Sunda Kelapa Restaurant; Jakarta, Indonesia Series 3

Sunda Kelapa Restaurant

Mercure's Superb Indonesian Buffet

(Jakarta, Indonesia Series 3)

After a fun filled day in Sea World Jakarta

and Ocean Dream Samudra, we returned

to Mercure Hotel to dress up and have dinner

in a popular Restaurant  in Ancol that

offers authentic Indonesian cuisine.

 

When we arrived at the hotel, we found out  that

they are having  a buffet  of Indonesian Cuisine

for that night at the Sunda Kelapa Restaurant-.

the hotel’s main restaurant at the ground floor.

Since we were all tired and weary from

the all day walking at the theme park,

 we decided to dine there instead.

The buffet spread was impressive and the

waitress who speaks English well was kind 

 and patient enough to describe the different dishes

the  ingredients, the place where they originated

and sometimes their cultural significance. 

Most of the dishes on the buffet were spicy

so we ordered an a'la cart dinner of

Hianese Chicken for my very young son.

The rest of us wanted to try the

all Indonesian fare at the buffet.

It was rather difficult to decide which and

where to start as they have this massive

 spread of dishes on several buffet tables- 

…so I began on the appetizer section  where they had several
 entrees and I decided to try the Taho Petis Surabaya, 
peanut based dish made of tofu and, veggies.

 It was a little bit spicy but tasted was very good.

I followed it up with a type of Indonesian soup

called Soto Jakarta, which tasted like our own tinola
made creamy as it was cooked with coconut milk.. 

Another soup dish that I really enjoyed in the buffet was
 the Soto Bandung, which was made of  pork broth, 
small pieces of pork, tomatoes, peanuts and assorted
  vegetables and soy sauce. It tasted like the Filipino Sinigang
without being sour and without the intolerable sting of tamarind.

 

There were a lot of choices for the main course,

which included Tongseng Kambing,

which is made of lamb meat and  stir fried

with various fresh vegetables including

whole red hot peppers that sometimes one

could confuse for bits and pieces of carrots.

They also have Bundu Ayam, which is

a very delicious and sweetish chicken curry,

Tumis Kacang Paanjan Dengan Tampo

tasted very familiar as it was very much

like our ‘ginisang sitaw’ mixed with beef

hot red peppers and green on the dish-

and there’s a whole lot of them.

There was also Ikan Tumbu Prenjol,

which I cannot remember what it was

made of, but I believe it was curried beef

and it was so delicious that I recall having

made several servings of this dish.

For dessert, they had Kolak Campur,

which was made of native yams, a root crop

cooked in sweetened coconut milk.

It wasn’t hard to love and enjoy Indonesian cuisine,

as they are so similar to most of the Filipino dishes,

 

…same ingredients, and similar condiments.

And for Bicolanos like my family, it was even easier
for us to adjust to Indonesian food because just like us  
they also use lots of coconut milk and lots spicy capsicum.

 

The only difference is that they use a lot of curry,

but that was okay-  we like curried food anyway.

Interestingly- some of their dishes, looks

and sounds the same like Gulai Nangka.

And to most Filipinos, we cook and call the dish

exactly the same as what Indonesian does-

‘Gulay na Langka’- well, I should actually say, almost.

Jakarta Indonesia Series Blogs

Mercure Hotel Ancol

Jakarta Indonesia Series 1

Sea World Jakarta and Ocean Dream Samudra

Jakarta Indonesia Series 2

Sunda Kelapa Restaurant

Amazing Indonesian Buffet

Jakarta, Indonesia Series 3

Dufan is Fun

Jakarta, Indonesia Series 4

Ancol Epic Cable Park

Jakarta’s Hip Wake Park

Jakarta, Indonesia Series 5

Ancol Dreamland Jakarta

Indonesia's Fun Capital

Jakarta, Indonesia Series 6

Hotel Manhattan Jakarta

Modern Hotel with a View

Jakarta, Indonesia Series 7

Kidzania and Wendy’s

Pacific Place, Jakarta

Jakarta, Indonesia Series 8

Historic Jakarta City Tour
Traffic Choked, Rain Soaked City Tour

Jakarta, Indonesia Series 9

Ikan Bakar Cianjur

Binge Eating on Indonesian Food

Jakarta, Indonesia Series 10

Taman Mini Indonesia and

Caping Gunung Restaurant

Binge Eating at Taman Mini

Jakarta, Indonesia Series 11

Ritz Carlton Mega Kuningan

Unwelcoming Fortress Hotel

Jakarta, Indonesia Series 12

Restaurant Haka

Chinese Food Galore

Jakarta, Indonesia Series 13

Sarinah Shopping Mall
Jakarta's One Stop Souvenir Mall 
Jakarta, Indonesia Series 14 

Jakarta a Fun Filled Kiddie Paradise
 and  Traffic Choked Culinary Adventure 
Jakarta, Indonesia Series 15