Miko?? Sounds familiar guys?? Well, some of you might have this cute little girl with bangs in your head. Yes, that infamous cartoon character which most of you might get to know from comics when you're still in elementary. Wooowww, how many years have passed already! OK, back to the topic, no it's not that cute petite school girl.
Or perhaps for some Youtubers, Miko might mean the character of Raditya Dika, who shared the story of his Saturday nights and all the funny stuffs related to them. However, sorry to say but neither of them were correct guys, as Miko here wasn't a character. It wasn't a Japanese-originated name here as well, since it didn't refer to the maiden of Japanese shrine, which was actually the real meaning of this word in Japanese. Miko simply stood for 'Minum Kopi', or translated into English was 'Drinking Coffee'; an ear-catchy and simultaneously easy-to-remember jargon chosen there.
Initially, the one behind Miko, Eighteen Pies, was an online-based made-to-order pie producer who initially flourished its business through social media. Capturing the opportunity really well, it then came up with Miko, having the physical outlet where the guests could enjoy their choice of pies with coffee, as well as trying the selections of heavy meals provided.
I didn't know if there's any specific reason behind it, but the mini coffee shop and pie house looked like a florist to me as the decoration was carrying flowers as its main theme. It gave me that girly impression, which somehow successfully delivered that ambiance of elegant dessert time, such a perfect match to the signature dishes offered by them!
Funny stuff I found, the ones serving the guests in the cafe were are all waiters instead of waitresses. Nonetheless, you'd better not underestimate the power of males' talk as well since I thought they were very good in making you ended up get tempted to try more of the dishes. Yet I was captivated and really appreciated how detailed they could explain each of the dishes, even calling out detailed ingredients of all their pies, just like a pie encyclopedia.
The guests were actually given the options to go for individual pie, or a set of either 6 or 12. For sure, going for set ones would be cheaper compared to the individual purchase. Considering the size of each pie was actually quite petite, and furthermore, the options provided were quite rich, it was such a great deal when you opted for the sets. They were even available for take-away and could also be nice gifts, since they were packed in gorgeous boxes.
Regardless that I kept mentioning that ordering the sets would be more favorable, at my visit, I went for the individual option. It happened as I wanted to save space in my tummy for other dishes I wanted to have in the following places I visited afterwards. Yeah, I didn't want to miss the chance to try as much as I could when I was around Gading area, simply because it's quite 'a pluto' for me. For this premiere visit to MIKO, I made it a trio for the initial trial on the pies :)
Pulled Pork
I loved how the pie was served thin that it flawlessly delivered that indulging crispy texture and it didn't overwhelm the flavors from the toppings which indeed supposed to be the main actor of the dish. As the base, I would say the pie crust was also flavorful, adding extra spoiler for my palate.
Exactly like its name, this first pie coming into my tummy was merely topped by pulled pork, ok revised, perhaps I needed to add 'generous portion of' prior to the 'pulled pork' phrase there. Despite that the texture was unfortunately slightly too dry for my palate, yet the taste itself was actually not bad, being well-seasoned. It somehow reminded me of pork floss, which I used to love so much yet I haven't had for long long time.
Sloppy Joes
This pie carried out the US-originated mixture for sandwich consisting mainly ground beef and tomato sauce. What's special from Eighteen Pies' version, was they marinated the beef with their in-house honey barbeque sauce, then they gave the final touch of melted cheese and fried quail egg on top. I was proven totally wrong when I in prior expected that this one was only gorgeous-looking yet wouldn't be that good. In fact, I was mesmerized by the pie that it could still taste this scrumptious with rich combination of ingredients and flavors, regardless that the size was pretty tiny.
Creamy Chicken Mushroom with Pork Bacon
I intentionally put this one as the last as I indeed wanted to highlight it as my most favorite among the three! The creaminess level was just right and the combination of chicken and mushroom was indeed a classic one, which for me was all-time favorite. Not to mention, the pork bacon on top which did give the peak sensation for the whole pie, adding extra happiness to the taste bud. Just one additional note, if you wanted the halal version, they did have the one without the bacon so you needn't worry.
Hot Cappuccino (IDR 30k)
Since the venue was named as 'Minum Kopi', then something's definitely going wrong if you didn't have any coffee there. My choice went to their Hot Cappuccino, featuring the house-blend which mixed the beans of Kintamani, Toraja, and Ciwidey as highlighted by the barista. The aroma was actually very strong and somehow gave that typical smell of acidic coffee. Nonetheless, it again brought me to another surprise as the coffee was only slightly sour, still within the level that my palate could handle. Being medium bodied, it was a pretty decent cup of caffeine to accompany my trial session for the pies.
Offering lots of flavor selections for their pies which I haven't tried, it would be an 'easy yes' for me to come back here and gave them a try.
Taste: 8/10
Place: 7/10
Service: 8/10
Price: 7.5/10
Thanks for reading! :)
MIKO BY EIGHTEEN PIES
Address: Jl. Boulevard Raya Blok WA2 No. 30, Kelapa Gading, Jakarta
Phone: (+62) 822 2596 0050 / (+62 21) 2245 4155
Operating Hours: Sun - Thu 9am - 10pm, Fri - Sat 9am - 11pm
