Rendezvous at budget Warung Monas Jatim<\/p>\n
Fitri Wulandari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Just as you would expect in a city that never sleeps, there
\nare plenty of eateries in Jakarta that are open until after
\nmidnight, even up to dawn. Most of them are sidewalk warung
\n(food stalls).<\/p>\n
These warung are nice, friendly and economical places to hang
\nout with your friends.<\/p>\n
I got to know about Warung Jatim Monas when my friends and I
\nwere looking for a place for a late supper after an exhausting
\nboogie session in a club.<\/p>\n
At first, I didn't really think it was a good idea to go to a
\nwarung located inside the Senayan sports complex. What came to my
\nmind was that the food stalls in the area would be offering
\noverpriced food of mediocre quality.<\/p>\n
I was wrong. When we arrived at Warung Monas Jatim at Parkir
\nTimur Senayan, I found the place to be pretty decent and serving
\nexcellent food, too.<\/p>\n
It's open from 8 a.m. until 2 a.m. the next day even during
\nthe fasting month of Ramadhan. The place is never fully booked
\nout, as far as I know, but visitors are always coming and going.
\nReservations are definitely not needed.<\/p>\n
How to get there: You can reach the place by just about any
\nmeans of transportation. If you don't fancy walking, you can go
\nby taxi or car as public transportation does not enter the
\nSenayan complex. For a shortcut, you can go from the Hilton main
\nlobby, all the way to the Lagoon tower, and then walk across the
\nstreet.<\/p>\n
Looks: The Warung Monas Jatim is very modest. It has a nice,
\nshady front porch and the diners are seated in tent-like gazebos.
\nwith wooden tables and chairs. It is a lovely place to have your
\ndinner out in the open. The plants and trees that surround the
\nporch protect the diners from the scorching sun.<\/p>\n
At night, the place is good for a romantic dinner. A piece of
\nadvice: don't forget to bring your mosquito repellent. The
\nannoying insects are highly persistent.<\/p>\n
What's it got: Like many other Indonesian eateries, the menu
\ngoes straight to the main course. No appetizers. And what they
\nhave on the list are green-pepper-fried ox tail, classic nasi
\ngoreng (fried rice), nasi goreng teri Medan (fried rice with
\nsmall fried fish), nasi goreng kambing (goat fried rice), bakwan
\njagung (corn fritters), gado-gado (vegetable salad with peanut
\nsauce), and capcay (Chinese stir-fry vegetables). Some
\nspecialties from East Java can also be found on the list, such as
\nthe famous nasi rawon (meat cooked in a dark soup), tahu campur
\n(fried tofu with sprouts and fish sauce), tahu telur (tofu omelet
\nwith fish sauce) and lontong sayur (vegetables with rice cake).<\/p>\n
As for dessert, well, forget about mouthwatering cheesecake,
\nbanana split or tiramisu as they are not on the list. In fact,
\nthere are no desserts on the menu. But baked banana sprinkled
\nwith cheese and chocolate rice could possibly be considered as
\ndesserts.<\/p>\n
For beverages, the list is very modest. There are typical soft
\ndrinks, hot and cold tea, instant coffee, ginger coffee, and
\nregular coffee. There are different kinds of juices if you want
\nto go for a natural flavor.<\/p>\n
Taste factor: After scrutinizing the menu, I finally plumped
\nfor the green-pepper-fried ox tail and rice. For drinks, I
\nordered good ol' hot tea.<\/p>\n
The food came in perfect, even quite generous, portions. There
\nwere five or six lumps of meaty oxtail, all perfectly fried.
\nCrisp, but still juicy and tender. They were stir-fried with
\ngreen pepper, green chili, garlic, onion and soya sauce. They
\nwere not too sweet and not too salty, with quite a strong spicy
\ntaste. For all you die-hard fans of spicy food, this is just the
\nfood for you.<\/p>\n
My friends decided to try another speciality -- nasi goreng
\nteri Medan. This consists of fried rice with tiny salted fish
\n(teri). The portion was just the right size and was accompanied
\nby emping (traditional crackers), a poached egg, sliced meat
\nballs, fresh tomatoes and cucumber.<\/p>\n
My other friends had oxtail soup and nasi rawon. Both dishes
\nwere declared quite tasty.<\/p>\n
For drinks, as it was a rainy night, we all ordered hot tea.<\/p>\n
Service: Very polite and fast.<\/p>\n
Price points: Considering the delicious food and the portions,
\nthe price was by no means outrageous. A dish of green-pepper-
\nfried oxtail and rice cost Rp 12,000. The oxtail soup plus rice
\nwas Rp 10,000 and the nasi rawon was Rp 8,000. Meanwhile, a mug
\nof hot tea cost only Rp 1,500. The total bill for five people was
\nRp 53,000, with no tax or service charge.<\/p>\n
Minus points: Mosquitoes.<\/p>\n
Verdict: If you looking for money-saving place to hang out,
\nthen this is the right place for you.<\/p>",
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