SIN: Jtown Café
The only eatery selling martabak manis in Singapore?
For those who're not familiar with martabak manis, it's actually an Indonesian version of 'pancake' (for the lack of a better word) which is usually thick and sinful due to the liberal use of butter (or margarine) and toppings such as sweet condensed milk, chocolate sprinkles, grated cheese, ground peanuts, etc. Does it sound mouth-watering enough? Continue reading to find out more! Pika's advice 1: Those of you who're craving for martabak durian, you really have a reason to visit this eatery as soon as possible! I'll let you judge since I dislike the 'king of fruits'. XD
Crispy Chicken Rice S$5.50
Taste: 7.5/10
Alright, let's contain the excitement about martabak manis for a while. The chicken slices coated in batter were really crunchy; for a moment, I thought I was eating crackers. They were nicely topped with sweet soy sauce and fried shallots. The dish came with blanched chye sim (Chinese mustard green) which would work well in an Indonesian noodle dish. It was bland, but I appreciated the thought of giving vegetables to make it a balanced meal.
Bakso Sapi S$1.00
Taste: 7/10
Actually I didn't intend to try the beef balls at first. I initially ordered the fried wantons, but was disappointed to find out they were already sold out. While the soup was a tad too salty, the beef balls were quite savoury. I believe they were homemade since they weren't like those ubiquitous, industrially made ones in Indonesia which used too much chemicals that the beef balls become really chewy to the point of being elastic.
Bakmie Ayam S$4.50
Taste: 7.5/10
The springy goodness of the noodle was complemented well with flavourful chicken cubes (but I disliked the fact that the skin wasn't removed) and a hint of sesame oil. It would be great if they could add the amount of sesame oil to give the dish a stronger aroma.
Martabak Cheese (Small) S$2.70
Taste: 7/10
I have to admit that I was slightly disappointed when I saw that the martabak wasn't thick enough, simply because I'm used to those really thick ones back home. Also, it wasn't as fluffy, but it was nevertheless tasty. The sweetness of the condensed milk was nicely contrasted by the salty grated cheddar cheese.
Martabak Coklat (Large) S$5.70
Taste: 7.5/10
In general, I love the chocolate version because of the divine blend of butter (or margarine) and melted chocolate sprinkles. The martabak coklat I had the other day was somewhat better than the cheese counterpart. The thin ends weren't crispy enough though. Anyway, if you'd really like to try the very good ones (but I have to emphasise time and again that they're really sinful; definitely not for the faint-hearted!), you really have to go to Indonesia. In my opinion, Bangka island has the best martabak in the archipelago.
Melon's Rating
Taste: 7.5/10
Ambience: 6/10
Service: 7.5/10
Overall: 7/10
It's a small eatery with a lot of rooms for improvement. I'd love to go back for another round of martabak, and I'll probably ask for a mix of chocolate and cheese which I used to eat quite often in the past. Pika's advice 2: Come down on your birthday to enjoy a free martabak!
Jtown Café
220 Orchard Road
B1 Midpoint Orchard
Singapore
(Mon - Fri: 12 noon - 9.00pm; Sat - Sun: 9.00am - 9.00pm)
*Prices quoted are nett prices.
Have a nice meal,
Cliff(y)
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