Sapori Deli, a New Flavour of Italian Deli

August 13, 2015, 9:21 am

≫ Next: Even more Breadlicious: BreadLife Launches New Unique Flavours!

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Sapori Deli is a newly open concept at the relatively new 5 star property, Fairmont Jakarta. Do not be tricked by its name though. because it's not just a deli. While it may appear so at a glance, but upon closer examine, you'll realize that it's an interesting fusion of a casual cafe, a deli, a gourmet retail, a bistro, a peaceful reading lounge and a casual Italian restaurant with open pizza-kitchen concept.

I know, you're probably tilting your head in disbelief, thinking of what on earth would a place with such an overlapping identity look like, right? Let me take you on a brief tour around Sapori Deli ('sapori' in Italian means flavour, fyi).

Sapori Deli is divided in the middle, one of the sides is a restaurant with an open pizza kitchen with counters to sit at, so you could really watch closely how your pizza is being made.

On the other side of Sapori Deli, is where you can purchase gourmet items displayed at one end of the room, or pick from the freshly baked-daily, selection of pastries / sandwiches / cakes off the display. Whether you'd like to enjoy it on the spot or for takeaway, have it your way. But if it were me, I'd enjoy sitting down at one of the cosy sofas.

gourmet food items, ready to be wrapped for you =)

A few days ago, I had the pleasure to visit Sapori Deli with several friends and had a good time learning to make Italian pizza the way it should be. straight from the expert himself, Chef Gozali, as well as Executive Chef of Fairmont Jakarta, Andrew Zarzosa.

It turns out that you are not supposed to use a rolling pin, that's a biggest no no, if Mamma sees you using one, she'll probably club your head using the rolling pin instead! LOL. Anyway, the point is, rolling pin for making pizza is like cheating and the result will not be as good as if you use your hands to knead the dough. Even the kneading has to he directed from the center to the sides, spreading the dough evenly as you go.

Turns out the pizza dough of Sapori Deli is a very special dough, as they are let to rest for 36 hours before it's ready to be prepared and added with toppings! The prolonged hours is meant to allow the dough to soften enough. With the combination of technique and preparation, expect the pizzas here to have bubbly crust, not cracker thin like biscuit, but soft enough with crispy surface, just to give that delicious 'crack' as your teeth bite into it.

So, for the pizza I made, I used cream topping, with mushrooms, salami and cheese toppings. It didn't turn out as soft as the Margherita pizza that Chef Ali made, but oh well, here's the very first pizza that I made, ta-dah!

The menu at Sapori Deli is not as vast or as outrageously fusion-ized as some of the Italian restaurants in Jakarta. You'll find a decent range of Antipasti, Salad, Pasta, Secondi, Pizza and Dolci (dessert). I have yet tried the dishes on the menu, so I can't comment on the main menu yet (other than the Margherita pizza made by Chef Ali). Price range for savoury dishes: IDR 70,000 - 395,000 and for dessert: IDR 35,000 - 80,000, which is quite reasonable for an Italian/cafe in a 5 star hotel, but slightly on the steep side if you compare with the ones in shopping malls / independently run restaurants.

Right: Iced Hibiscus Tea IDR 60,000

Sandwiches, available for take away or dine in from the deli

Our evening ended with sweet notes from the Sicilian Cannoli with Sweet Ricotta and Sapori's Signature Zeppole. Before this visit, I've never tried or known about zeppole, so it was great to be introduced to one. Zeppole is a classic Italian pastry, deep fried and filled with various types of filling. Sapori Deli's version of zeppole has light and crusty consistency, while the filling, now this is the best part, is very light & creamy and thick! I love especially the Zeppole with green tea filling, as I could somehow taste the bitter clumps of green tea in the cream melt in my mouth...

Sicilian Cannoli with Sweet Ricotta IDR 35,000/pc

Left: Cappuccino IDR 50,000 Right: Sapori's Signature Zeppole with vanilla filling IDR 40,000/pc

Sapori's Signature Zeppole (green tea filling)

So, come here to purchase goods from the gourmet shop, or to sip a cup of coffee in a nice ambiance, or simply to get your pizza fix for the day. As for me, I'm gonna come here again for my weekly Zeppole fix! =)

Example of goods that you could purchase at Sapori Deli: macarons, zeppole, biscotti & other cookies. FYI, the pesto sauce is seriously good! Though I'm not sure if it's available for sale =P

*) Prices are subject to Service Charge and Government Tax

Operation Hours:

- Deli: 6.30 am - 8 pm

- Restaurant:12 noon - 10 pm

Sapori Deli

Fairmont Jakarta, 3rd Floor

Jl. Asia Afrika No.8

Gelora Bung Karno

Jakarta - 10270

Ph: +6221 29703333

Click here to open location in Maps

www.fairmont.com/jakarta

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Even more Breadlicious: BreadLife Launches New Unique Flavours!

August 13, 2015, 7:21 pm

≫ Next: Redefining Hotel Buffet: Arts Café by Raffles Jakarta

≪ Previous: Sapori Deli, a New Flavour of Italian Deli

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Can you say no to this array of scrumptious assorted bread from BreadLife?

Assorted products from BreadLife Japanese artisan bakery

If you’re a fan of BreadLife, like myself, you will certainly notice 2 new bread in the photo above, can you tell which ones they are? Yup, the 2 bread I’m talking about are the black bun on the right side of the frame and the trio mini buns on a skewer close to the black bun. Curious what these 2 new flavours really are? Now, hold your breath and keep reding, because I’m going to reveal very graphic images (just kidding!) which will be guaranteed to make you drool and run to the nearest re-branded BreadLife store.

BreadLife Japanese artisan bakery takes pride in its freshly baked-daily products, made from only fresh ingredients and not using artificial food colouring nor preservatives. Its stores are all built with a live cooking theater, ie: open kitchen concept. So anyone who walks pass a BreadLife store will be tempted with the delicious buttery scent emanating from the ovens. Besides that, BreadLife’s stores all have the signature transparent cover encasing the bread on display, to ensure the freshness and hygiene of its products.

Transparent cover encasing each trays of bread on display

Live cooking theater where the artisans craft the bread from scratch

They say ‘Do not judge a book by its cover’ and that saying is just so true! The black sweet round bun may not look like your conventional (a.k.a. boring) bun, firstly because of the colour and secondly, because of the surprise that awaits in the center. Allow me to officially introduce to you: Kuro Banana Cream. The soft, black & sweet bun itself is made from natural activated charcoal, filled with duo layers of light vanilla cream and banana cream. To be honest, I don’t normally fancy extra cream on top of my cake / bread / bun, because they’re extra calories that I don’t enjoy and the cream rarely tastes good. But Kuro Banana Cream’s white layer is seriously light and irresistible and it’s like biting into sweet air that I almost feel guilt-free (still guilty because I will not share my bun with anybody haha!).

The brand new flavour: Kuro Banana Cream with soft charcoal bun!

Savoury bread fans, you are not left out, because BreadLife has also come up with a cute new bread named Yakitari. It is inspired from the ever-popular Japanese snack ‘yakitori’ (grilled chicken on skewers), but Yakitari is the bread version made with 3 bite-sized buns, stuffed with beef sausage and topped with tomato sauce, mayonnaise and bread crumbs.

Yakitari, 3 mini buns with sausage filling on a stick

Good news is, these 2 new products are already available at BreadLife’s stores in Jakarta & Bandung stores since 6th August 2015 and will be available in other cities after 3rd September 2015. So if you’re outside Jakarta, it’s only less than a month away and then you’ll be able to enjoy the 2 new yummy BreadLife products!

One of my own personal favourites (other than the 2 new flavours) is Mamamia: incredibly soft, rectangular bun with melt-in-your-mouth smoked cheddar cheese and spicy mayonnaise filling, topped with grilled parmesan. I could seriously finish half a dozen buns by myself! LOL. What would be your favourite products from BreadLife?

Japanese Pandan Chiffon cake

Mamamia: soft bun with smoked cheese and spicy mayonnaise filling, topped with grilled parmesan

Left: Rugby - football-shaped bread with crispy crust, filled with milk vla, sweet vanilla and Belgian chocolate chip Right: Mayo Chickstix - chicken stick with tomato sauce & special mayonnaise on top of soft bun

So, you must be wondering what is all the fuss about new flavours from a Japanese Artisan Bakery about, right? Why do I bother to share it on my blog, which are mostly studded with fancy places (LOL, yes, I realize my flaw and I’m working to improve on the speed at which I’m writing and editing photos. But the thing is, when you work –almost- 7 days a week, there’s only so much time left to work on my dear blog). Anyway, not to digress any further, the launch of the 2 new flavours of BreadLife happens to be in conjunction with BreadLife’s 10th Anniversary!

Yokohama - light bun with cream cheese and vanilla filling

The bread empire started off as a humble family business 10 years ago with only 2 stores back in 2005. Ever since it was acquired by a professionally-run corporation in 2012, the brand has seen accelerated growth and expansion, to its current status as the biggest Japanese artisan bakery in Indonesia. At the time this post was published, BreadLife has a whopping number of stores (64 in total), spread in 14 major cities across of Indonesia: Jakarta, Bekasi, Bogor, Tangerang, Bandung, Semarang, Surabaya, Bali, Pontianak, Balikpapan, Banjarmasin, Samarinda, Makassar & Medan. And the list, I believe, is only destined to get longer as time passes by.

With the special anniversary celebration, BreadLife now appears with a brand new corporate identity, new colours & symbols, but still retains some core elements from the old logo. The most noticeable change would be the colours of the logo, which now becomes red and white. Other than that, BreadLife’s new identity now incorporates chrysanthemum flower and ‘The Great Wave’ relief that’s steeped in Japanese culture. Both symbols signify the strength of trust from the customers to BreadLife and the spirit to continuously innovate and evolve in preparing to enter the future.

The new look of the rebranded BreadLife stores

So, to commemorate its 10th anniversary, BreadLife is inviting everyone to join in the celebration by taking part in the Instagram photo challenge, in which, you might stand a chance to win a brand new Samsung NX300M mirrorless camera or BreadLife voucher (details can be found at the end of this post). The peak of the celebration, BreadLife Eating Challenge will take place at Central Park Mall Jakarta’s Tribeca Park on 29th August 2015 starting from 4 - 10 PM and EVERYONE is invited, no entry fee nor any conditions to fulfill, all you have to do is come and have fun there! During the event, BreadLife will challenge the world famous, 7 Guinness Record holder, competitive eater from Japan, Takeru Kobayashi aka Kobi.

Kobi-san is challenged to wolf down as many BreadLife bread as possible within a short time frame. For each bread eaten by Kobi-san and other the local celebrites, BreadLife will donate IDR 500K for Rumah Harapan, a charity organization managed by Melanie Subono – a celebrity and humanitarian. Anyway, if watching competitive eating is not quite your thing, worry not, because you will also get to catch live performances of several prominent local bands such as RAN and others (details coming soon). Or simply, come to buy #KuroBananaCream and #Yakitari at a special price that you can only enjoy at the event!

BreadLife Instagram Photo Challenge

What’s a birthday party without throwing some presents around, right? On its 10th Anniversary, BreadLife cordially invites everyone to take part in #NewBreadLifeContest Instagram Photo Challenge. Who knows, it could just be yours to win!

Here are the challenge details:

1.Follow @BreadLifeBakery account on Instagram.

2.Share a photo around the theme ‘Afternoon Snack’.

3.The photo must feature one OR both of the newest products of BreadLife: Kuro Banana Cream and Yakitari and in the caption, mention to 3 friends to share about your afternoon snack, as well as mention and tag @BreadLifeBakery using hashtags #NewBreadLifeContest, #KuroBananaCream, #Yakitari.

4.Everyone is allowed to submit as many photos as you want.

5.Winners will be selected based on the quality, creativity and aesthetics of the photos.

6.Contest runs from 10 August – 27 September 2015. Every week, 1 winner will be chosen to win a IDR 100,000 BreadLife of voucher and at the end of the contest period, 1 winner will be chosen to win the Samsung NX300M mirrorless camera.

Photo source: BreadLife Facebook page

~~~

So, head out to the nearest BreadLife store around you, and join in BreadLife’s 10th Anniversary celebration with me!

Prices

BreadLife products range from IDR 9,000 – 14,000/pc for bread, sweet bun, Danish and IDR 160,000 – 220,000 for whole cakes range.

Store Location

For complete list of store locations, click here (http://www.breadlifebakery.com/home/store)

BreadLife Bakery

www.BreadLifeBakery.com

Facebook: BreadLife Bakery

Twitter: @BreadLifeBakery

Instagram: @BreadLifeBakery

Youtube: @BreadLife Bakery

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Redefining Hotel Buffet: Arts Café by Raffles Jakarta

August 17, 2015, 10:05 am

≫ Next: 1945 Indonesian Fine Dining

≪ Previous: Even more Breadlicious: BreadLife Launches New Unique Flavours!

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When a restaurant names itself as 'Arts Café', it is only natural to expect some serious arts theme going on inside the place, from the decor, interior, to the food. And last week, I had the chance to visit Arts Café by Raffles Jakarta, a brand new 5 star hotel in town, that is the sister property of the fabled and well-established Raffles Hotel in Singapore. Curious how my experience at Arts Café went?

This avant garde Chili Crab is one of the signature dishes here

Arts Cafe is one of the 3 dining venues at Raffles Jakarta. If you're an hotel guest staying here, Arts Café is where you'll have breakfast at. Upon entering the venue, to the left, is a gourmet retail store, from where guests could purchase some specialty goods. I didn't take a closer look, so I can't share more details.

One quick glance at the venue, a few things impressed me the most: the female staff are dressed in a lovely set of uniform. As in they're not just some boring suit pants or a simple dress, they're modified rather fashionably and elegantly. Come here to see what I mean...And the next interesting thing I notice, is that Arts Café seems to be a popular hangout spot for the regular gathering of affluent housewives. Whether it is for 'Arisan' or a birthday celebration, when you see a photographer hovering in the restaurant, you'll know that one of these crowd would be present. Do not fear though, these ladies are well mannered and will not ruin your meal time with rowdy noise, they'll mind their own businesses (mostly posing for pictures haha!).

And here are some shots of the pretty interior.

One of the 2 private rooms at Arts Café

Arts Café serves buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner daily. At the moment the menus are rotating daily and they do not have special themes for different nights (yet, but I'm sure it's only a matter of time). To be frank, the buffet selection is not massive for a 5 star hotel and there's only 1 live kitchen, or what they call the 'Show Kitchen' (will elaborate on this further down). They've got the basics covered, cheeses, cold cuts, salad, sushi, sashimi, western and asian dishes and dessert.

Cheese and dried goods

Elaborate chocolate sculpture at the dessert section

Assorted Sushi - notice how they are presented not as a bulk like in most other restaurants, but as individual platters

It's interesting to see that they dedicate a massive space for dessert only. Upon closer look, I understand why, when each and every dessert items are so carefully and beautifully crafted like these, how can you resist not showing them all off?

Left: Not your typical-looking chocolate fondue

Unlike any other hotel buffet, Arts Café serves complimentary appetizer to the guests. It's a platter consisting 3 types of crackers made in house: black sesame, salmon skin and I forgot what the other one was, served with curry dip. The only time I encountered this was on my recent visit to ADRIFT by David Myers, and thus I'm pleasantly surprised to find a similar treat here, means I don't need to travel so far to get my cravings fixed! Fyi, they crackers are so good, that guests have asked to buy them and good news is, they've been made available for sale.

Now, the most exciting element of Arts Caféis its one and only Show Kitchen. This is where the signature dishes of Arts Café comes from, cooked and served a la minute...

So, when you dine at Arts Café, you are not only entitled to enjoy the selection of dishes served at the buffet, but you will be served with the daily-rotating menu of special dishes. The dishes from the Show Kitchen will be served to your table, whether you ask for it or not and every person is only entitled 1 serving per dish (no second helpings, sorry!). For lunch, there will be a total of 6 dishes and for dinner there will be 8 dishes from the Show Kitchen.

These are the sort of magical dishes that the chefs whipped up from the Show Kitchen...

(photo above) Chili Crab - charcoal bun with crab meat filling and served with sweet & spicy Chili Crab sauce. This is one of the Show Kitchen's signature dish and will be served daily for both lunch and dinner. A nod to Raffles Hotel's roots in Singapore, where Chili Crab has been elevated to a status akin to Singapore's national dish (pretty much how Nasi Goreng is, to Indonesians).

(photo above) Salmon en Croute - salmon sous vide & pan-seared, served with mashed potato, creamy spinach, mushrooms and maple chips. Also one of the Show Kitchen's signature dish and will be served daily for both lunch and dinner. 

(photo above) Scallop & Mushrooms - pan-seared Hokkaido scallop, served with mushroom & mushroom crackers

(photo above) Gnocchi & Egg - delish gnocchi, sous vide egg, dried black fungus, truffle oil and served with cream sauce.

(photo above) Beef Short Ribs - tender beef short ribs served with mashed potato, water chestnut & brown sauce.

(photo above) Foie Gras - pan-seared foie gras, served with berry jam, beetroot & crumble.

I was impressed from the moment the Chili Crab in a black bun came to my table, I loved literally everything that came my way! I can't and I won't rank the dishes above, even at gun point, because they are each delightful and well executed. But if I really must pick a champ, it would be the Beef Short Ribs, sweet juicy and tender cubes of premium beef short ribs, with sweet water chestnut and mashed potato. I didn't expect the dishes from the Show Kitchen to be so filling, that I didn't even get to touch anything from the buffet, not even the dessert :( But it was a happily satisfying kind of full, so I'm not complaining at all =)

For the standard price of a 5 star hotel buffet you paid, not only do you get to feast from the buffet, but you also get the degustation meal comprising 6 or 8 dishes (lunch / dinner). Fear that the buffet might be too much? You could always choose from the a la carte menu, such as this Nicoise Salad with tuna tataki...

Nicoise Salad with tuna tataki

Dining at Arts Café by Raffles Jakarta has been a scrumptious and gratifying experience for me, and I can safely say, so far there are no other 5 star hotels in Jakarta offering the same experience. The next time someone asks me for a hotel buffet reference, Arts Café will definitely be my top 3 recommendation and I strongly encourage you to try it too. =)

Operation Hours:

Breakfast: 6:00 AM to 10:30 AM

Lunch: 12:00 noon to 2:30 PM

Dinner: 6:00 PM to 10:30 PM

Sunday Brunch: 11:30 AM to 3:30 PM

Prices:

Lunch Buffet: IDR 320,000++/person

Dinner Buffet: IDR 385,000++/person

*) Prices are subject to 21% Government Tax & Service Charge

Arts Café by Raffles

Raffles Jakarta

Ciputra World 1 Jakarta

Jl. Professor Doktor Satrio No.3-5

South Jakarta - 12940

Ph: +6221 29880888

Location: Click here to open in maps

Directions: Lotte Shopping Avenue, access via entrance next to Blacklisted Coffee on 1st Floor.

www.raffles.com/jakarta

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1945 Indonesian Fine Dining

August 21, 2015, 11:21 pm

≫ Next: The Naked Goose Pop Up 2.0.

≪ Previous: Redefining Hotel Buffet: Arts Café by Raffles Jakarta

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Out of so many fine dining restaurants in Jakarta, how many Indonesian fine dining restaurant can we find? Not as many as its Western counterparts, unfortunately. But with the arrival of this new Indonesian fine dining restaurant in town, the class of 'Indonesian fine dining' shall no longer be limited exclusively to just Rijstafel...

The term 'fine dining' is often associated with fancy French or Italian restaurants or anything that comes from the west to the majority unassuming Asians. What about other type of cuisines from other regions like Japan, India, Indonesia, China, etc then? What is that distinguishing or 'X' factor, which makes a type of dining, a fine dining as opposed to just a casual dining? Is it the price, location, elaborate preparation, concept or some other gimmicks? I suppose a right balance of all the factors I mentioned before, is required to result in a solid fine dining establishment, like the new place I was talking about, 1945.

1945 is the latest brainchild of Sari Rasa group, which has successfully popularized satay in air-conditioned venues as stand alone restaurants, in food courts and shopping malls, through its brands like Sate Khas Express, Sate Khas Senayan, and Tesate. Unlike the existing brands, 1945 completes the range of Indonesian-themed restaurants belonging to this group from semi-fast, mass casual, casual, and fine dining, making it whole, like a full circle. Perhaps that's why the logo of 1945 uses rounded typeface, as do all of the fine rounded ceramic plates used here.

The venue of 1945 is divided into 4 distinct 'layers': the outermost close to the entrance being the Lounge, set on concrete floors where guests cold get drinks and light bites and some of the dishes on the main menu. The next 'layer', set on 1945 carpet floor, is a row of private rooms, and the last 'layer' is an elongated and open dining hall, where the main dining affair takes place. Rather hidden new the wine display, is a private room called the Oval Room. The interior is an eclectic blend of traditional and modern design, as can be seen from the photos below.

The Lounge area

Main dining hall

Wine display, will be filled with various range of wines in no time

Some would consider the menu at 1945 to be fusion, but they call these an innovative re-imagining of traditional Indonesian dishes as gourmet cuisine, that is still recognizable as Indonesian cuisine. And it goes beyond just the food, even the drinks are upgraded with a twist. For example Es Gandul, a classic childhood treat, shaved ice, compacted then served on a stick and topped with red banana flavoured syrup, becomes a trendy Iced Soda Gandul.

Left: Fruity Lime Granita Mulberry (red), Fruity Lime Granita Passion Fruit (yellow) Right: Iced Soda Gandul Blue Pea Flower

Ice Soda Gandul Tamarind

Every meal starts with a 'Procession' of ladies clad in traditional Indonesian 'Kebaya Encim', who will come and serve the complimentary appetizers, 'Rebusan' to the table. The set consists of assorted Indonesian crackers, steamed nuts and sweet fritters.

Rebusan: assorted Indonesian crackers, steamed nuts and sweet fried yam balls and sweet pandan chips

Sate and Appetizers

Gorengan - prawn fritters, fried cassava chips, tricolour yam fries and rempeyek crackers I love the taste of the prawn fritter, with the creamy peanut dip, and the chips on the side are quite addictive too, but save some big space for the main course and dessert, so gotta pace yourself =)

Tahu Isi - tofu stuffed with prawn, topped with seared scallop and caviarThe caviar and the scallop add that luxury touch to this all-time-favorite street treat,

Sate - grilled meat (choice of Wagyu Beef / Chicken Oyster / Lamb Tenderloin / Gindara) on bamboo skewers

Lilit Kepiting - crab cake lilit on a bed of urap vegetables and sweet rujak dressing

Rice Dishes and Main Course

1945 stays faithful to the classic when it comes to Nasi Goreng, from the ingredients and the dish presentation, it's a classic number that can't go wrong, although I honestly hoped for something more special, since its price is also quite special. For the Main Course however, the chef displays a more daring and playful combination of traditional Indonesian recipe with modern & western techniques to result in a clever and beautifully presented Indonesian dishes.

Nasi Goreng Kampung - 'kampong' style Indonesian traditional fried rice with fried egg and chicken oysters

Nasi Goreng Wagyu - fried rice (black and white rice) with wagyu and infused with terasi (spicy Indonesian shrimp paste)

Duck Galangal - crispy fried duck confit with Asian greens and sweet galangal dressing. As a non-duck fan, I totally liked this duck dish, so it's a really special one.

Gindara - grilled gindara fillet with 1945 sweet terasi infused sauce. This is my favourite dish here!

Tongseng Lamb Chop - sous vide lamb chop, deep fried and served over stir fried vegetables in tongseng sauce.

Dessert

Of all the dessert that we had, the Frozen Srikaya Souffle stood out the most, just see the photo below and you'll understand what's so special about it. But the Nastar Cake and Tape Cheesecake are quite impressive as well, it's just a matter of subjective preference.

Nastar Cake - golden pineapple sponge cake topped with butter crumble

Frozen Srikaya Souffle - cream souffle with frozen srikaya filling, served with pandan glutinous rice.

just look at that sticky kaya filling!

Tape Cheesecake - creamy smooth cheesecake infused with tape (sweet & soft fermented cassava), served with vanilla sauce

One of the biggest challenge for bloggers is to capture Indonesian food, because finger-lickin' and scrumptious they may be, often times the presentation do not look appetizing, even ugly at some cases. But as you can see from the beautiful pictures above, 1945 proves that Indonesian food too, can look beautiful and taste great at the same time and that it can extend beyond the lavish Rijstafel feast. Besides, for a fine dining restaurant, the prices are still quite reasonable, in my opinion. It's only a matter of time until I return for its Frozen Srikaya Souffle =)

Price:
Entrees & Dessert: IDR 80,000 - 190,000
Main Course & Rice Dishes: IDR 135,000 - 800,000
Beverages (non-alcoholic): IDR 50,000 - 100,000
*) Prices are subject to Government Tax & Service Charge

Opening hours:
- Lounge: 11 am - 12 am
- Restaurant: Lunch 11 am - 3.30pm | Dinner 6.30 pm - 11 pm

1945 Restaurant
Fairmont Jakarta, 3rd Floor
Jl. Asia Afrika No. 8
Gelora Bung Karno
Jakarta - 10270
Ph: +6221 29039179
www.1945.co.id
Click here to open location in Maps
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The Naked Goose Pop Up 2.0.

August 23, 2015, 6:04 pm

≫ Next: Bringing Buffet to Your Table: Scusa Sunday Brunch

≪ Previous: 1945 Indonesian Fine Dining

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Still remember William Gozali or WillGoz, one of the few characters whom I've featured on this blog last year (click to read the article I wrote about him) ? He was away to pursue a formal education overseas, but now he's back and is ready to cook u a storm in town through a series of pop ups (and word has it, a new restaurant concept is coming soon too)...

Welcome back William Gozali, the rebellious winner of Masterchef Indonesia season 3 who pursued his education at Le Cordon Bleu, a world class culinary insitution, in Sydney. I bet he has a long list of agenda and ambitious bucket list to tick off, now that he's back to make a good use of his expensive formal education overseas.

The Naked Goose by WillGoz ain't no ordinary Naked Goose. It is his first serious, post-education venture, which shall showcase to the public about Will's real food, in real life, beyond the episodes that audience remembered from Masterchef Indonesia, season 3. Knowing Will in person, I can expect the food he serves to be no non-sense affair.

The Naked Goose first held its pop up dinner sometime early this year at One Fifteenth Coffee, and this time, pop up version 2.0. took place at Nomz Kitchen & Patisserie, a restaurant that belongs to Arnold Poernomo, who is also one of the Judges of Masterchef Indonesia. This time round, Will orchestrated the dinner with another young & aspiring Alpin Reyner (@alpinreyner). Will, might have just found his long lost brother, just look at how much they look alike!

So, what sort of dishes did Will and Alpin cook up that night, have a closer look:

1st Course: Cured Salmon, blini, pickled cucumber

Blini is actually thin pancake, which, for this course, is used as the base on which the salmon, sour cream and pickled cucumber sat on. 

Serving for the entire table

2nd Course: Tom Yum Consomme, pan seared scallop, prawn, ikura & mushrooms.

3rd Course: Barramundi, apple kimchi, octopus, chicken skin

The surprise in this dish came from the wafer-thin chicken skin that was arranged perpendicularly to the plate, like a peacock's tail. And this dish also happens to be the favourite dish of everyone at my table.

4th Course: Roasted Duck, red wine jus, pickled shiitake

Just when started to wonder if there was actually a theme to the dinner (if it was supposed to be seafood, because 3 out of the 5 dishes we've been served were all seafood). But turns out the next dish was duck, probably as a tribute to its own name, the Naked Goose.

5th Course: Spiced Choco Delice, salted caramel sauce, orange foam

I must make a point to mention that the dessert was an honestly delightful end to the (food) nakedness that we've had since the first course. I wish some restaurant would serve this, as it's really good and I bet it will be wildly popular!

The Naked Good pop up dinner ver. 2.0. at Nomz Kitchen was a 5 courses dinner with 3 types of wine from Indonesia's very own Sababay winery. It was the first of many more successes that Will should be working hard to achieve. After all, The Naked Goose believes that "food is not about impressing people, it's about making them feel comfortable". I and my friends were comfortably sated that evening so that objective was a mission accomplished. Congrats Will, Alpin and team!

Meanwhile at the turntable, music by Gilang Aditya (Instagram @gilangaditya)

The Naked Goose by William Gozali

Instagram: @TheNakedGooseJkt // @WillGoz

e: thenakedgoosejkt@gmail.com

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Bringing Buffet to Your Table: Scusa Sunday Brunch

August 27, 2015, 11:39 am

≫ Next: All You Can Eat Japanese Grill, Tajima Yakiniku

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What do you guys normally do on Sundays? Do you work out? Sleep in until late noon? Clean up the house? Or gather with friends and family over a hearty and abundant feast? Whatever it is that you do, one certainly will find it hard to resist the last one, especially if it's a hearty Italian-style brunch buffet, like this one at Scusa Italian Restaurant...

Because Sundays are made for brunch...

Sure, there are so many fantastic Italian brunch around Jakarta's 5 star hotels, so what makes the one at Scusa any different? Well, firstly, Scusa recently launches a unique concept, 'bringing buffet onto your table', which means that you do just need to sit back and relax and wait for your food to arrive to the table. Once you are seated nicely and comfortably, the staff at Scusa will start serving you the complimentary Bloody Mary / Spritz and a serving of fresh oyster with lime. Honestly I've always found the smell of oyster a little too pungent to my liking, so I was never a fan of oyster, and passed my share to my lucky friend lol.

fresh oysters cracked open and ready to be served!

And soon enough, the next antipasti followed suit and arrived, expect a variety of foie gras terrine, cold cuts, caprese and burrata, olives and dried vegetables platters. Before I started blogging, I would never enjoy these kinds of 'exotic' dishes (it was exotic to me back then, uncooked meat, liver paste, cheese that is not parmesan, etc). But I'm glad that today I could appreciate this type of cuisine and even enjoy it.

Foie gras terrine served with port wine-blueberry reduction, black winter truffle and toasted brioche

Choice of pork or Halal cold cuts

Do not be surprised if Executive Chef Gianluca approaches your table and inquire about your brunch experience, because he would do exactly that. Despite the closed environment and seemingly formal setting, seeing the chef walking around and greeting the guests makes Scusa feels more comfortable and casual. There will be a live band performing on the stage, this could be a great opportunity to make a surprise for someone special!

On top of the antipasto buffet that the staff brings to our table, there are a few stations from where guests could get their endless servings of assorted seafood and meat, homemade pasta, pizza, cheeses and dessert. At the meat & seafood and pasta counter, we could request the chef to create anything from the available ingredients. Fancy yourself some gnocchi with bolognese and pork belly sauce? You'll have it delivered to your table, all you need to do is ask the chef!

Unlike in other hotel's pasta or steak stations, Scusa provides some very interesting selection of sauces, like clams in white wine sauce, Forest mushroom with thyme sauce, but my favourite has got to be the Amatriciana, pork belly and garlic in tomato sauce pecorino Romano!

It so happens that that Sunday, they were making this type of Italian bread, shaped like calzone, only smaller, stuffed with feta cheese and blanched spinach, and then fried. This one, and the fried pizza dough are absolutely must try (and quite addictive I must say, so save your tummy for the other dishes!)

So I and my friends ordered from the pasta station, some wicked yummy pasta with pork belly sauce and creamy sauce. I loved mine the most, creamy mushroom pappardelle with truffle oil, although my friend's Gnocchi with Amatriciana sauce!

I asked the chef to make me a serving of pappardelle with mushrooms and classic Carbonara sauce and drizzled with truffle oil

Assorted grilled meat (quail, sirloin, tenderloin, short ribs and seafood)

Our friend's pasta: gnocchi with Amatriciana (pork belly and garlic in tomato sauce pecorino Romano)

Although the buffet spread is served to our table, we didn't miss out on the fun too, I had a pretty fun time arranging my own panna cotta for dessert and my own cheese platter. Pardon the explosion of colours in the panna cotta, I'm a sucker for fresh fruits! ;)

A cup of sweet and delightful panna cotta to end the Italian feast, it doesn't get any more Italian than this, right?

Sunday Brunch Price:
IDR 395,000++/person (price includes a glass of Bloody Mary / Spritz and an oyster)

*) Prices are subject to Government Tax and Service Charge

Operational Hours

Monday - Friday: Lunch : 11.30 am - 2.30 pm | Dinner : 6 pm - 12 am

Saturday: Dinner: 6 pm - 12 am

Sunday: Brunch : 11.30 am - 3 pm | Dinner : 6 pm - 12 am

Dress Code: Smart Casual (no slippers allowed)

Scusa Italian Restaurant

InterContinental Jakarta MidPlaza, 2nd level

Jl. Jend. Sudirman Kav. 10 - 11

Central Jakarta 10220

Ph: +6221 2514188

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All You Can Eat Japanese Grill, Tajima Yakiniku

August 31, 2015, 4:47 pm

≫ Next: (New) Kokoro: A Collage of Japan's Bests in Jakarta

≪ Previous: Bringing Buffet to Your Table: Scusa Sunday Brunch

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Oh when the dollars have decided to on a hiking trip, they are so determined and unrelenting until they reach the top! The weakening of Rupiah against US Dollars lately has caused, or perhaps even resulted (in economy, it's a chicken and egg cycle), the prices of meat to hike as well, especially that of beef and chicken. Ok, sounds like a good time to become a vegan? Now, wait just a minute there, because despite all this debilitation, there's actually a nice Japanese yakiniku restaurant that offers an All You Can Eat (AYCE) set menu for a ridicolously good price!

Tajima Yakiniku's All You Can Eat deal, is available at its stand-alone restaurant at Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK) and at its branch inside Thamrin Nine office building. The latter branch was open not too long ago, and it still retains all the signature interior elements of the main restaurant at PIK.

Bar area

One of the private rooms

The AYCE price starting from IDR 168,000++ / adult or IDR 128,000++ / child, is an all inclusive set, that already includes Gohan (steamed rice), Soup, Ocha, Appetizers, Meat and Haagen Dazs, all of which are top up-able, means if you like the appetizers so much, you could have 2nd or even 3rd helpings, but I'd rather save the space in my tummy for the Haagen Dazs ice cream LOL!

1. Choice of Appetizers:

Tori Karaage / Chicken Katsu / Tajima Croquette / Tajima Menti / Kakuteki / Kimchi / Tyoregi Salad / Potato Salad / Namuru / Gyu Suzishoyu. We shared and tasted all of the appetizers and whatever your choice is, it would be good (well, at least for my standard).

Left: Tori Karaage / Chicken Katsu / Tajima Croquette / Tajima Menti Right: Kimchi / Gyu Suzishoyu

Left: Potato Salad Right: Tyoregi Salad

Assorted Appetizers

2. Choice of meat:

Every set will have 4 core meat, the karubi (ribs), chicken, harami (rump steak) and chicken sausage. Set B would give you additional pork belly and jo misuji / jo tongue (jo tongue is the rear part of the tongue, hence more tender and less chewy). When you sit at the table, you will be served with the full set bu default, unless you have been here before and already know which meat that you will eat. Yes, apparently this happens, especially with regular customers here.

Set A: Karubi, chicken, harami, chicken sausage, tongue

Set B: Karubi, chicken, harami, chicken sausage, pork belly, Jo Misuji / Jo Tongue

Set C: Karubi, chicken, harami, chicken sausage, pork belly, Jo Misuji / Jo Tongue, pork sausage, shrimp, cuttlefish

Jo Misuji (thigh of premium wagyu)

Jo Tongue

And, of course your unlimited choice of Haagen Dazs! This is probably the 'cherry on top' for some of us who come here to dine the AYCE. Well, in fact there aren't many (if any) restaurants out there who dare to offer unlimited Haagen Dazs ice cream and this certainly has its own appeal.

This is one of the rare example where the all you can eat offer is truly worth every cent and you'll feel well sated with all the premium meat served (don't forget the unlimited Haagen Dazs too!). Absolutely recommended, I'll swear in the name of Loki LOL!

*) AYCE Terms & Conditions:

• Dining period is limited to 90 minutes
• Kid's price is only valid for children < 130cm tall
• Everyone on the same table has to order the same set
• AYCE is available everyday at ACE Square branch and Monday - Friday at PIK branch
• Dinner price applies all day on weekends and public holidays (as in, if you come in the afternoon on weekend, you'll be charged dinner price for the AYCE)
• Leftover food will be charged

AYCE Prices **):

Set A: Adult IDR 168,000++ (lunch) / IDR 198,000++ (dinner) | Kids IDR 128,000++ (lunch) / IDR 158,000++ (dinner)

Set B: Adult IDR 218,000++ (lunch) / IDR 258,000++ (dinner) | Kids IDR 158,000++ (lunch) / IDR 188,000++ (dinner)

Set C: Adult IDR 258,000++ (lunch) / IDR 298,000++ (dinner) | Kids IDR 188,000++ (lunch) / IDR 218,000++ (dinner)

**) All prices are subject to PB1 & Service Charge

AYCE Hours:

Lunch: 11.30 - 17.29

Dinner: 17.30 - 22.00

Tajima Yakiniku
ACE Square Building - Thamrin Nine
Lobby Floor Unit L/E-F
Jl. MH. Thamrin No. 10
Central Jakarta
Click here to open location in Maps
Ph: +6221 30027390
tajima-yakiniku.com
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(New) Kokoro: A Collage of Japan's Bests in Jakarta

September 5, 2015, 10:27 am

≫ Next: A Luncheon Affair: Nick Bril's Experience with Embassy of Belgium

≪ Previous: All You Can Eat Japanese Grill, Tajima Yakiniku

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Some of us might have heard that there's a new Japanese restaurant in Jakarta, offering possibly the most expensive omakase set course foodies in town has ever seen. With a price tag of IDR 2,8 million per person (I know, I almost choked when I heard it the first time too), I really wonder what makes it so special that it fetches such a price tag. I bet you're curious too, so keep reading on...

Gold flakes on  the sashimi

Nestled among the row of old school cafes, restaurants and shophouses along the stretch of Cikini Raya, is a totally unassuming black exterior facade. At the door hangs a black cotton, Japanese style curtain, partially revealing a set of concrete steps that lead to the restaurant upstairs. The entrance is inconspicous, almost to the point of blending in with its next door neighbours. So unless you walk on the pedestrian curb or came looking for it deliberately, chances are, you would most likely miss it.

The entrance of Kokoro

The unobtrusive entrance is intentionally so to recreate the experience in Japan, where some of the best restaurants there, are known to have unobtrusive, if not hidden, door. My heart quivered with anticipation as I revealed the black curtain and scaled up the stairs.

Like the unassuming exterior, the interior is not fancy. The minimalist approach in the colour and decor elements mimic that which I often seen in Japan (from television, photos, magazines etc). There's one main open dining area that can seat 8 persons in total and the other side, there are 2 private rooms on elevated platform, each can fit 6 persons and when the partition is opened, it can fit a larger group.

Inside the private rooms

The waiting staff are ladies clad in traditional Japanese kimono, who would greet the guests in Japanese (don't be surprised), I was thrown a little off guard by that to be honest. For a while I thought I was in Japan, but once she started to explain about the menus in Bahasa, I was rooted back reality.

Mineral water IDR 30,000

So let's start with the drinks menu, some of the basic items such as soft drinks and mineral water are pretty reasonably priced for a fine dining place (IDR 30,000 - 50,000). Then there's the beer and some Japanese Spirits which can be bought by the glass, these too are still reasonable (IDR 70,000 - 90,000). There are also some fine premium wines and sake on the list, available by the bottle.

Order a cup of warm ojicha instead!

The owner of Kokoro envisioned Kokoro to be a collage / a collection of the best cuisines and produce from all over Japan, curated and flown in to Jakarta. Some are even produced in-house using the original technique / recipe that he acquired from the proprietors in Japan.

So, to really appreciate the concept of Kokoro, the Kokoro course is of course the top recommendation. It is a set of omakase comprising 10 specially curated dishes, from Appetizers to Dessert.

The trio appetizers in Kokoro Course set

(photo above) Appetizer #1: Steamed Abalone with wasabi jelly sauce, served with caviar. The cold jelly, made from dashi stock, melted in the mouth to release the rich umami flavour of the homemade broth.

(photo above) Appetizer #2: Homemade Tofu coated with beko an & topped with uni. The tofu itself is a special recipe of tofu from a legendary tofu maker in Kyoto, which the owner visited and persuaded to sell. So that he could recreate the recipe in Indonesia, to self-produce fresh tofu anytime to serve the customers. The key in making tofu, said the owner, is in the soya bean milk and while he didn't disclose how special the milk is, I can imagine the effort that goes into that small block of soft & creamy white curd. But the surprise didn't stop there, there's a block of uni on top of the tofu. It was my very first time trying a real fresh uni and despite my brain screaming in disgust, I must say it actually tasted not as bad as I imagined it would be. 

(photo above) Appetizer #3: Horenso Spinach in dashi broth. The 3rd appetizer was supposed to be something else, ingen (string beans) with gomabitashi sauce, sakura ebi & yang corn, but it was not available at the time of my visit.

(photo above) 4th course - Soup : Clear soup with deep fried Grunt, served with garnishes (thinly sliced Japanese ginger, green onion and green yuzu). Have you ever tried grunt fish before? Nope, I had not, but it tasted great, fried and eaten with the garnishes together.

(photo below) 5th Course - Sashimi: Seasonal fresh sashimi, hotate (scallop), tuna, botan ebi (prawn). If you think the previous courses might have been pretty ordinary, the next one is definitely quite special, even more so if you're a sashimi lover. It's quite a flashy sashimi I must say, topped with edible gold flakes and pretty flowers, the plate looks like a little pretty garden. And I must not fail to mention that the sashimi was absolutely fresh. If before I started food blogging I used to fear raw seafood, nowadays I find myself actually enjoying it.

(photo below) 6th course - Broiled Dish: Rosy Seabass Broiled with salt, served with Japanese ginger, grated Japanese radish and Japanese citrus. The seabass was amazing succulent, fat and juicy, with crispy crust, but the joy of digging into this course would be even more, with the japanese ginger paste and pickled myoga ginger  (the red pointy shoot in the middle).

(photo below) 7th course - Steamed Dish: Chawanmushi with crab meat, shark's fin and seaweed sauce.
This was definitely one of the best and lavish chawan mushi that I've ever had. The egg curd itself had a perfect texture, solid yet soft and melts in the mouth.

(photo below) 8th course - Cooked Dish: Homemade roast beef with vegetables.

The menu name is a major understatement of the delightful dish that appeared before me on the beautiful blue and white square ceramic plate. 2 thin rosy pink slices of A5 level Imari beef sirloin (supposedly number 1 beef in Japan), drizzled with soy sauce and wasabi and served with roasted with vegetables such as eggplant, zucchini, sweet baby corn and okra. The beef was cooked, but somehow still manage to retain the juiciness and tenderness of that like raw meat. It was as if it had been cooked by sous vide method, but I confirmed with the owner that it was grilled conventionally.

(photo below) 9th course - Rice: Rice cooked with grilled sweetfish, served with red miso soup & Japanese pickles.
The rice itself, koshihikari, is a very special and most expensive variety of rice in all of Japan. The rounded grains are rather sticky and very slightly chewy.

(photo below) 10th course - Dessert
A platter of jelly with fruits and frozen persimmon. Somewhat a rather abrupt decrescendo of the enjoyable procession of fresh seafood and one amazing beef dish, the dessert served at the very end was minimalistic, but it served the purpose as a palate cleanser and sweet ending.

The omakase courses changes seasonally, according to the seasons in Japan, so what you see in my photos above might not be the same as what the guests might get in a few months from the day this post was published.

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The owner also emphasized about Kokoro's omotenashi, a noun that means 'to entertain guests wholeheartedly', or simply, sincere hospitality. The ladies clad in traditional yukata, are kokoro's staff who are dedicated to pay special attention to each tables. So don't be surprised or feel uncomfortable if you notice that they seem to be hovering around you, because that's part of the omotenashi. They are supposed to be alert all the time and be aware of when you've finished with a dish or if you need anything, before you even ask for it, put simply, to anticipate the guest's needs. That's what makes Japanese customer service superior than what's found everywhere else.

So, what's my verdict? Will I say that it's worth the price tag? If I only need to fork out roughly USD 200 to sample the best delicacies from across Japan, without having to fly or spend the time traveling, this is definitely a great deal. Kokoro is not a place where you'll find extreme or exotic Japanese delicacies such as the deadly poisonous fugu (puffer fish) or whale sperm and such (thank God for that!). Admittedly, Kokoro course was certainly the most expensive meal i've ever consumed at one go, but the experience was nothing short of divine.

Open Hours:

Currently open for dinner only. Each cycle of omakase lasts roughly 2 hours.

Reservation:
Highly recommended (if not, a must)

Dress Code:
Not specified, but smart casual is a safe choice.

Prices*):

Kokoro Course IDR 2,800,000++/person

Omotenashi course IDR 2,300,000++/person

A la carte food price range IDR 95,000 - IDR 1,000,000

*) Prices are subject to Government Tax & Service Charge

Kokoro

JI. Cikini Raya No. 37

Menteng Central Jakarta - Indonesia

Click here to open in Maps

To reserve: +6221 3900022

kokoro-japanese-restaurant-jakarta.com

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A Luncheon Affair: Nick Bril's Experience with Embassy of Belgium

September 9, 2015, 9:52 pm

≫ Next: Seafood Feast at C's Sunday Brunch

≪ Previous: (New) Kokoro: A Collage of Japan's Bests in Jakarta

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It was a sunny and calm afternoon in Ubud when I pulled over my car at the parking lot outside Viceroy Bali. Breathing in the fresh rural air for the first time in a while, I walked groggily (da*n 6am flight!&#@!) towards what's going to be one of the most exciting luncheon in my entire blogging journey. It would be a much anticipated lunch, featuring one of Belgium's top young chefs, Nick Bril, of The Jane, Antwerp, plus, I was going to join the Ambassador of Belgium to Indonesia, HE Patrcik Herman, in an intimate luncheon with only 13 other guests at Viceroy Bali's CasCades Restaurant.

The Flanders Investment and Trade office organized a food event for a number of select Indonesian travel and lifestyle press (and food blogger, me). To call it a privilege, is still an understatement, I feel truly blessed to be joining the rank of distinguished guests that afternoon.

Pre-luncheon Aperitif: Veuve Cliquot Brut NV

Nick Bril is known for his stellar achievement at the 3 Michelin Star Oud Sluis, which was closed in 2013. Currently, he's the Head Chef of The Jane in Antwerp, which received its first Michelin star, just a few months after it opened in March 2014. Selected as one of the #FlandersKitchenRebels, Nick Bril is one the brilliant chefs under the age 35 with a passion for Flemish gastronomy, pure products and innovation. Knowing all this, and the fact that he's a Michelin Star chef, I was even more excited about the lunch that was about to start.

Left: Wine Pairing: Dom Perignon 2002 Champagne, France Right: amuse bouche

Indonesian style peanut crackers, served with artichoke dip

1 of 10: Raw Emulsion of Bambu Bali Salad A brilliant, light and fresh starter, delightfully crunchy vegetables such as corn, carrot, string beans, beet and some other veggies, which I don't recognize, peanut sauce, braised quail egg and drizzled with serundeng (grated & grilled coconut). To me as an Indonesian, this dish reminds me of Indonesia's beloved salad 'Gado Gado', albeit with a fancy twist.

2 of 10:  Foie Gras / BBQ Fig / Hoshiko If the sight of real foie gras turns you off, then this will definitely turn you on. I truly enjoyed this dollop of ultra creamy foie gras, with a scoop of sorbet, berry sauce and fig.

3 of 10: Pork Belly / King Prawn / Quinoa I liked the crispy popped quinoa, but I personally found the prawn to be a little odorous to my liking and I believe that if the pork belly had been more tender, it would've be more enjoyable.

Wine Pairing: Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc 2013 Marlborough, New Zealand

4 of 10: Amberjack / Granny Smith / Wasabi (before the wasabi emulsion was poured)

It was my first time eating amberjack, and it was served raw nonetheless, so it would be immediately apparent if I'm going to like it for the rest of my life, or not. Amberjack's white meat has firm texture, with mild flavor, paired pleasantly with the apple slices and the mild wasabi emulsion

5 of 10: Tomato / Watermelon sorbet / Buratta CheeseWine Pairing: Cape Mentelle Sauvignon Semillon 2013 Margaret River, Australia Who would've thought to combine sorbet and burrata cheese? Turns out the combo was nothing short of brilliant

6 of 10: Celeriac / Bergamot / Scallop

Upon serving, the chef added the celeriac pearls (frozen using liquid nitrogen, hence the dramatic mist around the dish)

Wine Pairing: Terrazas de los Andes Reserva Chardonnay 2009 Mendoza, Argentina

7 of 10: Canadian Lobster / Dashi Butter / Smoked Beetroot Never fail with the dramatic presentation!

The lobster was delightfully juicy and sweet, but it was the dashi butter sauce that made the experience complete.

The next Wine Pairing: Lapostolle Cuvee Alexandre Merlot 2008 Valle de Colchagua, Chile

8 of 10: New Zealand Lamb / Polenta / Spinach The lamb initially came medium rare and I was only able to scrape the sides, which are cooked. Fortunately, Chef was kind enough to allow me have my lamb chop cooked over heat for a little longer. So, when it came back to me, now medium well and crispy and smelled heavenly (I suppose it was fried), I was finally able to enjoy the tender & juicy New Zealand lamb with the luscious polenta. I wonder what the metallic pearls adorning the salad was...but they were edible and addictively crunchy for sure!

9 of 10: Valrhona Chocolate / Merlot Vinegar / Blueberry Another theatrical presentation, this dessert was served with liquid nitrogen frozen merlot pearls. A cocktail of flavours and textures, but still harmonious. I was infatuated with the rich Valrhona mousse, with berry jam filling and practically everything else on the plate. As a big time sweet tooth, this dessert was a perfect end to amazing courses we had earlier.

Dessert Wine Pairing: Nicolas Feuillatte Brut Rose NV Champagne, France

And then, came the finale of our luncheon, the 2nd dessert and also the last dish of the luncheon. It was a marriage of tropical Asian produce with sophisticated western technique, to result in this lovely & refreshing dessert. 

10 of 10: Coconut / Kemangi / Pineapple

Wine Pairing: Grand Marnier / Bali Brem / Lychee / Lime Cheers to good life!

The amazing luncheon was hosted at the CasCades Restaurant of Viceroy Bali, Ubud. The beautiful villas is nestled at a slope overlooking a lush green hill, what an ideal spot for a romantic and quiet honeymoon...

Swimming pool area, Viceroy Bali, Ubud

Lush green slopes surrounding the villa

CasCades Restaurant

Belgium is world famous for the fine chocolate, waffles, fries (what Americans call French fries, actually came from Belgium, fyi), beers and many other regional dishes. Situated between influential cultures, such as German, Dutch and French, Belgium has evolved its own eclectic culture, one that combines a little bit of each. But Nick Bril's Experience at Viceroy was not intended to be a display of traditional Belgian cuisine. Nick Bril's display of refreshing, exotic and accessible dishes was apparent in each and every elements, which were painstakingly crafted and plated into beautiful edible form of art. The experience was nothing short of a fascinating spectacle and sensation to the senses, to say the least. I may not get the chance to dine at an actual Michelin Star restaurant yet, but this luncheon, despite the minor issue with the 3rd dish, has certainly set a very high standard for my reference in the future.

Last but not least, I would like to express my heartfelt thank you to The Embassy of Belgium to Indonesia and the Flanders Investment and Trade office for allowing me to be a part of this once a lifetime experience. I certainly look forward to experience the actual Belgian culture in the near future.

From Left to Right: HE Patrick Herman, Ambassador of Belgium to Indonesia  /  Mrs. Herman  / Chef Nick Bril  /  Nathalie Surmont, Trade & Investment Commissioner  /  Rudy Kerremans, Representative for Vlamingen in de Wereld

Embassy Of Belgium in Indonesia

Deutsche Bank Building 16th floor

Jl. Imam Bonjol No. 80 

Central Jakarta - 10310

Indonesia
Ph: +6221 3162036

diplomatie.belgium.be/indonesia

Facebook: Embassy of Belgium in Jakarta

CasCades Restaurant at Viceroy Bali

Jl.. Lanyahan, Br Nagi

Ubud, Bali - 80571

Indonesia

Ph: +62 361972111

Click here to open location in Maps

www.cascadesbali.com

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Seafood Feast at C's Sunday Brunch

September 10, 2015, 8:46 pm

≫ Next: America’s (and My) Favourite Wings: Wingstop

≪ Previous: A Luncheon Affair: Nick Bril's Experience with Embassy of Belgium

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If seafood is your biggest weakness, then I would suggest you to prepare a bucket to contain your drool, because the following blog post is surely going to make you throw a tantrum like a kid begging for candy. It's going to be a galore of #SeafoodPorn at its most glorious & lascivious state...You have been warned ;)

Hello Mr. Prawn!

Grand Hyatt Jakarta's signature restaurant, C’s Steak and Seafood, offers a Sunday Brunch that is not quite like other brunch buffet places I have seen...In fact, C's Sunday Brunch specializes in serving assorted types of premium seafood on ice, such as oysters, King Crab legs, tropical lobsters, crayfish, tiger prawns, etc. There's special seafood counter near the restaurant entrance, where all sorts of orange-shelled crustaceans are spread nicely next to each other.

Then right next to the seafood counter, is the gourmet salad section...This is also where you'll find a the foie gras, cooked a la minute. Have you ever found foie gras served at hotel buffet? You could literally request for a piece of foie gras, pan fried to golden crispy outside, but still melting inside, served with the berry jam. Second helpings are a must!

Foie gras buffet anyone?

But the seafood cornucopia does not end there, because you will also find grilled seafood at the meat & grill side. As C's is a steak restaurant, you could absolutely count on the steak served here to be nothing less than prime. Assorted meat and cuts such as tenderloin, top sirloin (a more premium cut of tenderloin) and lamb chops are served to your liking (like it more well done? Just ask the helpful chef to sear your cut for a while longer).

From the Grill & Meat section...

Left: beef ribs Right: lamb chop

But of course, a few slices of great steak only deserve great sides to complement it...and I gotta tell you the truffle mac and cheese from the Western food side is sick! (as in good, too good kind of sick) LOL

And there's even more seafood at the Asian food side, such as Wok Fried mud crab and friends...

Wok fried mud crab

Left: Peking Duck Pancakes Right: Nasi Goreng Kambing

But of course for a sweet tooth like me, the dessert section is the one that I've been eyeing for since starting the feast...I bet you can tell my obsession for dessert, based on the number of dessert photos I took...

All you can scoop gelato & sorbet!

assorted tropical fruits on ice

The one on the right is truly delish!

Crepes Suzette (by request)

C's Sunday Brunch is available with non-acoholic beverages, premium wines, beers or Taittinger (each comes with free flow option, for different price - see below for price details)...

I have to admit that the buffet price is higher than the average Sunday Brunch at various hotels in Jakarta, but this is definitely not the most expensive in town. Considering the meat prices have gone up so much and practically everything else in the market, and C's only serve premium produce, as well as organic ingredients sourced from niche local producers and farmers, a price tag of roughly USD 50 per person for a buffet like this is still very reasonable, especially if you're a huge fan of seafood.

C's Sunday Brunch Price *) **):

- with non-alcoholic beverages: IDR 700,000 / adult

- with premium wines & beers: IDR 900,000 / adult

- with Taittinger, premium wines & beer: IDR 1,100,000 / adult

*) Prices are subject to 10% Service Charge & Government Tax

**) Children age 6 - 12 receive 50% dicount and complimentary for children under 6 y.o. 

Dress Code:

Smart casual (shorts, bermudas and flip-flops are not allowed)

Open Hours:

Lunch: 12 pm – 3 pm

Dinner: 6 pm – 11 pm

Sunday Brunch: 11.30 am - 3 pm

C’s Steak and Seafood Restaurant

Grand Hyatt Jakarta, level 4

Jl. M.H. Thamrin Kav. 28-30

Central Jakarta - 10350

Indonesia

Ph: +6221 29921234

Click here to open in Maps

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America’s (and My) Favourite Wings: Wingstop

September 13, 2015, 8:54 pm

≫ Next: Affordable Rice Bowls at Le Grandeur

≪ Previous: Seafood Feast at C's Sunday Brunch

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Anyone ever been to or lived in the US would have heard of, or even tried one of the most popular chicken wings there: Wingstop. With history dating way back to 1994, the restaurant chain began offering franchises in 1998, it has grown into a chain with more than 650 restaurants in the US, Mexico, Russia and Jakarta, Indonesia.

Wingstop is first and foremost, NOT a fast food restaurant chain. What I mean by this, is that, after ordering your food, just proceed to your table with the given number, because right after your order has been input, that’s when your food will start cooking. It would take roughly 12 – 15 minutes for your freshly fried and spiced, a la minute chicken wings arrive at your table. The reason for this is because Wingstop is very particular about keeping up the quality of its products. Its adamant commitment is proven by the absence of any microwave and heat lamp in the kitchen (heat lamp is like those we always see in fast food restaurants, where they temporarily keep the food before being served to the customer). So, anything that comes out from the kitchen will be absolutely freshly cooked.

Hand-tossed chicken

Freshly made to order

But what makes Wingstop so special, is the flavour variants that they have. No less than 10 unique and very American flavours, you’ll never get bored of its chicken wings! 10 unique and undeniable flavors, each one bringing something different to the table, each one making you crave in ways you've never imagined!

•Garlic Parmesan: Powerful garlic + rich cheese. A full flavor to fill your stomach

•Lemon Pepper: An American favorite. Our unique blend of crisp citrus and black pepper flavor.

•Hawaiian: All the thick sweetness of fresh pineapple.

•Hickory Smoked BBQ: Big, Bold flavor that’s smoky and sweet.

•Louisiana Rub: A dry rub of cayenne pepper and garlic spices shows off the crispiness of the chicken.

•Teriyaki: Sweet and Soy. It’s low on heat, but not on flavor.

•Atomic: Our spiciest wing. A punch of habanero pepper will bring tears to your eyes.

•Cajun: All the flavor of Original Hot, but with extra spice.

•Original Hot: This sauce made us famous. The perfect blend of strong heat and strong flavor.

•Mild: Perfect for when you want a traditional wing with just a little bit of heat.

Discover more: http://www.wingstop.com/menu/flavors/

Wingstop prides itself as a flavours company

If you dislike the mess from eating chicken from the bones, there’s also boneless wings or strips to choose from. So far I’ve tried the Hickory Smoked BBQ, Garlic Parmesan, Hawaiian & Louisiana Rub, and my personal favourite is the Lousiana Rub, which is a very fragrant combination of Cajun style spices and herbs, it’s salty and a bit spicy, and it’s very suitable for our Indonesian palate.

Boneless strips with Louisiana Rub flavour IDR 34,545 (3 pcs + 1 dip)

Left: flying drumettes!!

My other favourite is the Hawaiian sauce, which is refreshingly sweet, sour and not overly strong. Drumsticks: IDR 34,545 (2 pcs + 1 dip)

Other options other than the chicken wings, which you can choose from:

yummy Veggie Stick with Ranch or Honey Mustard dips IDR 13,636

Cheese Fries with Jalapeno (be warned, it's spicy!) IDR 24,545

Wingstop’s stores in Kemang & Setiabudi One are quite special, because these stores are open early for Breakfast, but every Wingstop outlets serve All-Day Breakfast menu, such as this Croissant Combo with Hashbrowns and choice of with/without coffee (coffee by Lavazza by the way).

Like most American casual or fast casual restaurant, any purchase of soft drinks would entitle you to access the free flow, self service soda dispenser. To a soda lover, this is like dream come true!

Free flow soft drinks for IDR 10,000/cup only!

Wingstop Indonesia has modified slightly its menu to fit in the domestic market, some of the addition on the menu, which can only be found in Indonesia are the rice (choice of cajun or plain) and a brand new drink flavour: Iced Lychee Tea with popping bobba.

Left: Iced Lychee Tea (new drink) Right: Iced Creme Brulee Latte IDR 29,091 and Cappuccino (Hot) IDR 20,000

Left: Cajun Rice IDR 10,000 | additional dips available at IDR 6,364/pc

Churros seems to be a popular & safe dessert choice for most American restaurant chains, so don't be surprised to find it here. I like to taste of the churros, which is crispy but not too hard and not too sweet.

Sweet Churros IDR 22,727

I went to Wingstop’s independent store located in Kemang, South Jakarta. It’s easily spotted, because it’s still on the main stretch of Kemang Raya. The tall 3 story restaurant has divided areas for non-smoking and smoking guests on the first and second floor. While the 3rd floor, only recently completed, has a meeting room with a nice outdoor terrace, which will soon be open to public. It was already dark when I visited, but here’s what’s it looks like:

The outdoor terrace on 3rd floor at Kemang outlet

Wingstop’s branding concept is themed around vintage, aviation-themed restaurants (as can be seen from its logo)

USB power plugs at the table! Wingstop totally won my heart =)

Fussball game on 2nd floor, smoking area

~~~

Ongoing Promotion:"WEDNESDAY IS WINGSDAY":

• Every Wednesday, for a purchase of 5 pcs Classic Wings with 1 flavor & 1 dip, Free 5 pcs Classic Wings of the same Flavour.
• Promo valid for Diner In & Take Away only.

#WingstopIDFlavors Photo Contest

Share your favorite Wingstop menu with hashtag ‪#‎WingstopIDFlavors‬ and win grand prize 1 APPLE WATCH!‬ 2 weekly winners will get Wingstop Vouchers.

Mechanism:

1. Like Fanpage Wingstop Indonesia and follow @WingstopID on Twitter and Instagram

2. Upload your Wingstop Favorite menu and tell us why you crave it. Example: "Guys, you should definitely try @WingstopID Garlic Parmesan Classic Wings. Savory garlic, buttery parmesan cheese, this great blend of flavors is worth wrecking your breath for! #WingstopIDFlavors”.

3. Tag #WingstopIDFlavors and @WingstopID

More more detailed info, visit: bit.ly/wingstopidflavors

Wingstop Indonesia

For complete list of locations in Indonesia: bit.ly/wingstopidlocations

Delivery hotline: 1-500-993

*) minimum order for Delivery: IDR 100,000 and for certain areas around the stores

**) Prices are subject to Government Tax & Service Charge

Facebook: Wingstop Indonesia

Twitter: @WingstopID

Instagram: @WingstopID 

International website: www.wingstop.com

For live and regular updates,

stalk my Instagram: @ellynatjohnardi

Affordable Rice Bowls at Le Grandeur

September 20, 2015, 9:32 am

≫ Next: (What If) IHOP Opens In Indonesia?

≪ Previous: America’s (and My) Favourite Wings: Wingstop

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Le Grandeur Mangga Dua hotel in North Jakarta has seen better days, before the years and fierce competition from glitzier and newer hotels comes out higher on the search engine of hotels in Jakarta. It's location is actually adjacent to one of Jakarta's busiest electronic shopping center, Mal Mangga Dua, and the hotel has a direct access to the mall, via an entrance on the 1st floor, which is where L'Avant Restaurant is located too...

Chicken Teriyaki Rice Bowl

First of all, L'Avant Restaurant is the place where hotel guests have their morning breakfast buffet. The furniture inside is deeply reminiscent of old school hotel, but at least they are well maintained...I like the fact that the big dining hall is well lit and clean...

Clean and bright interior with a bar in the center

So, I came to sample its Rice Bowl promotion, basically for a flat price of IDR 40,000 (that's only USD 2.78!!), for which you'll get a Rice Bowl of various choice of meat and free flow tea / green tea. That's considerably affordable for a hotel restaurant standard. There are various Rice Bowl topping that you could choose from, such as Black Pepper Beef, Beef Teriyaki, Gyu Tan Don, Chicken Teriyaki, Sweet and Sour Fish, Spicy Balado Fish, etc. 

Left: Sweet & Sour Fish Rice Bowl Right: Beef Black Pepper

Gyu Don

A total of 7 types of Rice Bowl to choose from!

Of all the 7 Rice Bowls, my personal favourite is the one with spicy balado fish, it's got the right balance of sweet and heat, I wished there were more fish inside than the rice haha! But oh well, what you pay is what you get! Oh, and the Black Pepper Beef was my next favourite Rice Bowl.

Other than the Rice Bowls, the menu at L'Avant also offers various International and classic Indonesian fares. At the time of my visit, I tried the pizza as well, a piece of Margherita Pizza (medium size), which comes with a bowl of salad with cesar dressing (complimentary).

Fresh hand-tossed, stone oven baked pizza

Margherita Pizza IDR 70,000 (includes a complimentary bowl of salad)

Iced Coffee

The Rice Bowl promotion is very price competitive, but to be frank, I like my rice bowl generously stuffed with lots of toppings, moist rice and very umami (to get this kind of rice bowl, it would normally cost at least 2x more and without free flow drink!). So, to be realistic, with this kind of price (IDR 40,000) in a hotel restaurant in Jakarta, this is possibly the best deal that you can get. If you happen to be in the area and feel like filling up on some serious carbs and free flow tea, this could be a wallet-friendly option for you!

Open Hours:

Daily Lunch Buffet : 12 noon - 2.30  pm

Rice Bowl Promotion is available daily from 11 am - 5 pm

*) Prices are subject to Government Tax & Service Charge

L'Avant Restaurant

Le Grandeur Mangga Dua - Jakarta, 1st Floor

Jl. Mangga Dua Raya

Jakarta 10730 - Indonesia

Ph: +6221 6128811

Click here to open in Maps

Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

For live and regular updates,

stalk my Instagram: @ellynatjohnardi

(What If) IHOP Opens In Indonesia?

September 22, 2015, 2:14 pm

≫ Next: When an Italian Goes Local in Jakarta

≪ Previous: Affordable Rice Bowls at Le Grandeur

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IHOP, a rather endearing acronym for International House of Pancakes, is a self-explanatory, international brand of American restaurant chain that's almost omni-present in the US. Up until 2015, the total count is 1,650 restaurants including those in Canada, Central America, the Middle East and The Philippines. It's only a matter of time until it makes its presence felt in South East Asia, but will IHOP make it big here, in Indonesia? And what on earth was I doing in Dubai last week, anyway? Keep scrolling down for answers ;)

To tell you the truth, the main purpose of my first and recent trip to Dubai, United Arab Emirates, was to determine, from a foodie point of view, whether several American restaurant chains should or should not come to Indonesia. Our opinions would be vital to help the Alshaya group (the company that holds the franchise rights of numerous large international brands such as Starbucks, Victoria's Secret, H&M, Debenhams, etc in Middle East and North Africa, Russia, Turkey and Europe) to decide whether our country is going to be a viable and profitable market or not.

I felt absolutely blessed for the unexpected opportunity to set foot in the Middle East, to be exact in Dubai. So far, the farthest place I've been to is Hong Kong, but now that record has been broken by the 8 hours long flight to the largest city in UAE, Dubai. My first impression upon landing and breathing in the natural air there? HOT and humid. Staying indoor is not an option, unless you want to suffocate in the heat. I am beyond grateful nonetheless for the opportunity, one that I've never expected and never thought was ever possible...  

Fast forward to our first food tasting panel of the trip, which took place at IHOP inside Mall of The Emirates...

For those still unfamiliar with the brand, IHOP is famous for its award-winning pancakes that come in various flavours, with affordable prices, as well as for the free flow syrups of several different flavors. I'd never experienced IHOP anywhere else before, so my only standard for comparison would be our very own local pancakes and crepes houses (not gonna mention any names here).

IHOP opens as early as 8am, despite mall's standard operation hours starting 10am. It's a breakfast place after all. My first impression about the venue is that it feels casual, quite old school kind of American restaurant feel.

The first things that I noticed upon seated at the table, are the syrups 'collection' and the orange vacuum jar as seen on every single tables inside. While the syrup is kind of IHOP's signature, the orange flasks are called 'Never Empty Coffee Pot", charged per person and is literally like your personal jar of endless black coffee. To a hardcore coffee drinker like myself, the coffee here is not the best, honestly, I should've asked for just water instead.

Left: assorted syrups Right: Never Empty Coffee Pot AED 17 / person

Of course, a food tasting would involve a lot of food sampling (and wastage, very unfortunately). 

So, here are the (long) list of menus that we tried then:

1. Original Buttermilk Pancakes (3 pancakes AED 27 | 5 pancakes AED 34)

One of the best buttermilk pancakes ever, no wonder it's won awards! It's light & fluffy and not as dense or thick as the ones I've had here. I tried with the Butter Pecan syrup and I can tell that I like it better than the standard maple syrup.

2. CINN-A-STACK™ Pancakes (4 pancakes AED 39)

Four buttermilk pancakes layered with cinnamon & drizzled with cream cheese icing and whipped cream.

The photo on the menu didn't look quite like this, so it was quite misleading, it's still delicious nonetheless. Americans normally eat a stack of 3-5 pancakes, whereas that's not the norm in Indonesia, where there's even an option for single pancake.

3. Strawberry Banana French Toast (AED 39)

The presentation looks really pretty & photogenic, but the taste did not live up to the looks unfortunately. The egg & milk batter didn’t soak all the way to the core of the thick toast.

4. Chicken & Waffles (AED 45)

Four pieces of chicken strips, breaded & crispy fried. Served with waffle quarters, whipped butter and honey mustard sauce.

The waffles are unbelievably fantastic, the best I’ve ever had so far! It’s crispy outside, light and airy and soft inside, with fragrant buttery smell. The chicken strips too, are amazing, well seasoned, tender & juicy inside, but the batter is quite thick and hard to cut through. This is a perfect dish that I'm sure (almost) any Indonesians would like.

5. Big Steak Omelette (AED 46)

Tender strips of steak, hash browns, fresh green peppers, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes & cheddar cheese, served with salsa and a side of 4 plain bread triangles & jam (choice of white / wholemeal bread).

I like that the steak strips come out tender & not too thick, the rolled omelette's texture was quite good as well. Although I'm not sure if there's too many fillings stuffed that the dish lost its main star in the humdrum. I may not like this, but some of my friends who had this too, actually liked it. With such a huge rolled omelette, I actually find the toast quite unecessary, because the rolled omelette alone is more than enough to feed 2. I think most Indonesians would agree too, and they'd rather the restaurant reduce the price in place of the toast.

6. Chicken Fajita Omelette (AED 40)
Grilled fajita-seasoned chicken breast strips, onions, fresh green peppers with salsa and blend of cheeses, topped with sour cream, also comes served with a side of 4 plain bread triangles & jam.

Very delicious, fluffy eggs omelette, with yummy & well seasoned. This is my second favourite menu here, after the Chicken & Waffles

7. Spinach & Mushroom Hash Brown Stack (AED 36)
Hash browns topped with sauteed spinach & mushrooms, melted Provolone cheese, sliced tomato, poached egg, Hollandaise sauce and green onions.

In Indonesia, 'hash brown' tends to be associated with the triangular hash browns served at fast food restaurants. And on the contrary, IHOP's style of grated, deep-fried potato patties would be recognized as ‘rösti’ here. I find the hash quite delicious and I like the combo of spinach, shrooms, cream and perfectly poached egg.

8. Eggs Benedict (AED 49)
Turkey ham on English muffin, topped with poached eggs & Hollandaise sauce, served with hash browns.

This is my least favourite of all the dishes tried at here. Actually it tasted quite good in general (perfectly poached eggs). But I don’t think Indonesians would find this appealing, as opposed to other fancier and cheaper eggs benedicts in Jakarta.

9. Chicken Florentine Crepes (AED 48)
Chicken breast strips sauteed with lightly seasoned fresh spinach, mushrooms & onions, rolled inside crepes with Swiss cheese and topped with Hollandaise sauce.

I like the combination of slightly sweet crepe and savoury, but I didn't find this dish to be exceptional enough to remember...

10. Volcano Shrimp (AED 42)
Batteres shrimp tossed in sweet and spicy Volcano sauce.

This item is going to be a hit among Indonesians! Even a non-seafood lover like me, I love the crunchiness of the shrimp although I think the mayo sauce was given a little too much. It's quite unusual to have this for breakfast actually, but it's still available for lunch.

11. Grilled Balsamic Chicken (AED 54)
Grilled tender, boneless chicken breast with sauteed mushrooms, onions & balsamic glaze, served with steamed broccoli (and seasoned red potatoes).

We tried some main courses from the Lunch Menu too. The grilled chicken breasts were of amazing quality, but I found there's too much brown balsamic brown sauce (the sour taste) and thus making sour as the dominant flavour instead of the chicken. The presentation definitely needs some improvement if this were to appeal to Indonesian customers...

12. Ribeye with Blue Cheese Butter (AED 80).
Seasoned ribeye steak topped with blue cheese butter, choice of sides: butter corn and mashed potato.

The ribeye, cooked to medium, was quite good, but again, portion was too much for me (10 oz / 280gr meat!), even for a lunch menu. The blue cheese butter was good, although it end up making the dish quite oily. Phew! That's the last of a whopping total 12 different items at one meal!

~~~

The concept of all day breakfast is becoming more and more familiar and common in Jakarta. Although unlike in America, there's probably not as many people in Indonesia who would order breakfast food for dinner or lunch. To most Indonesians, pancakes, crepes, waffles and such are still associated with dessert or breakfast food.

Considering that Indonesians do not have a culture for big breakfast (not on weekdays, at least), I'm concerned that the very concept of IHOP of serving all day breakfast may not be well received by the breakfast-skippers and light morning-eaters in Indonesia. That being said, IHOP does have numerous signature menus that I'm beyond certain, would be a hit here, such as the Chicken & Waffles, Volcano Shrimp, the Pancakes and the Omelettes.

So, whether IHOP is going to enter Indonesian market, is now entirely up to Alshaya's team to evaluate. While I secretly hope that it will open in Indonesia, (because, the Chicken & Waffles!), there are some adjustments to make, such as serving portion, price some tweaking to the recipe etc, in order to suit Indonesian consumer profile and to be a decent competition against some local pancake houses / breakfast places.

*) Prices quoted are in United Arab Emirates Dirham

**) Exchange rate: 1 AED (United Arab Emirates Dirham) = IDR 3,900 (Indonesian Rupiah)

IHOP Middle East

www.alshaya.com/brands/food/ihop

Middle east store locations: Saudi Arabia | United Arab Emirates | Kuwait | Bahrain

Facebook: IHOP Middle East

IHOP International website: www.ihop.com

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When an Italian Goes Local in Jakarta

September 23, 2015, 10:36 pm

≫ Next: (What If) P.F. Chang's were to open in Indonesia?

≪ Previous: (What If) IHOP Opens In Indonesia?

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Are you always at a loss of what places to take your overseas friends who are visiting your city? Well, true, there's always Tripadvisor or the Lonely Planet to look up for ideas, but seriously I have a reputation to live up as a #HipsterFoodie =P. So, not too long ago, when my Italian friend, Antonio's visiting South East Asia and came to Jakarta, I went to take him around to several not-so mainstream places. Do you think these places are 'hipster' enough? Scroll down for more details...

Say hello to my charming friend, Antonio, ciao!

So for this special post, I try not to focus too much on food, just for an occasional break from routine. I thought this one day trip I had with Antonio is way too interesting to just stay only as pixels and bytes in my camera. And there are actually some interesting places that even I, as a local, would never have visited if Antonio didn't come to town.

Since I work Mondays to Saturdays, I told him that I'd only be able to go exploring with him on Sunday and I promised to take him to various interesting locations in Jakarta...Can you guess where this place (photo below) is?

Batik painting

The photo above was actually captured at the Batik Pavilion inside Museum Tekstil Jakarta (Jakarta Textile Museum). The museum itself frequently host exhibitions related to textile from time to time, and to enter the museum complex, a local only needs to pay IDR 5,000 / person. But Antonio's main itinerary there was not to sight-see, he was dead set on learning the basics of batik painting and the Batik Pavilion allows visitors to do just that.

Antonio, posing with local kids visiting the museum on a Sunday

To access the batik painting kits (a piece of square cotton cloth, the wax and the canting), the cost per person is IDR 40,000. You can stay inside the pavilion for as long as you want and there will be someone to teach you the basics before you start painting with the molten wax.

So the first thing to do after receiving the cotton cloth is to choose a design, available on the drawing tables and then start tracing it. If you were a beginner, it's best to choose a simpler design without too much small details. You don't want to end up getting frustrated on your holiday! Haha...

After the tracing step was complete, you'll be given an apron and then proceed to sit next to the hot wax clusters. It was amazing to see a diverse group of people painting batik here, from the young locals painting intricate and details patterns, to tourists like Antonio (and myself haha!) attempting their first time. It was not as easy as it seemed, because the 'canting' or the pen-like contraption to hold the molten wax, has to be held in an unfamiliar way to prevent it from smudging the cloth and to make sure the wax flows out evenly like a pen. I salute you, Antonio, for the patience (although we both gave up eventually, because we're too hungry already LOL!).

Next, we went to Restoran Beautika Khas Manado for lunch. Beautika is popular among the locals, serving decent Manadonese food (notorious for being spicy and little 'exotic;). I ordered several dishes for Antonio to try, such as the Sayur Bunga Pepaya (papaya flower & shredded tuna stir-fry), Paniki (deep fried bat, still with bones), Cumi Woku Belanga (squid cooked in squid ink broth), Bakwan Jagung (corn fritters), Cakalang (spicy dried cakalang fish) and rice of course.

Left (top) Cumi Woku Belanga IDR 55,000 | Left (bottom) Bunga Pepaya IDR 42,500 Right: Perkedel Jagung IDR 11,000

I didn't tell Antonio what Paniki was, and asked him to try the dark coloured meat dish. He made a pretty wild guess, but the idea of cooked bat never occurred to him. I've never eaten Paniki before either, so I was honestly very bloody nervous about trying it for the first time...

Paniki IDR 88,000

Antonio almost choked when I told him that it was deep fried bat and realized that he could actually see the long fan-like fingers among the mass. I had a really timid bite of the meat and it tasted like very very pungent mutton and the texture was quite dry. I couldn't chew it any longer, I quickly washed it down with water. Paniki is definitely not my 'cup of tea' LOL.

Then I challenged Antonio to down a red hot dish, which was actually Cakalang. Just curious how much he can handle the heat haha...sorry Antonio, but to be a local Indonesia, you have to be able to eat chili, even fresh ones and raw! It was quite hilarious watching his reactions, but he handled it pretty well and even helped himself to more of this. There's something so addictive about spicy food right?

To be honest I was quite let down by the food, because I've heard so many fantastic reviews here. It's quite expensive for such small servings.

Cakalang Garo Rica IDR 55,000

Is the Cakalang hot enough for you?

That must have been one of the most unusual meal that both I and Antonio have ever had, I'm glad I had him as a company, because I'd normally be too squeamish to try such 'extreme' food haha. So, next, after lunch, we needed a real good coffee break and headed out to Anomali Coffee in Menteng.

Love the bright space at this coffee shop...

Relatively new, Anomali Coffee's store in Menteng is a lovely bright coffee shop with plenty of indoor and outdoor seating spaces. I wanted to show Antonio what Indonesian Kopi Luwak (civet coffee) was like, so the helpful barista there, kindly allowed us access behind the coffee bar and to see him prepare our special cup of joe from a very close range...

tasting our Kopi Luwak with Anomali Coffee's friendly barista

The kind barista even taught us how to identify good batch of ground coffee, the most basic signs to look out is the 'froth' forming at the brim when pouring in the hot water (for manual V60 brew).

Left: manual V60 brewing process Right: Our (much needed) afternoon coffee break

So, with that, my journey with Antonio for the day ended, but Antonio's other friends in Jakarta are taking him to so many other interesting places around town too. Like the evening before, I went to Pelabuhan Muara Angke (Muara Angke port) together with my other blogger friend, Natasha (The Yummy Traveler) and Antonio.

It was my first time setting foot at Muara Angke and the experience was nothing short of eye-opening. It's a massive marketplace selling various catches from the sea. I'm pretty sure local restaurants and chefs must have been here at least once to acquire their seafood supplies...

The three of us decided to share a lobster (it's quite expensive!! Maybe because the fishermen saw us coming with a tourist, so they gave us a not so good deal *sigh). Then we went to some open air eateries near the market to have our fresh seafood cooked. It would've been a great meal, if we didn't have to swat away so many flies LOL!

Is that bonfire or what?!

Thank you Antonio, for visiting Jakarta and thank you for being my travel companion in discovering the lesser traversed parts of Jakarta. I certainly hope to see you again soon (he told me he'll be back with some great ideas he got from this trip, I wonder what it might be!). Ci vediamo, Antonio!

Follow Antonio's journey in discovering South East Asia like a true blue local:

Facebook: Antonio Travels

Instagram: @AntonioTravels

Twitter: @Antoniotravels

Location details:
1. Museum Tekstil Jakarta
Jl. Aipda Ks Tubun No.2-4
Tanah Abang, Petamburan
Central Jakarta - 10260
Click here to open in Maps
Ph: +6221 5606613

2. Restoran Beautika Khas Manado
Jl. Abdul Muis No. 70A
Central Jakarta - 10160
Click here to open in Maps
Ph: +6221 3812340
Open Hours: 9 am - 9 pm

3. Anomali Coffee
Jl. Teuku Cik Ditiro No.52
Menteng, Central Jakarta - 10310
Click here to open in Maps
Ph: +6221 3106370

4. Pelabuhan Muara Angke
Click here to open in Maps

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stalk my Instagram: @ellynatjohnardi

(What If) P.F. Chang's were to open in Indonesia?

September 27, 2015, 6:26 pm

≫ Next: Shake Shack Shook My World!

≪ Previous: When an Italian Goes Local in Jakarta

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So now, back to stories from my recent Dubai trip. Before I start, let me tease you with a question: What comes to your mind when I mention the term 'modern Asian diner'? Do you imagine fancy fusion food at high end location, for example several restaurants that already open in Jakarta?

Open terrace deck at P. F. Chang's Jumeirah Beach Residence in Dubai

So, in this post, I'm going to share in great detail, my dining experience at one of P.F. Chang's prettiest branch located The Beach, opposite Jumeirah Beach Residence. Briefly summarised, P.F. Chang's is an American restaurant chain founded in Scottsdale, Arizona in 1993 by Paul Fleming serving menus conceived by Chef Philip Chiang (whose surname is simplified to Chang), hence the brand: P. F. Chang's.

To be honest, I've not heard of the brand P. F. Chang's prior to coming to Dubai, which is run by The Alshaya group, the company that holds the franchise rights of and runs numerous large international brands such as IHOP, Starbucks, Victoria's Secret, H&M, Debenhams, etc in Middle East and North Africa, Russia, Turkey and Europe.

P.F. Chang's at The Beach opposite Jumierah Beach Residence is located at a very prime location of Jumeirah Beach, flanked by various high end properties (five star hotels, serviced residences, retail stores, shopping mall, etc). At The Beach, P.F. Chang's occupies an independent 2 story building with lovely outdoor seating on both the first and second floor, providing prime spot for sunset dining (if you could stand the heat, that is!). Nonetheless, the view provided at this spot is nothing short of spectacular...

Playing with mainly dark colour, modern wooden furnishing elements and wall mural, the décor and interior of P. F. Chang’s is quite safe and easily appeals to the taste. Although, if compared to several modern asian diners in Jakarta, the interior of P. F. Chang’s pales in comparison. In order for P. F. Chang’s to catch and retain the Indonesian crowd, it needs a really strong, unique and modern interior. Indonesians nowadays don't simply dine out to fill their tummies, they're willing to pay a premium price for one-of-a-kind, never-seen-before kind of dining experience (great food and breathtaking venue).

P. F. Chang’s menu is not overly massive, it’s a well balance of everything from starters to dessert and there’s even some vegetarian dishes on the menu, which is desirable for diners having restricted diet. Having some illustrations on the menu is quite helpful to guide customers when choosing food. So, keep scrolling down and let me know if you think these dishes look appetizing to you...

Left: Rose's Lemonade - house lemonade with mint, created  by one of the waiters named Rose (AED 22) House Made Ginger Beer - fresh ginger & lemon juice mixed with pure sugar cane (AED 22) Right: P. F. Chang’s signature dishes

1.Chang’s Chicken Lettuce Wraps (AED 44)

P. F. Chang’s most popular appetizer, stir fried chicken served with lettuce cups.

Remarks: lovely diced & stir fried chicken, although the presentation could use some improvement..

2.Chang’s Asian Short Rib (comes served with white rice) (AED 75)

Giant beef rib covered in sweet & savory Asian BBQ sauce paired with cucumber & carrot salad. Great for starter or light meal.

Remarks: amazing fall-off-the-bone & meaty short ribs. This kind of amazing ribs is not easily found in Jakarta, even at restaurants that specialize in serving steak, meat & grill. But the serving portion is too much to make it as a starter, even less so if it comes with plain rice. Perhaps just 1 rib of the same size would be enough for a starter.

3.Dynamite Shrimp (AED 47)

A cup of flavourful battered shrimp with an explosive spicy sauce.

Remarks: it’s going to be a hit among Indonesians, so far no other places serve this kind of dish yet. Perhaps could improve on the skin wrapping the shrimp, it would be great if it could be crispy. The seasoning is just enough and serving is unique in a tall cocktail glass.

4.Sesame Chicken (AED 57)

Diced chicken breast, broccoli, red bell peppers, yellow onions and three sauce mixture (ginger, chili & garlic)

Remarks: delicious tender chicken ‘balls’, well marinated outer ‘skin’. Will be a hit among Indonesians too. Flavour and seasoning are well balanced.

5.VIP Duck (AED 85)

Duck legs and breast, steamed and finished on the grill. Served with cucumber drizzled with sesame vinaigrette & julienned scallions.

Remarks: it’s unlike any other duck dishes that we’ve seen in Jakarta. P. F. Chang’s duck is awesome in terms of flavor & meat texture, seasoning & tenderness. Absence of any gamey odour successfully appeal to even non-duck fan like me to love this dish!! The duck certainly deserves a VIP rating.

6.Dan Dan Noodle (AED 48)

Fresh egg noodles topped with spicy ground chicken & dark sauce, finished with bean sprouts & cold cucumber slices to cool the palate. The dish is tossed upon served at the table.

Hand-tossing the dan dan noodles

Remarks: I like the concept of having the staff helping to stir the noodles and the wonton broth to the noodles, how he explained that the noodles are not cut to stay true to traditional Chinese belief. But, the noodles are a tad too salty to be eaten without rice. But noodles are not commonly eaten with rice In the first place. Plus the serving is too much in my opinion.

7.Mongolian Beef (AED 71)

Using traditional recipe from Mongolian region of China, the dish is prepared with thin slices of caramelized beef and tossed with scallions.

Remarks: the first attempt was a flop, beef was overcooked and dry. But on second attempt, the beef came out perfect!! Delightfully tender strips, nice caramelization of the sauce and lovely burnt smell. I would come back to P. F. Chang’s just for this exact same dish.

8.Ma La Shrimp (AED 82)

Green beans, shrimp & Kung Pao sauce stir fry

Remarks: couldn’t tell the mala sauce in this dish, so it ends up being just another shrimp dish. The shrimp itself is tasty and has that delightful springy / crunchy texture.

9.Seared Ahi with Chili Lime (AED 78)

Soy-marinated ahi tuna & seared to medium rare, served with fresh green beans & baby arugula, tossed in chili lime dressing, served with wasabi guacamole.

Remarks: this dish has a lot of potential if the tuna can lose the fishy odour. The salad and juicy crunchy greens turns out to be the highlight of this dish, instead of the tuna, sadly.

10.Oolong Marinated Sea Bass (AED 134)

Filet of sea bass marinated in steeped oolong tea & ginger, served on a bed of wok tossed spinach.

Remarks: some parts of the sea bass was buttery and juicy, but some other part is quite dry and fibrous. It was either unevenly cooked, or there’s perhaps another reason for that. Could use more generous marinade on top of the fish. I quite like the tender spinach accompanying this dish, although it end up tasting a bit bitter. I suggest serving with other greens such as asparagus perhaps?

11.Choco Buchi (AED 35)

Traditional rice balls, rolled with chocolate or nutella center & coated with sesame seeds, quickly fried, and drizzled with chocolate sauce.

Remarks: At first this dessert seems interesting because of the description and it’s not commonly found except in Asian fusion restaurants. But I’m disappointed with the quality, which fell below my expectation, the mochi left some bitter after taste for some reason. 

Fortunately, other than the buchi the other desserts I tried (which our friends ordered): the Great Wall of Chocolate and Banana Spring Rolls tasted much better than the mochi, although I wonder if the portion alone is enough to make them as main course LOL!

~~~

What I like about P. F. Chang’s is that is has several great signature dishes that I’ve never seen yet in Jakarta such as the VIP Duck and Dynamite Shrimp. Besides that, I'm quite impressed with the staff’s offer to mix the sauce at the beginning of the dinner. Food also comes served quite quickly, like they could a few dishes at a time and all are still quite warm. This reflects the good coordination in the kitchen.

Would you like us to mix the sauce for you Sir / Ma'am?

That being said, to be a strong contender to the existing modern asian diner niche, P. F. Chang’s may have to consider running a full fledged bar, and serve alcoholic beverages and wine on the drinks menu. It would only be considered reasonable for a place like this in Jakarta to charge 2/3 the price of the price in Dubai, because that's what the competitors are currently charging too. To make it stand out in Jakarta (especially against its direct competitors), it needs to be located at a great area, one of such would be Senopati or Gunawarman and in some certain high end shopping malls and often frequented by families in Jakarta, such as Grand Indonesia, Central Park or Pondok Indah Mall.

So, will P. F. Chang’s be a successful venture in Indonesia? I would say yes. The food quality and quantity are good in general, with several outstanding dishes and only a few minor improvements for a few dishes. I think it would be great to be able to take my family to P. F. Chang’s as opposed to the old-school, traditional Chinese restaurant that already exists in Jakarta. And I would certainly miss their Asian Short Ribs, Dynamite Shrimp and Mongolian Beef and would love to easily access these dishes, without having to fly 8 hours to Dubai haha...

*) Prices quoted are in United Arab Emirates Dirham
**) Exchange rate: 1 AED (United Arab Emirates Dirham) = IDR 3,900 (Indonesian Rupiah)

P.F. Chang's @The Beach

Jumeirah Beach Residence

Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Ph: +9714419071 / 72

Click here to open in Maps

www.alshaya.com/brands/food/p-f-chang-s

Facebook: P.F. Chang's, The Beach, Opposite JBR

Instagram: @PFChangsME

PF Chang's international website: www.pfchangs.com

For live and regular updates,

stalk my Instagram: @ellynatjohnardi

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Shake Shack Shook My World!

September 28, 2015, 11:19 am

≫ Next: Texas Roadhouse, Shall It Open in Indonesia?

≪ Previous: (What If) P.F. Chang's were to open in Indonesia?

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First of all, I must make it clear from the beginning, that I’ve never been a burger person and there are only numbered times that I would actually crave for, or even buy burger when eating out. It’s not that I don’t like it, but none of the burger I’ve tried so far has been appealing enough to leave me wanting more…but now, I've found the first and the only exception that has entirely changed my prejudice for burger. Only Shake Shack leaves me craving for more so bad, that I had to bring it home from Dubai!

So the next leg of our #AlshayaFoodTour in Dubai took us to Shake Shack at The Dubai Mall, currently the largest shopping mall in the world (and I doubt that record is going to be broken by anyone else in the near future). Everything in Dubai just has to be superlatives, largest, tallest, longest, lavish-est (lol, ok I made up the last one). But anyway, Shake Shack is easily located on the first floor (go up 1 level from the lobby level), near this indoor fountain...

The Shake Shack store at The Dubai Mall is a lovely mix of modern decor and rustic at the same time. It looked appealing enough from the outside to make me want to stop by to take a look at the menu. Don't you think so?

At a glance Shake Shack may look like a fast food burger joint, but it’s actually gourmet burger in disguise. Upon talking with a team of Shake Shack, I learned that they only use organically sourced produce, as well as recycled materials for some of the interior elements. I think Indonesian customers are starting to become more and more concerned about the environment and they would love to know that the place they visit actually support a good cause.

The menu at Shake Shack is not overly massive, so it's not difficult to make up your mind, but the main 3 variants are the ShackBurger, ShackMeister & SmokeShack. Oh, just for your info, the beef patties are made with 100% all-natural Angus Beef, and are cooked well unless you request otherwise.

Roughly that's the size of a double SmokeShack - and please be messy when eating burger haha! Right: The buzzer with light up and vibrate when your order's ready to be picked up at the counter

The main trio: (from L to R) SmokeShack, ShackBurger and ShackMeister (my favourite!!)

The 3 are quite similar, except for a few toppings differences, like cherry pepper in SmokeShack or crispy marinated shallots in ShackMeister. However, in my opinion, the ShackMeister might be the most appealing to Indonesians, who have strong preference for fried shallot. But all in all the burgers are very impressive and left me wanting more!!!

ShackBurger - classic ShakeShack's Cheeseburger topped with lettuce, tomato & ShackSauce (AED 26 for single / 42 for double)

SmokeShack - Cheeseburger topped with hickory smoked veal bacon, spicy chopped cherry pepper & ShackSauce (AED 38 for single / 54 for double)

‘Shroom Burger (vegetarian) (AED 26) - crisp-fried portobello mushroom filled with melted muenster & cheddar cheeses, topped with lettuce, tomato & ShackSauce.. This is unexpectedly delicious despite the absence of any meat! The delicious cheese oozing out from the middle of the cheese gave that extra oomph to the vegetarian burger. I like the fact that the portobello’s fried using panko flour.

ShackStack - cheeseburger and a 'Shroom burger topped with lettuce, tomato & ShackSauce (AED 42). Just look at that cheese oozing out from the shroom!

CheddarShack - custom blend Angus beef patty topped with double smoked veal bacon & shack cheddar & American cheese sauce (AED 45 for single / AED 65 for double) As the season’s special menu, this CheddarShack totally nailed it with its delicious cheese sauces without making the eater feel sick. I would really like to see this one becomes a permanent part of the menu.

SmokeDog - all beef hot dog topped with Shack cheddar & American cheese sauce, chopped cherry pepper & smoked veal bacon Soft hot dog buns (not as soft as the burgers still), but I still much prefer the burgers to the hot dog

Cheese Fries - topped with cheddar & American cheese sauce (AED 20) Amazing crinkle cut fries, I hardly found crinkle cut fries to taste this good! Turns out the fries use potatoes of a special variety that doesn't absorb as much oil as conventional potatoes when fried, so it's healthier.

Fries with extra Cherry Pepper (AED 14 + 6 for the cherry pepper)

Concretes

The menu describes it as dense frozen custard ice cream blended at high speed with mix-ins (toppings). We tried several flavours and toppings and concluded that generally, all of the Concretes have great taste & texture, not too sweet, dense but still nicely scoop-able. My favourite flavour is the Dubai Malt, a Dubai Mall special, vanilla & chocolate custard, malt, marshmallow sauce & chocolate truffle cookie dough, perfect balance of texture& taste, sweet & salty.

Left: Dubai Mall Concrete (AED 36) Right: Vanilla Toffee Twirl (AED 36)

Red Velvet Concrete (AED 36)

Milkshake (Chocolate and Strawberry flavours tried) (AED 25) So far this is the BEST tasting milkshake I’ve ever tried. Good texture, not too liquid-y and not too sweet.

Self-service sauce and condiments counter

Shake Shack puts in a conscious effort to be as environmentally friendly as possible, such as the unique fact that the tables at The Dubai mall outlet is made from recycled bowling alley floor and I suppose there are other unseen efforts that they've done for the cause. It might be good fact bites that can be shared with the customers to make them feel even more positive about eating at ShakeShack.

All in all, I had a very positive experience eating at ShakeShack, from the moment I placed my order at the counter, enthusiastic welcome by the staff, a novel experience and absolutely great food products. Besides that, I also like ShakeShack's interesting concept of using the buzzer to notify diners when their food is ready to pick up at the counter. The only concern I can think of is the price adjustment that needs to be made when ShakeShack enters Indonesian market. At the moment in Jakarta, there are a few gourmet burger joints, but there's only one high end & hipster place that I think would be direct competition to Shake Shack.

So, will be a successful venture in Indonesia? YES. Indonesians would definitely love ShakeShack! The excitement is palpable in Indonesia, even now, because so many Indonesian who’ve been to Shake Shack understand why it’s so delicious. So Shake Shack will definitely appeal to this group of people and win new customers with its amazing burgers. It’s definitely suitable to be located inside a shopping mall, such as Grand Indonesia and Pondok Indah Mall.

*) Prices are nett

**) Prices quoted are in United Arab Emirates Dirham

***) Exchange rate: 1 AED (United Arab Emirates Dirham) = IDR 3,900 (Indonesian Rupiah)

Shake Shack at The Dubai Mall
The Dubai Mall (1st Floor, Near The Waterfall)
Doha Street
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Ph: +97143882456
www.alshaya.com/brands/food/shake-shack
Facebook: Shake Shack Middle East
Instagram: @ShakeShackME

For other store locations in the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Kuwait, Qatar, Lebanon, Turkey), click here.

Shake Shack international website: www.shakeshack.com

For live and regular updates,

stalk my Instagram: @ellynatjohnardi

Texas Roadhouse, Shall It Open in Indonesia?

October 1, 2015, 10:42 pm

≫ Next: New in Town: Brooklyn American Cakery

≪ Previous: Shake Shack Shook My World!

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Texas Roadhouse’s humble beginning 25 years ago in Texas, United States is a perfect example for one to never give up. Despite the struggle at the beginning of its establishment, Texas Roadhouse has beaten the odds and naysayers. Today, Texas Roadhouse has no less than 250 restaurants worldwide, a large percentage of which are in the United States, recently the Middle East, and there will be new stores opening in Russia, Egypt, etc.

The famous Fall-Off-The-Bone Ribs

As stated on its website, Texas Roadhouse is famous for 4  things: their Hand-Cut Steaks, Fall-Off-The-Bone Ribs, Made-From-Scratch Sides and Fresh-Baked Bread. And they're committed to provide larger portions so customers get more food for their dollar. And they also claim to provide 'Legendary Experience' from the friendly service, line dancing, the signature jukebox, etc. So, on my recent trip to Dubai, I and a handful other foodies from Indonesia went to see for ourselves if all these claims were true and if Texas Roadhouse would be appealing enough for Indonesians.

Daily fresh hand-cut steaks in the display

We went to Texas Roadhouse at The Dubai Mall on a Thursday evening, which is essentially a Saturday evening for residents in Middle East, so the shopping mall was packed like a night market literally. The waiting list at Texas Roadhouse started to form from as early as 6 pm and even as we left at around 9 pm, the queue didn't seem to be receding. As the largest shopping mall on earth, The Dubai Mall is more than abundant with restaurants / eateries, so a waiting list is a clear sign that something really good must be going on at Texas Roadhouse.

My first impression upon entering the restaurants was mildly amused, firstly because of the very 'Texan' interior, stuffed moose, jukebox, country & cowboy themed decor, etc. The staff assigned to us would bring a tray of fresh-baked bread to our table, where there already lies a huge pot of giant roasted peanuts on the table. I must admit that the bread is so deliciously soft and quite unique with the honey garlic butter. I had to put the bread basket away to stop myself from getting second helping! Haha...

The menu of Texas Roadhouse is considerably focused compared to the other direct competitors that I've tried in Indonesia. But Texas Roadhouse has some interesting one-of-a-kind items too, such as the pickle chips for appetizers. It's something that Indonesians have never seen or ate before and it actually tasted really good! I was sold by the bun and butter on the very first bite and I expected some fantastic dishes to come out from the kitchen.

Combo Appetizer - choice of Buffalo Wings / Rattlesnake Bites / Potato Skins / BBQ Beef Sliders / Fried Pickles (AED 59) The Fried Pickles is possibly one of the reasons I would come back again and again to Texas Roadhouse. The pickle chips are very addictive, while the spicy boneless buffalo wings are good too, the rattlesnake balls are equally enjoyable (it's actually Jack Monterrey cheese balls with jalapeno and deep fried).

Grilled Shrimp - skewer of shrimp, seasoned & drizzled with garlic lemon pepper butter (AED 34 for single skewer | AED 47 for double skewer) The quality of the shrimp is superior, perfectly crunchy and juicy, but the spices used to season the shrimp is too salty for Indonesian palate, in my opinion. The price doesn't make sense at all when converted to Indonesian Rupiah, the price of 1 skewer is roughly the same as the price of a main course at a medium to high end restaurant in Jakarta! *gasp! Next, we tried the Legendary Bone-In Ribeye (we requested for medium well), a 20oz or 565gr slab of ribeye, complete with the bones, grilled together, thus releasing the natural seasoning from the bone. This large slab is a massive portion, probably only big guys can finish this. The steak was incredibly juicy and tender, just look at the cross section of the steak (photos below). This is the perfect medium well tenderness that not many places can actually nail it well. I honestly enjoyed this Bone-in Ribeye.

My kind of perfect standard of 'medium well', still juicy, but not dripping red and well seared on both sides

Dallas Filet, cooked to medium well (AED 99 / 129 / 169 | 170gr / 225gr / 340gr) with choice of 2 Sides This is supposedly the most tender and lean cut of the beef, but the fillet comes out very dry unfortunately, perhaps I should've asked for medium instead? Every grilled meat comes with 2 choices of Made-From-Scratch Sides, such as Baked Potato / Mashed Potatoes / Steak Fries / Seasoned Rice / House Salad / Caesar Salad / Fresh Vegetables / Buttered Corn / Honey Glazed Carrots / Coleslaw / Cup of Soup

The Award-Winning "Blue Ribbon" Fall-Off-The-Bone Beef Ribs, slow cooked with seasonings and signature BBQ sauce (cooked to medium well) (AED 79 / 109 | half / full portion)

I was told that the ribs were slow cooked over a small fire for 12 hours and while it was quite impressive indeed, the ribs didn’t quite taste as tender as the one I had previously at PF Chang’s the night before (see this link)

Grilled Chicken & Mushroom - grilled, marinated chicken breast topped with made-from-scratch mushroom sauce, jack cheese & freshly grated parmesan cheese (AED 59) The sauce is too salty for Indonesian palate. The chicken on its own is well grilled has a good final texture of burnt top and tender core. But the presentation is very unappealing, it looks like a gooey mass of brown thing. The mushroom sauce is also too overpowering that it kills the great taste of the chicken. The sauce should be served in moderation.

Grilled Salmon - a filet of salmon steak, grilled & topped with lemon pepper butter served with tartar sauce (AED 69)

This is actually my next favourite dish after the Bone-In Ribeye. I like that the fresh salmon has the buttery texture, crispy surface and tender middle. Again, problem with the seasoning, it was a tad too salty for me.

Jalapeno Burger -fried jalapeno & spicy mayo on 8oz (225gr) fresh ground burger with lettuce, tomato & onion (AED 55)

After my first and unforgettable experience at ShakeShack earlier, my expectations for burger has become very unreasonable! We requested the beef patty to be cooked to medium well, but guessed we should've asked to be cooked to medium instead. The medium-well grilled patty ended up becoming too dry (see photo above) and the potato wedges were quite salty unfortunately.

Big Ol’ Brownie - baked brownie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, drizzled with chocolate sauce (AED 28). The brownie's too sweet for me, unfortunately.

Left: Peach Margarita & Cherry Blossom Margarita (AED 22). Right: Chocolate Chip Cookie Sundae - warm, made-from-scratch chocolate chip cookie topped with vanilla ice cream & chocolate sauce (AED 28) I couldn't drink past the 3rd sip of the margarita, as I found it it too sour to be a drink, would've been great as a sorbet instead lol! Just look at how gigantic the dessert is, if it doesn't blow your weekly calories need, it'll surely get you high on sugar (diabetics, beware!). The chocolate chip cookie was almost impossible to break, either too thick or it's become solid for resting on top of the ice cream. Again, the same problem as the brownie, it's too sweet to make me get a second scoop.

Left: Fresh Vegetables Right: Buttered Corn

Left: Honey Glazed Carrot Side Right: House Salad with Croutons

While I like the idea of Texas Roadhouse's authentic Texas-style restaurant, the very friendly service and knowledgeable staff, fresh ingredients, made-to-order food and not to forget to mention the incredible Bone-In Ribeye steak, somehow I didn't enjoy my meal at Texas Roadhouse as much as I'd expected, or even as much as the other 3 restaurants that I visited during this food tour. It might have to do with my and my dining partner's choices who chose our meat to be cooked to medium well. It also probably had to do with the overly strong flavours of some of the food & drinks, which were either too salty, too sweet or too sour.

The current price is not going to be well received by Indonesian customers, because local competitors are serving similar menus at at least half or 2/3 the price here. Then again, this is Dubai, so most likely the price will be adjusted with the currency when it enters Indonesia. Other than the price, the seasoning has to undergo quite a major adjustments too, because while Indonesians love MSG as much as we love our rice, we won't fancy strongly salty or sweet food, especially those food that we don't eat together with plain rice.

So, will Texas Roadhouse be a successful venture in Indonesia? Given the existing competition in Jakarta that also fall in the same category of Texas Roadhouse, it would be a rather challenging feat for Texas Roadhouse, but it’s not an impossible one to overcome. I’m sure some Indonesian would be ecstatic to have Texas Roadhouse come & open in Jakarta. It may create the hype at the beginning, but to survive in Jakarta, it takes more than just social media hype, but also highly unique menu, as well as adjustment to the taste profile to suit the general Indonesian palate.

*) Prices quoted are in United Arab Emirates Dirham

**) Exchange rate: 1 AED (United Arab Emirates Dirham) = IDR 3,900 (Indonesian Rupiah)

Texas Roadhouse @The Dubai Mall
The Dubai Mall (B1 Floor, Near The Waterfall)
Doha Street
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Ph: +97143253951
Facebook: Texas Roadhouse Middle East
Instagram: @TexasRoadhouseME

For other store locations in the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Kuwait), click here.

Texas Roadhouse international website: www.texasroadhouse.com

For live and regular updates,

stalk my Instagram: @ellynatjohnardi

New in Town: Brooklyn American Cakery

October 5, 2015, 6:01 pm

≫ Next: Edward Kwon's Flavours of Korea Gala Dinner

≪ Previous: Texas Roadhouse, Shall It Open in Indonesia?

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Everybody must have a certain type of cakes that they like. Some like it dry like Indonesian Spikoe, some like it dense like american cakes, some like it airy like Japanese cheesecake, some like it moist like mille crepe cake. If you're the type who likes dense textured cakes, you'll certainly like this brand new American Cakery in Jakarta.

Brooklyn American Cakery is one of the latest brainchild of Pancious group, a locally born and bred pancake restaurants empire that has become a household name here. It was the R&D team of Pancious that set out to do their research and innovate these new products to fill in the niche for affordable yet premium American style cakes.

Brooklyn American Cakery does not have any physical store, but you can purchase the cakes at any of Pancious restaurants, or pre-order it in advance online or via phone call, which can be picked up or even delivered to your doorstep.

Brooklyn takes prides in its generous portion, liberal use of premium quality ingredients and house-made toppings yet still affordable to the majority customers profile here. Brooklyn currently offers 5 different cake flavours and sizes (individual 6x6cm, 16 / 24 cm diameter round). And the 5 flavours that are currently available are:

Chocolate Marshmallow
Rich chocolate sponge cake with almond and thick chocolate sauce, with chocolate frosting and burnt marshmallow topping

Lemon Butter Cream

Buttery lemon cake with thick white chocolate layers, buttery lemon sponge cake & topped with candied lemon. I personally like this cake the most of all other flavours from Brooklyn.

Carrot Crumble

spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, nuts, etc) studded carrot sponge cake, cream cheese and bright tangerine hued crumble & walnut

Brooklyn Salted Caramel Honeycomb (photo below, right)

Vanilla sponge cake with cream cheese, salted caramel sauce, topped with macadamia and honeycomb chunks

Banana Palm
banana sponge cake with coconut milk, coated with palm sugar glaze.

So, celebrate your sweet moments with Brooklyn cakes and taste the decadent American style cakes. (PS: I find black coffee to be the perfect companion for these cakes, as some of them may have quite sweet glaze)

Ways to order the cake:

- Online at www.brooklynindonesia.com, orders are managed Monday - Saturday 8.30 AM - 5 PM

- At any Pancious outlets, anytime of the day

- Telephone hotline: (+62) 813 1555 3514

For complete price list, click here.

Brooklyn American Cakery
Contact: +62 813 1555 3514
LINE: @brooklynid_
email: hello@brooklynindonesia.com
Facebook : Brooklyn Indonesia
Twitter : @brooklynID_
Instagram : @brooklynID_
www.brooklynindonesia.com

Edward Kwon's Flavours of Korea Gala Dinner

October 8, 2015, 12:38 am

≫ Next: Breakfast at Amber's (not at Tiffany's)

≪ Previous: New in Town: Brooklyn American Cakery

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South Korean Celebrity Chef and restaurateur Edward Kwon came to Shangri-la Jakarta not too long ago to promote Flavours of Korea, one of the many gigs that he has done to promote Korean cuisine to the world.

Yup, I came up with the idea of Korean flag themed #BreakfastBonanza =P

Shangri-la Hotel Jakarta has long been one of the favourite havens for foodies in Jakarta, with its signature and award-winning restaurants, as well as continuous effort to offer novel stuff for foodies in Jakarta to try. So I wasn't surprised to learn about the FLAVOURS OF THE PHILIPPINES FESTIVAL last year and again this year, with slightly different events line up and featuring a different country, South Korea.

Flavours of Korea was a few days long affair, featuring South Korea's Celebrity Chef Edward Kwon, who cooked special one-time dinner events at Rosso, Grand Ballroom and SATOO restaurant. I felt beyond humbled to be invited for this once-a-lifetime experience, to try out Chef Kwon's modern Korean creations at the Grand Ballroom. The dinner itself was a big affair, and was attended by some politicians, diplomats, the Ambassador of South Korea to Indonesia and the embassy's other VVIP guests, whom I can't name.

About Chef Edward Kwon himself, while his name is probably not as much heard of as the other celebrity chefs seen on cable TV, but back in South Korea, Chef Kwon's hosted various TV and radio shows, and not to forget to mention his stellar career at international properties, such as Hotel Head Chef at Burj Al Arab in 2007 (just to name a few). More about Chef Edward Kwon, click here.

Dancing to 'Gangnam Style!'

There were performances that evening, such as a Jazz music band, Indonesian Taekwondo team, modern dance, children's choir, etc. Oh, Chef Kwon is such a good sport that he even joined the Taekwondo troupe dancing to 'Gangnam Style' song!

Before the first dish was served, Chef Kwon also did a demo on the cooking stage, where he showed us how to whip up a simple, delicious and healthy dish which happens to be first dish served that evening.

It turns out Korean food can be paired with not only soju, because wines too, when selected and paired properly, proved to be possible (even great) matches!

Cheers! Wines of the evening by Penfolds

1st dish: Soft Bean Curd served with Korean herbs, black sesame dressing and crispy garlic.

I like the combination of the dressing, light yet creamy at the same time, the black sesame makes it very Korean.

2nd dish: Rice Veloute served with potato pearls, sweet potato cream and pine nuts.

It was said to be inspired by the same dish that was once served to the Korean emperors back then. It's an interesting veloute, savoury, but the sweet notes are more dominant, like the sweet version of creamy potato soup, but this is made with rice instead.

3rd dish: Hae Mul Nang Chae (Korean-style ceviche with tiger prawns and scallops) served with mustard dressing and perilla dressing.

4th dish: Kalbi Steak (Soy-marinated Beef Rib Eye) served with kimchi chutney, pomme puree and root vegetables. Oh yes, the kalbi steak lived up to the taste it promises. Incredibly tender steak, and the kimchi chutney's a brilliant complement to the already juicy meat. This was my favourite dish for the evening for sure!

5th dish: Yuzu Curd served with Bokbunja chiffon, green tea and basil gel. My favourite part of the dessert? The black sesame frozen custard!

Thank you Shangri-la Jakarta and Chef Edward Kwon for the wonderful evening, delectable modern Korean dishes paired with fine wines, it was certainly an evening to be remembered! For your info Chef, Indonesians really love Korean culture, apparently, from the food, music, to the fashion style, so Chef Kwon, anytime you feel like to, Indonesia will always welcome you with warm smiles and open arms!

Shangri-la Jakarta
Kota BNI
JL. Jend. Sudirman Kav. 1
Central Jakarta
Ph: +6221 29229999
Click here to open in Maps
www.shangri-la.com/jakarta/shangrila
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Chef Edward Kwon
ekfood.co.kr
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Breakfast at Amber's (not at Tiffany's)

October 9, 2015, 7:11 pm

≫ Next: Socieaty, The Best Of 4 Brands by Les Amis Group

≪ Previous: Edward Kwon's Flavours of Korea Gala Dinner

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Remember that legendary scene from Breakfast at Tiffany's movie, where actor Audrey Hepburn was portrayed to have a croissant and coffee outside the window display of Tiffany & Co.'s on New York's Fifth Avenue? Well, imagine if that croissant is replaced by Croissant French Toast like this instead...

Amber Chocolate Bar at Senopati quite recently launched its All-Day-Breakfast menu, which means now you can enjoy your Croissant (french toast) and coffee like Audrey Hepburn did in the movie. But instead of staring at the Tiffany & Co.'s jewelry display, you can stare at the delectable sweet 'gems' on display at Amber's. And of course, you can dress up to the nines here, just like the classic icon did! 

If you recall my earlier blog post on Amber before it was open to public, I've shown you in pictures, the beautiful corners inside the 3 story tall building. So, here are some more of the shots I captured there. I'll never get bored of taking pictures here, especially love the 2nd floor, The Library, which is a galore of books with a very diverse range of topics. I wonder if people actually go to the shelves to pick a book to read, I did it anyway, albeit only to look at the pictures inside...

Amber's 1st level, the Chocolate Bar

Succulents by the window

Books covering the walls and shelves

Because red toe nails and succulents should be shot in one frame... LOL!

I’ve been a breakfast person way since before I started writing a blog and while my breakfast menu has evolved from traditional 'kueh' to cheap fried donuts to noodles, rice, etc, to healthier options which I call #BreakfastBonanza, I can never say no to a good plate of pancakes or fluffy omellette...

Can you say no to these?

The one-page long Breakfast menu at Amber at a glance features classic western breakfast items, such as eggs-based dishes, toast, pancakes and waffles. But there are a few twists such as Chia Pudding and Croissant French Toast, which caught my attention. In my personal opinion, the price tags for these dishes are quite reasonable too, considering this is at Senopati, with none fetching more than IDR 95,000.

Valrhona Satilia Iced Chocolate IDR 75,000

Cappuccino IDR 40,000

Kingston Poached Egg – poached eggs, served with bread, beef bacon, grilled tomato with cheese & fresh rocket salad (IDR 85,000)

Avocado on Toast – fresh toasted bread with poached egg, guacamole, avocado slcies, béchamel sauce, served with rocket salad (IDR 85,000)

Pop 'dat egg!

Cheese & Mushroom Omelette – fluffy omelette with champignon mushroom, mozzarella cheese, beef bacon, served with rocket salad (IDR 95,000)

Amber Nutella Pancake – homemade pancake with Nutella, chocolate sauce, chantily cream, served with fresh strawberries & crispy almond crumble (IDR 65,000)

Croissant French Toast – freshly baked Amber croissant served with sautéed Apple Butterscotch & crunchy nuts (IDR 60,000)

A special mention should be dedicated to the Croissant French Toast, which also happens to be my favourite number of all the breakfast dishes that we tried. The croissant itself was perfectly buttery and crusty yet soft inside and the butterscotch apple fillings made it unlike the boring french toast toppings found elsewhere. Definitely yum!

Chia Pudding – chia seeds, fresh Mlik & Cream, almond slices, fresh strawberries, banana, raisin & honey (IDR 65,000). Oh, where else can you find chia pudding served at a restaurant other than here?

Butterscotch Vanilla Waffle - homemade vanilla waffle with caramelized banana, fresh strawberries, chantily cream, homemade butterscotch sauce, caramelized almond & cherry sauce (IDR 65,000). The waffle at Amber's quite good, and I like that it's served with the cherry sauce.

So, shall we have breakfast at Tiffany's Amber's today? ;)

Open Hours:

Pastry Boutique: 7 AM - 10 PM

Library: 10 AM - 11 PM

Sky Lounge: 5 PM - 1 AM (weekdays)| 5 PM - 3 AM (weekends)

*) Prices are subject to 8% Service Charge & 10% Government Tax

Amber Chocolate Bar

Jl. Senopati Raya No. 61 (exactly opposite Cacaote Senopati)

Click here to open map

Kebayoran Baru - South Jakarta

Ph: +6221 29044412

www.amberchocolatebar.com

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