Jakarta...part 2

Day 02 in Jakarta, im supposed to meet up with my former colleague and good friend Elaine, who happens to be the divine missus of the hotel's general manager, for some sightseeing and (window) shopping. At 10 a.m., we are driving around Jakarta in her chauffered limousine. The first thing she points out to me the National Monument

The golden thing up there actually is 35kg of gold! Completed in 1975, I advice you not to take the lift up to the peak as it occasionally conks out due to its old age.

Next stop was to look for the Polo/Ralph Lauren outlet store along the Kemang area. Luckily we had a driver to drive us around coz it almost took us two hours just looking for the outlet store. And find it we did not! hehehe Elaine tried her best to locate it calling numerous people on her blackberry but people just keep telling her you'll spot it with no problem. Well, we were getting impatient already so Elaine decided we should take our lunch first and look for the outlet store after lunch. She took me to this lovely local restaurant called Payon. Satay, krupuk and moderately spicy food are the specialty of the restaurant.

The menu which is impressively bound in a wooden door-style book...impressive!

The inside was as impressive though...looked cheap if you ask me.

Satay, kropek, chicken buried under chicken floss and spicy spinach....yummy!

last minute duck(?) that Elaine ordered

extensive line-up of krupuks...fish, chicken or beef flavored, they have it....(except for pork of course since Indonesia is a predominantly Muslim country)

cozy and welcoming interior

front entrance and garden

So after lunch, we went to look for the Polo outlet shop again and guess what? Elaine suddenly realizes the shop may have already closed down! so that's why we couldn't locate the shop...it is simply not there. We ended up visiting a small Polo store with 30% off but I didn't purchase anything...ha! all for Polo!

Next stop was Pacific Place mall which is beside the Ritz Carlton. We decided to try the famous Kopi Luwak

This US$ 8 cup of coffee is actually a by-product of a civet eating some coffee berries then eventually defacating the berries which comes out as coffee beans and voila!, you have one of the most expensive cup of coffee in the world. I'm no coffee drinker/connoisseur so I'm not really the best judge but I have to admit taking a sip from kopi luwak, you realize it is a different experience...much like comparing jose cuervo gold and jose cuervo 1800...1800 is definitely much smoother. In the end, I still feel its overprized but as i said, im not coffee expert. Elaine finished her kopi luwak while i settled for the cheaper version which is a combination of kopi luwak and arabica