Work Hard, Brunch Harder at Devon, Jakarta's Latest Aussie-Style Café
Jakarta. Sydney café Devon opened its doors for the first time in Indonesia at Senayan City on Friday (27/04).
The three owners — head chef Zach Tan, Derek Puah and David Mann — opened Devon five years ago in Sydney, where they now have three branches.
They decided to open their first overseas branch in Jakarta after meeting Alvin – now their business partner – an Indonesian who studied in Australia.
Since the beginning, Devon specialized in an "international" menu, not an Australian one.
"We try not to call the food Australian because Australia is multicultural. We do it like how we want to eat our breakfast. It is our food. It is how we were brought up," Derek said.
Chef Tan provides a wide range of flavors from Japan, Malaysia, France, Italian and now Indonesia.
Local favorites nasi goreng (fried rice) and bakmi ayam (chicken noodles) also appear in the cafe's Jakarta branch.
"We want to respect the culture because we are here," Derek said.
The menu uses unique names that usually tell a story.
Their signature "Breakfast with the Sakumas" features a caramelized salmon, an eel croquette along with a fresh salad.
Sakuma is actually Tan's wife's middle name.
"Ogre Happy Meal" is a premium version of McDonald's happy meal featuring hash browns topped off with a thick-cut and juicy grilled ox tongue and a runny egg.
The ox tongue may scare some at first but the tender and perfectly-seasoned meat will quickly change anyone's opinion on offals.
"Lost in Zen Garden" is Devon's twist on the classic french toast. The soft and warm brioche toast is filled with sour yuzu paste, sprinkled with matcha powder and topped off with vanilla ice cream and sweet clementines.
Their Kakigori (a Japanese shaved iced dessert doused with a sweetener) impresses by its mere size: a huge mound of jellies hiding beneath a tall heap of purple-colored shaved ice, topped off with a scoop of ube (purple yam) ice cream and sauce.
Once the ice melts, the sweetness will be diluted, and so this dessert is perfect for anyone who isn't so much of a sweet-tooth.
Devon actually posted one of their chefs from Sydney in Jakarta for a year before the café is opened to make sure everything is done to the same standard.
Already known for their signature coffee, Devon had to create an entirely new house blend for the Jakarta branch.
Their Sydney blend, made from Ethiopian beans, is sweeter than their Indonesian blend, which is made from local beans and has a more full-bodied taste.
"It was a struggle to bring in our own beans from Sydney because of [Indonesia's] quarantine rules. So we sent our head barista here about two months before opening to look for local beans and blend them to get the taste as close as possible to the blend we have in Sydney," Derek said.
As a brand, Devon's motto has always been to make a difference. "When we first started Devon, we wanted to be different. We didn't want to do what everyone else was already doing," Derek said.
Address: Senayan City, Lantai Lower Ground, Crystal Lagoon, Jl. Asia Afrika, Senayan.
Opening hours: 10 a.m. - 10 pm.
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