IO, Jakarta – When it comes to restaurants that presents uniqueness with a variety of food menus serving Indonesian specialties in Jakarta, it seems like it is endless. Various kinds of processed foods combined with a cozy atmosphere is certainly the main choice of the capital’s residents as a place to unwind all daily activities. Now there is a new restaurant that has succeeded in stealing the attention of the current capital city residents, Kokonut & Curtains by Wakimukudo. Kokonut & Curtains brings the concept of a garden restaurant surrounded by an artificial lake and this restaurant is dominated by white wrapping on its exterior and interior, thus creating an atmosphere that is unstable. All the interior designs are apparently the result of Kokonut & Curtains’s collaboration with Hermione Skye who is a British designer and Wakimukudo creative director The Label. Hermione Skye herself often appeared in various international design and architecture magazines.
Kokonut & Curtains are located in the area of the Ria Senayan Park Complex still in one area with Pulau Dua Restaurant. My first impression when I entered the restaurant, was as if I was on vacation in Bali because in my opinion there were not many restaurants in Jakarta that apply the garden concept with themes like this. Mostly this concept is applied in the Bali region, for in Jakarta it seems I just found two restaurants with similar concepts namely Kokonut & Curtains and Cork and Screw country club Senayan. To enter Kokonut & Curtains visitors will pass a small bridge with a white curtain and inside all the seating and main dining room, all in white.
But what is unfortunate is that the weather in Jakarta is not so good lately, if you want to visit this restaurant it’s good to choose the right day so you don’t get wet when it rains. Some parts of the dining room are indeed closed, but not closed tightly. If the rain is mixed with wind you can be sure you will get soaked. I was lucky when I arrived there, visitors were not too crowded. Even though it’s still at lunch time on weekends too. But around 2pm, visitors began to increase, making it difficult to capture photos without appearing to be someone else.
But what is quite unfortunate in my opinion is that the food served is not as beautiful as the place. It seems that the restaurant management intentionally only sells the restaurant atmosphere rather than the food menu offered by this restaurant. Not only is the food menu disappointing, the service is equally bad in my opinion. All visitors who come must fight for seats because the absence of the restaurant crew welcoming guests and directing them to the respective dining tables are still empty. If this place is crowded it seems like the waiting list will not be provided by management, the guests will use a motto “the one comes fast, gets it”. I can only think positively, maybe this restaurant is still new, so all the systems that are implemented have not run perfectly and are still very messy.
At that time I ordered Oxtail Soup, which is one of comfort food for almost everyone. The calories are light and when added with lime drops it immediately feels fresh. In addition, the tail is also very soft and not difficult to remove using a cutlery. This menu is also equipped with a portion of skin crackers as a companion menu. Besides Oxtail Soup, I tried Fish dori wrapped in flour. The flour itself is not too thick and feels crisp when bitten. The meat is also soft. This is the first time I’ve eaten a sweet and sour sauce served with scrambled egg. The taste of the sauce itself is not too spicy with a balanced addition of sour and sweet. Coupled with the freshness of mango juice that I ordered, accompanying the freshness of my weekend when visiting this restaurant. (Aldo)