Soto Betawi H. Mamat

There is one soto at Serpong area which I called a heaven soto. And this soto is already famous not only to Serpongers, but even to Jakartans. Yes, it's Soto Betawi Haji Mamat. Don't get mixed up with the one at Muara Karang area. That refer to different person since Mamat is the common name for Betawi-nese.

I usually visit their branch at Gading Serpong. Their main branch is actually located somewhere in BSD but I don't know exactly the location. This Gading Serpong branch is run by his son.

The restaurant is always crowded, swarmed by the locals no matter in weekdays or weekend. They only serve one dishes, Soto Betawi, with two different varieties. One is the ordinary Soto Betawi that we already know, and the other one is their signature dish called Soto Oseng. Soto Oseng means the meat is stir fried beforehand and served separately with the soup. We can chose the soup with or without coconut milk which usually we call it by Bening and Santen. Other than the main menu, they already have side dish menu such as Potato Cutlet (Perkedel Kentang), Corn fritters (Perkedel Jagung), Tempe Mendoan, etc.

As for the meat itself usually it is beef but they also have chicken which is less popular. We are free to chose only the meat or mix it with innards. For the innards itself we can also chose which innards. So, basically when you order your soto you can shout like this to the Abang : "Bang, one oseng. Mix. Santen. But I don't want the intestines. And give me a lot of rawit." Of course this kind of special order need longer time to prepare since they have to oseng it first. Usually I only order mix without specific order to make it faster.

Although they open until 5pm in the afternoon, but make sure you come early if you want to have their Soto Oseng. The Oseng usually sold out very fast after lunch time. So get ready to get disappointed if you come late. The price for their Soto Oseng is IDR 30K with rice. Quite expensive for just a soto but it worth the taste. For me, this is the best Soto Betawi that I ever had. Very tasty with perfect seasonings. If you call yourself a foodie, make sure you try it before you die!

Food - 10/10
Cleanliness - 7/10
Service - 8/10
Ambiance - 6/10
Price/Value - 8/10

Update July 23, 2015 : They have already invade mall with the opening of AEON Mall branch (2nd floor food court area)

Soto Betawi H. Mamat

Jl. Bulevar Gading Serpong Blok AA4 No. 23 

Gading Serpong - Tangerang

+6281318642362

Business hours : Mon to Sun 8am - 5pm  

Song Fa Bak Kut Teh 松发肉骨茶

Last week, I finally managed to try this famous Bak Kut Teh restaurant. Why only now? Because during the first months of their opening, this restaurant was always crowded and swarmed by culinary lover. I heard from a friend that to be able to have table you must queue for the average of 1.5 hours during lunch and dinner time. But now, you don't have to queue anymore to dine here. Two hypothesis. One, they already open their 2nd branch in Jakarta at Hayam Wuruk area so people are split into two location. Second, people are already fed up with the taste.

This restaurant is originally from Singapore. The first time I heard about this restaurant was at around 2010 from my friend who lives in Singapore, Julius Kho. Basically Bak Kut Teh means pork ribs in tea flavor soup. And typically, Bak Kut Teh from Singapore is divided into two style. The first one and the most common in Singapore is Teo Chew style Bak Kut Teh, where the taste is dominated by garlic and pepper and have white soup. The other style is Klang style Bak Kut Teh, where the soup is brown and full of herbs taste. Song Fa is a Teo Chew style one where you will find peppery taste of the soup.

Bak Kut Teh with Pig's Kidney and Liver - IDR 98K++

The first impression of the appearance of this dish was normal and nothing special. It consist of 2 pieces of pork ribs and bunches of sliced kidney and liver, also 2 pieces of whole garlic with some green garnish. The soup taste was very refreshing. What would be the plus point here was that you can ask for free refill for the soup. The pork ribs surprised me. It was so tender and juicy and made from good quality of meat. Even the meat can be easily pulled of the bones. And as a fans of innards, I really adore the generous portion of kidney and liver.

I'm not sure whether what I ate when I was in Penang was Klang style Bak Kut Teh. Maybe that was just the common Malaysian style of bak kut teh. You can see what I ate in Penang in below picture.

Braised Trotters with Intestines - IDR 60K++ (Small)

The second dish that I tried that day was the braised pork leg. It was so hard to find good and delicious pork leg in Jakarta. I can count pork leg in Song Fa is one of the best. The meat was succulent and the skin was fatty. Really a perfect sides to accompany the pork ribs soup. But the intestines was a bit tough and dry. If you want to try this dish I suggest you have it without the intestines.

Overall, I was having a decent experience dining here. The food was delicious and the service was quick. I don't see any issue of having back to dine here in the future.

Food - 8/10
Cleanliness - 10/10
Service - 9/10
Ambiance - 7/10
Price/Value - 5/10

Song Fa Bak Kut Teh 松发肉骨茶
Ozone Mall, L01 - 05 & 05A
Jl Pantai Indah Kapuk Utara 3
Jakarta Utara
+622129673670
Business Hours :
Mon - Fri 11.30am - 9.30pm
Sat - Sun 11.00am - 9.30pm