Tummy Prosperity: Paradigma Kafe, A Brand New Ambiance at the Heart of the Town

If you spotted this mainly yellow space at Central Jakarta area, being so packed of people and vehicles in it parking space, then you started to think if tons of people suddenly started to join this long-standing political party that’s been always associated with yellow color, then you got it wrong. No guys, it’s not that they’re all coming there for signing-up to be part of the organization, neither do they support any particular campaign. If you began wondering what’s in there then, you needn’t worry as I would tell you what's going-on in the space I'd just been to this weekend.

Named as Paradigma, the Indonesian term for paradigm, you would firstly meet an open window when entering the venue, a perfect way to reflect the word paradigm as it somehow worked well to be the analogy of an open mind. Occupying the space of Golkar’s office, this joint space was such a gigantic one with stunning view and ambiance. It offered totally different concept from what’s mostly carried out by recently opened coffee shops, featuring so spacious open-air spot with artificial grass where the guests could simply sit on or even lay down, enjoying the view of clear blue sky and green hanging plants covering the building. This was surely healthy food for the eyes, which nowadays could be quite a treasure! Some of you look like getting excited and even more curious to visit the place yourself, don’t you? The puzzle of why the spot’s so crowded seemed to be revealed now ;)

Some of the tenants were not ready yet, but some have been fully operating, including the cafe which offered foods and beverages to accompany people enjoying the circumstances. There were also florists, housewares store, stationary shops, and many more.

Despite the heat, people are still busy taking pictures in many corners, and a lot do prefer sitting at the outdoor area, which was actually made for the smokers. Perhaps as fresh air got more scarce in this beloved capital city, the desire to have it beat everything now.

Nonetheless, for me the indoor space wasn’t less competitive with various types of seats, ranging from communal table, petite one for pairs, till floor seating with cushions. Yeah, I guess they wanted to deliver that so-called casual and enjoyable theme, feeling as if you’re home.

All the dishes offered there were merely Indonesians; the traditional ones which were signature dishes of several cities. It’s such a great consistency since this area was indeed very historical, reminding us of the era back then when we were still not on our own independence. Furthermore, it’s an awesome chance to introduce our culinary to the world.

Ice Chocolate (IDR 40k)

Sitting in the middle of the area where I could ‘enjoy my natural tanning’, I felt extremely thirsty that my eyes immediately scanned through the menu, trying to find something refreshing. Besides, I did gaze around and somehow I captured that almost all tables ordered their Ice Chocolate. Without further thoughts, I opted to have it on my order list with less ice. It came in a huge glass, very fulfilling portion and might be the reason of why this drink was pretty pricey. A tiny jug of liquid sugar was given for you to adjust the sweetness based on your preference. I did need to add as bluntly said it was bland. For the chocolate itself, my chocolate-addict palate demanded something thicker with stronger dark choco flavor.

Magic (IDR 35k)

I might say that one of Indonesia’s signature commodity export was coffee, particularly the beans. Thus, I had no wonder this place did serve various types of coffee-based beverages, both in hot and cold version, for the guests to enjoy. My choice was the Hot Magic, Cappuccino with double shot of espresso to give that ‘wake-up slap on the face’. A hint of acidity in it did leave that tangy after-taste, yet overall it was an aromatic cup of coffee with strong body.

Colenak (IDR 34k)

Not a big fan of rice and indeed not desiring to go for something heavy, this was the dish finally landed on my dining table, the signature snack of the city of flowers - Bandung. I have been a long-standing fan of the base element of the dish, the fermented cassava, which I had always failed to resist regardless the way it’s served. Enjoying it ‘naked’ had been a big pleasure for me, let alone when it’s served in this fancy presentation, accompanied by extra happiness on its surroundings just like this Colenak.

Perhaps you thought it didn’t seem like the real one, since it’s indeed the fusion version with modern concept. The base was of course still the grilled fermented cassava overflown by the sweet liquid coconut sugar and topped with the shredded coconut. But as the additional touch, Paradigma Kafe’s version added vanilla ice cream and cookie crumbles, giving extra heavenly sensation to pamper the tummy. I fell on this dish at the very first trial as it flawlessly added that contemporary twist into the traditional dish, yet still strongly maintained the original characteristic.

Being such a spoiling place, Paradigma Kafe would definitely attract the crowd to come and stay. Besides the quite high price, I could visualize people still come as repetitive visitors, especially to ‘buy the ambiance’ that might be quite a treasure in the midst of the metropolitan city.