Remboelan, Plaza Senayan, Jakarta

Remboelan is a super fancy restaurant located on the 4th floor of Plaza Senayan, serving various Indonesian food with relatively affordable cheap (!) prices considering the venue and location. With the tagline of “Indonesian Soulfood”, Remboelan is surely a very good place to enjoy some high quality Indonesian food and or introducing local food to our foreign friends. Their menu is extensive, with endless choices of rice dishes, also some traditional snacks that we normally find on the street. Place is unique, elegant and beautiful, nice for a solo lunch, dating, family gathering, or even business meeting. The place is great, enough said.

White rice with combination of fried fermented bean curd, glass noodle, shredded chicken, potato fritter, “pindang” egg, sauteed green bean and shredded coconut herbs. The presentation was so beautiful and appetizing, tasted nice too! Okay, it wasn’t so special or what, but the each food was decent and had the authentic tastes of Indonesian food. In this, I especially liked the shredded coconut herbs or probably more known as “serundeng” in Bahasa Indonesia. Rich flavor, nice fragrant, and didn’t smell.

Mini Rijsttafel Indonesian rice with combination of “Empal” beef, shredded dried coconut, assorted vegetables with spicy coconut herbs, fried fermented bean curd, sauteed fried bean curd, pickles and sliced omelet. It is one of the recommended menu in rice dish section, and it was indeed very good. The “empal” beef was very tender and well-cooked, with nicely absorbed seasonings. My favorite of this plate was the assorted vegetables with spicy coconut herbs or “urap”, super tasty and fresh!

Grilled lemon grass fragrance rice, wrapped in banana leaf, stuffed with smoked “Tongkol” fish, house special cabe ijo, and cassava leaves. It was slightly different from what is shown in the menu because the main point of the dish is the cabe ijo (green chili). Mine didn’t have so many cabe ijo, but they put lots and lots of orange chili instead. Maybe because I asked mine to be super spicy, I don’t know. This is one of the best Indonesian dishes I have ever eaten, no kidding! The nasi bakar was very soft and fragrant, the tongkol fish was savory and mixed well with the spiciness of the chilies. Unbelievably good, I am literally drooling on my keyboard as I am typing this, LOL!

Grilled lemon grass fragrance rice, wrapped in banana leaf, stuffed with “Peda” fish, melinjo leaf and stinky bean. Same with above, it was also very good but less spicy. For spicy lovers, don’t you worry because this menu comes with a separated additional sambal, just in case. And what is Indonesian food without sambal? At least for me, eating Indonesian food is never complete without an additional sambal plate! I love this menu because although usually peda is very salty and fishy, this wasn’t. The peda fish was salty enough to give the taste to the already-tasty rice, and the combination of bitterness and distinctive taste of stinky bean (petai) with the fish was just great. 

Fried tofu stuffed with carrot, cabbage, and chicken. Or “tahu isi” in short. Very big chunks of tofu, well-fried, and generous fillings. 

Deep-fried soft shell crab served over “Padang” style sauce. Now this was DELICIOUS. The saos Padang was crazily delicious, and we literally licked the entire plate until totally clean. The soft shell crab was nice but partially it was already off when eaten. I mean, I usually prefer my soft shell crab to be crispy and all, but since they were already served inside the sauce, well, yeah. Loved the herbs and spices, this is one of the examples why I am proud to be Indonesian!

Beside the extensive menu of food, Remboelan also has separated menu book for the beverages and desserts. Indonesian desserts are very rich but they compile some selections of popular mixed ices and hot desserts. A stack of small bowls were put on our table as one of the waitresses’ initiative without us asking, and I really appreciated such a kind, thoughtful service!

Shredded ice with combination of Black Grass Jelly, sugar palm fruit, and a hint of lime. When I saw this on the menu, I thought it would taste just like regular “Es campur” judging from its looks. Boy, I was totally wrong because this was quite different from the usual mixed ice, thanks to the lime. It wasn’t precisely “hint of lime” but more to “lots of lime” but in a good way. Loved it and will totally recommend this.

Mixed Indonesian sweet porridge, served cold. Again, the serving was totally different from the menu (much smaller in reality). But well, it was nice and nostalgic. You can also order it hot and ask for the ice separately if later you change your mind. 

Shredded ice with combination of jackfruit, fermented cassava, sugar palm fruit, coconut meat, jelly, avocado, and black grass jelly with Manalagi syrup and condensed milk. I had trouble choosing my dessert so the waitress recommended this one for sharing. The portion was bigger than the others, and with that price, it was worth every rupiah. The glass was practically fully-loaded with chunks of fruits, jelly, and ice. The manalagi syrup was unique and not too sweet, a perfect way to end our dinner.

In conclusion, I really LOVE this place. Beside the super beautiful design and nice ambiance, the service was very good, too. My visit was on the peak hour (dinner time) and the place was packed by hungry people, but the cooperations of the staffs were really visible. The food were excellent, and what is better than eating authentic Indonesian food in a place like this? 

Currently Remboelan has 2 outlets, the other one is in PIM3. But I have read/heard a lot of bad things about PIM3’s branch, personally I don’t know because I have never dined in there. But well, my experience with the PS outlet was superb so you know where to go when you’re craving for some Indonesian food!