Busaba a Thai Café, PIK Avenue — Restaurant in Jakarta

Love the food that I had during my visit. Came with a friend on a Friday night and we ordered 4 dishes and a dessert to share.

What we ordered: Crab Meat Fried Rice (100k) • 8.5/10 The fried rice was nicely seasoned and pretty savory. They used long grain rice and it was cooked well—soft and fluffy and not mushy.

Clear Seafood Tom Yum (95k) • 8.5/10 The flavor is rich but yet still very light. Really like the balance between the heat and sourness of the soup.

Salmon Salad (170k) • 8/10 The salmon was very fresh and was cut beautifully. The flavor of the dressing is very bold. It’s spicy and sour and everything goes well together. I can’t really handle spicy food, so even though I could ate this, it got a little too spicy for me by the time I finished this dish. If you can't really handle spicy food, you can ask them to just put the sauce on the side.

Roast Duck Red Curry (130k) • 9.5/10 This was my favorite dish out out of all the four dishes we ordered. The red curry was super bold and flavorful with deep curry flavor and heat from the red chili paste. Very umami. The roast duck meat is firm but not dry. Had this with warm white rice and it was heaven. The only thing that I thought was a bit surprising was the peas were a little undercooked compared to everything that was in that bowl. If they were cooked a little more and (if I want to nitpick) the duck skin is crispier, I would’ve given this dish a 10/10.

Mango Sticky Rice (70K) • 8/10 Everything on this plate was good and the coconut cream wasn’t too sweet. Would love it if the mango is a bit more chilled but overall a solid mango sticky rice.

The food portion here is a bit on the smaller side. Service was good. The food came out pretty quickly and the server was quick on their feet during our meal. Noise level in this place is pretty high, especially when the restaurant is full and if there's event going on the main atrium of the mall.

I sat on one of the table with wide sofa and the height of the table is a bit low so it was a little bit awkward when I was eating cause I had to bent down quite a bit. I would suggest to go for one of the regular table for a more comfortable eating experience. But all and all, definitely will go back to try their...

Busaba in PIK Avenue Mall was a total surprise! This mall isn’t exactly known for top-notch service or luxury vibes, but Busaba hits a sweet spot with pretty good and affordable Thai food, plus a bit of that luxe feel.

We dropped by on a Saturday afternoon. They don’t usually do reservations, but the host was awesome and hooked us up with a cozy sofa table, seeing we had a kid and a baby with us. The service was just amazing and super accommodating.

About the food – I was honestly impressed. You know how fancy-looking Thai places sometimes don’t taste that great? Busaba doesn’t have that problem.

A bunch of dishes stood out, but the crab omelette? Wow, it was a hit. It reminded me of Jay Fai’s famous crab omelette in Bangkok. It’s not exactly the same, of course, but for its price, Busaba’s version is really good. Definitely recommend it.

The tom yum was another standout. It’s not your traditional Thai tom yum, and I’ve seen mixed reviews about it, but when I tried it, it was on point. It had this great mix of sweet, sour, and spicy, and the soup was a bit thicker than the ones you usually find – but an interesting twist that I kinda appreciate.

All that to say, Busaba’s a great spot to hit up in PIK Avenue if you’re craving...

I absolutely loved my meal here today. I ordered the Green Curry, the Long Beans with Shrimp and for my main I ordered the Grilled Lamb Rack. Also ordered the Salted Fish Fried Rice. Everything was amazing. I was eating solo but I like to have variety hence the 4 plates. The taste and flavour of the Lamb Rack is something I will never forget. One of the best tasting meat dishes I have eaten and that says a lot because I am a carnivore at heart. I travel the world and have had amazing meals but this one is right up there. The curry and the Shrimp and beans dish were really good as well. I am staying nearby 4 a couple more days and will be back to try some of their other dishes but I think I will be ordering the Lamb rack each time. Definitely recommend if you can. Cheers The cost per person that I have picked may seem high but that price would cover all 4 dishes I ordered and those would be enough for 2 normal people but like I said I always order a variety of dishes even when I travel solo. Got to try...