
Hi Firman, first of all, congratulations on the opening of Mad Grass! Can you share with us some of your favorite picks there?
Thank you for coming to our private opening and your support! We’re so excited that we finally opened Mad Grass for the public to dine-in! Hopefully finding affordable and tasty plant-based food is now a lot easier!
It’s a tough question, just because we really curate all the tenants here based on our experience, and each of these tenants serve different kinds of foods.
So it really depends on my mood, for example today I’m having a bowl of Cantonese Noodle from Green Inc.
It’s not yet on the Mad Grass website but it’s available on their platform to order if you want to try this. I also love the Mushroom Burger and the Classic Beyond Burger from Kyuri! And for drinks my top picks are probably the Oatly Latte from Mad For Coffee, it’s very unique, and most importantly, it’s very affordable compared to any other vegan latte out there in the market!
What food and drink do you miss most now that there are dining restrictions in place?
Being vegan, the options for dining out probably not as much, especially before the pandemic. So I think beside street food like (good pecel, penyet), what I really miss the most during the restriction are cocktails or cold beer with some sides like fries or anything vegan-friendly like Nachos from a bar. I think most people would agree drinking at a bar is completely different at home!
Is there any dish that you’re looking forward to having once the restriction relaxes further?
I think first I’m going to book myself a ticket to Bali and find some good vegan nasi campur then head to Canggu and hop from one cafe to another one to try all the vegan food from doughnuts, pizza, burger and ice cream! It’s really a paradise for those who eat plant-based food!
What do you usually order for a night-in at home, or when you have company?
Before going vegan, I usually have some good pizza because it’s convenient to share. But there’s not so many vegan restaurants serving good pizza, so I would usually cook them on my own, and order a few sweets like Doughnut from Rumah Juliet or ice cream/gelato from Orvia to finish the meals. But luckily now we have Max’s Vegan Pizza, so now I can order a whole pizza again!
Do you have a favorite restaurant — for special occasions, fine dining or more casual dining?
Vegans don’t really have that many options when it comes to fine or casual dining. So when there’s one, I’ll always try to visit! Some of these places that had amazing food were Monty’s, VIEW at Fairmont Jakarta, and Locavore in Bali.
Where would you go if you had to meet up with old friends for food?
I would probably take them to a bar for a drink or two and some “dirty” fast food. Like Duck Down Pizza Place Kemang because they serve lots of variety of drinks and also some good pizza that can easily be veganized, unfortunately they’re already closed. But there’s another place in Senopati called 2020 Jakarta, they have some amazing selection of drinks and vegan nachos too!
If you have visitors from abroad/out of Jakarta, where do you take them to give a genuine taste of Indonesia?
If the pandemic no longer exists! I would take them to a Padang restaurant that brings the food to your tables like RM Sederhana, Pagi Sore, or Namy House Vegetarian (amazing vegan Padang food located in Jelambar), or a warteg style cafe like Warung Mbah Jingkrak or any warteg that I know serves good food like Warteg Cilacap in Cipete. If they stay for a little longer, I’ll ask them to try Manadonese food at Beautika and lastly I would take them to Kota and let them try some Bakmi Cong Sim so they can have a full experience as a local and know how diverse our cuisine is!
What are your favorite local dishes and where do you go to eat them?
Even though I’m vegan, my favorite local dishes would probably still be Sate Ayam Madura. There’s a really good Vegan Sate Madura in Tangerang called Veggie Bistro by Tehe, they’re located in Pasar Lama. Everytime I visit the area, I’ll make sure to visit them and have their Sate!