Photo source: M Bloc space (Facebook)
Rows of old houses that used to look deserted and unmaintained have now been transformed into a creative space called M Bloc Space, which is worth a visit by creative young people. The vintage-style houses were formerly official houses owned by Public Enterprise for Banknotes Printing and Minting of the Republic of Indonesia (Perum Peruri). This creative space comes thanks to the collaboration between Perum Peruri and PT Ruang Millenial.
M Bloc Space was officially opened in September 2019. Apart from being a creative space, this place also includes several cafes and restaurants. If you are interested in visiting M Bloc Space and want to try the culinary, Alinear has some good recommendations for you.
1. _Oeang
In our opinion, _Oeang is the most crowded restaurant at M Bloc Space. This place also occupies the most extensive area among other eating places. You can enjoy a variety of foods and drinks both Indonesian and Western, including local coffee concoctions.
Photo credit: Instagram @_oeang
Call it _Oeang Big Breakfast (Rp. 65 thousand), Typical Oedoek Rice _ Rpe (Rp. 40/45 thousand), Carbonara Mushroom Soup (Rp. 40 thousand), Pizza Gado-Gado (Rp. 45 thousand), to Fried Balls (Rp. 35 thousand) thousand). For coffee fans, you should try _Oeang Kopi Cendol (Rp 30 thousand), the combination of _Oeang House Blend with cendol is going to make you hooked.
This place is also equipped with a bar, where you can order alcoholic drinks such as beer, soju, vodka, gin, to whiskey, with a price range of Rp 45 thousand to Rp 155 thousand. _Oeang also offers Signature Cocktails for Rp. 85 thousand, such as Selendang Soetra, Senandoeng Manis, and _Oeang on The Rock. Uniquely, the bar at M Bloc Space also provides traditional cocktails such as Kecombrang Negroni and Jingga Spiritz.
Instagram: @_oeang
2. Chickro
As the name implies, Chickro which stands for Chicken Roasted, the mainstay menu of the restaurant at M Bloc Space is roasted chicken. There are also packages for this menu such as Whole Roasted Chicken, 1/4 Roasted Chicken, and Rice + Chicken Package.
Photo credit: Instagram @chickro_jkt
You can try Roasted Chicken + Rice Package for Rp. 30,000 is guaranteed to make your belly full because the roasted chicken is jumbo. Before serving, the chicken has been roasted using a special machine for about 2 hours, so that the texture of the chicken meat is more tender and softer. After that, the chicken was seasoned with honey and other ingredients.
A plate of roasted chicken and rice also comes with slices of cucumber and chili sauce. For the dessert, you can order Chocolate Cheese Nogat Bread (Rp. 35,000) which is no less tasty.
Instagram: @chickro_jkt
3. Padang To Go
For fans of Padang cuisine or Kapau Rice, you should stop by Darius Sinathrya and Donna Agnesia's restaurant! As the name implies, the restaurant at M Bloc Space which is located at the far end serves typical West Sumatran dishes, one of which is Kapau rice.
There are about 16 menus to choose from, from Rendang, Chicken Curry, Batokok Beef Jerky, Beef Intestine Curry, to Pop Chicken. A portion of Kapau rice is also completed with cassava leaves and jackfruits.
Photo credit: Instagram @padangtogo_
Best seller here is batokok jerky (dendeng balado) and pop chicken. Like Padang restaurants in general, here you can also choose side dishes as you want. But if you want a more economical one, you can order beef jerky rice for Rp 35 thousand, including mineral water.
4. Mbok Ndoro
As the name implies, this restaurant provides warteg-style Javanese food but packaged more classy. Foods that you can taste here such as Balado Egg, Satay, Gudek, Pecel, Ramesan, botok, various fried foods, and others. The rice is not only white rice, there are also red rice, and savory rice.
Photo credit: Instagram @mbok.ndoro
This place is perfect for you who are hungry, but also want to save money. The price offered ranges from Rp 20 thousand to Rp 35 thousand, for satay only Rp 5,000 per stick. Here you can also enjoy signature Javanese drinks such as Kunyit Asem, Gula Asem, Beras Kencur, Wedang Tape Ijo, and Es Grim Jowo with a price range of Rp 12 thousand to Rp 15 thousand.
Instagram: @mbok.ndoro
5. Kedai Katong
One of the coffee shops in M Bloc Space is owned by legendary Indonesian musicians, Ridho Slank and Once Meckel. Kedai Katong offers two menu categories, signature Maluku coffee menu from Ridho, and signature Manadonese cuisine from Once.
Photo credit: Instagram @katongkedaikopi
The concept of this shop is similar to warteg, where you can choose the side dishes you want to eat. The types of side dishes also vary, there are Cakalang fish, green chili squid, Dabu-Dabu sauce, to corn Bakwan. For coffee, there is spice coffee, TMG milk coffee with a mixture of palm sugar, to single-origin coffee from Maluku. If you don't like coffee, Kedai Katong also offers non-coffee drinks such as Thai Tea, Thai Green Tea, ice soda, and fresh juice.
Instagram: @katongkedaikopi