Sokoku Tei Review: The Hidden Food Tent That Surprised Us

A few months ago, my boyfriend and I tried a hidden food tent in Setiabudi, South Jakarta, after work. It was already past our usual dinnertime, and we were both starving. With little to no expectations, we ordered the shabu-shabu package for two. Holy moly—the soup turned out to be really good! Just when we least expected it, we found a gem we were determined to revisit.

Fast forward to this month, my boyfriend and I finally went back. The food tent wasn’t as packed as it had been during the fasting month, so it almost felt like we had the whole place to ourselves. After trying three more dishes from the menu, we could confidently declare:

“Sokoku Tei is a literal hidden gem. A must-visit!”

Our orders:

Beef Katsu Slayer Mozzarella (IDR 33,000, including tax)

We arrived at Sokoku Tei around fifteen minutes past six in the evening, but the waitress told us that some dishes, like ramen or ramyun, weren’t ready yet. Since we were already hungry, we decided to start with a plate of Beef Katsu Slayer Mozzarella.

I’m not usually a big fan of katsu, but I liked this one because the batter wasn’t too thick. The taste of the mozzarella blended really well with the beef (especially when dipped in the sweet sauce provided).

Toripaitan Ramen (IDR 29,000, including tax)

When I ordered the Toripaitan Ramen at Sokoku Tei, I didn’t expect much. For years, I’ve been trying to find a bowl of ramen as good as Seirock-Ya’s—so how could this one be any different?

But I was so wrong, guys. This ramen’s soup tasted very similar to Seirock-Ya’s miso ramen: thick and overall perfect. The only noticeable difference was the texture of the noodles—Sokoku Tei’s ramen noodles were fairly thin—and the price.

Ramyun (IDR 33,000, including tax)

I ordered this because I was curious about how ramyun tasted. It was too sweet for my liking, but that might just be a matter of personal preference. I generally prefer my main dishes to be less sweet.

P.S. I requested a hard-boiled egg because it’s not an omega one.