From a medley of food and creative hubs to chill out spots, trust Kemang to have a little something for everyone. The arrival of Dikolam, an outdoor hideout on Jalan Kemang Selatan, adds another variety to the neighbourhood, flaunting a poolside appeal with the quintessential combo of snacks, cocktails and BBQ platters for anyone seeking that lazing by-the-pool, or as what the establishment would say, “chill and chatter”.
Opened early this year, Dikolam is a collective project of Kava Creative Circle (KCC), a Jakarta-based creative group with business units that include an interior design studio, as well as a branding and an advertising agency. The folks behind KCC, whose office is located within the compound, have been brewing on this idea of a communal space for years, with hopes that it becomes a fertile ground for old friends and new faces to gather, get acquainted, and build a strong bond of community from there.
And that’s exactly what’s at play in Dikolam: the built-in swimming pool is naturally the heart of the place with some fun elements thrown in, from the snuggly poolside cabanas and own-designed translucent furniture to the pairing of food and drinks that click well with atmosphere. Given the flow of crowds that doesn’t subside on weekdays, Dikolam seems to strike the right balance between fun and function, without falling into gimmicks.
The menu is also quite a spread here, serving a sweet and savoury lineup of snacks topped with tropical drinks. Worth a try is their homemade Jamuan drinks such as the Jamuan Para Dewi, a concoction of kunyit asam (turmeric), passion fruit syrup, with ginger and tonic. Of course, the cocktail bar gets the attention, fusing both local and classic flavours of Indonesia’s amer (red wine) to negroni. Should you come famished, the offerings also extend to grilled steaks and chops, like the crowd favourite Australian T-Bone Steak, rounding up Dikolam’s list of idyllic poolside treats.
Fun moments aside, Dikolam is one passion project that grounds itself in a community-rooted mindset. Everything from the conceptualisation, design, to curation of food and drinks are thought out and crafted by the team, further elaborated through collaboration of friends that speak to Dikolam’s spirit of community; as such, expect a roster of organised events and get-togethers to be a habitual occurrences here. To a bigger splash at Dikolam!