Mantra Restaurant, serving various Indonesian food.
Kitchenesia.com - The Kuningan area in Jakarta beats in almost 24 hours, a mingle pot for opportunities seekers, financial turnovers, and of course plenty of eatery options.
And for a restaurant that offers hometown dishes, Mantra is among the dozens of other restaurants alike, big or small.
However, most of them tend to be ‘ethnically specific’, meaning they only sell dishes from one region only, such as Padangnese restaurant or Javanese restaurant.
It is quite unlikely for you to find various traditional dishes from many areas in Indonesia served on one table, unless you’re eager to visit them one by one and eat them at home .
Recently I decided to go to Mantra before lunch time, the restaurant located in Kota Kasablanka underground floor, right in the corner near Carrefour.
The design keeps everything simple.
Line patterns overlay the walls, setting the traditional ambience.
There are approximately 20 tables in the restaurant, with various seats made of cushions-like sofa and wicker.
The menu is busy with dishes that showcase traditional cuisine accross Indonesia; from seafoods, noodles, curry, and certainly various sambals.
The waitresses, though, wear Batik.
It would take you a while to understand what kind of “Indonesia’s traditional food" they pick as the signature theme.
Mr. Danang, Area Manager of Mantra Restaurant, gave us enlightment.