“M Bloc Space: the House of Vibrant Gigs and Creative Culture”
Established on September 2019, M Bloc Space is this new kid on the bloc that managed to captivate the hearts of local Jakarta citizen with its’ old-school, yet hype, atmosphere. Its’ unique and very much ’90s-esque design makes it beyond easy to be lovable, hence resulting in a full house during most weekdays and every weekends. Not only that this place has various dinning places that serve scrumptious food, there are also numerous tenants that fulfill the needs of music and art of some people. Cassettes and vinyls are available in one of the tenants that attends to music, while local comic books are also available to be purchased, as well as its’ limited edition merchandise. I personally love to hang out at M Bloc Space because the food availability.
My personal favorite is this particular casual-dinning place, named Mr. Roastman. This restaurant serves various smoked meat options, as well as cold beverages, breakfast-themed food, tea-time snacks, and coffee. For those of you who would love to just kill time and catch up with your homies, with some flavored tea and canele de bordeaux to share, you can definitely occupy the front outdoor seatings with its’ picnic-themed benches. But, if you’re in for a splendid dining experience, the upper indoor seating is your go to because, that way, you get to enjoy your smoked beef accompanied by an endless array of pop music playing from the speakers.
I’ve been here a couple of times with my beloved ones and here were some of the dishes that I got to try.
Mr Roastman Burger Combo
A quadruple-decker burger filled with tons of good stuff - meaning, this burger is four stacks high! Consists of a generous layer of pulled original Mr. Roastman’s smoked beef, chicken katsu, some beef pâté, beef bacon, caramelized onion, smoked cheese, and juicy greens hugged in between a thick buttery brioche buns. The size of this burger is quite intimidating, but I’m sure a person can devour this dish in a blink of an eye with no doubt. You can also share this burger with your best buddy if you would, like I did.
I only tried a bite of the brioche buns because I was on a diet at the time me and my friends visited Mr. Roastman. It was quite light, though is seemed a bit compact, and it was deliciously fluffy. I could definitely distinguish the generous butter that was slabbed on the brioche, making it full of fragrance and flavorful.
The fillings, on the one hand, were delicious to say the least. The pulled smoked beef was very smoky and rich in flavor, while the beef pâté was plain juicy and savory. I love the combination of all the meat with the sweet caramelized onions, it was just delightful! Though I’m not really a big fan of greens in my burgers, the fresh veggies definitely managed to neutralize all that grease and calmed my tummy down. There wasn’t anything to complain about Mr Roastman’s Burger Combo other than the fact that I wanted more of it.
Southern Smoked Ribs with Fries
This was what boyfriend had at our date night at Mr. Roastman. I’m not a fan of fatty meat, so the Southern Smoked Ribs wasn’t the option I took. Boyfriend, on the other hand, loves his meat juicy and fatty, so he opted for this smoked ribs.
Its’ size was bigger than both of my fists combined and it sure looked amazing, despite the simply presentation of the dish. Boyfriend ordered his meat to be cooked medium well and a nice set of pinkish ribs was what he got. The waiter gave him a set of fork and knife to indulge on his ribs and I think it was a mistake, because the moment that fork jabbed into the ribs, the tender meat just fell out involuntarily without it being sliced. It was THAT tender! What else do you expect from something that had been smoked for 18 hours straight?
Mr. Roastman truly has the best smoked dishes I have ever tasted in my life! The smoky flavor of the meat invigorated my tastebuds after that one bite from the boyfriend. The smoky flavor definitely eclipsed the savoriness of the ribs, yet the seasonings that were smothered on that slab of meat were still distinguishable. Though the concept of the restaurant is casual, the dishes were definitely luxurious and rich.
Iga Bakar Madu
As I stated before, I’m no fan of fatty meat and this particular dish has fat smothered all over it. Although the Honey Grilled Ribs share the same meat part with the Southern Smoked Ribs, this particular dish had the ribs cut into bite-sized. I tried a bit of it and regret my decision because of how fatty it was. Yet, I’m sure you fatty meat lovers out there would go crazy for this baby.
The meat melted right away the moment it got in your mouth before you could even chew it. It was honey glazed, hence the overpowering sweetness that dominated the entire flavor wheel. It was served with a bowl of warm rice and pickled vegetables, and they sure went well with each other.
Smoked Beef Brisket (Lean/Moist)
Now, this is my go to at Mr. Roastman! The beef brisket came in two options, lean and moist - in which, the lean one is straight up meat, while the moist one has a good handful of fat in it. You can also chose a 100g serving, a 200g serving, or a 200g serving with potato chips. I know I ain’t weak, so I opted for the lean 200g serving with potato chips. In my head, I imagined my sliced beef brisket to be thin and lanky, hence, the decision of ordering the 200g serving. Turns out, them meat was sliced thick! I was in shock when the waiter served my order on the table. It was somewhat intimidating, but not when compared with boyfriend’s Southern Smoked Ribs. But, still quite intimidating.
My smoked beef brisket was smoked for 18 to 24 hours and it was served with a generous amount of Mr. Roastman’s creamy and spicy signature sauce. I ordered mine medium well and, boy, it was tender! Unlike boyfriend, who was served with fork and knife to indulge in his meat, I was given a spoon and it managed to cut through the beef brisket with no effort needed. Although it was a tad bit dry, I love this dish with all my heart. Smoky, meaty, flavorful, not to mention very fulfilling, you should definitely give this one a try!
Writing this food review during quarantine is making me having this urge to go out and give M Bloc Space a visit, but I won’t. I just hope that this pandemic will be over soon, so that we can all dine again at Mr. Roastman. For the time being, let’s just stay at home and lessen the possibilities of us getting infected with the virus.
Mr. Roastman
M Bloc Space, Pedestrian Selatan
Jl. Panglima Polim Raya, No. 37
Senopati, Jakarta - 12160
Opening Hours:
MON : 15 PM - 10 PM
TUE - THU : 10 AM - 10 PM
FRI - SUN : 8 AM - 11 PM
Contact:
+62 819 219 9998
