Ilustrasi  

BERITA TERKAIT

• Hay Thien

Jl. Pluit Kencana Raya no. 104
Pluit
Jakarta Utara
Tel. 669 2192, 669 0974

In an area generally noted for authentic, value-for-money restaurants, here is a gorgeous eatery serving knockout food that remains a knockout, if not better, over the years. The surroundings — two storeys of deep red and purple accents — are completely forgettable but Singapore’s flavours are truly intoxicating and quite in a class of its own.

A feast can unfold here for next to nothing (unless you order lobster, which can set you back around Rp 450,000 for a seven ounce beauty); superbly spiced cumi goreng cioyam (cioyam-style deep fried squid with salt and pepper) so fragrant with garlic that you can smell it from a mile away; udang ronggeng (mantese prawns) when in season, juicy and sweet as sin, sautéed ever so lightly in vegetable oil with merely a hint of garlic; voluptuous crabs or lobster swimming in a rich, enjoyably spicy Padang curry; kwetiau kerang (fried kwetiau with mussels) of which the restaurant is famous; a savoury oyster omelette that will give Singapore’s hawker stalls a run for their money; and naturally sweet and flavoursome vegetable dishes such as kuchai (chives) plainly sautéed in its own juices and mun tahu delicately flavoured with salted eggs that washes over the palate like waves on a shore.

Wash your meal down with what must be one of the most incredible tasting desserts in town: es campur Solo — a traditional cendol iced drink laden with jackfruit, cincau, tape, biji salak and bubur sumsum.  

Price range: Around Rp 250,000 for 4
Operating hours: 11:00 – 15:00 (lunch);
17:30 – 22:15 (dinner)
Dress code: very casual
Atmosphere: typical Chinese family restaurant
All major credit cards accepted
Reviewed: December 2007