Although this café is located in the area with same post code with our house, it’s not everyday thing that we visit this particular ruko (office houses complex). Welcoming the newest “kekinian” café named Waroeng Mama Ong, which is located inside Ruko Simprug Gallery, South Jakarta. The café is probably only around 1 weeks old by the time this post is written, and we can’t wait to reveal what we tried there.
Waroeng Mama Ong is easy to find because that’s the first thing you’ll see when you enter the Ruko complex area. Nested in seemingly independent building just near the entrance, it occupies quite a large and spacious area, separated into bigger dining and lounge area (no smoking) and another room for smoking area.
When I entered the café, I immediately fell in love to the homey and cozy atmosphere. Nothing is too much there, simple and practical, at least to me, because all I need is a comfortable sofa, electric socket, and speedy Wi-fi to kill hours in an ideal café. Oh yes, don’t forget some good drinks for sure.
Waroeng Mama Ong specializes in what (young) Indonesians love the most: modified Indomie dishes, breads and friends, accompanied with coffee and fancy drinks. There are not many things on the menu YET, but I believe café like this will definitely add more options as time goes by. Prices are relatively steep though (for such kind of dishes) but imagine you eat these food in a well-polished café with aircons on and internet connection. Prices for F&B range from IDR 10,000 to 29,000.
Colorful Chips IDR 20,000
We started with snack for appetizer, and we chose these colorful chips consisting of potatoes, sweet potatoes, and its kind. Quite enjoyable especially when eaten with the salsa-alike dipping sauce.
Indomie Dabu Dabu Tuna IDR 25,000
Honestly, I always think Indomie tastes best when it’s paired with something bold and spicy. So it was like a no brainer I was gonna pick this one. Dabu Dabu is a famous condiment from Manado which resembles Mexican salsa, because the ingredients are mixed together without being cooked (raw). I expected something hot and sour, with distinctive aroma from the raw chili, but I didn’t find those in this dish. The tuna was even worse because it had certain frozen smell which totally killed my appetite. While Dabu Dabu is all about freshness, this dish was a major failure in conveying such impression.
Well, at least the Indomie was cooked well.
Indomie Tom Yum IDR 28,000
If the first one was bad, this one was simply disaster. It tasted just like bland soupy Indomie with faint hint of shrimp flavor, because they certainly put lots of chopped seafood inside. Our friend who ordered this ended up asking for salt, pepper, and lime, only to enhance the flavors as much as she could. If you ask me, despite the mouth-watering presentation, it was tasteless.
Indomie Carbonara IDR 28,000
Another choice of yours truly and I was quite happy with this. It took about 15 minutes to prepare this, but it was worth the wait. The Indomie was magically transformed like real Carbonara pasta, and it was so tempting just to look at!
The noodle was cooked softer than the other two dishes above, drenched in heavy creamy sauce and served with generous serving of smoked beef and grated cheese. Taste was great and honestly, they did a very good job disguising a simple instant noodle to taste like a stylish pasta dish. Thumbs up!
Garlic Cheese Bread IDR 23,000
Indomie is not complete without Grilled Bread (Roti Bakar) and vice versa, right? So we ordered the recommended Garlic Cheese Bread as a dessert. The idea of grilled bread with melted cheese and garlic flavor on top was too good to be ignored, but my beautiful dream was crushed all of sudden because of the massive addition of chili (and tomato) sauce on top of the bread! NOOOOOOO!! T____T
The bread itself was actually quite nice, but it was difficult to taste the garlic and cheese when everything you saw is just orange and red lines of sauce. I think it would have been better if we have the options of using or not using the sauce instead of getting this as default.
So yeah, our first visit to Waroeng Mama Ong ended with not so good impression about the food, but I kinda feel that it’s still too early to judge anything. Currently they are still in Soft Opening mode, and even the Wi-Fi is not working yet, the only payment method available is cash only, but I think in the near future, when everything is settled already, things may get better (or at least that’s what I hope).
Seriously, I love the place, and can picture myself spending hours there with my laptop, but if the food and drinks are like now, I feel that I better go somewhere else. I think the first thing they have to take care of is more about maintaining the fresh ingredients to create better dish, because the thing that is stuck in my mind until now is the weird taste of frozen tuna in my Indomie Dabu Dabu Tuna. XD
Last but not least, we wish Waroeng Mama Ong all the best and success, hoping to see improvements if we visit another time! 😉
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*All prices are subject to 3% service charge & 10% government tax
** This review is written based on our visit on 10 May 2016.
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WAROENG MAMA ONG
Ruko Simprug Gallery
Jl. Teuku Nyak Arif No. 10
Kebayoran Lama
South Jakarta 12220
Phone. +62 21 7200 559
INSTAGRAM
Opening Hours:
Mon – Sun 8AM – 10PM
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