Growing up in Jakarta, I spent my childhood until my teenage years in Kelapa Gading. Like most Gadingites, I used to consider Kelapa Gading the center of the universe. Food? Check. School? Check. Hospital? Check. Shops? Check. Mall? Hextuple check! I’m not joking! Kelapa Gading covers 1.633,7 Ha, and the subdistrict has six shopping malls.
I left Jakarta for Bali and North Africa a few years back, and the economic boom lately gave me a minor (and fortunately brief) relocating shock. There are more motorbikes in swarming the city streets, and Jalan Boulevard is stuffed by brand new cars, more often than not.
Ok, enough with the long Preambule, on to my foodie notebook.
One Sunday evening hubby, our little one, and yours trully went to see our extended family in Pancious Kelapa Gading Mall (weekend, mall– yes, we’re super typical). Went to Pancious eX a couple of years ago, and it was –interesting. A small stack of American pancakes with ice cream and some sort of berry syrup (my memory escaped me).
As far as I know, American pancakes are served in the morning, with sweet fruit coulis or syrup, unlike French crêpes which could be either sweet or savory.
Pancious served fluffy American pancakes with a twist, this can be taken as a good or bad thing.
Unfortunately my Pancious Kelapa Gading Mall dining experience was not all that nice. I had the Beef and Blue Cheese pancake. It was cheesy alright, but I doubt they put a humane amount of blue cheese in the sauce. On top of my head, the cook could threw in a hefty amount of cream, cream cheese and a pinky nail portion of bleu, but my sarcastic foodie hunch said that it’s just cream and ready made Kraft’s blue cheese dressing..hehehe. Such a nitpick.
Beef with blue cheese sauce single pancake and Peach juice.
Nice fluffy American pancakes, with blue cheese sauce that would make Scooby tilt his head and say 'meh!'.
Hubby, being a French he is, steered clear the pancake dishes and had Beef Bbq burger instead. He made no comment, but I tasted it.. it was okay with no wow factor.
Pancious' BBQ Beef Burger. Meaty burger with no wow factor.
Verdict!
The Pancious experience was interesting but I think I’d easily choose other restaurants over Pancious.
Where: Kelapa Gading Mall 5, Ground Floor, next to Citibank.
Concept: American pancake with traditional and non traditional sides and garnishes.
Crowds: Family, couple, group of friends.
Food: 5 out of 10
Service: 3 out 10
Overheard over the dining table: “The service here is so bad.”; Customer: “Why aren’t we informed about the complimentary Pancious anniversary pancake?” Waiter: “Because it’s valid only to customers who order more than 250k meals” — there were 6 people on the table spending averagely 50K. Logic gone AWOL.
Bottomline: Clueless waiter and waitresses driving the customers out few moments before the actual closing hour and their body language discouraged us from ordering more food, staying put, or thinking about returning.
FouFouFood! 