IDN: Lembur Kuring

Truly 'sedap' (lit. delicious) grilled carp!

My BFF and I were back in Jakarta, Indonesia for a one-day stopover after our rather short journey to the Middle East and Africa. For dinner, we wanted to have a seafood meal, so we went to a highly rated restaurant called Lembur Kuring, which is located not far from Soekarno-Hatta International Airport.

The restaurant is quite big with a few dining areas. We decided to have our dinner in the air-conditioned room.

Cumi Kering Sambal Rp 48,000 (~S$4.55)

Taste: 8/10

We were having a bit of a hard time deciding on which squid dish to order, but we unanimously went for the squid rings that'd been deep-fried till completely dry before being doused with chili in the end. I was delighted by the squid rings that were addictively crunchy, as well as the chili sauce that was nicely sweet and spicy.

Udang Goreng Mentega Rp 60,000 (~S$5.70)

Taste: 7/10

I was expecting the stir-fried butter prawns topped with sesame seeds to taste better. While the shell-on prawns were acceptably fresh, I felt that they weren't succulent enough. Having said that, the butter sauce was enjoyable as it was adequately rich and fragrant.

Ikan Gurame Panggang (700 g) Rp 101,500 (~S$9.65)

Taste: 9/10

The star of the dinner was the grilled carp with a fixed price of Rp 14,500 (~S$1.40) per 100 g, but with a minimum weight of 700 g per order. The crispy outer layer of the fish coated with kecap manis (Indonesian sweet soy sauce) was a lovely contrast to the naturally sweet and moist flesh. Served on the side was additional kecap manis mixed with finely chopped green chilis.

Sayur Asam Rp 13,000 (~S$1.25)

Taste: 8/10

The tamarind-based soup was what I needed to cut the richness of the seafood dishes. The typical ingredients of the soup were there: chayote cubes, young jackfruits, sweet corns, long beans, peanuts and the slightly bitter melinjo beans native to Indonesia.

Es Campur Rp 22,000 (~S$2.10)

Taste: 5/10

Alas, the dinner didn't end on a high note as the dessert that we shared was too sweet for my liking. Halfway through, I decided to pour some water into it to dilute the sweetness away.

Despite that, I appreciated that they were pretty generous with the colourful fillings, such as green-coloured jelly worms (a.k.a. cendol), grass jelly cubes, attap seeds, red beans, jackfruit cubes and coconut shavings. 

Melon's Rating

Taste: 7.5/10

Ambience: 7/10

Service: 7/10

Overall: 7/10

I may drop by the restaurant again during my scheduled layover in Jakarta at the end of this year. Pika's advice: Participate in the restaurant's Facebook or Instagram campaign to receive a 10% discount on the spot. You simply need to follow the Facebook page or Instagram account, followed by uploading a photo of your meal with the hashtag #lemburkuringjakarta.

Pondok Laguna

Jalan Husein Sastranegara No. 88

Jakarta

Indonesia

(Daily: 10.30am - 9.30pm)

*Prices quoted are subject to 10% VAT.

Have a nice meal,

Cliff(y)