We arrived in Jakarta on Thursday after 24 hours of traveling courtesy of Stagecoach and Cathay Pacific. I lived in the city for 2 years in the 70s and last visited in 1982. My how it’s changed. There are high rise hotels, apartment blocks and offices all over, there are the inevitable shopping malls and there’s a wide choice of restaurants as would befit a city which has been through a period of economic boom. We chose the Front Page for dinner on Saturday night. We were not disappointed.
The Front Page would not be out of place in London or any other significant financial centre. It does cocktails and sports a wine list which covers the globe and goes from the reasonable to the ridiculous. What makes the difference though is that the staff are Indonesians which mean they understand service. They are ever willing, they smile a lot and they never give up. We hit a dead time on Saturday evening so we got more that our fair share of attention.
I had a touch of the bad stomach early in the day so i spoilt myself with an excellent medicinal Bloody Mary. The wife and I then got stuck into an excellent Aussie steak and a serving of Kiwi lamb chops (pardon the food miles) washed down with a Penfolds Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot. Less than 50 quid. A treat and a bargain. If you’re in the neighbourhood drop in!
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