Ikkudo Ichi Grand Indonesia — Restaurant in Jakarta

Ikkudo Ichi has always been my comfort food for ramen, and I usually go to the Grand Indonesia branch because it’s close to home. Unfortunately, my last visit was the first time I left feeling uncomfortable.

I came alone on a Sunday afternoon (August, 10). The waitress showed me to my seat and handed me the menu. When I started ordering, I said, “One Tori Karaage and one iced ocha.” The waitress immediately replied, “Just karaage??” - before I could finish my order. I had to pause and explain that I wasn’t done yet, then added my ramen order.

The comment might seem small, but it felt judgmental and unprofessional. Even if I had wanted only karaage, there’s nothing wrong with that. Customers should never feel awkward about what they choose to order.

To make matters worse, when I went to pay, the same waitress only handed me the invoice. I had to go back and specifically ask for the payment receipt so I could upload it to my GI app.

Ikkudo GI has always been a place I associate with comfort and good food, but this experience was a disappointment. I hope the staff can be trained to provide warmer and more professional service...

I remember the joy I had the first time I visit Ikkudo Ichi. Since I had zero experiences with a full-blown ramen restaurant, I asked the waitress for a recommendation. I can't remember the name but good God was it tasty.. after I pour all kind of condiments above it.

They serves a couple of condiments sauce at the table but one that you should take notice is that red-colored one. It's called "Layu" sauce, if I am not mistaken and it gave the ramen the signature Japanese taste with a slight kick of garlic aroma apart of the spiciness it needs. Make sure to give it a drop or two and you should see an improvement over its taste.

I won't be so harsh and say that the vanilla ramen Ikkudo offer aren't tasty and that they rely heavily on those additional sauce; they're alright. But for my taste, they're just not as great as people tend to say.

The final blow for me was the price. If I reckon correctly, I was charged over 50k for a single bowl of ramen. Don't get me wrong: I will happily pay more should the dining experience mathces the price but for this time 'round, it just...

I usually ordered Ikkudo's Buta Kara (Pork ramen with red special souce-spicy) and my wife ordered Buta Signature (Pork ramen), but I just realize that the spicy overpowered the broth. They have option for ramen, flavor and oil richness. I like my ramen normal, strong flavor and heavy oil. But, because of the spice, my wife's normal flavor and oil, have a richer broth flavor. So if you really want to have a richer broth, maybe you can skip the spicy souce, you can add the chili powder if you want some spice. Don't forget to ask garlic, they don't serve garlic at your table anymore, so you have to ask for it. Tip : don't eat at the peak hour, the queue will drive you crazy, just eat early or late if you want to eat here. Shop...