harum manis jakarta

like kuala lumpur, jakarta is known for its street food, a variety as vast as the archipelago itself. and the mind boggling number of restaurants across the city of too many million people and gigantic grinding gridlocks.
but there is the food. and that helps though the mainly javanese diet is a tad too sweet for me.
the better half of sorts flew in and her friend recommended a decent restaurant for us to go to, as i was planning to celebrate her birthday. suffice to say the recommendation was great - a resto - as restaurants are called locally - named harum manis.
which also happens to be the name of a variety of mangoes. and you though it was only the alfonso.
the servings at harum manis is huge despite the decidedly high price for locals but decent enough for those from abroad as can be seen from some rave reviews.
we ordered standards like sop buntut, gado gado, some duck, crabs and of course keropok which came in a huge platter. the javanese cuisine and decor makes it a great restaurant to taste a bit of the rich indonesian cuisine.
the sop buntut was as good as i remembered it from another place a long time ago - the hotel sabang which now lays abandoned across from my jakarta office. the soup and quality ox-tail with almost no trace of fat was just too good to be true.
the duck or bebek was excellent as was the gado gado and the keropok. we were too full to touch the crabs but i heard it was great from a friend who took it off us.
what took the cake was the dessert. we had durian brule - creme brule with durian inside.
the heavenly creamy brule with its caramelised top combined rather well with the durian ensconced deep inside the brule.
it was a great end to a wonderful meal. she was happy. i am happy.
and if you want to be happy too in jakarta, then head to harum manis at the pavillion apartment retail arcade in jl kh. mas mansyur kav 24, jakarta 10220.
oh yes! you can order the durian brule for take-away but best consumed within hours. we nearly decided to take it across back to malaysia but it felt more comfortable in the stomach than a box.