A few days ago, I went to visit Warung Ce!, a simple eatery with signature Kupang dishes. Warung Ce! is located very near to my house in Taman Palem Lestari. I know this place from some friends’ posts and the pictures looked tempting. I am always in an open relationship with pork, so the second I saw the pictures, the craving could haunt me for days. That’s why, I, with great determination, visited the place after one previous failed attempt (I tried to visit them the previous day, and since it’s 9 in the evening, they were closed already).
The place itself is just a very simple shop house, with simply homey feel. It only has wooden tables and chairs without anything else. The lighting was bad. The white lamps they’re using weren’t bright enough, so it made the place looked gloomy. I think with better lighting, it can really attract more guests.
We were given the menu book, with simple pictures, food description and price. Without further ado, I ordered myself a portion of roasted pork and rica rica pork. Oh, we ordered the Es Cincau and Lemon-Infused Water.
For the drinks, the Es Cincau – Iced Grass Jelly (IDR 10 k) was pretty refreshing, like any other cincau. The Lemon-Infused Water (IDR 6 k) was nothing special.
For the food, I know I should have ordered their signature Babi Sei (Smoked Pork Belly), but somehow, the Roasted Pork Belly (IDR 27 k) seemed to attract me more. My mind was filled with the crunchiness and juiciness of the pork belly. It turned out I was so wrong. The Roasted Pork Belly was nothing like what I imagined. There’s nothing crunchy at all and the meat was not even tender and was apparently a bit to tough to be chewed. Somehow, the dreamy imagination I had all vanished. I don’t know why, but maybe the Kupang-origin Roasted Pork is not crunchy to begin with. But well, the homemade chilies saved the dish, more or less.
For the Rica Rica Pork (IDR 25 k), it was pretty good for me. I loved the juiciness of the pork, marinated with spicy rica rica. It was a bit oily, but oily food is usually delish, right? 😀 The rica rica was not too overwhelming with flavours too, so the porky essence was still there for us to hail. This one is recommended after all.
Well, I didn’t try any others. The pork satay and looked gorgeous, but maybe later.
All in all, the experience was sort of disappointing, mainly because of the roasted pork which I had super high expectation for. But I will give Warung Ce another chance and try to come back for its Babi Sei’ some other time. Hope the signature dish won’t disappoint next visit.
WARUNG CE! | JAKARTA
Ruko Citra Garden 6, Blok J5A No. 7, Cengkareng, Jakarta
Phone: +6221-29030044
