At Bunga Rampai

A very unique and unexpected afternoon, when I decided to ride with my friend hunting tickets for our upcoming December break. We were so happy to get 100 000 IDR (equal to 10 bucks) for return train tickets to Semarang. And after struggling on that long queue, we decided to visit this quite famous restaurant, Bunga Rampai.

Bunga Rampai

Jl. Teuku Cik Ditiro no. 35, Menteng, Jakarta, Indonesia phone: +62(021) 3192 6224 / 3192 6225

Located in one of the most prestigious area in Jakarta, a colonial house built in a Dutch era, around 1900, redesigned to be a fine dining place, Bunga Rampai.

Front porch with white big pillars welcome visitors in a very elegant ways. It was like being invited for a banquet at a Dutch Governor mansion hundreds of years ago as the waitress dress in an white encim Kabaya and traditional male Betawi (an ethnic group from Jakarta, was known as Batavia) outfit opened the door for us.

We were so lucky to visit this house not in a meal time. It was all ours. So even though we cannot pick our seats, we felt served in every ways.

Most of the dining tables are set in large groups. There are two private rooms for more exclusive dining experience. And we were seated in some sort of pavilion area with large clear glass windows with road views. All tables are covered with white linen and classic table napkins. White china food ware are prepared along with high end decorations.

Three professional waitresses with warm and friendly smile helped us to feel comfortable in the dining table set for us. They answered all our questions regarding to their interesting menu. Since we had surfed the web and found out that Putik Sari Dua Rasa (fried strips of chicken and dory fish) is highly recommended, we ordered it without any hesitation. Putik is a flower’s anther  consistent as the restaurant name and theme Bunga Rampai is Flower Bouquet in Bahasa Indonesia.

As you can see on the photo on the left side, it somewhat looks like a flower with six anthers. Well, they are actually dory fish strips and  fried chicken strips. Both are deep fried. The dory fish strips are covered with black sesame seeds while the chicken strips are covered with original sesame seeds. What is so amazing about this appetizer is the sauce. It is a sauce made of mango and ketjombrang flower. Yes, mixed with a flower. It tastes a bit  sour and smells very fresh. The sauce perfectly diminishes the thick taste of a deep fried dish. Served in a tall cocktail glass with flour crackers to complete the figure of a flower on this dish.

For the main course, we chose Nasi Buketan (Bouquet Rice) since it is their specialty. Buketan is taken from a word Buket. It is a direct pronunciation of Bouquet. Inspired by bouquet of flowers, Nasi Buketan is a complete set of a dish varied in color, taste and smell.

On a white china ceramics plate, they put a banana leaf under this dish. Green rice (rice cooked with pandan and sutji leaves which tastes similar with Nasi Gurih), Indonesian fried chicken with kremes, Kering Tempe, Beef Satay, sliced fried egg, Kemangi leaf, slices of cucumber, two types of kerupuk and spicy peanut sauce are artistically served on top. They are not only pleasing to the eyes but also to the tongue.

We also chose Asem Asem Seafood for our soup. It hold a very Indonesian name, but it was actually a replica of Tom Yum Soup. I love it, though! It is really refresh and brings the mood back.

After enjoying a very nice meal, I chose Es Greget as my closing item. It is an ice crushed and mixed with nata de coco, jellies, a lychee fruit and lychee syrup. For me, I think they put too much jellies and too few lychee… hehehe…

My friend chose Es Campur Panca Warna (Mixed Ice in Five Colors). It is actually a classy version of an usual Indonesian Es Campur where you can find anywhere around Indonesia. Yeah, we, Indonesian likes to mix everything. Since we are blessed with so much tropical fruits, so we always mix those fruits to have a taste that different. Usually an Es Campur is a mix of sliced jackfruit, avocado, pineapple, coconut meat, Atep fruit, black jelly, tapai, red syrup, ice and milk. Whenever you visit our country, don’t forget to try this desert. Anyway, it also tastes delicious-of course! But the milk pour made it not as fresh as my drink.

There is one more thing that I feel not very happy with this place. It is their choice of mineral water. I cannot understand why they choose to put Italian mineral water on their menu instead of Indonesian mineral water. Indeed they are well presented, but I guess they are seriously over priced. I don’t mind to pay more for beautiful and delicious dish. But I won’t spend my money to buy a mineral water in a fancy bottle imported from Italy which I bet has the same taste and benefit like Indonesian mineral water.

But overall, It is a quite relaxing, dining in this place. And I am now thinking to reserve this place for my upcoming Christmas dinner. Hmmm… sounds perfect.