Djournal Coffee & Bar

Oh my gosh, it's been soooo long since my very last post here, quite frankly I miss it. Things has been quite hectic with all my campus projects and freelance works (freelance graphic design stuffs, in case you're wondering). I hardly had the time to chill, hangout with fellas and tryout new restaurants. After quite a while, I finally got the chance to go to this newly opened cafe & bar, located at Grand Indonesia Mall, DJOURNAL.

Me and some of my fellas have been waiting for this cafe to open, because it looks like it's gonna be a cool place, especially knowing that it's created by Ismaya Group, one of the coolest business groups around here. And my predictions are true, the place is super kewl.

Since I'm a design kid, I enjoyed the designs very very much. I love the "Take a Smile" concept of spreading business cards as well as the color scheme of the place. The graphics work well with the style of the place, adopting vintage classy feel and the warmth of hand-painted things. Everything is well put-together. The place oozes out hipster aura as strong as a super saiyan oozes his super aura.

Okay, enough with my design talk and let's move on to the place's tongue-pleasers. They serve coffees, teas, light bites and of course, desserts. I ordered one of the barista combos there, and they are......

Nutella + Cappuccino Barista Deal : 55k

Ta-Da! The mighty duo of Nutella Cake + Hot Cappuccino! I'm such a huge Nutella fan so I had high expectations on this one cake.

The Nutella cake is out of this world. Really. The outer layer is soft cream with soft taste and the inner layer is the "punch of sweetness" with moist and crunchy texture. The cake is a mixture of dark chocolate flavor with strong hazelnut and Nutella here and there. I completely loved it. I took each bite, pause the conversation, and go "Mmmmmh.." like really, because it's THAT good. Even my friend is amazed by my reaction towards the cake. A little taste of heaven I may say. My advice to you cake goers, TRY THIS.

I took the Cappuccino without adding sugar, I like that it balances the sweetness of the cake. Plus points for the cup color, matches Bingo really well :D
Overall, I recommend Djournal for anyone who is looking for a nice place to hangout, talk, work, or just collecting some thoughts. I will come back here for sure some time. If you see a girl with geeky glasses, a Nikon DSLR and some little toys on the table, it will probably be me.

Address:
Grand Indonesia Shopping Town, West Mall, Ground Floor
Jl. MH Thamrin 1, Jakarta

Price:
+/- Rp. 40.000 - Rp. 65.000 / person

Rate:
9 / 10

The GOODS Diner

My first Jakarta restaurant review! Been wanting to review this place for a while since this is one of the current top hangout spots in Jakarta. This GOODS Diner franchise is a branch from the GOODS Dept. store, also a well-known store for today's hipster generation :9 This place is located at a building formerly known as "Bengkel", very near to Pacific Place Mall.

I like the ambient of this place, like a classic diner and LOTS of light, making it easier to take bright pictures :D So, first off I ordered an appetizer which is Squid with caper, french fries, and mayo.

The fries are nice, got the right amount of crisp and saltiness. I also enjoy the Squid, it is quite tender, not sandal-like, and nicely seasoned. The use of caper also compliments the fresh lemony taste from the extra lemon there. And lastly the mayo, well, to me, mayo can (almost) never go wrong, specially with squids, fries....and lots of other things lol :P Anyway, I came here with my campus pals, Bikki and Gabby. Trying out a new restaurant with a couple of friends is better than doing it alone since I could try more food (and split up the bill) *grin* My friend, Gabby, ordered the restaurant's signature Coffee Rubbed Burger.

This burger comes with fries and veggies (as the picture above shows). The coffee enhances the meat flavor which makes this a must try for meat lovers ( like me! yes, I'm more to carnivore :P ). The bread is a bit thicker than most burgers, the texture is okay though. This burger may be a bit pricey, but I guess it's pretty worth it. Next meal, me and Bikki's choice, the Nacho Burger!

Those who likes Nachos will surely enjoy this one. Jalapenos, melted cheese, salsa, and nacho chips are in this burger. Too bad there are no baked beans, but I think it still tastes great :D For the drink, me and Bikki ordered Bailey's Milkshake which is also this place's signature creation.

I honestly think that this milkshake is one of the best I ever had. The thickness is right and it's not over-sweet. Last but not least, we ordered a slice of Red Velvet Cake for dessert.

I know the Red Velvet cake is a bit too mainstream right now among Jakartans, but we're curious to try this restaurant's version of it, and it was really nice. Bikki even thought that this is her favorite Red Velvet cake! The moisture of the cake is just right, quite condensed and the taste is not over-sweet. The cheese cream complements the cake nicely. I would love to have another round of this cake when I need a mood booster :9 Overall, I would say this is a quite expensive place, but it's worth the visit. The ambience is really suitable for hanging and chatting around, plus the foods and drinks are quite tasty :)

Address:
Jl. Jend. Sudirman Kav. 52-53
Fairgrounds, Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan
Price:
Rp 90.000 - Rp 180.000 / person
Rate:
8,8/10