Kampung Kecil was one of those Jakarta names that kept following us around before the trip. TikTok loved it. The photos looked good. The whole place had strong “last meal before the airport” energy, which made sense once we saw where it was. PIK 2 is close enough to the Soekarno-Hatta Airport that you can either stop here after landing or make it your final meal before leaving. We went with the second option. One last lunch, one last shot at Jakarta food glory, one last chance to pretend we were making wise decisions.
The restaurant itself makes a strong first impression. A very, very strong one. Bamboo decor, pools, layered kampung-house styling, and enough rustic theatre to make you momentarily forget you are in one of Jakarta’s newer polished districts. There is indoor seating, outdoor seating, and even an upper floor. We chose the outdoor lower-ground section because if a restaurant is clearly trying to sell you a village fantasy, it feels rude not to commit. So yes, we sat cross-legged on the floor like respectful participants in the concept.
For the first few minutes, it was charming. Then Jakarta reminded us that it is still Jakarta.
The best thing about Kampung Kecil is the space. It is calm, open, and genuinely pleasant to sit in. You can hear birds. You can hear water moving through the decorative pools. You are not elbow-to-elbow with the next table. After tighter dining rooms at Remboelan, that alone felt luxurious. The place has a proper atmosphere. Not fake mood lighting. Not design-by-committee. Actual atmosphere.
The downside is simple. If you cannot handle heat, do not sit outside just because the view is pretty. We did, and while the setting stayed beautiful, the temperature eventually started winning the argument. Indoor seating exists for a reason. Use it.
Tahu Sumedang: Crisp Outside, Hollow Inside, Short On Personality
The first dish to arrive was Tahu Sumedang, the fried tofu from West Java known for its crisp exterior and airy interior. That puffed, hollow structure is the whole point. When fried properly, the tofu develops those little pockets inside that make it feel lighter and more interesting than regular fried tofu.
Texture-wise, this one did its job. The outside had crunch. The inside had that airy, sponge-like quality. But flavour-wise, it leaned too hard on the condiment strategy. On its own, it was bland. There was chilli on the side, and yes, that is how it is meant to be eaten. But with an airport transfer looming in the background, we didn’t feel brave enough to start experimenting with raw heat. Without that support, the tofu came off as a demonstration rather than a craving.
Not terrible. Not even bad. Just one of those dishes where you keep waiting for the personality to show up and it never really does.
Pisang Goreng: Curiosity Got The Better Of Us
Then came the Pisang Goreng, which in hindsight was a slightly unserious order. But sometimes the final day of a trip encourages bad choices and this was one of them.
Yes, fried banana exists back home. Yes, better versions can probably be found in Johor Bahru with less travel involved. No, we do not have a strong defence for ordering it in Jakarta. Curiosity got involved. Curiosity was not rewarded.
The batter was crisp enough, but the banana itself was not especially sweet. Then came the sambal kicap, and that was where things got strange. Back home, sambal kicap means one thing: sweet and spicy). Here, it was a bit sour, slightly spicy and a lot sharper than expected. Once the pisang goreng hit that sauce, everyone paused for a moment and quietly tried to understand what exactly was happening.
We are glad we tried it, because at least now we know. But this is not the dish to gamble your appetite on.
Udang Telur Asin: Big Prawns, Gentle Salted Egg, No Real Spark
The Udang Telur Asin was more competent. The prawns were fresh and generously sized, which immediately gave the dish a fighting chance. The salted egg coating also showed restraint. It did not smother the seafood in one loud yellow blur, which was appreciated. A lot of salted egg dishes collapse under their own enthusiasm. This one didn’t.
There was sambal on the side too, and surprisingly it was quite mild. Altogether, the plate was balanced, easy to eat, and hard to get emotionally attached to. That is the whole problem. It was fine. Properly fine. Respectably fine. But nothing about it made anyone at the table pause and think, “Right, this is the thing.”
Fresh prawns matter. Good balance matters. But so does excitement, and this dish never got there.
Terung Sedap Wangi: A Nice Name Doing Most Of The Work
Terung Sedap Wangi sounds like it should be better than it is. The name roughly suggests something like “fragrant delicious eggplant,” which is a lot of confidence to put on one vegetable.
What arrived was deep-fried eggplant with chilli and a sweet-savoury seasoning that felt closer to kecap manis territory than plain soy. The issue, again, was texture. It was not crispy, but it also did not have that collapsing softness that would have made the lack of crispness feel intentional. It landed in the awkward middle zone where everything is technically edible and nothing is especially worth discussing.
The chilli helped. The sauce helped a bit too. But this was another dish that felt like it needed one more good reason to exist.
Nasi Uleg Empal Suwir: Honest, Familiar and A Little Too Safe
The Nasi Uleg Empal Suwir came closest to feeling like a real meal. Fragrant rice, shredded fried beef with chilli on top of it. No tricks, no plating drama, no attempt to reinvent hunger.
It reminded us a little of the beef dendeng from Remboelan, except more shredded and less aggressive. That made it easier to eat, but also a little less memorable. The rice was good. The beef was simple and direct. The chilli was there if you wanted to wake the whole thing up.
There is nothing wrong with a dish like this. In fact, there is something quite respectable about how plainspoken it was. But this is also the kind of plate that makes you realise “honest flavours” can sometimes be code for “nobody here is about to fight over the last spoonful.”
Mango Dessert: The One Thing We Would Gladly Order Again
Then came the Mango Dessert, and finally the meal had a clear winner.
Blended mango, cut mango, sago, jelly, basil seeds, a little milk, all served cold. Sitting outside in the heat, this was exactly the kind of thing the table needed. It was not too sweet, which helped. The mango stayed fresh rather than turning heavy or cloying. The sago and jelly gave it enough texture to stay interesting, and the basil seeds added that little extra strangeness that works better in the mouth than it sounds on paper.
Out of everything we ordered, this was the one dish that made the strongest argument for itself. If we went back, this is the one thing we would not hesitate to order again.
Final Thoughts: A Good Last Meal, Just Not A Great One
Kampung Kecil PIK 2 is a place where the setting does a lot of the heavy lifting. The room is lovely. The mood is calm. The whole village-house fantasy works better than expected. It is spacious, scenic, and easy to enjoy, especially if you are coming in or heading out of Jakarta and want one meal that feels distinct from the city’s tighter, louder restaurant boxes.
The food, though, never really matched the room.
Not every dish needs to shine. Not every restaurant needs to ruin your life with one unforgettable plate. But when the ambience is this strong, you do start hoping the kitchen will meet it halfway. Here, it mostly didn’t. The tofu was all structure. The banana was a mistake. The eggplant drifted by. The prawns were fine. The rice was decent. The mango dessert was the one true hit.
So yes, Kampung Kecil was worth trying once. It gave us a good final lunch, a calm hour, and one dessert worth remembering. Sometimes that is enough. Sometimes a restaurant is just a place you are glad you experienced, even if you never feel the need to chase it again.
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