If you’ve been a
bubble tea addict since long time ago, The Lab must be something very familiar
to you or even the member of your most favorite list. Located at one of
Jakarta’s Food Paradise, Pantai Indah Kapuk, the lab is actually one of the
pioneers in bubble tea market in this area.
Reflected by its
name, the venue’s interior does give you the ambiance of being in a real
laboratorium. As you step into the outlet, you can see periodic table of
elements, erlenmeyer flask, reaction tube, and others. It’s actually very
spacious as it consists of two storeys and at the first floor, it even provides
you indoor and outdoor spaces. In line with the theme, all the waiters and
waitresses do dress like scientists, wearing laboratorium coats. Not stopping
there, even the way the beverages served are distinctive as the glass
definitely reminded you of the one you usually found in a laboratory.
Providing more
satisfaction for its customers, The Lab launched several new finger foods, main
courses, and desserts to be enjoyed with its long well-known bubble tea.
Popcorn Chicken (IDR 35k)
One of the hippest snacks in our beloved capital city lately, Popcorn Chicken! You could find it almost everywhere now. So here’s the lab’s version, which was quite lovely as it was crispy outside and tender inside. Besides, the overall taste was not overpowered by the seasoning. Such a light yet great opening!
XL Fried Chicken (IDR 30k)
I exactly know what’s in your mind when you firstly see the picture of this one. Yes, I know I don’t need to mention the brand LOL. I myself did not really fancy battered fried chicken as I found all of those I’d tried were over-seasoned, making you only able to barely feel the chicken taste. I firstly felt quite reluctant to try this one, but luckily I did try it. Surprisingly, I really really love it! The chicken’s texture was flawless and the seasoning was precise. I guessed this one was the very first breaded fried chicken I fell for.
Wing-a-fly (IDR 35k)
These chicken wings were not merely covered by batter, but also special sauce formulated by The Lab. Not losing to the previous two, this one did taste so good as the chicken wings were so juicy and the special sauce was mind-blowing! Just one thing, I thought it would be even more succulent if the batter could be made slightly thinner so the seasoning could be strongly tasted even until the very last bite of the middle part.
Original Fries (IDR 25k) / with Sauce (IDR 30k)
One of the most mainstream appetizers to order in any Western restaurant. Yeah, people seemed to be never getting bored of it. In The Lab’s style they were the quite-thick-cut ones. Just one note for you who’re planning to order this, you’d better enjoying it warm so you still could taste the crispiness of the fries. Not to forget, if you want to give your tummy extra prosperity, you could have it with additional sauce of your choice. 4 of them I tried were sour cream, ginger sesame, wasabi mayo, and red pepper tartar. My most favorite was the ginger sesame one as the ginger taste was not too strong, the sesame made it smelled good, and this sauce simply suited my taste bud with its savory taste.
Aglio Olio Spaghetti (IDR 35k) -- add chicken (+IDR 10k)
Having had quite much appetizer, now we move on to the main course. The first one to have was Aglio Olio Spaghetti. The spaghetti was cooked al dente and the portion was indeed satisfying. Similar to typical Aglio Olio, the major ingredients were garlic and oil. To add extra happiness, additional chicken toppings were requested. You needn't worry to pay additional charge for this as the diced chicken was given in generous amount.
If you fancied spicy food just like me, I bet you’d love this dish as it was also added with slices of chili. Honestly said, at first I felt the taste of this spaghetti needed to be slightly saltier. I then told the owner and the chef cooked another portion as the substitute. Guess what? I could just mention one word, FLAWLESS!
Pesto Spaghetti (IDR 35k) -- add prawn (+IDR 15k)
Another pasta dish I tried was their Pesto Spaghetti with additional prawn toppings. Basically, it’s just a simple one as the toppings were only prawn and grated cheddar cheese. Nevertheless, this dish was another proof that simplicity could be the ultimate sophistication. The flavorful taste from the pesto was so pampering and the chewy fresh prawns did come as perfect complements.
Bolognaise Spaghetti (IDR 50k)
Thinking that this one was too mainstream? You’d better not commenting before having a try on it. Told you the truth, this one’s my most favorite among the 3 Spaghetti menu I tried. The bolognaise sauce was so rich that it successfully delivered cheesy, sweet, sour, and salty taste together in one spoon. The minced beef was abundantly given as well, making the dish become even more heart-stealing.
Tempura Rice Bowl (IDR 45k)
Pasta only? Of course it’s not enough yet. Rice had to be present to fulfill the big appetite of typical Indonesian. So here was the first rice-based dish served on the table, Tempura Rice Bowl. Yes, the tempura size might be not as big as what you commonly saw, but trust me don’t judge the taste merely from the size, since the tempura tasted succulent as it was well seasoned, and the texture was exquisite as it was chewy inside yet crispy outside. If you loved onion ring as well, then this bowl was surely heaven for you as you would have it together with the tempura. Please bear in mind that this dish would be best served while warm as you could get the maximum crispiness level of the fried ingredients.
Buttery Chicken Rice (IDR 40k)
Presentation wise, this dish could be said as the most eye-catchy main course of the day. The buttery sauce, which was the blend of sour and spicy taste, impeccably glistened the whole appearance of the dish. The chicken was perfectly fried into golden brown; and similar to the previous chicken-based appetizers, it was also so tender, juicy, and most importantly not greasy. To accompany you enjoying the chicken you were also served with yummy tamago and fresh salad in the same bowl, the two toppings which would be served in all rice-based dishes.
Chicken Teriyaki Rice (IDR 40k)
Saving the best for the last, here was the star of the newly introduced dishes at The Lab in my version. The dish name might reflect that there’s nothing special with the dish, but taste certainly couldn’t lie. The chicken itself was actually same with the one served with Buttery sauce. However, if that one had quite strong sour taste, then this one was somehow the opposite as it was more to sweet direction. Since I’m addicted to sweet taste, even for main courses, no wonder this dish easily grabbed my heart for it.
Choco buBOWlogy (IDR 35k)
Finally, we arrived at the part any dessert enthusiast has been impatiently waiting for! Briefly stated, this dessert could be said as belong to the group of the currently happening Taiwanese desserts. In this quite huge bowl, you could find the mixture of shaved ice with milk, taro balls, sweet potato balls, pearl, matcha jelly, and big scoop of chocolate ice cream. If you did love milky dessert, you would surely fall for this! However, for you who didn’t, this one still deserved a try from you as the milk taste did not overpower the whole taste of the dessert.
Mango buBOWlogy (IDR 35k)
Nonetheless, if you preferred to go for something with more refreshing taste, then this Mango buBOWlogy would be the divine choice for you. The sweetness level was precise and the portion was fulfilling! The toppings were all similar besides this one had 2 additionals; mango pudding and egg pudding. Talking about the toppings, I thought the sweet potato and taro balls would be far even better if they could be made slightly chewier. Fortunately, the blissful mango pudding and egg pudding came as the perfect curer, making one more additional spoon of this dessert became doubtlessly irresistible.
Having talked
quite much about the newly launched dishes of The Lab, I believe you will not
be able to memorize all things I’ve said about each single dish. Nevertheless,
if I have to summarize all those dishes into one word, I think I will say
addiction cause even when I’m writing this, I’m already craving for all of
them! So, you’d better prove it yourself :)
Taste: 9/10
Place: 8/10
Service: 9/10
Price: 8.5/10
Thanks
for Reading! :)
THE
LAB
Address:
Ruko Crown Golf Block D 29, PIK
Other
Address: Ch{eat} Room – Grand Indonesia West Mall 5th Floor
Phone:
0821 1143 5560
Operating
Hours: Mon – Sun 11am – 00am
Find me on:
Inputs & comments: jessicagaby@ymail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment