Where to eat noodles in Jakarta

Where to eat noodles in Jakarta

JAKARTA (JP): Our new column on places to eat around the city
starts with noodles as well as a whole lot more at an eatery in
Central Jakarta.

Bakmi Metropolitan, Jl. Dr. Satrio 275 (Casablanca), Central
Jakarta.

Open 10 a.m. - 10 p.m.

What's It Got: Noodles, as to be expected from the name, but
the two-page menu also includes Chinese and some European
delicacies. Frog's legs, stir-fried vegetables, spaghetti, soups
and European style salads (for a whopping Rp 50,000 a portion)
are available in addition to fried rice and other staples. Beef,
chicken, fish and seafood are all served though pork is not.

Vegetarians can dine on their various broccoli and kangkung
stir-fried vegetable dishes, as well as the ubiquitous tofu.

For drinks, the usual range of soft drinks and beverages are
available as well as local beer.

Price Points: Ranges from a simple noodle soup for Rp 10,000
to more substantial entrees priced around Rp 20,000, plus pricey
salads, including one with jellyfish!

Looks: No-frills but clean, well-lit environment, with the de
rigeur formica tables and straight-backed chairs of unpretentious
Chinese restaurants everywhere (but you are here to eat, right,
not to muse over the interior decoration?).

Service is friendly and efficient, and the staff at least give
you time to think before coming over to get your order.

Popular with...: Office workers from the Golden Triangle,
plus residents of various boardinghouses in the surrounding Karet
Kuningan area.

Taste Factor: Large heaped portions which rank high on the
taste scale. Recommended dishes include chicken sauteed with
green chili (not as hot as you would expect), different types of
fried rice, salted fish (you can also have it made to order), fu
yung hai (their version is an omelet with a chicken and shrimp
filling) and their broccoli sauteed with mushrooms. European
items, such as spaghetti and chicken with cheese (!) were not
available on the night we visited. One slight disappointment was
the chicken wrapped in mushrooms, which tasted like a bland
version of Hainan chicken with a few vegetables added in a bid to
perk it up.

Minus Points: Its location, smack in the congested heart of
the city. Unless you have the patience of a saint, or take
masochistic pleasure in sitting in a car as traffic crawls along
at a meter an hour, do not try making it to the restaurant at
about 6 p.m. on a weeknight.

Its wall-to-ceiling glass front can also be a bit
disconcerting, leading to the uneasy feeling that you are
munching away in a fishbowl as most of the city's population
saunters by (but there are corner tables, or you can always sit
with your back to the entrance).

Verdict: Fine for those interested in a good meal, at a spick-
and-span location (everything is relative though) but do not wish
to pay high dining prices. (brc)