Kelapa Gading in North Jakarta has long been renowned as culinary heaven for those food hunters in Jakarta. This residential area is a dwelling place to just about every kind of food one could imagine, from Western, Chinese food, Indian food, seafood, bakmi (noodles served with meat toppings), kwetiau (flat rice noodles served with beef), to local snacks, such as martabak (Indonesian pancake) and pastel (pastry filled with rice noodles, vegetables, egg and chicken or beef).

There will be no end to discussing the culinary delights in Kelapa Gading and the one we are discussing now is bakmi. Bakmi means "meat noodle" in Hokkien Chinese, referring to a bowl of wheat noodles topped with minced or chunks of cooked chicken, pork, or beef. Kelapa Gading is one of many areas in Jakarta where many Indonesian-Chinese people live, making it a perfect place for bakmi hunting for Jakartans. Here is the list of some favourites bakmi restaurants in Kelapa Gading.

1. Bakmi Ho Liaw

The superstar in this noodles house is their roasted pork, super crunchy on the outside and succulent on the inside. It can top your noodles or your rice. However, Ho Liaw also serves all sorts of rice dishes such as Hainan rice and steamed rice. They also have side dishes like dumplings and fried meatballs made from deep-fried pork or chicken.

As for the noodles, it comes with a soft chewy texture and slightly savoury taste. You can choose the type of noodles you want. They serve curly noodles, soft-texture noodles, and a bit wide-shaped noodles. Ho Liaw is open on Tuesday to Sunday from 8 am to 3 pm and closed on Monday.

Location: https://goo.gl/maps/M1XbGdq4v1onviAy7

2. Bakmi Gading Permai (BGP)

This noodle bar is a new player in the block. First opened in 2018, BGP immediately became a favourite for those bakmi hunters not only in Kelapa Gading but Jakarta as well. BGP serves those famous Ujung Pandang dishes such as their famous thicker noodles and Ujung Pandang red fried rice.

The main topping of their dishes is the Ujung Pandang style roasted pork. The roasted pork is cooked traditionally with a special Ujung Pandang concoction. It smells so good! BGP opens daily from 7 am to 8 pm.

Location: https://g.page/BeGePe?share

3. Mie Benteng

Another bakmi house that can cause pork noodles craving in Kelapa Gading is Mie Benteng. This noodle house offers a bowl of warm pork noodles that tastes delicious. Here, there is a choice of noodle portions, i.e small and large, to be adjusted to your portion.

The special thing about this place is nothing beats the galore of the toppings. This noodle bar attracts consumers to choose from 5 kinds of meat or you can pick them all. Minced chicken, crispy chicken, minced pork, chasio pork, and roast pork are all cooked with special spices of Mie Benteng. It is said that from the noodles to all the meats and complementary seasonings are homemade to preserve all those rich, tasty, and delicate flavours.

Mie Benteng is open on Monday to Tuesday from 6 am to 3 pm and Thursday to Sunday from 6 am to 3 pm. They're closed on Wednesday.

Location: https://goo.gl/maps/ukXE6fgM2zk1B7uP8

4. Bakmi Foek

Two words best describe this noodle house are tasty and affordable. Bakmi Foek was first opened in 2004 and their must-order menu is their bakmi karet (English: rubber). The texture of the noodles is slightly thicker and chewier than regular noodles, like rubber that's why Indonesian call it "bakmi karet". But don't worry, it's safe to eat and not made out of rubber. They serve chicken and pork for the toppings. The noodles are also in two choices of portions, small and large.

You will get to enjoy indeed rich and tasty noodles at an affordable price. You will not regret coming to this noodle shop. Bakmi Foek is open from Tuesday to Sunday from 5.30 am to 9 pm and is closed on Monday.

Location: https://goo.gl/maps/kereAhy7QUpA3Hoc8

5. Bakmi Atham

What I love most about this noodle shop is the topping of super crispy roasted pork that adorns the noodle bowl. With quite a large portion of the noodles and many toppings, it will definitely satisfy your craving for delicious and full of flavour noodles.

This one in Kelapa Gading is a branch of Bakmi Atham in Mangga Besar. Many noodle hunters are crazy about the super large portion and the plentiful toppings. The toppings come with many choices, from steamed chicken, minced pork soy sauce, red chasiu, crispy pork belly, and many more. Once you come here, you will definitely come again! This noodle bar is open daily from 6.30 am to 5 pm.

Location: https://g.page/bakmi-atham-kelapa-gading?share

6. Ncek Legenda Noodle Bar

A quirky noodle bar concept, where you get to make some adjustments to your bowl of noodles until the smallest detail. A perfect place for the most finicky eater!

Pick either regular noodles, rice noodles, flat rice noodles, rice, and then the toppings you want on top. There are steamed chicken, minced pork, bacon, honey pork chasiu, roasted pork, premium US beef, smoked beef and salmon. Where else can you find a noodle bar with such a complete selection of toppings?

Ultimately, you get to pick the size of your noodle and the names for the noodle sizes are unique too.  From camat (110gr), governor (220gr), president (330gr), ultimate (440gr), emperor (550gr), and dictator (1100gr), those are the names of the noodle sizes. Can you imagine eating 1 kilo of noodles? It must be so crazy but Ncek Legenda Noodle Bar really pulls a string.

Wanna try it? This noodle bar is open daily from 7 am to 9 pm.
Location: https://goo.gl/maps/6YsSHMEGCkrQhvDm6

That's the list of top noodles houses in Kelapa Gading in our version. Is your favourite bakmi place not on the list? Comment below!