What's Up Cafe, Depok

Hi Eaters.

Over the last two months I've been travelling between Jakarta - Depok quite often, especially on weekend. And despite of the heavy traffic along the way, it was a relief to see Depok nowadays. Becoming a cyber city, it has grown rapidly, and to my enjoyment there were so many unique culinary spots left unexplored by me. It truly is a delightful moment that a few moments ago I came to one of those unique spot, called What's Up Cafe.

It's not hard to find this place. Located in the side of the street of Margonda, you'll notice this place very easily as it is usually quite crowded with visitors. The only problem was parking. The strict rule of no parking on the side of the street alongside Margonda left those who came using a car to find difficulties in locating a parking spot without the risk of being towed or having their tires dread-locked. The only place to park a car is way back on a futsal arena which will make you take a walk to the cafe. Nothing I would be fancy of. So, better use a 2-wheeled vehicle here. More practical.

The cafe itself offers an urban, youthful ambiance as it mostly filled with young people or teenagers who came to hang out and mingle. The rustic kind of interior was certainly intriguing, though I would love if the cafe had an air conditioning. Yes, it was hot that day, and the open door concept made the cafe only installed electric fans, which in my opinion didn't do well in cooling up the room.

What's interesting was the cafe provided boards and card games for the visitors to play with. You can play UNO or card games with your friends while waiting for the meal to come. It's a very good strategy to provide these games, remembering that the majority of the visitors were young people. These games can be grabbed at the barrel in the center of the cafe.

It was pleasing to see the price list. So affordable. You can bring IDR 50K and go home with a full tummy. Seriously. The most famous dishes here are the Indomie noodles. But don't be mistaken with your every-day Indomie, in here you'll find modified and upgraded Indomie dishes that came with a twist. There's no need to worry since the cafe, although they serve Indomie, they didn't use the original-in-the-pack Indomie seasonings. So they only use the noodles and then use their own style of seasoning to the Indomie dish.

Indomie Oseng Mercon - IDR 18K

Calling spicy food lover! Don't underestimate its look. When it first served on the table I also thought "well it doesn't look spicy.. only a few bits of chilli chunks won't do much to the flavor." Well guess what?? I was wrong. It's pretty spicy.. and I mean all the way. Literally, it's a tongue burner. The toppings were chicken and cuts of beef knuckle with scallions and chilli chunks. The heat is just awesome. But I prefer it too be a little bit more salty just to balance the heat.

Indomie Carbonara - IDR 20K

At first glimpse it looked like someone put a bundle of grated cheese on a plate. Yes, the cheese was overflowing, so abundant and generously given. The Indomie was cooked with creamy carbonara sauce and topped with smoked beef and mushrooms. The overall taste was fine for me, but since it was heavily creamy and bundled with a lot of grated cheese it sort of made me full on the fourth mouthful. So I suggest this one plate should be better for sharing, considering its big portion.

Indomie Burger Steak - IDR 22K

Served on a hot plate, drizzled with sweet and savory BBQ sauce, and later topped with beef steak and onions. This one was my favourite. It's really delicious. I find the steak to be very tender and juicy. The sauce had a nice balance flavor, not too salty and perfect thickness. What I would love more was the steak to be a little more bigger in size because it was the one that made this dish shine.

Nasi Sapi Lada Hitam - IDR 22K

If you're pretty bored cause you've spent most of your days eating Indomie (I feel you, I do) then you can opt to try their rice dishes. I really loved how they decided to use butter rice than just plain rice. Their butter rice was just delicious. Soft, moist and certainly the flavors were so appetizing. The blackpepper beef wasn't a turnoff either. Cooked nicely and seasoned well. These are just the combo I would love to have some more.

Mantau Kaya Keju - IDR 20K

Finishing off with some sweet tooth desserts, the first one is this sweet mantou bread, drizzled with srikaya jam and topped with grated cheese. I loved the texture of the mantou. It's really fluffy. And since the mantou was fried, I find the outer crispy mantou skin as a treat. I loved it. The sweetness from the mantou and the srikaya jam, combined with the saltiness and savory cheese. A must try.

Uwel-uwel Strawberry Ice Cream - IDR 15K

Hearing the name for the first time I was like, "what? what is that uwel-uwel?" Seriously, I was confused. So Uwel-uwel happened to be sliced fried mantou, topped with strawberry ice cream, and.. (I don't know if this would be applied later) vanilla ice cream, along with grated coconut. 
It's just another way to eat the mantou, which is more easier since it is sliced to pieces. The ice cream was nice, but I think strawberry is just common. You should maybe try their greentea ice cream.

Es Teh Leci - IDR 15K

I always say that tea goes well with any other fruit flavors. I, personally, a sucker for these kind of drinks. You know, when regular tea tasted boring, I tend to wanna have flavored tea. This one, was a darling. It's so refreshing. Perfect level of sweetness and really loved the extra lychee fruit given inside the glass. 

Milotyrex - IDR 15K

So I guess this is What's Up version of the infamous Milo Dinosaur. Given another name, it can't be argued that Milo is sweet and refreshing. This one came as it should be, no extra strong sweetness, which is good. If you're a big chocoholic, this one is perfect for you.

Oreo Smoothies - IDR 15K

It's common to see Oreo being blended as a smoothie. But this one was a little too sweet for me. But I bet kids would love it.

Yoghurt Moci Moci - IDR 15K

This one may looked pretty simple, but let me tell you..this is DA BOMB! My favourite drink that day. It's so refreshing. The sourness and sweetness from the yoghurt was an absolute delight. The flavors were there and delicious. I don't know what other ingredients they blend the yoghurt with, but it came out really tasty. So keep blending what you're blending, guys!

Overall conclusion, I would recommend this place for you guys who are looking for another way to eat your daily Indomie. But don't just stop there. Do try their variants of bread and Uwel-uwel too. I personally enjoyed my visit, though I wouldn't say I love the non-air conditioning room. But I believe that is an element that can be added or simply constructed later on. What's most important is the cafe offers a nice ambiance, an affordable price tag and dishes that weren't disappointing.

Keep on chewing!

Jazzy Dee

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What's Up Cafe

Jalan Margonda Raya No. 463, Depok

Phone : (021) 29704981

IG : @cafe_whatsup