I never knew that there are lots of restaurants right behind The Promenade (Ace Hardware, Pasar Minggu). All these time I just passed it by because from the outside it doesn't look appealing to me. If so I would stop by and try every single restaurant there. Thanks to Zomato Indonesia for inviting me to their Meet Up event, now I know there are lots of new places to discover right behind The Promenade. Me is happy, very happy.

The event was held on Saturday, 24th of January 2015. What's better than meeting up with a bunch of new people? Meet a bunch of new people with the same interest and passion as you are. Yes! This private Zomato Foodies Meet Up event is filled with people with the same passion as I do. Photography and food. Two most incredible things that brings people together. Well even though almost everyone like food, nothing can beat the love of food passion from these people. They don't love food, they fond of it.

'HaloNiko!' is a little 'warung' (as the owner called it) with a fusion between Javanese and Greek cuisines. This fusion was inspired by the marriage of the owner, Rika Harjosuwarno (Kika) from Java and Nikolaos Avgoustinos (Niko) from Greece. They chose 'HaloNiko!' as their restaurant name so that all of the guests who came to this place would say halo as a greeting to Niko (owner/chef) whom by that time doesn't have much friend.

The interior was cute and bring out some kind of homey feeling that make you want to stay here all day. All of the interior was chosen, designed and arranged by the owner herself, mba Kika. "I want to make everyone feels like this is their home, where they can spend all day chatting with friends and family" she said. She nailed it, I must say. If I could, I would stay there forever.

The cooking process is different from other restaurant. They cook it one by one according to the order made that day. Freshness guaranteed! So you have to be patient since it takes more time to cook. I don't mind to wait because it's worth every minute you spend. Trust me. But in case you are in a hurry, you can always call them first and cut off the waiting time. Enough with the talking! Let's move on to the meet up event.

The meet up took place at 'Kembang Kencur', located right next to 'HaloNiko!'. It is still the same restaurant but 'Kembang Kencur' was meant to be a function room for an event or something like that. That place was really suitable for a big event like this meet up.

The event begin with a quick introduction about 'HaloNiko!' by mba Kika. She took us around to the dining room, the kitchen, the garden (they grew their own herbs. How cool is that?) and tell us an exciting story about their marriage life. Soon after our lunch is ready, we began to eat. Nope, correction. We began to take pictures of those gorgeous food.

We were having Souvlaki Chicken, Mama Mousaka, Fried Yam and Greek Salad that day. Souvlaki Chicken is a grilled chicken gyros, onion and lettuce wrapped in a pita bread served with yam and tzatziki (yoghurt and garlic) sauce. I super love the souvlaki. The chicken was tender and grilled to perfection. And did I mention that I'm still looking for the best tzatziki sauce in Jakarta? Well this one is definitely the best tzatziki I ever taste so far. Smooth and nice sourness from the yoghurt without the garlic overpowering it. For your information, the souvlaki portion was HUGE. Yes, I'm turning my capslock on so you can imagine how huge it was. I almost didn't finish it at first but as the time goes, I manage to finish it.

The Mama Mousaka was more like a lasagna. It was a beautiful layers of eggplants, yam, minced beef, milk cream sauce, mozzarella and edam cheese. As you all know I'm not a huge fan of eggplant and cheese but the smell of this dish was yumm and I can't hold myself not to eat it. I made the right choice. The eggplant was tasty and the cheese was not too cheesy (what the hell am I saying?). Last but not least the super fresh Greek Salad. It was a mix of fresh tomato, cucumber, red & green paprika, onion, olive, caper and feta cheese with olive & vinegar dressing. Really fresh!

After having a serious (and quite long) food photography session and a super nice lunch, we move on to our next schedule, the cooking class. Niko taught us how to cook a Bugatsa. Bugatsa is a Greece's desserts/snacks which was a fried milk cream pie. I probably will have another post with the recipe of Niko's Bugatsa (probably, okay guys. If I'm not too busy/lazy to write it).

We end the day with a long chat and discuss about our life and of course food. I end up having new friends with different backgrounds. To me, meeting a new people will always interesting in a good way. From what I experienced that day, 'HaloNiko!' is definitely worth to try and must be on your must visit restaurant list. Having a warm staff, great food and homey feeling place, this restaurant is a top contender for other Greek restaurant.

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HaloNiko!

The Promenade

Jalan Buncit Raya no 98

Pasar Minggu, Jakarta

(+62) 21 791 91 227

Food          : 4/5

Ambiance  : 5/5

Price          : 4/5

Service      : 4/5