Awesome Ideas at Ideas.Awesome?

When you thought I made a typo on the title by mentioning the place's name as Ideas Awesome instead of Awesome Ideas, you got it wrong guys as the name was indeed like that, well at least the Instagram account said so, though sometimes they did call themselves as Awesome Coffee. I did wonder why, but I obviously didn't want to go more on it. So let's move on ;) !

Taking place at a shop house at Graha Boulevard Kelapa Gading, I was almost lost when I came to the place for the very first time. Luckily, my guesstimate did work as I decided to turn left when I spotted Summerville Apartment. Then when my eyes fell on the Instagenic entrance, I knew that day was my day since my instinct happened to be right!

It wasn't as gigantic as I expected in prior, with several tables for pairs and a group of four at the first level, and small space at the mezzanine. I had a love-hate relationship with the design, especially the huge glass windows at the front side which allowed natural light to flow in; as at one side I could get great snaps, while on the other side it made the venue became pretty hot and sitting on some particular corners would give you sun-kiss. 

Just like the name, this coffee shop did have awesome idea behind the decoration concept, delivering minimalist monochromatic theme. Everything's mainly grey and white with cement walls, cement tiles, and white-colored furniture. Rays of sunlight freely flying into the venue drew beautiful shadow effect, turning the coffee shop to be a super-Instagenic space! Much love <3

Hot White 150ml / Cappuccino (IDR 32k)

To see if the coffee was as awesome as the name and the design, I opted for their Hot Cap. The medium bodied coffee was fragrant and the taste was pretty decent, well suiting my coffee liking being not acidic yet containing bold flavor. 

Lego Lemonade (IDR 45k)

Being exposed to the heat from the direct sunlight, my throat was badly demanding for something cold and refreshing, exactly like what's offered by this Lego Lemonade. This was honestly another awesome idea I found in this place. Well, who would have thought to make ice cubes in lego shape and infuse them with fruit jam in various colors to make them indeed end up looked like real lego blocks? Nothing much to say but 'awesome'! Letting them flow on a glass blending sparkling lemon and citron, it's such perfect thirst-quencher, like finding a spring in the middle of the dessert (might sound hyperbolic yet Jakarta's simply too hot to be true!). 

Souffle Pancake (IDR 48k)

Feeling kinda bloated after having quite heavy brunch, my sister and I did intend to have something light only for desserts. When I spotted this fluffy pancake was there on the menu, it just took me a blink then voila, it's there listed on my order. 1 stack should be enough or otherwise we might get nauseated afterwards. 

The plating was surely amusing with the motive drawn on the plate regardless it's just a picture and it's not made of something edible. It simply made the overall dish looked more colorful and appealing. The pancake somehow reminded me of Japanese cotton cheesecake as well as Ricotta hotcake, especially its soft, airy, and fluffy texture. Not stopping there, the dish offered another spoiler, the vanilla soft cream served to pair the pancake. The two made such tantalizing combination as they blended hot and cold elements, and as both not being overly sweet, they did complement one another impeccably. It's a right choice to opt for one stack only since the portion was quite fulfilling especially the soft cream which was absolutely served in generous size. 

Actually, they still had some more innovative foods and beverages on the menu, but sadly my tummy didn't have enough space to afford them. So see you in the upcoming awesome meetings ;)

Taste: 8/10

Place: 8/10

Service: 8.5/10

Price: 7.5/10

Thanks for reading! :)

IDEAS.AWESOME

Address: Rukan Graha Boulevard, Blok B No. 18, Kelapa Gading, Jakarta

Phone: (+62) 81 785 9710

Operating Hours: Mon - Sun 8am - 9pm

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Inputs & comments: jessicagaby@ymail.com

FJ Bistro and Deli

Having my attention got stolen by its tempting molten lava cake, FJ Bistro successfully made me browsing for more information about its restaurant. Apparently it's no more a new comer, and they've even been long well-known for not only their restaurant but also their delicatessen. 

The empire resided at South area, taking over the second floor of a huge two-storey building at Kemang. The first floor was such distraction for me as they were occupied by several shops with contemporary-designed clothing. So there I were, getting stucked for awhile before finally going upstairs. 

Having the intention to serve families with members using wheelchairs or those who brought strollers (at least in my guesstimate), the venue was equipped by elevator. Well, I might need to add the guests who were too lazy to take stairs as well in the list as I did belong to this last group *LOL*. 

Reaching the second level, my friends and I were greet by FJ's awesome interior, being classic, elegant, yet pretty casual at the same time. They might sound kinda contradicting, but I thought that's what looked like in actual as the venue was decorated with the combination of wooden texture and white colors that made overall appearance looked luxurious, as well as live green plants that gave more refreshing and relaxing ambiance. This made the visitors looked kinda various as well, ranging from those dressed formally in suits and dresses, to the ones who were more casual with shirts and pants. 

 

The 'green look' was surely not wasted as the restaurant provided outdoor seating, where the guests could enjoy the atmosphere of getting back into the nature. It's like a quite private open-air balcony, being surrounded with green walls and tall trees. The green alley was also a perfect spot to take panoramic snaps, giving the scenery of a beautiful garden. I seemed to have complete package of foods for the day; both the eyes and the soul!

Those who preferred the indoor area would also get spoiled by the cozy tone since you would feel as if you're sitting in the middle of gigantic living room with many sofas sitting next to each other. For having heavy meals, you might fancy the spot with high tables more, but if you jusy came for chilling, low-table spaces or even the seats by the long bar table might suit you best. 

The long and huge bar table wasn't merely decoration as well since FJ Bistro did have long selections of cocktails, mocktails, and other alcohol-based drinks. Not only that, fresh juices and smoothies were also there to serve those who had higher health-concern. 

Red Defender (IDR 60k)

Quenching the thirst with something healthy, my friend opted for this blend of red grape, watermelon, and strawberry. The name was quite funny for me personally as it seemed like kind of super hero. Taste wise, nothing so special to be highlighted as my friend said that it's pretty similar to common watermelon juice since this fruit dominated the whole flavor. 

FJ Fruit Punch (IDR 65k)

Same as other fruit punch in any places, the ingredients were mainly orange, pineapple, lime, guava, sprite, and grenadine syrup. A great refresher in the middle of hot and sunny Jakarta, blending both fruits and soda. It might taste pretty sweet in the beginning so you had to let the ice cubes melt first, before enjoying the drink. 

Complimentary Bread

The dishes offered here gave you quite rich options with International concept being provided, serving Indonesian, Japanese, Western, and many more types of cuisines. Thereby, this bistro might suit various types of preferences; those who loved lighter ones like bread and sandwich, or heavier ones like pasta, or Indonesian-taste ones which couldn't get full without rice. 

Aglio Olio Pasta (IDR 120k)

 

From the pasta selections, you're actually having several choices from spaghetti, fettuccine, penne, even linguine and capellini. The classic sauces like bolognaise, carbonara, marinara, and aglio olio were definitely served there. This time we opted for the last as it's the one suiting everyone's preferences. For the proteins, again it's left to the guests to pick, where they provided seafood, bacon, or chicken. Blue prawn was the special topping, sold at slightly more expensive price. Ours were that 'ngok ngook' (read: pork) one and it's such pleasure to know they were quite generous in giving the toppings. Yeah, at least they didn't disappoint us as the price was quite expensive for this simple dish despite that the size was indeed huge. 

 

The taste was generally pleasant as the pasta was cooked al dente, the oil and garlic taste were bold and the smell were so seductive, and most importantly the bacon made it yummier by becoming the 'extra-spice kick' for the dish with its salty taste and crispy texture. 

Gyu Tan Don (IDR 155k)

Honestly speaking, at the first sight this ox-tongue rice bowl wasn't that appealing to me. The rice looked quite a lot compared to the beef and again it was another pricey dish. However, when I started diggin' into the bowl, having some spoons of it, I figured out that the ox-tongue slices were actually a lot!! Only because the rice was indeed too much, causing me at first thought that the bowl was dominated by rice. 

I loved how all ingredients in the bowl were well-blended that every single spoon out of it were so tasty. The ox-tongue slices were perfect in texture as well, being juicy and tender, perfectly paired by the warm fluffy rice, just like the typical Japanese one. Though I might want to recommend them to reduce the rice portion a little, I guessed there might be guests who fancied such huge portion. 

Red Velvet Pie (IDR 62.7k)

When you later made a visit to the place, you would get why I couldn't resist ordering the dessert. Simple reason, when you firstly reached the venue, you would be firstly greet by the cake display. Not following the mainstream, I didn't go for the chocolate ones but the Red Velvet instead. 

Well, unfortunately I kinda regretted my decision as the cake didn't really suit my dessert preference, particularly my kind of red velvet. Sorry to say, but it was overly creamy for my palate. I also wished the peanuts more to nougat alike instead of merely peanut chunks :( . I guessed I should've gone for its specialist - the chocolate ones. 

In a nutshell, FJ Bistro was a great space to spend time for chilling or meeting-ups regardless it's a formal or a casual one. Though you had to 'dig a bit deeper into your pocket' when dining here, the heavy meals were overall enjoyable. Happy to share another nice option in Southern Jakarta! Perhaps the next one to try would be their Rooftop Bar (FJ on 7), FJ Grill, or FJ Patisserie and Rotisserie.

Taste: 7.5/10

Place: 8/10

Service: 7.5/10

Price: 7/10

Thanks for reading! :)

FJ BISTRO AND DELI

Address: Jl. Kemang Raya No. 6, Jakarta

Phone: (+62 21) 7182 736

Operating Hours: Mon - Sun 12pm - 11pm

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Inputs & comments: jessicagaby@ymail.com