Baconerie
It’s no secret that a lot of food lovers in Jakarta have a soft spot for Kemang. With the place still being a regular haunt for expats even after all these years, Kemang is destined to be a culinary melting pot. Nowadays, a wide variety of restos can be found not just in the Kemang area but also in neighbouring areas such as along Jl. Benda and Jl. Ampera Raya.
The Benda area in particular seems like a younger and hipper version of Kemang Raya, you got so many new boutiques and restos popping up all the time, it’s difficult even to keep yourself updated! One of the newer kids on the block is Baconerie, an unassuming resto/café located at the Grove, which is nestled in the junction between Jl. Kemang Selatan Raya and Jl. Benda.
Baconerie has this homey feel to it with a semi-open kitchen on the 1st floor where you could actually see the staff do their magic. You would also be able to see all the pastries and cookies that they got on display right when you walked in. On the recently-opened 2nd floor, you got more dining area with a small smoking section.
Given that the place is rather new and that there are no shiny signboards to tell people where to find them (which is a good thing btw: if you got really good food and word of mouth is sufficient, why do you have to put up shiny signboards encouraging people to come in right?), at first I thought the place wouldn’t be too packed when I went there for lunch during weekdays.
Well I was wrong! The place was pretty packed and I was lucky I could get the last table on the 1st floor (there were more tables upstairs but me being me I was too lazy to walk up the stairs).
Okay so what’s so good about this place? Let me start off by saying that they make their own stuff! Homemade sausages, home cured bacon (yep you read that right. HOME CURED BACON! Here in Jakarta!), homemade jams, homemade buns, homemade cookies, homemade (almost) everything!
The overall menu mainly consists of breakfast staples and comfort food with a touch of Americana (candied bacon for appetizer anyone?). In addition, as I mentioned earlier, you can also check out their selection of freshly-baked goods as you walk in. Look at dem cinnamon rolls and ham & cheese buns!
Already salivating by now, I immediately ordered their choc chip cookie for entrée (okay no one eats cookies for entrée but like I said I was already very hungry). Unfortunately I didn’t take any picture of the cookie but I swear it’s super delish!
It’s so delicious I couldn’t tell my brain to stop eating so that I could take a pic of the cookie. The cookie reminds me a bit of those Mrs. Fields’ soft choc chip cookies, but better!
For my lunch I ordered the house special, the Baconerie burger plus fries on the side.
All restos out there which claim to be a burger joint: take note! THIS is how you do a proper burger. Get rid of all the fancy dressing and all the pretentiousness: a good burger comes down to the quality of the patty, the bun, and a good mix of subtle toppings.
Their homemade patty (mix of pork and beef) is amazing, it’s grilled perfectly: moist in the inside and slightly crunchy on the outside. They put their superbly-cured bacon on top of the patty along with some fresh greens and light aioli-like dressing. They put the additional condiments (pickled onions I believe and their own ketchup) on separate small bowls so picky eaters can also be accommodated.
The side dish of fries which I ordered was also superb. The fries were nicely cooked and they were neither too crunchy nor too soggy; they’re perfect! I asked for their garlic mayo dip and the dip was excellent. I strongly recommend ordering their garlic mayo for your fries when you got the chance to pay them a visit (if you like mayo that is).
After I was done with my meal, I had another glance at their menu and I noticed they’re also selling their home cured meats in frozen form. I only bought the 100gr American-style bacon but the uber nice lady who was serving me threw in several freebies for me.
Ta-dah! Okay so several is an understatement. She gave me samples of almost everything on their frozen cured meats menu I think! Thanks so much uber nice lady!
By the time this post is up I still haven’t finished all the meats btw, but the bacon and all the other ones which I have tried (the country ham and the pastrami) are delicious.
If you think my adventure in baconland was over, well think again folks. When I was about to pay at the register I couldn’t help myself and I bought a ham & cheese bun for takeaway.
The bun is awesome: small pieces of ham and (cheddar?) cheese being drizzled all over and the spread that they’re putting inside the bun is really tasty!
The bun was so filling and I am jealous of those lucky people that live nearby who could drop by and get the buns for breakfast on their way to work in the morning…….
So in all, I reckon this place is a definite must-try for all food maniacs out there! The place is so good, by the time I finish this write-up, I’m running out of adjectives to describe how good the place is!
Fingers crossed the place and the owner (she was seen manning her battle station when I was there) could consistently maintain the level of food awesomeness that this place got.
Food: |*****| Ambience: |**** | Price: |$$$ |
Opening hours: 07.00 AM – 07.00 PM most days (they are closed on some Mondays, better give them a call first beforehand)
Location: The Grove @ Kemang, Jl. Benda 1C, Jakarta Selatan 12560
Telephone: 021 7883 8291
NotPrinceCharming
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