Cycle 16 – Item 279
Post 5,758
11 (Sat) October 2025
Chicken & Beef Platter
1.0
at Paulaner Bräuhaus
(Grand Indonesia)
-Jakarta, Indonesia-
solo
Living Aboard the Mola Mola: Day -2 of 7
-
- Day -4 (16.277 Nasi Goreng Kampoeng)
- Day -3 (16.278 Ikan Bakar)
- Day -2 (16.279 Chicken & Beef Platter)
- Day -1 (16.280 Buntut Goreng)
- Day 1 (16.281 Beef Semur)
- Day 2 (16.282 Egg Fuyunghai)
- Day 3 (16.283 Egg Balado)
- Day 4 (16.284 Ayam Goreng Lengkuas)
- Day 5 (16.285 Hotpot)
- Day 6 (16.286 Beef Rendang)
In Indonesia. Here for a 7-day liveaboard scuba diving trip: sailing across the Banda Sea on board the MSY Mola Mola, while diving, eating, drinking, sleeping (i.e., “living aboard”) the boat. The Banda Sea is one of four seas surrounding the archipelago of Maluku Islands aka the Spice Islands (where European powers fought wars during the 16th-17th centuries to gain control of the islands’ abundant spices, such as nutmeg, cloves, and mace). Primary objective: sighting schools of hammerhead sharks. (Two prior liveaboard trips were both to the Maldives aboard the MV Adora (see previously 14.062 Sautéed Sword Lettuce (Three Times) (2023) (9.191 Grilled Beef Tenderloin (2018).) My first time ever in Indonesia – who knows if I’ll ever return? – I arrived a few days early to maximize the visit and hang out in Jakarta.
BREAKFAST
Like with evening cocktails, the executive lounge offers a breakfast menu with items prepared upon order.
Like with evening cocktails, the food was mediocre.
INK
Adding to my airport code tattoo collection (see most recently 16.203 Niu Rou Mian), I got one for CGK (Soekarno-Hatta International Airport) – i.e., Jakarta.
DINNER
Paulaner Bräuhaus is a German pub-restaurant. Specializes in Paulaner draft beers, brewed on-site, as well as Bavarian-style eats, mostly sausages. Affiliate restaurant of Hotel Indonesia Kempinski.
German food, especially sausages, is not really my thing.
And on my final evening in Jakarta, I would’ve preferred eating something local.
But my room came with a $50 credit and – long story short – Paulaner Bräuhaus was the only viable option.
Also, while making the reservation, the manager of the hotel executive lounge had requested the restaurant manager to arrange a secret something special for me, so I had to go.
The secret something special turned out to be a tasting flight of beers.
So long as I was there, I ordered a platter, just to sample a bit of everything. It came with 3 geflügelwürste (chicken Vienna sausages) + 3 rinderwürst (beef sausages) + 2 hühnchenschnitzel (chicken schnitzel) + 2 leberkäs (beef meatloaf) + hähnchen serviert (half roast chicken) + French fries. All for just IDR 455,000 (about USD 27).
It was not good, across the board. The sausages were crumbly and flavorless. The schnitzel was greasy. The meatloaf was weird, like dense/bland SPAM. The chicken was dry. After exploratory nibbles, I got the remainder to go but eventually threw it away in my room.
(See RESTAURANTS IN INDONESIA)
(See GLOBAL FOOD GLOSSARY)
(See BOOZE)