MonViet at Setiabudi One, Jakarta

Yesterday, I had a chat with an ex-colleague who really loves to eat Thai and Vietnamese food. He told me that he had visited almost all Thai and Vietnamese restaurants in Seattle, USA. So far, he could not find any good Thai and Vietnamese restaurant in Jakarta. I suggested him to try and eat at monViet, which in my opinion is one of the best Vietnamese restaurants in Jakarta. 

Since monViet has just opened a new branch in Setiabudi Building One and it is much closer than going to Lippo Mall Kemang, we decided to go there today.

A stall of the Vietnamese baguette.

Open kitchen.

Platter of monViet - Rp. 69.000

A combination of monViet's appetizers.

The Cha Gio Re (crispy spring rolls) was delicious as I remembered. My ex-colleague was impressed with the freshness of the Goi Cuon Tom Ga (summer rolls with shrimp and chicken). We enjoyed these appetizers with peanut sauce and sweet sour chili sauce.

 Banh Mi Ga - Rp. 44.000
Vietnamese baguette.

I chose this baguette because of the five spices sauteed chicken intrigued me. The baguette was fresh and crunchy. As for the chicken,  the first 3/4 chicken in the baguette was pretty dry. Good thing that the 1/4 of the chicken tasted better (maybe because of the sauce).

Bun Nuong Sa - Rp. 52.000

Vermicelli with lemongrass grilled chicken on the top.

Bun is the favorite Vietnamese dish to my ex-colleague and I. It is a must to order whenever I see this on the menu in a Vietnamese restaurant. The Bun at monViet in Lippo Mall Kemang was amazingly delicious. But then, my ex-colleague and I were quite disappointed of this totally tasteless Bun Nuong Sa. I seriously missed the sweet zesty taste in the sauce. Besides, the vegetables in the bowl were mostly just the romaine lettuce, bean sprout and cucumber, very little of the Vietnamese fresh herbs.

Ca Phe Sua Da - Rp. 41.000

Iced white coffee  

For the drink, we ordered iced white coffee. It was not served until I reminded the waitress; we had almost finished our meal. When the waitress finally brought the two glasses of white coffee, she told us to wait until the coffee has done dripping from the individual small metal French brewing drip filter then the ice cubes will be delivered to our table. 

I asked the waitress to bring the ice cubes directly after I saw there was no more coffee dripping into the glass. At that time, we already done eating our meal. We waited and asked again for the ice cubes. I even asked three times to different waiters but still none of them brought the ice cubes until my ex-colleague had to ask for the fourth time using a bit harsh tone. 

Well, thank goodness for the wonderful iced white coffee; it definitely eliminated our annoyance as soon as we had the first sip of it.

 All prices are subjected to 10% government tax and 7% service charge.

Current currency:

1 USD = Rp. 12.531

Location:
MonViet Setiabudi One
Setiabudi One
Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said
South Jakarta
Tel: 5201040

Related post: MonViet Kemang, Jakarta

Disclaimer: The review and opinion expressed here are purely according to my personal taste. There's a possibility that the taste of the food might change later on, which could affect the review and opinion here. I also affirm that no monetary or non-monetary compensation has been received from this restaurant for writing this review.