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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Face Bar, Menteng Jakarta

There are bars you go to get pissed and there are bars you go to be seen. Needless to say, the extremely plush and fancy Face bar in diplomatic Menteng is firmly in the latter category.

Managed by the Face Group, this bar is actually one of the oldest in Jakarta and has TWO fine restaurants in the same building – the Lan Na Tai (Thai) and Hazara (North Indian).

So there’s no excuse to drink on an empty stomach! Hahaha!

Face Bar, Menteng Jakarta

Not your common spit-and-sawdust boozer, the Face Bar is the place you come to close a business deal or impress a worthy date.

Okay, so how does the bar measure up?

Well, it’s posh. Antiques are everywhere – and they are the real McCoy and not just cheapo imitations. The bar pays homage to the sort of tavern that traders would have rested at as they traveled the legendary silk route all those years ago. I’m not sure how that’s relevant to modern day Jakarta but it was probably just as quick to travel on a camel back then as it is to travel by car in today’s Jakarta.

So give the place a try some time.

And if you find it’s a bit too posh?

Well, the dangdut bars on Jalan Blora are only a stone’s throw away.
But that’s a different story altogether!

Face Bar,
Kusuma Atmaja No. 85,
Imam Bonjol,
Jakarta
Tel: 021 319 25037
E-mail: jakarta@facebars.com

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