Pipiltin Cocoa : a little too late.. (depending on how you see it)

I believe there are always two sides to every story, two ways on seeing how things go and two ways to decide which side you are on. A little epiphany caused by my own idiocy on the term of what so called 'a little too late', put me into some thinking about perceiving it into two perspectives. It may get a bit out of topic from reviewing Pipiltin, but if you have the spare time to carry on reading, I hope it'll amuse you..

SELF-IDIOCY :
For starters, I was given two discount vouchers to enjoy Pipiltin's artisanal plated dessert. Despite the fact that I had been looking at it for more than a couple of times, I failed to realize that there was an expiry date. I came just a few days after and innocently handed the vouchers to the confused waitress. A little too late.. In here, the term late has turned into something permanently wasteful. There's just nothing you can do about it to make things right, to make it the way you want things to be.. A little too late, when the 'little' makes a big difference..

If you let yourself see things from the other side :
The trend of serving deconstructed and plated dessert has existed for quite a while in the international food industry. Although, we are a little too late in tailing this trend, Pipiltin has managed to stay only a little too late, in other words, still has the chance to catch up as it is the pioneer which serves plated desserts in Indonesia.. This fact, in fact, contradicts to my first perspective. The term a little late became almost apologetically fine. Unlike my previous story, Pipiltin has the chance to catch up and make things right. I assume, soon, there will be new cafes copying the same thing.. Soon..

For what it's worth, this is a spontaneous brief post. For what it's worth, I hope you get what I meant. I hope you can see things from the other perspective, from a better perspective for a better insight. Okay, enough procrastinating.. Here's the deal..

A dessert cafe which serves their own bean to bar processed chocolate!

First thing you will see is their own chocolate factory. I even saw the cocoa beans myself!

The cafe is placed on the second floor.. So up up you go..

Filled with wooden furniture in an industrial minimalist interior, the whole place screams simplicity as its best. They are definitely trying to sell their products, not only the ambiance itself. It'll be perfect if they put on some classic jazz songs.. 

Just for a quick view of the whole place.. Plus that poor forever alone Caucasian (who seemed really sad).. 

This big poster tells you the simplified steps of chocolate making..

The menu with animated cocoa beans..

Colorful macarons and flavored chocolates were presented in the middle of the cafe. A good strategy to lure the sweet tooth to spend their money on these babies..

Earl Grey Tea (25k)

Spicy Cinnamon Chocolate (33k). It's really spicy. Well, not in a 'fiery I wanna kill myself' way. It's the perfect drink for a cold rainy day! The mild cinnamon heat gave that extra 'mmph' which differentiates itself from a normal hot chocolate..

Devil Chocolate Brownie (45k). Well well, I am a sucker for desserts. Brownie topped with velvety, slightly thicker chocolate lace and a scoop of double vanilla ice cream. Completed with some crumbs I couldn't exactly tell what it's made from, but to sum things up, I had a brownie sugar rush!

Tabanan Chocolate 64% (50k). It is a completion of mousse, spiced creameaux, chocolate pearl, and dehydrated chocolate mousse (as written in the menu). But since we might have a difficult time in guessing which one is which, I make my own version of explanation. The foam : I could barely taste any scent or flavor. Chocolate balls : Inside was thick chocolate filling. The caviar-like : the chocolate pearl (Guessing), but it was also kinda bland. I'm assuming it's made to balance the sweetness from the chocolate balls. The lump of what looks like little balls of poo : well, it was yummy, in spite of what it looks like. Last but not least, there were those slabs of whatever that is, instantly melts when put it inside your mouth. Ouh, as if it weren't enough, you'll get that little pop rocks-like that will explode in your mouth.. 

Well, two plated desserts seemed reasonable to be gobbled by two people. I, in one perspective, was very optimistic in finishing both. On the other hand, my so called zombie companion, hated the idea of ordering all chocolaty desserts (Now you know who ordered the hot chocolate and who ordered the tea).

I hate to admit, but Mr.zombie was right. My burning optimism seemed to cool itself down.. I was so hyped up from all the sugar rush before I can finish the whole thing and found myself sick of the sweetness. In which I can now add a third conclusion, the third case of seeing things: Your mind plays tricks on you!! LOL

Pipiltin Cocoa
Jl. Barito II no.5
Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pipiltin-Cocoa/518558441524346?fref=ts

That Certain Feeling I Can't Find Elsewhere

Have you ever put a thought that lately, most of the newcomers in the restaurant industry are just here racing each other to get the hippest attention, to have the most bizarre interior or maybe just, as much as possible, intact themselves with the YOLO generation attitude. You see, they sorta build this current, should I say, "trend", or maybe this atrocious image that the upper middle hedonist class is immune to the fact that they're hunting for ambiance, instead of what is called real good food experience. I can't say that I am against the public's embrace, for what it's worth, those places do enrich the diverse existence of the food industry itself. In fact, I do occasionally enjoy myself, having that one other type of experience, and in every once in a while, I do make a review out of it. Well, who am I to complain about their on growing lineage?

Well, that is just an opening for this post. It has nothing to do with whatsoever I am going to write in the next few minutes. Tiresome of the swagalicious attitude of going from one affliated cafes to another, I decided to write a humble post on a family restaurant that I have been visiting since I have the capability of recalling my own memory.

The name of the owner is the name of the place itself. Simple, no fuss, you order, you eat, you pay, you go home. Specializing in Borneo Chinese home cooking, this is the one place I visit to recollect that certain feeling I can't find elsewhere. Yes, it is a personal thing, almost sentimental perhaps, as this place reminds me of my half identity as a descendant of a great Borneo man, or that familiar comfort and satisfaction I get from the food (which I never find boring in anyway)

FAVORITE THINGS TO ORDER, PROBABLY THE BEST I HAVE EVER EATEN:

Hekeng (30k) (Hakong in khek/hakka dialect), a shrimp with pork lard wrapped, cut and fried in slices, ngohiong alike, but it's not sweet at all.. You eat it with a honey-like sauce, made from sonkit(a type of lime) and caramelized sugar. So far, this is the best place to eat hekeng (including the sauce)

Old Pop's favorite! Fried horfun (30k) with his special request. "Make it a bit saucy", he would say, resulting this horfun a bit like bun horfun, slightly darker. The chef and the owner have known what his loyal customer's favorite request that they'd cook it without further questions

Also my favorite. Pakis with crispy fried anchovies and shrimp paste (25k). A bit crunchy, it has that slimy after taste. Dad said that it grows wildly, probably a cheap commodity. However, I fell greatly in love with these greens from the first time I got the chance to try it.

RANDOM THING/s WE KEEP ORDERING:
A dish we'll order once in a while to entertain our taste buds. I have probably eaten better dishes made somewhere else, but since I have a special thing for this place, I barely did any sort of complain and just ate it with on-going appetite.

Mundane mun tofu with lots of shrimp and minced pork (40k). Actually, this is not how I picture mun tofu in my mind. But what to expect from a simple humble family restaurant. I still found it pretty decent to eat!

Notes to add:
1. Hands down, this is the place to get the best fried Hekeng. I've tried several other Borneo Chinese restaurant, they just don't have it the way I like it. Either the slices were too thick or they put too much flour, I just couldn't find any other places that serve it to my standardized personal bar.

2. Instead of using only shrimps and pork, the fried horfun also has this mushy dark sausage like made from flour and shrimp (I supposed). It has a bit of sweet savory touch to it. My personal favorite filling compared to the others. Can't find it else where. My Dad will always take a big portion of the horfun and leave that flour sausage alone for me to have.

3. They sometimes serve baby sharks. God knows where they got it from, but it's actually one of my Dad's favorite (before I told him not to order it anymore as my concern to WWF's #SOSharks campaign, plus the mercury level on sharks is way over the top). They usually cook it with this warm homey ginger sauce. The texture of the fish is mushy with that thick layer of shark's skin. It's not fishy and you won't find many bones in the meat. BUT THAT'S ALL IN THE PAST! (just to make things clear) ;p

Rumah Makan AHON
Jl. Jembatan Lima Raya No. 183D, Jakarta
Phone : (021) 6255905