There's no such thing as a free lunch...Or is there?

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It's official. The next president of Indonesia is former army general Prabowo Subianto. Quite how the next five years will pan out is anyone's guess but hopefully the foreign pundits who always bring up his dodgy human rights record will be proven wrong. Nonetheless, on policy making, Prabowo's popularist move to literally offer the poor 'a free lunch' every day of the week does not augur well for the future. Such a policy - if it ever came to fruition - would cost a phenomenal amount of money and likely lead to huge inefficiencies (food waste) and poor incentives (make people lazy). Another concern is Prabowo's strong nationalist bent. Thus, in the possible event that he finds himself with his back against the proverbial wall in the face of stern economic challenges, there is a big chance that he will simply scapegoat foreigners. But he will have to be careful. Construction of the new capital city, Nusantara, for example, is highly dependent on foreign in
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Immigrant night club

Remember, remember always, that all of us, and you and I especially, are descended from immigrants and revolutionists.
~Franklin D. Roosevelt

 Immigrant is, in a word, respectable. But then again, you’d expect it to be; after all, this thematic nightclub/bar/restaurant is located within the confines of Plaza Indonesia, a plush yet rather characterless mall in the center of Jakarta.

 The venue is decked out as a vintage New York warehouse, resplendent with classic brickwork, monstrous industrial fans, and overhead ducts and piping.

 As for the people who come here, they are the upmarket crowd, the so-called beautiful people of Jakarta, a mollycoddled and spoilt bunch, the very opposite, ironically, of the gritty immigrants who made their way to America at the turn of the 20th century.

“A gathering place that cuts across cultures and cliques”, claims the marketing spiel. Well perhaps not. But then again you might meet a business executive from Singapore or perhaps Hong Kong.

 But for all the pretentiousness, this ain’t that bad a place. It’s large enough to inspire the imagination and the music, whilst commercial, is uplifting enough. Good views across Jakarta add to the mood. The restaurant here could even be considered as something as a find – the steaks and tapas are particularly good.

You are, however, never that far away from the marketing gimmicks and the bar’s signature drink, a blend of Granny Smith apples, vodka, thyme, and lemon, has been named the “Green Card” – groan!

 Immigrant Nightclub and Restaurant
Plaza Indonesia Level 6th #E02-E03
Jalan M.H. Thamrin Kav. 28-30
Central Jakarta

 Telp (021) 3983 8257
Email: Info@immigrant-jakarta.com

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