Thursday, February 6, 2014

Talaga Sampireun Ancol


I love staying at Jakarta. For me, the city has almost everything I need but sometimes I do miss a change of scenery. As much as I love the metropolitan life, there are times when I wanted to be away from the city. Most of the times, I like to go to Bandung as even though the city has almost as traffic as here, well the traffic there mostly caused by Jakarta's people. LOL. Anyway, as I said, I love driving to Bandung for a short getaway as they have many diners with great greenery views. Some views to relax your mind for a while, and by you, I mean me.

Thankfully, Talaga Sampireun comes as a sweet escape for urban people who in need of something green and the feel of rural ambiance for a change. I always feel Sundanese cuisine are best eaten in a traditional restaurant with rural village kind of ambiance, and Talaga Sampireun has that. 





The moment I walked inside their huge space, I was hooked. Set as the biggest Sundanese restaurant in Jakarta, they offer indoor and outdoor dining, playground for kids and several private rooms for office gathering or lunch meeting. Oh yes, they also cater wedding reception. Overall, they have 24 Saungs (small pavilion built over fish ponds/ lake). If you are like me, person who don't do well in hot and humid place, be thankful as they have Saungs with AIR CON! I know, rite? 


Moving on to the feast...

Sop Iga Garang Asem (69k)
The dish is one of their specialty. Love the tender beef cubes but the soup was lack of sourness. As someone who is an addict of sour food and drinks, when I saw the dish, I pictured it to be sour and hot spicy at the same time, too bad it was not. Seeing how they managed to make the beef so tender, it would be perfect if the flavor was richer.


Udang Bakar Madu (85k), Tahu & Tempe Goreng (6k per pc)
My favorite seafood kind is shrimp and their grilled prawn with honey was more than good. It was fresh, crunchy, enough seasoning. Definitely a must try.



Dori Bumbu Lychee (49k)
What I like from the dish was probably the unique flavor, as most of others would cook the fish with sweet n sour sauce but not with Lychee fruits as part of it. The fish was nicely cooked, the sauce has a really good flavor and I loved the small Lychee bites.


Patin Bakar Bambu (99k)
Ok, silly me to forget to take a pic of what it looks on the inside. Another of their specialty which need 3-4 hours preparation where they marinate the fish, wrapped it inside the leaves and bamboo rods, then have it charcoal grilled for 3-4 hours. The result was a tender well marinated seasoning fish. Another dish which I forgot to take pic was the Nasi Liwet (rice seasoned with lemongrass and Indonesian spices, served with salted fish). Skip the standard white rice and go for their Nasi Liwet, you wont regret it. The rice was fragrant and savory.


Gurame Terbang (79k)
This was definitely my favorite among all. Fried Gurame has always been my must order whenever I eat at Sundanese restaurant, I'm happy to say theirs was delicious! Perfectly fried, super crisp and I loved how their Gurame didn't have any offensive soil smells. The fact that Talaga Sampireun breed the fish in their own fish ponds, selected and cooked upon order, makes the fish very fresh. Must try!


Those who can't stay away from chilli would be pleased to find how Talaga Sampireun has many choices of sambal to choose from. Sambal bajak, sambal geledek, sambal hejo, sambal mangga, sambal kemangi, sambal terasi (7k/pc). 


Es Jeruk Kelapa (29k) & Es Sirsak Talaga Sampireun (29k)
Sundanese restaurant is well known for their scrumptious traditional desserts, Es campur, es teler, es cincau, es kelapa, you name it, they have it. I normally always went for ice tea and plain water to accompany my meal, I know, I am so boring, but I don't really like having sweet drinks with my meal. However, occasionally whenever I go to Sundanese restaurant, I can't help to order one of their sweet drinks and desserts, they're just to tempting!


I went there at lunch time, around 11 and yes the weather was freakin' hot. I was sweating like a pig the entire time. As we were large group, we can't choose to sit at the air-con's saung as it only fits 15 people max. My recommendation would be to go there early evening around 5ish, where you can still see their amazing green view without suffocating from the hot weather, and it would be perfect timing to sit at their floating deck. The floating deck is a good spot for customers who want to enjoy the view but not really into sitting tatami style at the Saung


Talaga Sampireun Ancol
Jl. Lapangan Golf 7
Ancol, Pademangan Utara
(Enter Taman Impian Jaya Ancol, next to Dufan)
North Jakarta
Ph. +6221 64700400
http://talagasampireun.com/

Other outlet:
Blok B7/ N1 Boulevard Bintaro Jaya
Kawasan Niaga Bintaro Sektor 7
Ph. +6221 7453999
Opening soon at Puri, West Jakarta.

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