Chāo Cháo Jakarta — Restaurant in Jakarta

A group of four of us dined at Hakkasan Jakarta on their opening night (Friday 8th Feb) - let’s just say there is PLENTY of room for improvement!

We were all genuinely excited and looking forward to the experience and were impressed as we arrived at the sub roof level dining area where we were greeted politely and shown to the bar.

The cocktail menu was extensive with a mix of signature cocktails and twists on classics. The Plum Sour was great and service was prompt and polite.

Once seated at our table the waiter explained the menu (sharing/family) concept and the Sommelier was also solid as we tested his wine knowledge.

...and they are the positives...now onto the “what needs/can be improved”

The service was absolutely TERRIBLE!! Our entree (mixed platter of dim sum) arrived 40 minutes after ordering (lucky we were deep in conversation so it wasn’t to bad - but still...waiting 40 minutes for DimSum is not acceptable). The platter itself was ok - nothing to rave about but rather just OK.

Our mains - what a disaster - having ordered the whole Peking Duck we were advised by our waiter that the skin would be served with pancakes and the breast/meat would be served later (with stir fried veg). This is fine - but the breast/meat arrived 1.5hrs after the pancakes when we were about to order desert. I had queried three times about the dish and was told the meat was already in the pancakes (which it certainly didn’t appear to be).

One of our other mains (honey baked cod) also arrived extremely late (45 minutes later than the other main dishes) as did the rice which we had to request several times.

In the end we skipped desert as by this time it was 11:45pm (having been seated at our table at 9:00pm)

Unless the wait staff we’re delivering food there was no other service and we ended up pouring our own wine and water - which when you are paying IDR 1.8m per head (which is what our bill was) you expect more.

At the end of the evening I did express our frustration at the service and slow meal Times and the head waiter acknowledged this and did take the fish off our bill - which was a nice gesture...but I would have much preferred to have paid for it and had it served on time!

Overall an average meal and service for what I was really hoping to be an exceptional dining experience. Sure some of this comes down to opening night issues - but top restaurants DONT make paying customers wait that long for food (with no explanation) and the lack of service was also unacceptable.

Not sure I would bother going back to see if it has improved - but will certainly be interested to hear how other...

🥡 If you value your peace and privacy, let me introduce you to a place you should never share your phone number with: Chao Chao Jakarta. I once tried to make a reservation, but it was cancelled. Since then, they’ve decided I’m their new marketing target. I’ve never dined there, yet my phone keeps buzzing with relentless WhatsApp promos, despite my polite requests to be removed from their list.

🥟 It all started with a harmless “Try our Dim Sum Delight!” message. I ignored it, thinking it was a one-time thing, but they kept coming, like an overcooked sequel no one asked for. Apparently, cancelling a reservation doesn’t cancel your subscription to their marketing!

🍜 I’ve asked nicely — “Please remove me from your list.” But the messages persist. Every time I get a new special offer, I’m reminded that my request was thrown straight into the wok. It’s like they think my inbox is their personal playground!

🥠 The kicker? I’ve never even been to this restaurant! Yet, they seem determined to inform me of every deal, from steamed lobster to Peking Duck. It’s like they’re haunting me with a dining experience I never had.

🍤 My favorite? A message during an important meeting about their “Steamed Lobster Feast.” Nothing screams “professional” like seafood deals buzzing in your pocket. Chao Chao, stop trying to make lobster happen!

🥢 What baffles me most is their refusal to acknowledge my repeated requests to opt out. They act like no one could possibly not want to hear about their latest promotion. Spoiler: I don’t.

🥮 If you’re thinking, “I’ll just ignore it,” good luck. They don’t spam daily, but just enough to remind you they won’t respect your wishes. It’s like they want you to remember them… forever.

🍣 And the guilt trips! One message said, “We noticed you haven’t visited us yet. Are you missing out?” Missing out? The only thing I’m missing is the satisfaction of knowing they’ve listened to me.

🥡 To anyone thinking of dining at Chao Chao Jakarta: do not give them your number unless you want it to become their hotline. You might think you’re signing up for a one-time promo, but it’s a subscription to unsolicited messages that never end.

🍤 To Chao Chao: please, hire a more respectful marketing team. You’ve got upscale cuisine, now how about serving some respect for your customers’ privacy? Maybe then, people will actually want to eat your Peking Duck rather than block your number.

🐉 Final note: Don’t let your craving for dim sum turn into dim spam. Once they have your number, they won’t let it go. You’ve...

Their reservation line took forever to go through, had to call through the hotel to get us transferred to their restaurant operator. Upon entering, the decor and interior reminds me of Hakkasan in Shanghai (got me super excited as I really loved it there).

Looking at the menu and ignoring the prices as the ones in Las Vegas and Shanghai were totally worth every penny. But lo and beholdddddd, was seriously disappointed with the quality of foods served in this branch.

Their Lobster and sweet corn soup was just meh, fishy, nothing exciting. Spring onion and egg fried rice - it tasted close to Panda Express, but costs 3x as much - totally plain, tasteless, just check out the photo. I have had better tasting egg fried rice that cost me ¥3. I can't believe that this is their signature dish.

The dish that upsets me the most is their Tofu, aubergine and mushroom claypot, recommended by our waiter. This dish not only looked unappetizing, the taste is also just like their other dishes, lacks any zing, nothing special, just salty and disappointing.

Their Crispy roasted chicken with garlic and sesame, apart from the skin being crispy, the meat just tasted like fried garlic with a hint of sesame. BAD SIGNATURE DISH. SAD.

The only dish that was ok was their Supreme dim sum platter ( Scallop shui mai, seabass dumpling, truffle har gau, lobster crab dumpling). The scallop was not my favourite, abit fishy, the lobster vrab was also fishy.

Chocolate peanut - looks fancy, instagrammable, snap, ok next!!

Also, we were trying to finish up our soups by alternating it with other dishes as it just tasted bad, and the waiters came several times trying to remove our bowls, very annoying. Without cleaning the table properly, they placed dessert spoons on the dirty surface, waw. I am very disappointed with my overall experience as neither their service nor their foods lived up to my expectation from other Hakkasan loactions.

Overall I am rating this establishement a 4 SAD FACE/5 SAD FACE or 1/5 for their foods 4/5 for the...