Shouting 'Hello Weekend!' at Hello Sunday

Hello fellas! :)

It's not yet Sunday, but it's not too far away from the second when I could say hello to Sunday as it's just a day away! Yeayyyy! I couldn't get more excited for this weekend. Honestly, no particular reason but I guessed it's just the holiday-withdrawal symptom, which typically caused the 'hard-to-move-on' syndrome. Yes, typical hard time faced upon having slightly longer holiday than the usual ones, especially this time I was home for one week and going back to reality seemed to be extremely tough :( *deep frowned*

But well, let's shoo all those lonely blues away and have some fun since it's weekend, baby! Just like any other nights, I was scrolling down my Instagram timeline when I bumped into the picture of Hello Sunday. The place right away stole my attention as it looked so pleasant. Spacious venue covered with glass windows, complemented by outdoor seating by the balcony which was only partly roofed. Simply said, it was like enjoying the dining session under the clear blue sky. As long as it's not in the middle of the noon time, the weather was pretty friendly especially because it's covered by the 'green walls' made of real plants.

I always loved to be in a place with maximum lighting, meaning bright and shiny as it got direct access to the natural light, not merely to get good pictures, but more importantly it was able to boost my spirit up and cast away my sleepiness. I knew I probably would rarely be able to find coffee shop by the main road with cozy ambiance in this metropolitan city, but at least the type similar to Hello Sunday could come as the compensation. 

  

Sitting at the second floor of Metropole XXI, I believed most of you have been very familiar with this area, especially if your 'bandwidth' was within Central Jakarta. Yeah, you might get what I meant as Metropole was actually one of the long-standing cinemas in this capital city. The only one thing that surprised me from this vintage building in Menteng was it was now looking way more gorgeous than I expected! I was amazed by the current design, which was mainly themed with white, standing elegantly in the middle of the other classic and old heritage of Jakarta. 

OK, enough with the distraction from my astonishment on Metropole, let's get back to Hello Sunday. It was already quite late for lunch time actually, when I just arrived at the venue. However, the spot looked quite crowded with both the indoor and the outdoor area were like at 70% occupancy rate. Firstly entered the venue, I stopped for awhile at the display next to the coffee bar, to look at the pastries and waffles shown there. My brain started its hard work in brainstorming what I should order later. 

Not being able to stand the cool temperature of the indoor space, my sister and I decided to go for the outdoor one which was much warmer yet still very comfortable. Skimming over the menu, we then decided to go for both savory and sweet dishes though we're almost tempted to have sweets only as we were initially hitched by the ice cream and waffle bar we passed prior to go to our table. The decision of the cafe to make it be there just besides the coffee bar was doubtlessly a genius idea. Not only getting people enamored by the live-show, but also making them hypnotized by the super indulging smell of the baked waffles and cones.

Sunday's Croissant (IDR 72k)

When my eyes were rolling around, they quickly got stuck at the word 'truffle' mentioned in between the sentence explaining what was served by this dish. The mind-blowing aroma was already beeping in my mind and what's landed on the table was like dragging me to immediately have my first bite. Surprisingly the truffle oil flavor didn't burst out as much as the scent, as it's there but not as strong as expected. Nonetheless, it's still saved by the buttery flaky croissant and the chewy portobello mushrooms. The veggies standing side-by-side with those two were also impeccably cooked in garlicky smell that I really fancied. Not to forget the richly seasoned and pleasantly moist scrambled egg which did come in so generous portion that my croissant looked so prosperous! OK truffle problem, you would be forgiven this time, but please give stronger kick next time ;)

Waffle Bar (IDR 39k)

I might haven't mentioned it earlier, but it's not only the place that caught my interest, as this signature dessert of Hello Sunday also did it. I suddenly recalled Singapore's Sunday Folks in my mind when I spotted it initially. Either it's just a coincidence or not, funnily both cafes did have 'Sunday' in its name.

Going for both savory and sweet meal, it was great that they did provide quarter size for the waffle. Moreover, it's also able to be personalized since you got the chance to choose the flavor of both your waffle and your soft ice cream, and you're also the one picking the toppings and the sauce. In summary, what's served on the plate was all your choice and thus the combination was originally your creation. You might either love it so much or in contradiction finding yourself made a wrong pick, but at least you couldn't complaint much as you're the one making the decision. 

Having the option of original, chocolate, and pandan for the waffle, I opted for the last one. Then for the soft-serve, I picked the twist of Java Tea and Kopi Tubruk (Black coffee), for sure upon passing the dilemma of either to go for it or to choose the twist of Gula Malaka and Es Teler. As for the condiments, mine were black sesame and almond crackers as well as caramel sauce. The popcorn you saw there on top, and the small pieces waffle cone underneath the ice cream which you might not be able to spot, were actually the complimentary ones from them. Looking so similar to Sunday Folks' one, wasn't it? ;)

Though I couldn't point out anything special from the waffle itself, but I was surely sold to the soft-serve. The Java Tea was so fragrant and the Kopi Tubruk's slightly bitter taste and bold coffee flavor balanced the sweet and milky ice cream really well. It didn't leave any nauseated feeling at all and I enjoyed them till the very last spoon. 

Hot Piccolo (IDR 25k)

When it came to coffee, I felt I was kinda picky lately, but I was still not bored of trying each cup served by the places I visited. The reason of being demanding I guessed was because I found more and more nice ones now available in town, and unconsciously set them as the benchmark. Not treating Hello Sunday as an exception, I did want to have a sip from their caffeine cup and my choice went to this Hot Piccolo, for which I opted for the bold as they gave the option of either medium or bold. 

The medium blend was 4 types of Arabica namedly Lintang Blue Batak, Solok Kerinci Haro, Gayo Pantan Musara, and Sindoro Temanggung; which were said would deliver the combination of sweet toffee, tamarind, and chocolate flavors. Whereas I was more interested in the bold since it's the blend of Arabica and Robusta, marrying Sindoro Temanggung and Toba Dolok Sanggul with Lampung Liwa respectively, to deliver the trio of dark chocolate, nutty, and caramel flavors. The fortune was in my hand today as my bet on the taste was proven accurate, having my cup coming with strong body and light bitterness. Another new favorite in town, another new benchmark for the cups I would try in the future :)

Finally, I was so glad to have this pleasurable lunch at Hello Sunday and I didn't have a reason for not coming back to such spoiling spot. I was even already waiting for the next visit, when I would definitely go for their Gula Malaka and Es Teler soft-serve. Perhaps in the cone? ;)

Taste: 7.5/10

Place: 8/10

Service: 8/10

Price: 7.5/10

Thanks for reading! :)

HELLO SUNDAY

Address: Metropole 21, Jl Pegangsaan Timur No. 21, Cikini, Jakarta

Phone: (+62 21) 3190 3773

Operating hours: Mon - Thu 11am - 10pm, Fri 11am - 11pm, Sat 11am - 00am, Sun 10am - 10pm

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