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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Sindbad Restaurant & Cafe, Jakarta

He's Sindbad the Sailor Man. He's Sindbad the Sailor Man. He's strong to the finich cause he eats his spinach, he's Sindbad the Sailor Man…

The Yanks may have Popeye but the Arabs have Sindbad – a sailor man from Basrah, now in modern day Iraq but back in Sindbad’s day, a city of the Abbasid Caliphate.

And here in central Jakarta, in the rather scuzzy and low brow district of Petamburan, you can find the Sindbad Restaurant, an eatery which purveys good quality and fairly pricey Arabic grub.

 
Sindbad Restaurant & Cafe, Jakarta

I often head past this restaurant on my way to the gym but have never stopped by, so after many years, decided to let my curiosity get the better of me.

And in I went.

Not too bad. A calm and relaxing vibe. Red themed décor which you often find in Arab restaurants. A large aquarium with not many tropical fish – I hope this wasn’t because they’d been eaten!

The waitresses were pleasant and helpful but with their headscarves and Arabic garb could easily have been mistaken as stewardesses on a Middle Eastern airline.

As it’s a Middle Eastern restaurant, you can be sure that one thing will be on the menu: lamb. And more lamb. And even more lamb.

To go with the roast lamb, you can choose from a wide range of side dishes. These include fresh salads – like the zesty and minty Syrian salad – and the Yemeni salad – incorporating yogust and the much-loved-in-Indonesia sambal.

For the rice, there is of course biriyani and the lesser known kabsa (Arabian rice flavored with tomato) as well as kabbuli.

To wash all this rich food down, drink tons of water.

Cos there’s no beer on the menu!

What?!!!!!

Sindbad Restaurant
Jl. Aipda K.S. Tubun No. 2,
Petamburan,
Central Jakarta,
Telp (021) 530 8366

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