MooVina (Plaza Indonesia)

MooVina was opened by the same team (Svarna Group) behind Ocha & Bella, the popular Italian restaurant on Jalan Wahid Hasyim. The concept of MooVina is similar with long wooden tables and a lot of plants and flowers surrounding the restaurant. There is also a special attention to design with a few surprising items, and most important of all, good food prepared by an imported chef from France.

MooVina is not a copy of Ocha & Bella though. It is inspired by a romantic idea of France for the atmosphere, and the food combines French favourites with Vietnamese grill specialties.

It opened at the beginning of October 2012 and I'm sure it will be quite popular during the next few months. Please do not hesitate to share your thoughts about MooVina on this blog after you've experienced it.

MooVina Restaurant & Bar
Plaza Indonesia 3rd Floor #119 and 4th Floor #06
Jalan M.H. Thamrin Kav. 28-30
Jakarta, Indonesia 10350


Phone number:
Le Jardin +62-21 299 24567
Mezzanine +62-21 299 23999

Email: whatsup@moovina.com
Website: http://www.moovina.com
Twitter: Moovina Jakarta
Favebook: http://www.facebook.com/moovina/

The photos of MooVina on this blog review were taken on the twitter account of the restaurant.

Café Labu - Vietnam Valley

Café Labu "Vietnam Valley" is a Vietnamese restaurant in Jalan Labu, right in front of Jayakarta Hotel. On a Saturday night, at 10.30pm, there was only one other table with customers. The waiters were a bit slow and cold at first, but after I started asking questions in Indonesian, they became more friendly and helpful.

Apparently it was not the best time for a visit since many dishes on the menu were not available. They promised us that it if we had come for lunch, we wouldn't have had the same problem. We chose the Duck Spring Rolls (4 for Rp33k), the Phở (beef noodle soup for Rp30k), the Bánh Cuốn (roll with pork for Rp22k), and Fried Rice with Beef (Rp30k). The portions were quite big, I think one appetizer + one dish for one person is too much and it should be shared.

Apart from the beef with rice, for which the meat was not tender at all, all the other dishes tasted good. If I must compare though, Lang Viet restaurant (near Dharmawangsa Square) seems to be a better place for Vietnamese food in Jakarta.

Bánh Cuốn

Duck Spring Rolls

Phở

Beef with Fried Rice

Overall: Good value-for-money Vietnamese food, but some improvements could be made regarding the service and the quality of the ingredients used (meat).

Labu Café - Vietnam Valley
Jalan Labu No1. AA
Taman Sari, North Jakarta

Phone number: +62-21 625 1321