Last week, I visited this (approximately) one-month-old cafe in Wijaya, Kebayoran area, Typology Cafe. It’s located in Wijaya I street so it’s not exactly that Wijaya complex in Blok M, but more towards Santa or Mampang. The cafe is very visible from the street, thanks to the big signboard, and it’s definitely hard to miss since that main street is always jammed so you can take your time looking around finding the place. XD
The place is on the ground floor of its own building, and although the parking space is only available for one car and probably 1-2 motorcycles, don’t you worry because they have parking basement too, woohoo! 😉 The bad thing is, because the cafe is still new (even the second floor is currently under construction), the elevator that connects basement with the floors are not functioning yet, so we had to manually walk up to the cafe from the basement. And trust me, that is not a nice thing to do when it rains!
With a not too big space, the cafe gave instant comfort when I went in, everything was simple yet chic, without being overly pretentious. I especially love the homey feeling of the place including the warm colored counter, funky looking bookshelves, and all the quotes boards!
There are separated areas for smoking (bigger) and no-smoking one in the inner side of the place, but I think the no smoking area is pretty small, probably only one table with 10 chairs. It looks more like a private meeting place to me, but according to the admin staff, yes, it’s a no smoking area. I think I remember that the seating capacity is about 50 person in total for both areas, not too big but it explains a lot why it’s difficult to get a table during peak hours.
Menu is not many but there is some nice variety with fun and creative names using font names, such as Cambria Nachos, Georgia Green Salad, etc. Prices? Very affordable and reasonable considering the venue and location, range from IDR 27K – 69K, not bad, right? I think in the last few months, my standard for food pricing in Jakarta has improved quite a lot because even some not-so-good restaurants put quite expensive prices for their dishes, and finding a place like this with this kind of price was like, awesome!
Simplifica Snack Sampler IDR 27K
This snack sampler includes fried chicken strips, crispy dumplings, cheese sticks, cakwe and french fries, served with sweet chili sauce. When it was served, my initial reaction was “SO BIG!”, because I expected smaller portion with not-so-many stuffs on the plate. This one was a great portion considering the price and my favorite was the cheese sticks! Everything was nice and freshly fried, though, very crispy and made great snacks to build the appetite.
Hobo Oxtan Rice IDR 65K
Tried this because of the waiter’s recommendation, and I was very pleased. Basically ox tongue cooked with teriyaki sauce and served with rice, this was quite a dish to begin with. The tongue slices were extraordinarily thick, texture was nice although I found them a bit too hard so it was difficult to bite and chew. They were very well-marinated and seasoned though, made them very tasty and full of flavors that the rice wasn’t enough to neutralize the taste (in a good way!). The teriyaki sauce was nice and bold, but I found it too sweet. Honestly, I also thought the chili sauce garnish on the top was pointless and ruined the already-strong teriyaki sauce, but overall the dish was nice.
Flagship Rainbow Rice IDR 45K
Now, this is what I call MASTERPIECE. The rice has 4 different flavors made from 4 totally different colorful ingredients such as green chili (green), squid ink (black), turmeric (yellow), and tomato (red). Served with fried egg, chicken satay, vegetables and chili cuts, also Indonesian crackers, the dish was extravagant and wonderful! Each rice had its own taste and believe me, the tastes were bold and different one to another so it was kind of getting 4 different food on one plate! I can’t really pick one as a favorite because I love all of them and the portion was so big that I had difficulties finishing that (and mind you, that rarely happens!).
Barrio Fried Bengbeng IDR 29K
Who doesn’t know Bengbeng? Mostly all Indonesians probably know about this particular chocolate wafer brand as we all grew up with it, LOL. And here we can get modified version of Bengbeng that tasted even more chocolate-y, can you imagine that? XD The bengbeng bars were battered and deep fried making a crunchy golden coats, and when you bite it, you find the bengbeng inside! I love this dessert although it was more a hot dessert and usually I prefer mine to be cold ones. Maybe next time I will order this again and enjoy it more when my tummy wasn’t as full as that time! 😉
Astor Smoothie IDR 35K
I always love Astor and it was immediately on the order list when I saw it on the menu. The smoothie actually tasted like Astor and some Astor sticks were also put on the side. I love this drink because it tasted just like what it should have been and wasn’t too sweet. Good job!
Iced Butter Scotch Latte IDR 37K
Love, love, love the butterscotch latte, very distinctive taste, not too milky and refreshing. If you happen to be a fan of butterscotch like me, don’t miss this one!
Overall, a very nice and comfortable place to dine in, have a coffee, work or write a blog (perhaps?), and even hang out and socialize. Finally, a place that doesn’t only sell place, interiors or appearances, and also focus on its main purpose, food and drink. FYI, Typology Cafe is currently still in its Opening time so it opens everyday from 4pm only. And worse yet, during Ramadhan month, it seems like they are always fully booked during break-fasting time so it’s recommended to make reservation before your visit. Honestly, after my first visit, I did try making reservation for another visit on Sunday evening, and it was *again* fully booked so maybe this situation will get better after Idul Fitri ends.
*All prices are subject to 5% service charge & 10% government tax
** The Food Escape team are not paid whatsoever for writing this post.
Jl. Wijaya I No. 5C
Kebayoran Baru
Jakarta Selatan 12160
Opening Hours:
Sun-Thu 10AM – 11PM
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