Sandwiches can be extremely subjective. A man tuna trash is treasure of another turkey. To avoid coming to blows on butties, certain principles can be applied to ensure satisfaction sarnie: the freshness of the ingredients. Quality of the source. Yumminess of bread. adequate reporting filling bread. These things can make or break your lunch. Brown Bag in Kemang knows -. And aims to score high on all counts
The Brown Bag location is a bit like his nickname - a bit of a surprise, all packed and hidden in the back Plaza Adorama on Jl. Kemang Raya. You do not necessarily know he was there, would not it a little sign on the front doors of the mini-mall. But since the separate section closed to smoke in front of the building (with windows facing) was opened a few months ago, foot traffic and pleasure, an original coffee, non-smoking upstairs has increases.
The first incarnation of Brown Bag was Glory Jeans Coffee, a franchise of the Gunawan family (who own Plaza Adorama) operating in their mini-mall from 2004. The execution of the operation convinced the family there was a demand in the region for freshly made, delicious sandwiches to go with the coffee of a decent family member learned while studying in Perth. Thus, the family opened Club Sandwich, which eventually turned into Brown Bag Kemang at the end of 2013. The sister location in Menteng has been open longer, since 2010, and has a slightly different emphasis - a breakfast to go with the coffee to the local offices of crowds.
Veg All Out
Kemang We visited the location on a Friday lunchtime - one of their busiest times. The space is small but comfortable, with exposed brick and large sofas to relax on. The centerpiece of the barista bar is valuable machine Lamazoto espresso from Italy, who works overtime churning out a high level of coffee.
Brown Bag have their own stations roasting coffee beans, which are interesting tailored to their locations. The only North Jakarta, serving the location Menteng, makes a strong coffee and more suited to local tastes, while for heavy expatriates Kemang, South roaster fact, a fruity sweet taste of their blend of Javanese and International beans. They sell bags of their coffee too for Rp.100,000, for those who want to taste the house.
The menu here extends from breakfast to lunch and dinner, with some great choices of hot meals that can be enjoyed anytime. But of course, the focus is here sandwiches - that's what we HomeD in
.The beauty of Brown Bag is that you can choose your bread. They humbly suggest the best option, in their opinion - but you are free to differ. You can also request to grill or untoasted. We took them as they come: Swiss Sandwich tuna (Rp.56,000) came on the black pepper and bread with onion, which was slightly crisp when toasted. The taste of tuna and Swiss cheese together was on hand for a sub, and certainly hit the spot.
The Veg All Out (Rp.48,000) is not a joke - it's a shock-block packed with vegetables perfectly cooked mushrooms, dried tomatoes, olive, pepper and onion, all smothered in tomato sauce and melted cheese on a toasted focaccia flat.
Even for a committed carnivore like myself, this sarnie enough to move to make you forget all about the taste of bacon or chicken (but if you really can not, establishment recommends its Club Sandwich Rp.68,000 - a popular classic).
I was impressed with their freshly squeezed juices. You can create your own or order one of their concoctions with guava as one of the fruits available. They exclusively use navel oranges imported because they provide a more juicy soft compression. It was a good start to our meal expenses.
Fish and Chips
Besides sandwiches, we also tasted the vegetable spring rolls (Rp.38,000) which was a very reasonable price for a considerable portion of long, stuffed rolls - and the vegetables inside were tasty. We also chose the fish and chips (Rp.70,000), to try one of their popular hot dishes. We were pleasantly surprised: they had bent over the fish inside dory for a rounder, more wedge-pin enclosed in a dough to light beer, which was not too crispy or too soft. It was with chunky chips and a decent tartare sauce -. Overall, quite satisfactory
An alternative choice is their hot roast chicken, a simple dish that has found many fans in Kemang location. Otherwise, the kitchen serves a full selection of pastas, lasagna to carbonara , where the sauces are made off site.
We could not leave without a coffee and cappuccino straight-up is pretty good. They could perhaps consider offering skim milk or soy milk, just to up the ante on their many competitors in the region. My companion tried the Javanese tea rather special, which came with a custom tea pot and cups, sugar rock and a very delicate flavor.
Finally, we capitulated and ordered a chocolate brownie for a sweet ending. Although a bit more like a brownie-like cake, it was served with a small fresh strawberry and good vanilla ice cream, and went down with no complaints.
What would I go back to? Certainly coffee and sandwiches. I would like to see Brown Bag complement and differentiate their offering with really special homemade muffins to go with that caffeine thirst morning. I also suspect that they could still live up to their name, most corner of the local market and even overcome the very slight disadvantage to their somewhat hidden location by becoming the best coffee delivery service and sandwiches in Kemang. Now that would be something for even the most fervent of sandwich enemies might suit
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Brown Bag
Plaza Adorama, Lantai 2, Jl. Kemang Raya No. 17, Kemang, Jakarta 12730
62 (0) 21 7181010
Menteng Central, Ground Floor, Jl. HOS Cokroaminoto No. 78-80, Jakarta 10350
62 (0) 21 230 5000