Long story short, our trip entered the city toll road. In the middle of indecision about where to go, we decided to try the famous street-side nasi goreng (fried rice) at Taman Lembang Menteng area in Central Jakarta. We have heard from many people that it tastes very good and that you have to queue pretty long to get yours served. But unfortunately it turned out to be a WRONG DECISION!!! Last night there were so many break-fasting gatherings in Menteng area, so the traffic became extremely jammed due to many cars parked on the roadside. It was nearly 8 pm. And just to pass a-500 m road we have to spend 45 minutes. That was crazy!!!
I felt very sorry to my wife to choose a trip to Menteng that evening. A traffic-jam like this was certainly very stressful and frustrating. In the midst of turmoil heart, our distress was increasing because all of a sudden, I need to answer the call of nature, seriously!
We must seek a toilet that was clean and comfortable, ASAP! But, we didn't know where and we didn't see any sign of Petrol station where we can use the toilet. Thanks God! suddenly I saw the building of The Hermitage hotel right a few meters away from our vehicle. We decided to go there as soon as we could. "Hotel certainly has a toilet that is comfortable and clean", that was what we had in our minds.
Finally we arrived at the hotel. Wooowww! Seeing the hotel from the outside and a quick look at the guests who were waiting for their cars in the lobby, suddenly we felt very embarrassed. We did not dress well-enough for traveling to the hotel, especially for a hotel like this! Because we didn't plan to come here at all, moreover my son was in his pajama!!
My wife insisted that we better find other place that was more "grounded". She was so worried that we would be despised and underestimated because of our appearance. But I told her, I did not know where else to go, and I was so desperate for toilet.
Anxiously, we entered the hotel parking lot. We were greeted by a security guard and he helped me find a parking space and beyond our expectations, he was directing us to the entrance and opened the door for us. Hmmm...A very good start! (I thought in my heart). We used the elevator, and went straight to the lobby. While in the elevator, our son apparently smell a delicious chocolate aroma. And he immediately said,"I want chocolate! I want chocolate!" Arriving at the lobby, the first place we headed was certainly the toilet. At last! I felt so relieved!
Since we were already in the hotel, we ventured around to look at the hotel decor. It was unique and very colonial. The hotel walls were predominantly in white color and the lamps were also very classic and old-style. There were many old-fashioned photos and paintings decorated the walls, including the pictures of our late president Bung Karno and his beautiful Japanese wife Ma'm Dewi.
Actually we wanted to quickly get out and continue our journey again. But our son insisted to look for chocolate that he smelt in the elevator earlier. As a result, we asked one of the officers there, where we could find a cake shop. And we were directed to go to the lounge because there was a wide selection of cakes and drinks available.
Entering the lounge we were again enchanted with the room decor. Feels so antique and aristocratic. The lounge was divided into two areas, namely smoking and non-smoking. We were served by a waiter who was very friendly, and willing to answer anything we asked. His name was Hada. We greatly appreciate his hospitality and willingness to serve us even though we were dressed very bad for the premises like The Hermitage Hotel.
Colonial style door of the lounge
Lamp decoration
My son in his pajama and I was only wearing capri (knee-length) pants
Choice of Eclair and cake slice on the display rack
A perfect shape macaroon in various flavour IDR 30,000 each, that was why no matter how tasty it was, we had to stop our son from having too much..lol
The fluffy and melt in your mouth Lemon Meringue Eclair IDR 30,000 each
In addition we also ordered the Flamingo Pink Tea, which was recommended by Mas Hada. The tea was made from hibiscus flowers and had a very distinguished fragrant aroma.
Besides providing snacks and beverages, Hermitage Lounge also provides a selection of light meals. And their signature is Soto Betawi which was cooked with Wagyu beef instead of offal pieces ("jeroan" in my language) and we decided to give it a try.
After waiting a while, the Soto Betawi arrived. The appearance was very tempting and we couldn't wait to taste it right away. It was indeed remarkable! Very different from most Soto Betawi we've ever eaten before and it was quite spicy, it made it even more flavorful. It was quite a generous portion. We ordered only one bowl and we shared.
IDR 128,000/portion
The lounge also provides free Ta'jil (sweet food eaten upon breaking the fast for Moslem). There were three kinds of cookies and several kinds of dried dates. We tried them and They were very good!! especially the cheese cookies Kaasstengel.
From the left : Sugar cookies, Snow cookies and Cheese cookies
We also learnt that High-Tea is also available daily from 15:00-17:30 for IDR 128,000/set including drinks. There are two choices of Indonesian snack or Western snack. We will definitely come back to try the high-tea and blog about it. Subscribe for more updates...See ya
Ratings for this lounge :
Taste *****
Ambiance *****
Service *****
Find them here:
The Hermitage Hotel
Jl. Cilacap No.1, Menteng, Jakarta Pusat 10310
Phone : 021 31926888
Everything written here is based on my own experience and genuine opinion. I have not been offered any incentives or payment to write this review.
TripAdvisor : AdeHilman
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