Hanging out with friends, enjoying decent summer sun, developing a tan, and getting some sore (in a good way) muscles. In short, I finally get a sliver of fun in my boring, all work no play summer break, all thanks to Thia and Michelle that practically pulled me out of my hermit nest. Yas!
Pantai Indah Kapuk has been popular for quite some time, and I always wonder what the hype is. There's a recreational pool. Cool. There's rows and rows of restaurants. Cheeky. And then there's a mangrove conservation. Interesting. But for the love of God why do they call it Pantai Indah Kapuk if there's no beach on site?!
Or maybe there's a beach somewhere. Meh.
The area as a whole itself is quite neat. You get off from the highway and rows of restaurants/cafes/shops are waiting for you to choose. The signs are easy to read, the roads are as smooth as a baby's bottom, and the traffic is hella crazy starting afternoon. Anyways, we went to a dessert shop, the infamous mangrove conservation, and a ramen/noodle house, in that particular order.
1. HONG TANG
I was hungry, okay? And dessert is the best appetizer you could ever have. And of course, Chinese dessert is so IN right now! I don't even remember the name of the order, but THE PORTION IS HELLA BIG! I shared this bowl with Thia and I still feel full after we finally reached the bottom. The green tea ice cream is really good, and I always love boba. And yas, even my gummi bear loves it!
The interior is decent, kinda plain, I guess, but it serves the purpose. And the air conditioner is a nice change from the hot humid weather outside, so there's that. The door girl is so nice too!
Service - 4/5
Ambience - 3/5
Food - 4/5
2. MANGROVE CONSERVATION
DAMN this place is very VERY PHOTOGENIC!
It is actually quite generic and below my expectation of a nature conservation, since I've been expecting something TNGGP-like, but I guess you can't expect something that real smack in the middle of urban area. It is very photogenic, though. I love the lighting, I love the scenery, I hate the wood walkway because it's not neat and it hurts, but I guess they gave you a little experience of walking in the woods.
IMHO the ticket is way overpriced for something so... ordinary? But it do looks good though. Kinda small, I guess. But it's pretty popular for photoshoots, which leads to another minus for a poor uni art student like me: we have to pay like one mill rupiahs to have a professional camera with us. Thank God for high-tech cheap cellphones.
But I'll definitely come back if I got the company, twas fun.
Overall - 3.75/5
3. HAKATA IKKOUSHA
They sell pork. Figures I should get that warning out before reviewing the food.
Food's great! It may not looks like it, but it is really great. The noodles are A+, the broth is love, and overall the food is great. The portion is quite big too, for me, and they are quite generous with the toppings. I love the refillable ocha, because I drink a lot of liquid, so it's a perk I can't refuse, really.
Interior's okay, I don't really remember but I think they have that bar facing the kitchen for the Japanese ramen house authenticity. Nice touch on that side. Staffs are grumpy cats, but they do their job, I guess, and they are not outwardly rude, just looking grumpy and tense.
Service - 3.75/5
Ambience - 3.75/5
Food - 4/5
4. RATI RATI
Bonus review! Went here to get roll cakes to go for my parents. They got this cutesy cafe interior, nice display and all. In short, somewhere I'd definitely choose for a photo-session. Anyways, cake's great, soft and dreamy and everything happy. They also offer customization, I guess? Because Thia can have a happy birthday text with her roll cake, but I don't really know the details. Worth a visit! They also got quite an array of baked goods.
Overall - 3.75/5
THIS IS THE END OF THE REVIEW.
*tacky song playing in the background*
*TOEFL's listening section style!*
I'm sorry for the shitty quality photos, because I'm a shitty photographer, really. All photos are taken with my camera phone and post-processed with VSCO Cam + Giddylizer. And blargh, what is grammar, really? My English is rusty as hell. Thank you Thia & Michelle for being the coolest companies of the day! It's cool to finally meet you guys IRL, lotsa love.
Toodles! x
