NAMASTE. Perhaps that's the first thing coming into your mind when you hear the word monks. Or else, some people might think this is something related to religious stuffs. Oops, sorry fellas but this time you're completely wrong.
Monks.
It's neither about inner peace, nor something related to religion. It's
another hangout spot in Kelapa Gading area, with which I've fallen in
love till the single bit. Grey-tiles, white walls, hanging plants;
typical design of the recently hype cafes and restaurants. Monks makes
it even more beautiful, and perhaps a bit more distinctive, with its
contemporary design of what I call as 'half-floor'. They make the venue
consists of 3 floors, with low ceiling for each. The second floor only
consumes like a quarter of the whole area, letting those who sit there
enjoy the view of the first floor from the balcony. Moreover, they
gorgeously decorate each spot with bookshelves, frames, hangers,
anything simple that make every corner look sophistically minimalist.
Open bar and open kitchen concepts are also brought out here, delivering
complete theme likely provided by casual till fine dining areas
nowadays.
Once you opened the heavy gigantic door of Monks, all the waiters/waitresses would be greeting you, most probably by shouting 'Namaste!'. Yes, they're trying to 'bring that Monks' ambiance I guessed. Being offered the menu book, I was really excited at that time as I saw they offered quite many selections of dishes. Most of the foods were actually Western dishes, modified with Asian, particularly Japanese twist. Additionally, they provided arrays of appealing brunch menu. Looking at the dishes carried to some tables around me, I couldn't get more tempted. They were all looking so scrumptious and successfully tickling my curiosity to try all of them. Coming in quite fulfilling size, I thought the price was actually really affordable as well.
Unfortunately,
my friends and I at that time didn't have much time to spend there
since we had to go to other restaurant, with which we had made prior
appointment. Thereby, we decided only to go for their Tapas as well, to
save the space in our tummy. Well, honestly admitting, we're highly
tempted to order the main courses as the order of 'our neighbors' next
table looked simply too good to be true. This made us at that time right
away decided that we should have our next visit here real soon to try
their main courses.
Kinoko Balls (IDR 45k)
Taking quite some time to decide whether to go for this or the Pork Bacon Bomb (PBB), we finally ended with this and we didn't have any single regret on our decision (we haven't tried the PBB though, perhaps next time ;) ). The faces of these balls might be not the most gorgeous ones compared to other beautifully presented Tapas you might find elsewhere. However, trust me, they were super duper yummy! The mushroom was fresh and the 'explosion sensation' you would get once you chewed on it was surely blissful, especially the taste was combined with the strong melted cheese flavor residing at the center of the mushroom. Served with Japanese signature Jisan sauce (I was not sure what it's made from, yet the taste seemed like the mixture of Teriyaki sauce and mayonnaise) and Togarashi (chili pepper), I was like wiping the sauce from the plate, not willing to leave any single drop of it there as it's finger lickin' good, combining sweet yet savory taste.
Peanut Butter Brittle (IDR 39k)
Despite
the fact that we just wanted something light, dessert was still always a
must for me. Especially, it's weekend and my weekend breakie should
always be the must-have combination of coffee and dessert. Having too
much choices of all gorgeously looking desserts in the showcase, I (as
always) ended up taking some time, pausing for awhile before I could
decide which one I wanted to opt for. Though there was slight
unwillingness there to only have one, I had no choice otherwise I would
be overly full. So here it was, the most beautiful one in terms of
presentation, as well as the one containing all ingredients I was madly
in love with. Caramel mousse topped with dark chocolate and contained
peanut butter and caramel filling inside. It's soooo good, I died!! Not
overly sweet, very rich taste, unexplainable by words!
Hot Cappuccino (IDR 35k)
Looking
at huge variants of dishes offered on the menu, my friends and I
firstly doubted that the coffee would be good as it looked like they're
not particularly coffee shop which specialized in coffee. Nonetheless,
Monks had finally proven us wrong. Having the very first sip, we're
surprised that the coffee turned out great. The acidity level and the
body perfectly suited my liking and the after taste was clean as well.
Just a little bit disappointment, when we requested to have the
cappuccino with double shot, the extra shot was actually served
separately and they said we have to mix it by ourselves which we thought
was kinda weird. However, the waiter said that we should have said it
to be double ristretto instead of double shot. Well, no idea if we're
indeed wrong or not but usually, we just said double shot then the
barista would understand what we wanted.
Hot Piccolo (IDR 32k)
As usual, every time we tried new coffee shop, we always went for both cappuccino and piccolo to see which one was better. The piccolo was usually acting as the back up as well, let's say the cappuccino went too light or too milky. Despite the fact that Monks' cappuccino was already awesome, this Hot Piccolo was even better. Serving stronger coffee taste but still with quite similar acidity level as the cappuccino, this cup of caffeine would surely be my not-to-be-missed one in Monks.
Finally, as I've mentioned in prior, I would surely go back here and I would make sure it should be some time real soon. There were too much dishes on their menu, which I've been craving to try. Some of them have even been my top of mind now; Pork Bacon Bomb, Shio Tama Ramen, Ramen Carbonara, The Rising Sun, Naisu Cream. OMG! Let's check the agenda ;)
Taste: 8/10
Place: 8.5/10
Service: 7.5/10
Price: 8/10
Thanks for Reading! :)
MONKS
Address: Komplek Graha Boulevard Tiur, Summarecon Kelapa Gading Blok ND1/51, Kelapa Gading, Jakarta
Phone: (+62) 21 2970 4981 ext. 111
Operating hours: Mon - Sun 7am - 10pm
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Inputs & comments: jessicagaby@ymail.com
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