To Do List

EAT to your heart, and the planet’s, content at the Loving Hut in Plaza Semanggi. Part of a franchise from Taiwan, the vegetarian restaurant offers traditional Indonesian, Chinese and European dishes that are just as tasty without the meat (truly). Even the coffee is good. Helpful, friendly staff and a not-too preachy message that will have confirmed carnivores feeling OK about trying something different.

GORGE yourself on all things chocolate this month. The Deli Lobby Lounge at the InterContinental Mid Plaza does all chocolate lovers a big favor and dedicates the month of November to the sweet treat. From November 4-28, devour chocolate in churros, cake, brulee, pudding, pralines, hot and cold beverages and all manner of goodies at the lounge’s Chocolate Extravaganza promotion (Rp 88.000++). For more ‘adult’ palates, the hotel’s wine spot Bacchus hosts its own Friday night Cellar Party at the end of each month (31 Oct and 28 November) where wine-lovers get to indulge in a selection of award-winning fine wines and free flow of tapas throughout the evening at just RP298.000++ per person.

HANG out at Kemang’s new hip hot spot, La Codefin. The three-storey F&B mall has everything your gut may be craving including perennial favorites like Starbucks, Burger King, Oh La La, Sushi Mise, Raffels yoghurt bar Sour Sally’s second outlet, and more. If you’re up for a spot of roof-top dining, Barcode is the trendy al fresco food court that also features pretty swell views of the neighborhood.

GET a dose of superspy James Bond’s latest hi-jinks and sexy liaisons in the latest Bond installment Quantum of Solace. Having won over critics and naysayers that he makes a perfect Bond, Daniel Craig reprises his role as the sleek spy. Quantum picks up where Casino Royale left off and sees Bond on a personal mission to uncover the shady organization that had his lady love betray him and leave him with a broken heart previously. Elsewhere, Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr serve up the funny in Tropic Thunder. The box office hit, already hailed as the funniest film this year, is a satire on self absorbed Hollywood and has the comedic trio playing actors who wing it to Southeast Asia to film a Vietnam epic. Things go horribly awry when the actors get lost and run into drug lords, except they all remain in character, thinking they’re still being filmed by hidden cameras.

INDULGE your inner techie and get your hands on the new iPod nano. The new generation nano goes back to its original rectangular size, but boasts some new curves for a slicker, polished look. The all-aluminum and glass beauty even plays videos and a shake and shimmy gets it to shuffle songs. It also comes in nine colors, with brand new happy hues like yellow and orange joining the pack. There’s even a personal DJ feature which creates playlists by finding songs in your library that go great together. Impressed? So are we.

PUT on your dancing shoes. There will be performances galore this month and you can take your pick from dance, trance or jazz. If green is your cause, head down to Ancol Bay City on November for the GreenSound concert. The musical tribute to Mother Earth features acts like Tortured Soul, ALEXA feat DJ CREAM as well as Groove Monkey and Four on the Floor. JakJazz, or the Jakarta International Jazz Festival, plays for three days from November with headlining acts that include gospel music great Andrae Crouch, renowned Mexican bassist Abraham Laboriel, Hungarian jazz fusion band Djabe and more. Or else, make a beeline for tickets to usher in the New Year with R&B outfit Boyz II Men at Hotel Mulia’s grand ballroom. For more information on the exclusive New Year’s Eve concert, visit www.hotelmulia.com

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