1945, Tesate, Sate Khas Senayan; sounds familiar? I guessed for sure those names weren’t strange for you as they’ve had tons of outlets spread all around the town. However, do you happen to know what’s the relation among all of them? The question might be easy peasy for some of you, but for those who have no idea, they’re coming from the same roof of Sarirasa group.
Being extremely successful with their existing brands, Sarirasa seemed to be not yet earning its complete satisfaction. This has been proven by their newly opened one this year, Gopek Restaurant. If you wondered if all menu were priced at IDR 500/pax, for sure they’re not. Oops, sorry for destroying your sweet dream fellas but I had to tell you the truth LOL. Then what’s behind the name? Well, it just simply wanted to point out that the restaurant tried to offer Indonesian traditional street foods, but served them in better presentation and for sure let you enjoy them with restaurant ambiance.
The first and currently still the only venue occupied a quite sizable space next to Sate Khas Senayan, its sister brand, in Grand Indonesia. The bright orange logo would surely become a clear sign to guide you finding the restaurant easily.
Lumpia Goreng (IDR 35k)
Could you make a guess on what usually became the starter for Indonesian dining set? Something most of us treated as breakie, afternoon snacks, and sometimes side dishes as well; fried foods! For this first trial on Gopek, my choice was the spring roll with various veggies as the stuffings. I wouldn’t say it’s the yummiest one, but not a bad opening for sure.
Chicken Satay (IDR 25k for 3)
Yeaaayyy! The food that I guessed no single Indonesian hated, well yeah at least from those I’ve met in lifetime. Serving tender chicken coated with luscious seasoning, Gopek’s version was a lovely one to be enjoyed as side dish to accompany my main courses.
Rujak Tahu (IDR 40k)
As clearly stated, the dish main actor was tofu, cut into medium-sized cubes. I wasn’t sure if this dish was originally from Sumatra or Java, but the thing I knew it’s good! The water-based sauce blended coconut sugar, tamarind, shallots, shrimp paste, and crushed nuts; I believed you could now picture how nice was the combination between sweet and savory flavors in this plate. For you who missed this kind of street food, you might get your craving satisfied here :)
Mie Bakso Pangsit (IDR 55k)
Another comfort food which I believed most of us had had for thousand times since childhood. It might be either at school, at neighborhood bought from those selling using carts carrying them around, at small stalls, or even at restaurants! Simply said, another all-time favorite <3.
Gopek’s version featured sweet shredded chicken, meatballs, bean sprouts, and green veggies; which overall was dominated more by sweet flavor. Of course the components that you usually kept to be enjoyed as the finishing (perfect example of saving the best for the last), the crispy wontons weren’t missed here. Overall, the dish was okay but I had to honestly say that I still had other versions I favored better.
Nasi Gopek Speaial (IDR 62k)
Finally arriving at my most favorite among all I had at my first dining experience in Gopek. Before you swiped up right away even prior to reading it, please wait and lemme tell you “It’s not pork! Yes you heard me right, it’s chicken and beed including that red one”.
Basically they intentionally made it similar to the non-halal one in terms of presentation and combination of flavors, compiling beef in honey glazed, roasted chicken colored in red, beef satay, ngohiong, boiled egg, and beef stew (a.k.a semur). Yes I knew my palate did love the ‘original’ one better, but this was surely great alternative. The beef satay would absolutely win the number 1 spot for being the most luscious component among others in this dish.
Es Kacang (IDR 38k)
Not only fine dining had the complete set of appetizer-main course-dessert, even traditional street food could do. Perfect one for our hot sunny capital city would definitely be something refreshing like this Es Kacang, featuring shaved ice with syrup, mixed with kidney bean, mung bean, bird nest, sugar palm fruits (kolang kaling), and basil seed; exactly like the one I used to enjoy under the simple tent but brought to the next level. I highly recommended you to share it as for me the size was more than fulfilling especially if you took heavy dish in prior.
Es Koteng (IDR 38k)
Other option if you might be not that much into beans or nuts, was this Es Koteng. This cutie pinky one did serve some Indonesia’s signature ingredients including those not commonly found in any dishes from other countries. Presenting bird nest, yam bean (bengkoang), job’s tears or adlay (jali-jali), kitna, sugar palm fruits (kolang kaling), orange, and basil seed, my favorite from the glass was surely the chewy bird nest that I enjoyed having with the precise sweetness level from the syrup.
Lemon Sugar Cane Juice (IDR 30k)
Though the desserts were pretty much similar to drinks, I still had my purely liquid drink to quench the thirst. My big crush, sugar cane juice, but this one coming with additional happiness from the fresh lemon; so when life gives you lemon then find sugar cane? LOL. I rarely met lemon mixed with sugar cane but I thought it sounded like awesome pair so why not giving a try. Amazingly, my guesstimate was proven right as I loved each sip of it; flawless couple of sweet and sour!
In a nutshell, if you’re a big fan of street food but you just wanted to have it with cozier ambiance where you could indulge yourself with nice food and comfy place, Gopek might add one more line to your options list.
Taste: 7/10
Place: 7/10
Service: 8/10
Price: 7.5/10
Thanks for reading! :)
GOPEK RESTAURANT
Address: Grand Indonesia Sky Bridge 5th Floor
Phone: (+62 21) 2358 1359
Operating Hours: Mon - Sun 10am - 10pm
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Sushiro Singapore invite you to embark on a culi invite you to embark on a culinary journey that celebrates the art of sushi and Japanese cuisine. Our cozy and welcoming restaurant is your home away from home, where you can savor the finest flavors from the Land of the Rising Sun.
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