As Indonesian citizens, we are legally obligated to stan Indomie instant noodles 24/7 but try as we might, our commitment isn’t unshakeable. Sometimes, we find ourselves gravitating to Japan’s Nissin or South Korea’s Samyang instant noodles with novelty flavors when we’re walking around Jakarta’s growing numbers of premium supermarkets.
If you ever feel that the good old Indomie Kari Ayam isn’t cutting it any more, these supermarkets in Jakarta with imported food and snacks are ready for you to stock up for kitchen experiments.
Note: For supermarkets that also offer online shopping and delivery options, their website and/or store page will be listed below their entries, but note that the products available online might be limited.
Houses Foods’ Vermont Curry is a mainstay of many Japanese households
Image credit: @mimithjegeg
Started back in the 90s when Japanese investments began flowing into the country, Papaya Fresh Gallery has long been the home away from home for Japanese expats. Plenty of Japanese restaurants also rely on Papaya’s parent company for their supply of fresh ingredients so you know the stuff they’re selling is legit.
Some of the Japanese ice cream you can find in Papaya
Image credit: @cluelinary
From instant noodle brands such as Nissin and Maruchan to the various curry sauces from House Foods, this is the place you’d want to go if you want a taste of Japan. For home cooks, Papaya also sells specific meat cuts for karaage and shabu-shabu, and being a Japanese grocery shop, it also offers a huge variety of fresh seafood.
Papaya’s lineup of croquettes and Japanese skewers has made us throw away our diet plans more than once
Image credit: @anandachubby
If you prefer to skip the cooking and get straight to eating, Papaya’s range of bentos, sushi, and onigiri should be more than sufficient. For our money, we could spend hours just picking which agemono, the Japanese version of our favorite guilty pleasure, gorengan, worth spending our daily calorie limits on.
There’s also an in-house bakery serving Japanese classics such as this yakisoba bread
Image credit: @yanlubis73
We especially love their outlet in Melawai, South Jakarta as it’s smack dab in the middle of the neighborhood locals affectionately dub Little Tokyo. The area is packed to the rafters with authentic Japanese dining establishments that should complement your shopping trip rather well.
For details on all of their outlets in Jakarta, head here.
Image credit: @thaitradecenter_jkt
Already known as one of the fancier Jakarta supermarkets with imported food in town, you’d think there could be no higher mountain for Ranch Market to climb. And yet, here we have The Gourmet, billed as a more premium alternative to its parent company and to our pleasant surprise, they actually manage to live up to that reputation.
The Gourmet has a pretty sizable lineup of instant noodles
Image credit: @elizabeth_natalia
Strolling into the snack aisle is an exercise in restraint as the variety of potato chips, including Latvia’s Long Chips where the chips are shaped like long, thin wafers, boggles the mind. For the health-conscious or the lactose-intolerant, The Gourmet’s fresh supply of almond milk is also one of the most varied we’ve seen.
The Korean strawberry season goes supernova from February until April
Image credit: @ingrid_taslim
Due to its size, you can often find oddities here that Japanese or Korean specialty groceries don’t even have. We’ve seen boxes of Tokyo Banana, souvenir cakes you normally can only find in Tokyo, sitting in The Gourmet’s aisles and mandu wrappers for Korean dumplings by the frozen food section.
Right now, you can find The Gourmet inside two of Jakarta’s newest malls, the Senayan Park Mall across the Gelora Bung Karno sports complex and in Ashta at District 8 near SCBD.
The Gourmet Senayan Park
Address: Senayan Park LG Floor, Jl. Gerbang Pemuda No.3, Gelora, Kecamatan Tanah Abang, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta 10270
Opening hours: 10AM-9PM, Daily
The Gourmet Ashta at District 8
Address: Ashta Lower Ground, District 8, SCBD Lot 28, Jl. Jend. Sudirman Kav 52-53, RT.8/RW.3, Senayan, Kec. Kby. Baru, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta 12190
Opening hours: 9AM-9PM, Daily
If you believe that cheese makes everything better, you’ll love the Korean cheese ramen they have here
Image credit: @mandayaw
Whether you’re looking for hotteok pancake mix or instant ramyeon, Mu Gung Hwa is your prime food source for everything Korean. As with Papaya, they also distribute Korean food products locally and they’re the reason why Samyang’s instant noodles now sit on the shelves of other supermarkets across the country.
Mu Gung Hwa’s lineup of Korean snacks
Image credit: @yoelde21
Here, you can find plenty of products of major Korean food brands, including Dongwon’s instant tteokbokki and Haitai’s ice cream. Whenever we’re there, we always make a beeline for Ottogi’s ramen snacks as they remind us so much of the packets of Anak Mas dried instant noodles we used to devour as kids.
The Korean iced yoghurt is shaped like a giant Yakult bottle
Image credit: @jsfood_diary
This is also one of the few places we know of where you can stock up on kimchi by the bulk, all freshly made in-house by Mu Gung Hwa themselves.
The in-house restaurant serves Korean staples such as kimbap and tteokbokki
Image credit: @annamiftakhuljann
Several of their outlets also have a small restaurant inside if your tummy’s already rumbling from all the Korean food goodness around you. Their Sundubu Jjigae (Rp. 55,000, ~USD3.81), or soft tofu stew, comes in a pretty big portion and rivals even the dedicated Korean restaurants in town.
As of now, Mu Gung Hwa has 8 outlets spread around the Jakarta metropolitan area, details of which you can check here.
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KKV’s noodle wall is just as Instagram-worthy as contemporary art museums
Image credit: @karunanettidevi
Yes, we know we’re cheating a bit here as KKV, with their wide variety of goods, has more in common with department stores. But we feel it would be an oversight to not mention their outlet in Central Park Mall thanks to its Instagram-worthy instant noodle wall, which blew up on social media when it was added to the store in late 2020.
Over on the drink section, you can spot some gems such as various Japanese carbonated drinks, or ramune, and Korean milk drink O’Latte
Image credit: @kkvindo
These instant noodles aren’t just for show either as you can actually purchase any of the hundreds of different flavors they display here. With Japanese and Korean instant noodles widely available in other places, we highly recommend coming home with Mama’s tom yum instant noodles from Thailand if you ever decide to drop by.
KKV’s snack corner is also worth a visit
Image credit: @janeciavaleska
While there’s no fresh produce or frozen food to be found here, KKV does boast an impressive array of imported snacks and drinks. Skincare and bodycare enthusiasts too might be overjoyed seeing KKV’s lineup of soaps and shampoos – including coffee soap, from which we’ve learned that our caffeine addiction might actually be doing wonders for our hair.
Address: Central Park LGM floor, Jl. Letjen S. Parman No.28, RT.12/RW.6, Tj. Duren Sel., Kec. Grogol petamburan, Kota Jakarta Barat, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta 11470
Opening hours: 9AM-7PM, Daily
90s kids might remember the Chocobi in the upper left, a favorite snack of the main character of Japanese anime Crayon Shin-Chan
Image credit: @makan.apa.yaa
While most of the hypermarket chains in Jakarta tend to aim for the budget-conscious, GrandLucky Superstore sings a different tune. Stocking a variety of imported goods ranging from snacks, drinks, to sauces and spices for dedicated home cooks, there’s always something for everyone in GrandLucky.
If you’ve been missing Singapore, these fish skin chips might help soothe you
Image credit: @angela_tastebuds
As with most premium supermarkets and Jakarta supermarkets with imported food, they have a section dedicated to the ever-popular Japanese and Korean cuisines. What pleasantly surprised us however is that they also have another for Thai and Indian food, perfect if you feel like branching out from the easier-to-find Japanese curries.
Some people actually visit GrandLucky SCBD just for their pizzas
Image credit: @cravingenjii
Do note that while GrandLucky has four locations in town, we have to give a special mention to the one in SCBD. The selection is better there and it has a food court that’s popular among office workers in the area, with their giant and especially cheesy pizzas drawing most of the praise.
The insides of Kem Chicks Pacific Place
Image credit: Kem Chicks Pacific Place
Started by the late businessman Bob Sadino in the 1970s, Kem Chicks got its name from Sadino’s humble origin as a door-to-door salesman for imported chicken eggs and its main location in Kemang, known for its sizable expat population and where the store still stands today.
The meat section in Kem Chicks has a wide variety of quality meat, including pre-marinated ones
Image credit: Kem Chicks Pacific Place
To this day, Kem Chicks remains a favorite of expats seeking Jakarta supermarkets with imported food, with various European cheeses and Belgian wheat beer providing relief to those with a bad case of homesickness. For dedicated carnivores, they’re also famous for their wide selection of meat, including marinated ones.
In the Pacific Place and PIK outlet, you can also find the Turkish Spice Market carrying plenty of the country’s food and spices
Image credit: @turkish.spice.market
The main Kemang location is practically a local institution by now but we’d understand if you’re a bit wary of the notorious traffic and frequent floods. Thankfully, they’ve since expanded to other locations, one in the Pacific Place mall in SCBD and a brand new store on the reclaimed Golf Island of Pantai Indah Kapuk.
Kem Chicks Kemang
Address: The Mansion At Kemang Lt. LG, Jalan Kemang Raya No.3-5, RT.1/RW.7, Bangka, Mampang Prapatan, RT.1/RW.7, Kota Jakarta Selatan, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta 12730
Opening hours: 8AM-7PM, Daily
Kem Chicks Pacific Place
Address: Pacific Place Lt. LG-99 SCBD Lot 3&5, Jalan Jend. Sudirman No.52-53, Senayan, Kebayoran Baru, RT.5/RW.3, Kota Jakarta Selatan, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta 12190
Opening hours: 10AM-10PM, Daily
Kem Chicks Pantai Indah Kapuk
Address: Pantai Indah Kapuk St, Golf Island RT.8/RW.1, Kamal Muara, Penjaringan, Kota Jakarta Utara, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta 14470
Opening hours: 8AM-7PM, Daily
The facade of the AEON Supermarket
Image credit: @aeonstore_id
The phrase “supermarket sushi” tends to strike fear in hardcore foodies but an exception we’re willing to make is if it’s from AEON Supermarket. We’re not so blasphemous as to claim they’re better than restaurant sushi but whenever you’re in need of a quick, late-night sushi fix, their sushi boxes are more than capable of scratching that itch.
For bargain hunters, AEON and their affordable sushi is a goldmine
Image credit: @aeonstore_id
As the sushi won’t last more than a day, bargain-hunters should be on standby once the clock strikes 8PM as that’s when the already great prices get slashed even more. Also notable is their delightful Matcha Soft Serve Ice Cream (Rp. 12,000, ~USD0.81), which tastes way above its price point and can be mixed with other flavors such as vanilla and strawberry.
You can find plenty of Japanese food staples in AEON
Image credit: @aeonstore_id
For the grocery part of the equation, AEON obviously focuses on Japanese food items and their selection is pretty great. There’s a wide variety of Japanese tofu available and if you ever want to try your hand at making proper ramen, the imported wheat noodles they have in stock make a good starting point.
For the price, AEON’s soft ice cream is quite an excellent treat
Image credit: @capturedby.cc
Right now, you can find AEON Supermarket within the two AEON Malls in town, one in BSD and the other in the Jakarta Garden City (JGC) township in Cakung. For Bogor residents, they’ve also just opened another AEON Mall in Sentul City township right next to IKEA.
AEON Supermarket BSD
Address: AEON Mall BSD Ground Floor, Jl. BSD Raya Utama, Pagedangan, Kec. Pagedangan, Tangerang, Banten 15345
Opening hours: 10AM-9PM, Daily
AEON Supermarket JGC
Address: AEON Mall JGC Ground Floor, Jl. Jakarta Garden City Boulevard No.1, RT.8/RW.6, Cakung Timur, Kec. Cakung, Kota Jakarta Timur, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta 13910
Opening hours: 10AM-9PM, Daily
AEON Supermarket Sentul City
Address: AEON Mall Sentul City Ground Floor, Jl. MH. Thamrin, Citaringgul, Kec. Babakan Madang, Bogor, Jawa Barat 16810
Opening hours: 10AM-9PM, Daily
Though small, Swastik boasts a lot of rarities you’ll never find anywhere else
Image credit: Swastik Mart
Indian food can be a bit hard for aspiring home cooks as the spices used aren’t ones you’d normally have sitting in your pantry. You probably won’t find them in most Jakarta supermarkets with imported food either as typically, only Indian specialty grocery stores such as Swastik Mart stock them.
Swastik is one of the few places where you can find various lentils used in Indian cuisine
Image credit: Swastik Mart
Despite its small size and hidden location in the ground floor of the Taman Rasuna Apartment building, Swastik has most of what you’ll need to cook Indian food. From basmati rice, various lentils, and masala powders, you don’t have to wait long before you can whip up your own curry.
The one downside is that Swastik’s supplies aren’t always consistently available, so you might need to wait a while if you have something specific in mind.
Address: Tower 10 Lower Ground, Taman Rasuna Apartment, Jl. Epicentrum Boulevard Timur, RT.16/RW.1, Menteng Atas, Kota Jakarta Selatan, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta 12960
Telephone: 0815-74-737373
Opening hours: 9AM-9PM, Daily
Variety is the spice of life and when it comes to food, that ancient saying takes on a literal meaning. When cooking all-time classics such as soto ayam and Indomie goreng no longer bring you joy, try visiting these Jakarta supermarkets with imported food and see if there’s anything that can breathe life into your kitchen routine.
For more tips on keeping you well-fed at home, check out these stories:
Cover image adapted from @yoelde21, @karunanettidevi, and @aeonstore_id
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