Edwin Lim (IG : @edwinlim_97)

Writer's Bar at Raffles Hotel Jakarta had been on my list to go lounge for a long time. Yesterday I got the chance to visit it whilst celebrating my early bday. The interior was a classy modern style with a hint of art that could be spotted all over the place. For my preference, I pretty like the lounge (Writer's Bar). The high ceiling, the color, the ambience, the music played, the sofa, the piano, and everything. The hospitality was also very good as I expected from a 5 star hotel, the waiter and waitress always have a smile on their face which I like it.

Ordered a Coffee Chocolate Tower which consisted of 2 plain scones, 2 chocolates scones, 2 alfajores, 2 palmiers, 2 banana tarts, 2 lapis legit, 2 tiramisus, 2 choux coffee gayo, 2 coffee creme brulee, and also came with a set of chocolate fondue (2 bananas, 2 marshmallows, and 2 strawberries). Let's review it one by one

- Scones (Plain and Chocolate) [5/5 for scones, 2/5 for condiments] : The scones were the best one here, we could taste the butter fragrance inside the scones while the consistency of the scones were just right. It came with 3 condiments : Berry Jam, Clotted Cream, and Lemon Curd. Unfortunately the Clotted Cream was too cloggy which supposed to be smoother, Lemon Curd tasted too eggy for us, and the Berry jam was so-so.

- Alfajores [4/5] : I didn't try this one, but my friends said this one were good enough 

- Palmiers [0/5] : This one was the most terrible one, instead of having sweet flavor, it came out BURNT. So it tasted very very very bitter, even I couldn't even swallow it. I could see that the bottom of the palmier was covered by black burnt color. So I made a complain to the waitress, and she said she would ask the chef for this issue. Luckily they felt responsible for this and changed the palmiers to Lemon Meringue. The chef tried to defend that the bitter flavour came from the coffee used in the palmier, but all of us agreed that it's not coffee bitter, even coffee bean could taste better than that. It was a burnt bitter, it was inedible. 

- Complimentary Lemon Meringue [4/5] : It looked beautiful, with a perfect color of the meringue. Taste wise the lemon was still has that kind of eggy flavour. But I could tolerate it, and it tasted good.

- Banana Tarts [4/5] :  Instead of a tart, it looked more like a slice of cake. The cake itself was soft, the chocolate was good, not too sweet and overwhelming. But I couldn't taste the banana flavour actually.

- Tiramisu [5/5] : I like this one, the tiramisu came inside a shot glass which was unique to me. The cream wasn't too sweet which I like it and then it also came with a coffee jelly on the bottom of the glass. When I combined it all together, it created perfection.

- Lapis Legit [5/5] : It was good because it tasted like a traditional lapis legit. Just stick with the classics.

- Coffee Creme Brulee [5/5] : I like this one, you got to crack the upper layer made of sugar with your spoon and then the creme inside was not too sweet and it was creamy with a hint of coffee flavor.

- Choux Coffee Gayo [5/5] : i love choux, especially when I cut it the cream inside flowed out. Once again I like it because the cream wasn't too sweet and that coffee gayo flavor inside the cream was just right.

- Chocolate Fondue [3/5] : It came out with 2 bananas, 2 strawberries, and 2 marshmallows. The chocolate dip itself was made with Varlhona Chocolate which according to my friend, it has the signature sour, sweet and bitter flavor inside the chocolate, which I found it true. It tasted not bad, but nothing special. 

The package also came with 2 pot of TWG Tea, so we ordered a pot of Lemon Bush Tea and Raffles Jakarta Tea (which is a tea exclusively blended for Raffles Hotel only). All of the teas tasted good for me, as I expected from TWG which is my favorite tea brand. 

 Overall it wasn't a bad experience, we enjoyed all the food served in the package. Maybe I will come here again if I have a chance later.

A humble bowl of Signature Buta Ramen, who can even resist that? @ikkudoichi has been a very popular ramen shop in Jakarta. I came here around 5 years ago and still couldn't forget the flavour. The richness of the broth that is cooked for a long time, a firm noodle, a slice of delicious pork chasiu, a flavourful ajitsuke tamago, negi, and mushroom...what a perfect combination. You can also try to add minced garlic, shoyu, and also chili oil for extra richness. Try it and you won't regret.

Fat Straw has been known as a unique honey boba store located at PIK Area. Instead of serving on a normal glass, they tend to use a fat glass to serve your drink, thats why the name of the store is called Fat Straw. The interior isn't so spacious, but has a unique yellow chic ambience with some of their signature drinks drawing drawn on the wall. Ordered their Strawberry milk drink (29k), first I thought it will be very sweet but it turned out to be not too sweet, just perfect. The milk and strawberry combination are just really good, accompanied with boba and pudding as toppings. I would like to reccomend this place  if you're searching for an antimainstream boba drink or just maybe for hanging out with ur friends.

Got an invitation to join BUNK Best Five Bar Takeover featuring Koco from Catalan, Fahri from BUNK, Demitria from Anti.Dote, David from Griffard, and Robby from De Luca. I was given 7 tokens to try most of the signature cocktail made by the bartenders, but I ended up using 6 tokens only since I'm not good at drinking alcohol. So here's what I tried :

- Mamma Dona : they said this tasted like a Indomie Ayam Bawang, and indeed it was. Taste was pretty sweet and the alcohol wasn't strong which I liked it.

- Tequi-Tiki : This was spicy because the bartender used chili bitter in the cocktail mixed with tequila. I don't really like this one.

- Catalan : This was ok, but the alcohol was too strong for me. And it had some sort of coffee flavour because of the coffee bean used inside the cocktail.

- Flower Tantrum : This cocktail has the best presentation, with a flower on the top of the cocktail. Taste was sweet and alcohol wasn't strong which I liked it so much.

- Atlantis Lea : This cocktail was served on a bown rather than using cocktail glass. The bartender used bengkoang inside the cocktail. To be honest, it tasted like alcoholic wedang jahe tho XD

- Apple Cider Martini :  This one was the best! Tasted sweet like you're not drinking alcohol at all and the apple cider really boosted the flavour of this cocktail. What a classic.

Aside from that, the waiter from the lounge also gave us some complimentary cassava chips and also popcorn. Overall, it was worth an experience

Namelaka is a cake shop located at shophaus Menteng alongside with other shops. Specialized in Choux which is a French puff pastry with variant of fillings inside it. Ordered a Mango Lassi Choux and a cup of Earl Grey Lavender Tea. The choux came with a big size, with yellow color white chocolate and some cream on the top of the choux. When I sliced through it, the mango cream burst out from inside. The cream itself has a mango fragrance and yoghurt flavour, not too sweet which I liked it. The Earl Grey Lavender Tea was also fragrance with a hint of lavender aroma between it. Will come here again to try the other Choux, I'm looking toward it.

Having an afternoon chill at Social Affair. Located at PIK Area which is a culinary heaven. The interior itself comes with a chic modern style suitable for youngster to hangout or just chillin. Ordered their Pandan Brioche and cup of Earl Grey Tea, the Pandan Brioche comes with a lot of Pandan Cream inside which explodes once you slice through the bread, taste is delicious but the cream is just too much for me. Earl Grey Tea comes with a funny mug instead of tea cup and the tea is from @jingtea. Will come again to this place to try their Duck A l'orange which looks interesting for me. 

DORE by LeTAO has become a popular cheesecake brand in Jakarta. Located at PIK Avenue 2nd floor near Atrium, you can easily spot it since the shop itself is very good looking and classy that make you feel like you're shopping on a high end brand shop in France. Tried their cheesecake which is really tasty, and the plus point is that their cheesecake is different than other Japanese cheesecake, it has the cream cheese inside the layer and when served cold it will burst into your mouth with the cheesecake flavour. Also already tried their Earl Grey cookies which my friend ever given it to me, the cookies are delicious with intense Earl Grey tea which I like. Overall this is a place that you can enjoy cheesecake as its best and also the packaging looks really high end which makes everyone think that this is a luxurious cheesecake (it is actually XD)