Bakmi Gajah Mada - Emporium Pluit

Went there last week for Saturday lunch after a few months absent and I promised myself not to order the same one as I usually did, the Chilly Beef noodle.

As usual, we've got to pay first, only then the order is put through to the kitchen.



For drinks we ordered some ice green tea and warm tea (since I've got a bad flu to conquer before the ultimate Chinese New Year feast the week after).



Anyway, the four of us ordered a few entrees and each ordered a noodle. Of course, we got to order the ever-famous fried dumplins. I'd say, this is probably their winning formula to grow from a small noodle shop along Gajah Mada Road to being a house-hold name in noodles in Jakarta. If one hadn't tried the "pangsit goreng", one had not had bakmi gajah mada. The sweet and sour sauce accompanying the fried dumplings, too, had not changed a bit since I first had it maybe some 20 years ago.

Now, the dumpling is not oily at all. Nor is it crunchy like the usual oil-absorbing-dumpling-skin some other shops sell. Many noodle shops / Chinese restaurants tried to copy the dumpling, but of course to no vail. They just can't make the oil go away. In the past, My brother and I had a theory they might not fry the dumpling at all, but of course, baking them would not work either. And other theory include frying them in a very very high heat for seconds, then quickly scoop them up before the oil starts to get absorbed.



We also ordered the soup dumplings, which IMO, is crap. If only the standard of the soup ones is as good as the fried ones, they'll be more successful. We tried the chicken siomay as well. Another disappointment! Tasteless, oily, and super oily.





Let's move on the main course. I ordered the broccoli beef noodle, something different than the usual. It was just OK. The sauce was too thick and the noodles was a little bit over-cooked. But the broccoli and beef were complimenting the downsides.



Then we ordered one of the new menu, Thai chicken noodle. The chicken was grilled, not too oily and crispy. The sauce accompanying was also very Thai, sweet and sour.



Of course, as usual, one of us must order the chilly beef noodle. In the end, we ordered a couple portions. Anyway, to me this is the best noodle they have. The beef is very tender and the dish was not spicy at all considering the name itself. Ever since the price of chilly hiking up since the past months or so, it seems, they also cut down the quantity used.



Prices as of 29 Jan 2011
Fried Dumpling (5 pieces) Rp10k
Soup Dumpling (5 pieces) Rp9k
Fried Chicken Siomay (2 pieces) Rp13k
Broccoli Beef Noodle 30k
Thai Chicken Noodle 22k
Chilly Beef Noodle 30k

Restaurant Info:
Bakmi Gajah Mada - Emporium Pluit Mall, Lt 2. Jakarta Utara
Phone Number: 021-6667-6399

(Go to http://www.bakmigm.com/outlets/jakarta for more info)