Carpentier Kitchen

While the hipster trend seems to be less common as compared to some time ago, there are still many hipster places, even in Surabaya. One of them is Carpentier Kitchen. The café maybe not so much, but the store in front of it seems to be quite hipster (although we never fully understood what makes a place or a person truly ‘hipster’). On a quiet weekday evening we decided to go to Carpentier Kitchen for dinner and pretend to be hipsters by wearing our big glasses and bringing our books.

We didn’t really see the shop (I spent way too much money that month, so I have to stay away from any shopping opportunity). The café is behind the shop, it is a bit hidden. The way it was designed is very romantic and playful, there are vintage chairs and a lot of plants which create a cozy atmosphere and a nice background for photos (the light is not good though). Service was normal, and we liked their cute plates :-) .

For dinner, Carlo had Carpentier’s Ultimate Burger (48K) and I chose Fettuccine Cream Sauce à la Carpentier (38K, with chicken). Apart from the pancakes, there are almost no vegetarian meals. I generally don’t really like meat so I had a hard time to choose my meal until the waitress suggested replacing the meat with broccoli (price stayed the same). So far so good. 

1903 Society Complex

Molten Chocolate Cake

It has been quiet on the blog for a while. This is not because we are tired to review restaurants or because we spend our time watching the World Cup or because we are broke (well, almost :D ). It is because I went back to Europe for the holidays. But there is nothing to worry about – before I left Surabaya, Carlo and I tried a lot of restaurants and we will publish the reviews in the next few weeks. I will be back in Surabaya in October :) . 

The restaurant we tried on my last evening was 1903 at Society Complex. You have probably already heard of it – Society Complex is a new location in Jalan Sumatera and also home to Historica Coffee & Pastry (see our review here) and a bar which hadn’t opened yet when we were there. 1903 is a fine dining kind of restaurant so make sure to bring your good dress or shirt and some more money (see prices on the menu list below) :-) . 1903’s interior is dominated by the colours white and black and it is slightly vintage. The atmosphere is a bit “cold”, maybe they could put some pictures on the wall to create a warmer and more comfortable atmosphere? The room was also cold in a literal sense, it was über-airconditioned (so Ladies, bring your vests or better yet, order an alcoholic cocktail :D ). Our table was too big for only us two and we haven’t really seen smaller tables. So if you go to 1903 on your first date, it is fine because you will sit not too near to each other. But if are on your fifth date and your relationship is already close, the big tables will not really create a very romantic atmosphere. The place would be great for a vintage themed party with Venetian masks or Great Gatsby attire.