If you’ve read my post about Bubur Ayam Mangga Besar 1, I said that many restaurants serving porridge and chinese cuisine along Jalan Mangga Besar 1. One of them is Kamseng Restaurant. It’s located on the same side with Bubur Ayam Mangga Besar 1. This restaurant can be found easily since they use colorful lights for their signage. FYI, this restaurant is open 24 hours
I came here around 11 pm, and surprisingly the restaurant packed with people so I had to wait about 15 minutes to be seated. No wonder since it’s one of legendary eatery in Mangga Besar area. The restaurant consists of two floors. On the 1st floor there is a kitchen (and open kitchen) and dining room with air conditioner, whereas on the 2nd floor for the smoking area. And the annoying thing is, there are still some people who smoke in the air conditioned room on the 1st floor.
Since they are famous for their porridge, we ordered two kinds of porridge, there is Bubur Ikan (Fish Fillet Porridge) and Bubur Tiga Rasa (Porridge with 3 kind of eggs). The uniqueness in Kamseng is, their porridge served in a claypot. In addition, we also ordered Nasi Campur with some side dishes.
Bubur Fillet Ikan (Fish Fillet Porridge)
To be honest, the porridge tasted bland and too watery. I need to add some seasoning (pepper, soy sauce, chili, and sesame oil) for a more comforting taste. And the fish fillet was only slightly.
Bubur Tiga Rasa (Three Flavors Porridge)
As its name suggests, Bubur Tiga Rasa consists of 3 kind of eggs. There is chicken egg, salted egg, and century egg (phitan). For the taste, this one is also nothing special. And the porridge is same as I have described above, rather bland and too watery. We also ordered cakwe (chicken fried dough) to complement our porridge.
Nasi Campur
Since i’m a big fan of pork dishes, I have a high expectation for this one. But unfortunately, its doesn’t live up my expectation. Nasi Campur consists of pork chasiu, pork belly, minced pork, kailan, half of egg, red beans, and tofu. Its also served with a bowl of soup. Pork chasiu, pork belly, and miced pork is quite good but a little bit salty, another else is average. The soup is savory, but its very salty too.
Pek Cam Kee
To accompany the porridge, we ordered Pek Cam Kee (breast). The chicken breast size is quite small and taste a little bit sweet. And the worst part is, its the lack of chicken broth flavor.
Kuotie
Their kuotie is bad. Though a tempting presentation, the kuotie skin was bland, too thick, and hard bitten. And the stuff is only chicken meat while I expect for combination of chicken with pork/shrimp. Its was not served with special dipping sauce, so I was disappointed with the bland taste.
Overall, Kamseng Restaurant offers a large-variety of chinese cuisine. But sorry to say, what we’ve tried there was nothing more than an average food. The service was also disappointing. Kamseng has a lot of waiters, but they’re so busy you and you’re hardly to get attention. If you are looking for a nice and quiet dinner, this is not the place.
The menu is quite small, and I didn’t find anything special compared to what you can get in the street. I will recommend you to Bubur Ayam Mangga Besar 1 for much better and delicious dishes, especially the porridge and Pek Cam Kee. Regardless from the 24h opening hours, I don’t think there are other reasons you should come here.
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Kamseng Restaurant
Jalan Mangga Besar I No. 26
West Jakarta
Telp: (021) 6492319
Opening Hours: 24 Hours
Spending per pax: IDR 50,000 – IDR 100,000
Taste: 5,5/10
Service: 6/10
Place: 6/10
Value for Money: 5/10
MAP
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