I come here, I’ll try out their coffee-rubbed burger and cheese burger bowl.

Price: 4.5/5
Quite affordable! Portion was moderate and fits the price. J.L.M costed IDR 60k (if you’re thinking whether a deconstructed fried rice is worth that amount, the answer is yes), Mac and Cheese Dog IDR 50k, and Arnold Parmer IDR 30k.

Ambience: 4/5
It’s very easy to spot this burger joint. It’s located in ground floor Citos, right next to TRS, with colorful neon signage. Their whole menu is displayed on a black board behind the bar. I love the tropical vibe they offer, with hanging plants above the mirrored pane and posters on the opposite wall. There’s an option of outdoor seatings (smoking) and indoor seatings (non-smoking) - both of which only wooden chairs and tables are available. They don’t have air conditioner but the ceiling was pretty high and there are fans so air circulation is still good and cool. Bright lights and rainbow glasses makes the whole shop cheerful. Power sockets and WiFi are available.

Service: 4.5/5
Waiters and waitresses were friendly, skillful, and attentive. I love how they didn’t need to write our orders (save paper!) but still repeated to make sure it was right. Food came fast, hot, and fresh!

Highlight: Jakarta Loco Moco yum yum yum! Definitely will come back for this along with a refreshing glass of Arnold Parmer.

Was in gancy to exchange a voucher for an event and we ended up hungry. At first didn't know what I wanted, then my boyfriend nudged at me, "Marugame, let's?" I didn't hesitate all.

Food and beverages: 4.5/5
Its quality is unquestionable. Made right in front of our eyes, they serve our food fast, warm, and fresh. I always order Carbonara Udon, my boyfriend opted for Niku Udon, Cold Ocha and Lemon Tea. Carbonara udon was made in this series: udon was cooked in less than a minute, put into a bowl, drizzled with the carbonara sauce that looked like mayonnaise, topped with half boiled tamago, grated cheese, and beef bits. Udon had the right texture - fully cooked but still had that chewiness and not mushy at all. My personal preference is to mix the tamago right in with the rest, this will create a creamy mixture that collaborates wonderfully with the udon. Niku udon was made the same way except they include tamago and instead of the sauce, it was complemented with the savory kake dashi and beef slices. This dish would be great on a cold day; warm and seasoned right. Besides the main course, we ordered the side dishes: beef croquette, tempura, and baby bean kakiage. All of these were freshly fried and good on its own (although dipping these in the carbonara cream or kake dashi is better). You can get chili, leek, and crispy topping for free. Cold ocha and lemon tea were refreshing and refillable! Nothing here ever failed me.

Pricing: 4.5/5
For two people, 2 main dishes, 3 side dishes, a glass of cold ocha, and a glass of lemon tea only costed me IDR162k! Pretty fulfilling and tastes great, all the foods are worth the price. Not to mention the ocha is bottomless!

Ambience: 3/5
Located in Upper Ground, right next to the escalator. As you can guess, all Marugame Udon outlets have the same japanese settings: a few landscape paintings and furnitures dominated with wood. There are sofa seatings and normal seatings. Outlet here in Gancy is quite spacious although still sometimes when it gets full, they can't accommodate all customers. They did expand though since they first opened due to high demand.

Service: 4/5
Food is made fresh by order and served fast. We fill our own drinks though. Waiters were attentive and cleaned the table as soon as they can.

Highlight: Carbonara Udon makes me drool every single time.