[Jakarta] What do you get if you combine tea and flowers in a cafe? Probably a very pretty and fragrant place.
Lewis & Carroll Flower Market is an artisanal tea house focusing on hand crafted teas and tea blends.
By Clive Staples Lewis and Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (therefore the name Lewis & Carroll), their previous outlet managed to steal the limelight from other tea shops and cafes in the city, despite the landscape of rapidly growing coffee shops.
The second branch of Lewis & Carroll Flower Market is located inside Grand Indonesia East Mall, with a flower market theme.
Not only they do serve tea here, there is a wide selection of seasonal imported flowers which you can purchase. The interior is spacious, clean, white and bright, with that cozy and homely vibes.
One thing interesting about Lewis & Carrol was the sample tea leaves “tubes” that they would bring to your table, in which customers would be encouragd to smell and choose the from different varieties of the tea leaves.
I ordered the Tea Omakase (IDR 80k, SGD8.00) as the waiter suggested. Yes, an omakase dedicated for tea.
This set consists of seasonal five different tea flavors, served cold. During my visit, I was served Houjicha (green tea), Island Cordial (mango, pineapple), Red Ruby Skies (elderberries, hibiscus), Happy Summer Day (peach, mint), and Snow Owl (silver needle white tea).
My personal favourite was the Snow Owl, a blend of bergamon, indonesian sencha, mate, and rose petals.
Food wise, expect mains from Truffle Egg Benedict, Bakmi Ayam Kampoeng, Linguine Fedora, Grilled Dory Sambal Matah, Crusted Chicken, to the interesting drink of Gula Melaka Matcha Latte.
The Truffle Fries (IDR 50k, SGD5.00) was pretty average, and nothing really special.
The L&C Tiger Prawn Fried Rice (IDR 85k, SGD8.50) is probably one of the best in town, served with a side of sambal matah, wonton and acar.
Not to mention the giant (US-like) portion, the tiger prawns were juicy and fresh; rice fried perfectly so much so that you could smell the wok-hei-ness.
The L&C Sambal Matah Grilled Chicken Breast (IDR 95k, SGD9.50) was nicely grilled and juicy, served with pretty spicy sambal matah.
It was weird to see salad served with rice, but it could be an Indonesian-thing?
The Bakmi Ayam Kampoeng (IDR 85k, SGD8.50) was surprisingly better than expected.
It is not quite common to find good tasting “street foods” in cafes and somehow they managed to ‘nail’ those flavours. The noodle was tasty, meatballs fresh, chicken and mushroom chunks generous in portion.
As for the Linguine Fedora (IDR 95k, SGD9.50), the pasta was cooked al dente with delicious texture of the creamy tomato sauce.
The Earl Grey Ice Cream (IDR 45k, SGD4.50) was one of the best version I ever tasted, and thankfully not too sweet.
The earl grey flavor really came out fragrantly, yet the ice cream still tasted light.
If you wish to “upgrade” your plain scoop of earl grey ice cream, then opt for the Earl Grey Creme Affogato (IDR 65k, SGD6.50) – hot earl grey tea served with cold earl grey ice cream.
The Mascarpone Cheesecake (IDR 65k, SGD 6.50) came with three different toppings – Toblerone, Chesse and Belgian chocolate.
I much preferred the Nutella French Toast with Ice Cream (IDR 55k, SGD 5.50). Though it might have looked simple and plain, this dessert had crispy and soft brioche, along with tasty Nutella to Chai flavored ice cream.
I could see why Lewis & Carroll keep thriving. This is a combination of their bright interior, fresh differentiating concept, above-average food with good portions. I think I will become a regular customer.
Lewis and Carroll Flower Market
Grand Indonesia East Mall, UG Jl. M H Thamrin, Jakarta Pusat 10230
Tel: +6221 2358 1375
Opening Hours: 10:00am – 10:00pm (Mon – Sun)
Google Maps – Lewis and Carroll Flower Market
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* Written by DFD͛’s Jakarta Food Correspondent @iknowhowtoeat who loves exploring NEW food places in both Indonesia and Singapore. DFD pays for food reviewed unless otherwise stated.
