Lately there are quite lots of casual eating (and hangout) places opening in Jakarta, and the latest one would be a cute place named FAME. FAME itself is simply abbreviation of Food, Art, Menteng, and Est, with a logo seems to be inspired by the infamous Hollywood signage, if you know what I mean.
FAME takes the same place with Martabak Boss Menteng branch at Jalan Haji Agus Salim 60, close to Sarinah Department Store, PISA Kafe Menteng, or St. Theresia School. Although I thought this is just like other type of trending food courts, actually it is not, and all the food vendors available here in FAME are managed directly by the owners of Martabak Boss itself.
The place itself is not too big but luckily, they have 2 seating areas and the indoor area has air conditioners installed.
Once inside, I love the industrial design of the place, especially the pipe-alike ceiling lights. You can also see the famous celebrities murals on the wall, like Elvis Presley, Marylin Monroe, Paris Hilton, even Justin Bieber, all accompanied with Indonesian cuisine, LOL.
FAME consists of few vendors like Warteg Express, Sate Sosial & Beer, Mad Rice, Noodle Station, and of course, Martabak Boss. The Warteg Express seems to be the main point of this place; and just like typical Indonesian warteg (small street vendors selling various Indonesian dishes and served with rice), they showcase all the available dishes on the table and we just pick whatever we want.
We tried almost everything they had that day and we must say we were quite impressed by the quality and flavors of the food. It was difficult to pick my most favorite dish, but we all agreed that the Bakwan Jagung (corn fritters) and Tumis Kacang Panjang (stir-fried long beans) are simply great. Mr. K loved the Rawon very much because it tasted bold, although I personally thought it was too oily.
Here you can choose to order the dishes in “rames” way (mix with rice) or order it a la carte and share with your friends on your table. Of course, the “rames” way will cost lower depends on what you pick, but a la carte portions are definitely bigger and you can share with your dining partners. I tried both ways and honestly, if you want to experience the original Indonesian “warteg” style, you will have to try the “rames” way!
I was surprised to see Ikan Pepes in the menu as well, and decided to try it. The pepes had a lovely aromatic smell and we were ecstatic to see so much seasonings when we opened the wrap. The taste was colorful but dominated by sweet flavor which I didn’t really like. Texture wise, I also found it too soft and difficult to enjoy due to the massive amounts of fish bones everywhere.
Another eye-catching dish was the Karedok, which couldn’t be fresher. Unfortunately, the peanut sauce was too sweet for our likings although it was very fragrant!
According to FAME’s owner, one of their most recommended dishes is the Sop Buntut (Oxtail Soup) and luckily it was available that day. Although we agreed that the ingredients especially the oxtails are given generously in a portion, the soup tasted very light and gave very little impact to impress our taste buds. The meat was effortlessly taken off the bones and incredibly tender, too.
Another vendor was this Sate Sosial & Beer, serving Sate Ayam (Chicken Satay) and Sate Gokil with Serundeng (fried coconut flakes). The satays were meaty, well-seasoned, and grilled into perfection. Our favorite would be the Sate Gokil, especially the sweet serundeng! MUST TRY.
As satays can be enjoyed as snacks, FAME also has bar concept which served alcoholic drinks to accompany that. Heard that they will add more alcoholic beverages in the future, so you can always opt for some.
And since we have a Martabak Boss outlet just around there, we couldn’t leave without buying one or two pans, LOL! Tried their Red Velvet Martabak with Cream Cheese, Oreo, and Cheese, YUM!
Basically FAME is a good place to try if you love Indonesian food. Technically, they are still in soft opening mode right now and only open from 6.30PM until midnight everyday, but starting from mid March, hopefully they will open for lunch as well. We had great time visiting FAME and can’t wait to drop by again soon. Wish FAME the best of luck!
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*The Food Escape team are not paid whatsoever for writing this post.
** This review is written based on our visit on 22 February 2016.
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FAME at MARTABAK BOSS
Jalan H. Agus Salim No. 60
Jakarta 10350
Opening Hours (Soft Opening Periode)
Mon – Sun 6.30PM – midnight
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