The Playground

One of the most famous malls in South Jakarta (not so) recently opened a new wing of restaurants row, street gallery. My friends and I visited The Playground there.

It’s kind of kinky place to eat I must say, with swings, roundabout and climbers as the furniture…well along with the normal benches, of course. It’s dim, if not almost dark, with yellowish light making me hard to see whether the gentlemen on the next table were handsome or weird.

The food, as any restaurant should be judged for, were suprisingly, acceptable, well.. with a twist here and there. We ordered nachos for our appetizer. It was visually amazing. However, they did not serve it with tortilla chips or corn chips, they changed the chips with choices of Emping or Opak (sorry I dont know how to explain those two in English). We ordered the Opak one. The taste, of course, was interesting, not bad, but seriously different.

And since, we felt that our taste buds went misdirected, we ordered another appetizer, chicken wings. What could be wrong from chicken wings, right? well, too much cheese, that’s what’s wrong. Not that I mind cheese, but I just wished that they put the cheese as a sauce or codiment and not poured it on top of all the chicken wings. ooh.. I thanked God, my main course just arrived.

I ordered Fajitas if i’m not mistaken. I did not why, that day I felt all Mexican… 🙂

I like my dish. A bit plain for me. Well, most food are, for me. With a touch of tomato and chili sauces, I could bear them. It’s missing tabasco though. But, it’s acceptable.

My friend ordered something steak, I forgot. It looked completely twisted for me. It looked like someone vomitted on her plate. It was a protein (I forgot whether it was dory or chicken) covered with cream sauce with peanuts sprinkled on top of the sauce. peanuts? yucks! A pile of french fries on the side with no other color than cream. I hoped it tasted ok. I did not even dare to ask my friend. Sorry mate.

Good news came from my friend who ordered Aglio Olio Spaghetti. It actually looked, like any other Anglio Olio, oily and plain. But my fried testified to us that it tasted great. She finished it in less than 10 min. She said it was delicious. Well, I know what Aglio Olio taste like. It is not my fave kind of spaghetti. So, her opinion means not so much for me. But If you were like my friend then you should try it. Maybe it is as good as it is said.

We did not try their desserts. We decided to go for Haagen Dazs ice cream, instead. So, I have nothing to say about their desserts. But I have to add that they have a poor service. Their service was slow and confusing. I dont know whether because they are still new and have a lot in hands or whether they have a poor management. Have not visit them again to know which one. They have one more branch in Central Jakarta. I might try that one to see some differences. It’s always good to try new things. Or is it?