Welcome to June, my second favourite month of the year–second only to my own birthday month! This is the month that holds a lot of promise for me, since—contrary to popular belief—Geminis tend to be the absolute best. Most of my favourite people are Geminis and this month celebrates them coming to this world. In fact, for me, the first week of June is filled with birthday after birthday after birthday—three of which is in my own core family—so I’m just so excited for them. Before June rolled around however, let me take you to a little date Agung and I went on at the last stretch of May. Here is the place where the breads are made of dreams—but we didn’t even try them.
📷 Fujifilm X-T100 with Fujinon Aspherical Superb EBC XC 15-45mm lens
Welcome to June, my second favourite month of the year–second only to my own birthday month! This is the month that holds a lot of promise for me, since—contrary to popular belief—Geminis tend to be the absolute best. Most of my favourite people are Geminis and this month celebrates them coming to this world. In fact, for me, the first week of June is filled with birthday after birthday after birthday—three of which is in my own core family—so I’m just so excited for them. Before June rolled around however, let me take you to a little date Agung and I went on at the last stretch of May. Here is the place where the breads are made of dreams—but we didn’t even try them.
Kneading That Daydream
The Kemang area used to be the usual haunt of mine and Agung’s, and during such haunts we often passed by this quaint-looking place that was still in the works back then. It is called Romi Roti Mimpi. However, we didn’t visit Kemang as much for a while and forgot about this place…until last weekend when we didn’t really have any plans on where to go. You know what? Let’s give this place a try!
Before we visited, we already took a look at the menu online. We understood that the place’s specialty was supposed to be their vintage-recipe bread, but we were attracted to the noodle and rice menu. In the end, Agung ordered the Chiffon Egg on Rice + Grilled Chicken, while I opted for the Bakmi Ayam Pekcamke—as well as Kopi Susu Aren and Teh Susu Kental Manis to wash them off.
The Kemang area used to be the usual haunt of mine and Agung’s, and during such haunts we often passed by this quaint-looking place that was still in the works back then. It is called Romi Roti Mimpi. However, we didn’t visit Kemang as much for a while and forgot about this place…until last weekend when we didn’t really have any plans on where to go. You know what? Let’s give this place a try!
Before we visited, we already took a look at the menu online. We understood that the place’s specialty was supposed to be their vintage-recipe bread, but we were attracted to the noodle and rice menu. In the end, Agung ordered the Chiffon Egg on Rice + Grilled Chicken, while I opted for the Bakmi Ayam Pekcamke—as well as Kopi Susu Aren and Teh Susu Kental Manis to wash them off.
First and foremost, we fell in love with the place so much. The exterior takes on a Javanese house look that makes it look so ethnically aesthetic, while the interior looks pretty luxurious and glamorous—clearly taking inspiration and borrowing elements from the architecture of the belle epoque. No doubt very Gatsby! That was all quickly balanced out by the affordable selection of cuisines. It helped us settle into our seats and get comfortable with our food. The seating area is divided into three parts: the main part (which is the biggest area), the private area (divided by semi-partitions at the back) and the outdoor area (which is rather small, possibly only to accommodate smokers). All in all, it still retains the Indo-colonial look by using rattan chairs and wood-etching pillars.
Overall, our dining experience was quite pleasant. The food’s taste was to our liking—we ended up loving each other’s chosen cuisine—and the beverage wasn’t all bad. The atmosphere was also more down our alley—it was more a place for mummies and daddies, as opposed to young folks, which is pretty quaint. That being said, we found a few downsides.
There’s the service that feels a little lacking. When we first walked in, the waitress seemed puzzled on where we could sit, even though there were clearly empty seats here and there. Then when there was a large group who came in—presuming they actually booked in advance—the waiters were confused in assembling the seats, which brings us to point number two: the seating was all over the place. For a spacious area with plenty of room to move around, the seats seem to be arranged in a haphazard way. Honestly, the large group’s seats ended up eating into our area, which was very uncomfortable for all of us. On top of that, the waiters were all talking around us about our orders and issues relating to us—I don’t know about you, but I found that very unprofessional.
First and foremost, we fell in love with the place so much. The exterior takes on a Javanese house look that makes it look so ethnically aesthetic, while the interior looks pretty luxurious and glamorous—clearly taking inspiration and borrowing elements from the architecture of the belle epoque. No doubt very Gatsby! That was all quickly balanced out by the affordable selection of cuisines. It helped us settle into our seats and get comfortable with our food. The seating area is divided into three parts: the main part (which is the biggest area), the private area (divided by semi-partitions at the back) and the outdoor area (which is rather small, possibly only to accommodate smokers). All in all, it still retains the Indo-colonial look by using rattan chairs and wood-etching pillars.
Overall, our dining experience was quite pleasant. The food’s taste was to our liking—we ended up loving each other’s chosen cuisine—and the beverage wasn’t all bad. The atmosphere was also more down our alley—it was more a place for mummies and daddies, as opposed to young folks, which is pretty quaint. That being said, we found a few downsides.
There’s the service that feels a little lacking. When we first walked in, the waitress seemed puzzled on where we could sit, even though there were clearly empty seats here and there. Then when there was a large group who came in—presuming they actually booked in advance—the waiters were confused in assembling the seats, which brings us to point number two: the seating was all over the place. For a spacious area with plenty of room to move around, the seats seem to be arranged in a haphazard way. Honestly, the large group’s seats ended up eating into our area, which was very uncomfortable for all of us. On top of that, the waiters were all talking around us about our orders and issues relating to us—I don’t know about you, but I found that very unprofessional.
Flashback Fantasy
Obviously, you guys know how little I could resist traditional snacks, so I ended up buying a few. There were my favourite kue Brem–which, surprisingly, not a lot of people seem to like? (including Agung!)—and also this snack I don’t think I’d ever tried before called Wajit, which I think is similar to Dodol.
For context, Brem is a fermented snack made out of sticky rice starch that has been dried out in the process, resulting in an almost-effervescent character that instantly melts in your mouth to release a refreshing, zesty taste. I personally love it to bits and pieces! Even when I could only buy it in bulk, I still ended up buying them.
Aside from the restaurant itself, there’s apparently a little nostalgia corner where they sell all sorts of childhood knick knacks—from snacks to toys and other merchandise. Agung and I couldn’t resist taking a look around. We identified things we remembered from our own childhood days, and things we had never seen before. Despite being very close in age, apparently there are a lot Agung and I didn’t have in common as children.
There were also a couple children who played with the toys being displayed—despite being told not to. In fact, you could see all of us on Romi Roti Mimpi’s reels.
Aside from the restaurant itself, there’s apparently a little nostalgia corner where they sell all sorts of childhood knick knacks—from snacks to toys and other merchandise. Agung and I couldn’t resist taking a look around. We identified things we remembered from our own childhood days, and things we had never seen before. Despite being very close in age, apparently there are a lot Agung and I didn’t have in common as children.
There were also a couple children who played with the toys being displayed—despite being told not to. In fact, you could see all of us on Romi Roti Mimpi’s reels.
Obviously, you guys know how little I could resist traditional snacks, so I ended up buying a few. There were my favourite kue Brem–which, surprisingly, not a lot of people seem to like? (including Agung!)—and also this snack I don’t think I’d ever tried before called Wajit, which I think is similar to Dodol.
For context, Brem is a fermented snack made out of sticky rice starch that has been dried out in the process, resulting in an almost-effervescent character that instantly melts in your mouth to release a refreshing, zesty taste. I personally love it to bits and pieces! Even when I could only buy it in bulk, I still ended up buying them.
Back to Reality
As you’re reading this—if you’re doing so realtime anyway—I’d already be in Surabaya to finally visit my extended family after 4 years! Gosh, can’t believe it’s been that long. I’m here with my sister, so obviously we would also spare time to go out and about as usual—stay tuned to a couple posts from our time here! Afterwards, Agung and I will kick it off with this year’s Europe on Screen. Hopefully, we will get to catch more films than we did last year—and enjoy them too! That’s about as much excitement as I’ll be up to in June—and possibly some more to come. How about you?
What excites you most these days? Do share!
Back to Reality
As you’re reading this—if you’re doing so realtime anyway—I’d already be in Surabaya to finally visit my extended family after 4 years! Gosh, can’t believe it’s been that long. I’m here with my sister, so obviously we would also spare time to go out and about as usual—stay tuned to a couple posts from our time here! Afterwards, Agung and I will kick it off with this year’s Europe on Screen. Hopefully, we will get to catch more films than we did last year—and enjoy them too! That’s about as much excitement as I’ll be up to in June—and possibly some more to come. How about you?
What excites you most these days? Do share!