There is one particular cafe that looks I had been eyeing for sometime but I could just finally visit few days ago. From outside, it doesn’t look like a cafe but more like typical beauty or skin center in South Jakarta area. It is indeed connected to salon and beauty center in the upstairs, so my guess wasn’t entirely wrong. XD Ama2Gee Cafe, is probably not the most catchy name for a cafe, but apparently, this cafe already has many outlets in Jakarta, Bali and Yogyakarta.
I remember when the first time I passed this restaurant on the way back home from Mahakam area, I didn’t even manage to read the signboard and judging from the outlook, I simply thought this was a typical Western cafe, especially because of its French-themed exterior, complete with the canopy. To my surprise, Ama2Gee Cafe actually specializes in Indonesian food, precisely the infamous
Ayam Betutu Gilimanuk from Bali (which we already have the branches too in Jakarta, FYI). I really didn’t expect it at all, but seriously, what is with Indonesian food with French-themed restaurants? (remember
Arome Kafe, anyone?)
Stepping in, I found myself falling in love to the place even more. Warm, elegant furniture and decoration, instantly made me feel at home with touch of luxury. I chose to sit near the counter, a long table with surrounding sofas complete with cushions, and I simply love everything I saw.
As we are quite familiar with the menu (prices range from IDR 5K – 115K), without further ado, we made our order. Like usual system in Betutu Gilimanuk restaurants, we can choose to buy the chicken or duck (ayam or bebek betutu) by parts or whole. And also we can choose whether we want the original or deep-fried one. For easier personal order, we can also choose the package menu which already includes rice, 1/4 chicken or duck, sambal matah, plecing kangkung, kacang goreng, sambal terasi and sate lilit.
Nasi Campur Bali IDR 45K
Beside the betutu stuffs, there is a complete option and this one was pretty nice, like we can find in Bali. Gosh, I miss my good ol’ days in Bali sometimes!
Paket Nasi Ayam Betutu Goreng IDR 50K
What I love about the package menu is that it comes with some side dishes that if we mix altogether, it becomes more delicious. I personally really love sambal matah and the nuts, usually I mix them together and pour on top the rice. Plus, Balinese sambal terasi is quite different from Javanese one, as it usually has less odor but still tastes strong. The plecing kangkung was nice and fresh, although I prefer to have these in Bali as they usually use Lombok’s kangkung, which is bigger and thicker. Chicken part was big and full of meat, deep-fried into perfection.
Paket Nasi Ayam Betutu Kuah IDR 45K
Same package with above, only the chicken was the original one and this is usually my order. The difference is this is not deep-fried so I believe I can taste the seasoning more. This tastes very similar with what I usually had in Bali but it was much more oily (look at the oily soup!).
Lasagna IDR 25K
You might think “what is a lasagna doing in this place?”, but really, this cafe is so random but that makes it cute, hahaha! So when you enter the place, you’ll notice there is a counter by a side of the room and there is a glass display showing baked stuffs that they can warm them up for you, including this. There are also many other stuffs like macaroni schotel or such, but the lasagna looked more appetizing so we picked that one. It was not exactly true after I tried it, the lasagna didn’t even taste like lasagna, it was more like cheap pasta with random tomato sauce, cheese, and some fillings. I don’t remember what the fillings were but I think it was something like minced beef, carrot etc, which actually reminded me of fillings for pastel panggang or pastel tutup. The portion was also ridiculously small, so seriously I don’t see any logic reason why I should recommend this to anybody.
Overall, I love the place. And they have like, HUGE parking area. Plus there is a hair salon and beauty center (scrub, spa, waxing etc) upstairs so it is a great place to unwind and get some me time once a while. If I want some Ayam Betutu Gilimanuk stuff, I would rather come here so I think I will come back often! 😉
*The Food Escape team are not paid whatsoever for writing this post.
Jl. Sampit I No. 59-60
Kebayoran Baru
South Jakarta 12130
You shared good information about AMA2GEE CAFE. My friends visited this place. I did not take a chance to visit it. He told me the atmosphere is great. There provides foods are delicious. I have decided to go South Jakarta after my us west coast bus tours. He knows that my taste so he suggest me don’t miss to visit this Cafe. You shared information is also very useful for me.