Carnivor PIK Jakarta Review

Meatballs Spaghetti (served with Cranberry Sauce)

Meh.

Is a review allowed to only have a word? Lol. 

Okay background story. I was wanting to try a pasta with Pesto sauce and I read here and there that Carnivor serves Pesto Pasta with Grilled Chicken. I was very excited and decided to went there, even though bf already gave early warning that this place is meh. (He went once before me and even though Carnivor is specialized in meat, bf said the steak is bad)

I still want! Because all the reviews are so good but when I was handed the menu... It's not there. I even asked the waitress, which look confused, and said grilled chicken pasta is served but not with pesto sauce fml.

So I'm forced to pick this because there are no other pasta that caught my fancy and also order calamary hoping it will be good. But no. Meh. The pasta itself is overcooked, meatballs are tasteless, the mushroom cream sauce is savory but overwhelmed with MSG... Meh.. This place is just meh. I don't know it's because I had such a high expectation before, but I really can't find anything nice.

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Will I be back: No.

Freeze Mal Taman Anggrek Jakarta Review

On October 15, 2013, a new ice cream store was opened in Mal Taman Anggrek. I've been eyeing this place a week before its grand opening, I even approached the stall when they were preparing but I wasn't able to buy at that time. But it's finally opened! It's an ice cream made using Nitrogen o.O I somehow noticed that this usage of Nitrogen is currently popular in ice cream industry but didn't know it would reach Indonesia this soon.

Here is a picture tweeted by Mal Taman Anggrek which shows the selection of ice cream creation you can make at Freeze.

But most of the ice cream flavor I like contains nuts in the menu :( I hate nuts!!
But!! They actually allow you to make your own creation!

Picture I took while queuing. Your order is made on the spot!

One of the ice cream maker. They use a lab coat and they will shout your queue number to make sure you are there since nitrogen ice cream melts faster than regular ice cream, as you can read from picture above. (if it's readable T_T)

My ice cream in the making! *-* The smoke is really fascinating lol.

Banana Ice Cream with Pretzel!

It really tastes different from regular ice cream and has smoother texture. But it does melt quickly. The taste is not so bold and feels a bit watery. I would like to go back to try other flavors but it is quite pricy for a light snack and if I'm in rush, I might run for bubble tea (again) as cheaper and easier to consume alternative.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Will I be back: Yes. (I love ice cream! :p)

Holycow Steakhouse Jakarta Review

Few weeks ago, I finally got to try the famous Holycow Steak. Heard that it serves good quality steak with cheap price. What I know after I ate there, it is not that cheap as people said :/ I think Gowagyu is cheaper (don't mean to compare).

We arrived at 7 or 8 PM at the Senopati branch, located at Jalan Bakti. Heard that now there's 2 kinds of Holycow: Steakhouse and Steakhotel. The original with Chef Afit is at Senopati, as well as other branches at Kelapa Gading and Kebon Jeruk. Upon arriving, greeted by queue of people. I thought it's quite late for dinner time but the place is still really packed. Waiting for our turn, we took time to learn the menu. The price for the steak is above IDR 80k though. Don't know how it is said as cheap? (If compared to those in mall of course is way cheaper, but I meant with other independent steak stalls)

200g Tenderloin Steak with Mushroom Sauce

Here's my order. You can customize the steak (200g or 400g), the potato (mashed or french fries), the veggies (sauteed bean or sauteed spinach), and the sauce which I picked the mushroom sauce which is marked as chef's recommendation.

My brother picked BBQ sauce while bf picked Blackpepper sauce. Both are much better than my mushroom sauce T______T My sauce just doesn't go well with the steak -________- for the meat I asked for medium well and it comes of tender, also I have no complain over the veggies and the potato. It's good but nothing is really special about it. It's not that kind of high end steak but it's an affordable good steak if you crave for one. For the drink there is bottomless choice for those who needs lots of liquid while eating *cough* bf *cough* you can choose Nestea Lemon Tea, Green Tea, and Blackcurrant Tea.

Tiramisu by MiSU

Order this for dessert. I thought I would get this for free but I was charged :( later on I know that they have like limited quota of the day, so not everybody can get free misu. Boo. It was delicious though. Only when I got this, it was really cold and I had to break the surface of the tiramisu (by knocking it with the spoon lol). But very yummy. It got an actual cake inside and everything they put just went well together. I once purchased tiramisu from famous bakery in mall (B**** T*** :p) and it only contains WHIPPED CREAM. What a waste of money.

My brother also had Apple Crumble by Mini Love Bites offered in their dessert menu and it was very good as well!

Rating: ★★★★☆

Will I be back: Yes.

Penang Bistro Grand Indonesia Review

Hiya! It's been a while! My last post was in March lol.

I was about to ditch this blog but I feel like this is the only place where I actually can write about my foodie experience (and hope for people to care lol). Anyway I just checked my recent stats and it's honestly surprising. Thank you for whoever stumbled upon this blog! Hope you enjoy reading and find what you're looking for :)

Last Saturday, I accompanied my friend to Grand Indonesia where he suddenly had to leave because of family matters. He told me to stay put and he will get back to me after he's done with whatever he's dealing with. So I had to have lunch by myself :(

My first option was Mr. Curry. Little did I know that the place has closed down! Permanently! (yea I haven't been around in a real world (?) for a while, okay). Mr. Curry has been replaced with Tokyo Belly and I wasn't in the mood for Japanese food, so I walked away.

Second option is my favorite Thai restaurant and will always be, Jittlada. Mainly because I haven't found better Thai place. To also find out that it was closed due to renovation. Just my luck!

Third option I was wavering between Marche and Penang Bistro. Both I have never had previously. Then I picked Penang Bistro because I heard such a good review from my cousins and my aunt. I trusted my cousin's taste bud because she's actually a pastry chef and I like everything she's making. So I had this really high expectation on Penang Bistro. She mentioned about a menu with cheese something? But I can't find out in the menu.

Tropicana Tea Fantasy (IDR 32k)

I had this really refreshing drink, I even save the name in my phone's note because I wanna share to people haha.. This is pretty much like a mojito but with stronger strawberry taste. Ingredients mentioned in the menu are tea, mint, strawberry, and lime. There is also few slices of strawberry inside. It's really good!

Additional information: I asked whether their iced tea is bottomless. And the answer is no. Lol.

Grilled Stingray (IDR 79k) and Chicken Curry (IDR 58k)

Few days before, I had this crave over grilled seafood that's why I order the grilled stingray. It's perfectly cooked and the seasoning went really well with the fish. The only problem is the bones. I do understand that this isn't a seafood restaurant, but I swallowed like 3 - 5 small bones of the stingray! Not to mention I had to debone it from the large bones!! I ate stingray before (in a seafood restaurant) and it was a pleasant experience. This one tastes really good but got so many bones!!! Comes with this sauce that tastes like sambal rojak. Don't match it with the stingray. Doesn't match at all.

The chicken curry comes with generous amount of chicken and 2 big potatoes. But it tastes too plain for my liking. I was raised with strong curry taste so this is really not impressive. I had to eat it with the sambal rojak to let the taste come out.

The ambiance in this place were really great, though. It seems odd for some people that I ate alone. But it wasn't only me who ate alone. And people here were pretty much minding their own business. And service was also okay. So I had no problem with the place. It's only a bit overpriced for me (eating alone for 200k! Fancier place doesn't cost me that much!) and I really had this high expectation before. It's understandable that I was disappointed. I should maybe go with my cousin as she seems to understand this place better.

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Will I be back?: On my own, unlikely. 

Chung Gi Wa Jakarta Review

3 years ago I created a Formspring account. One of the first 3 questions asked by the site was, "If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would you pick?"

For me it's Korean food.

PS: RIP Formspring. The site has announced it'll be closed down this March 31, 2013. You'll be missed!

Anyway, I make sure myself to visit Korean restaurant every month. Not every day or week cause I'll be out of pocket money :| Last Valentine, bf & I visited Gahyo. And last year for anniversary dinner we also had Korean dinner at Myeong Ga Myeon Ok.

So far we've made ranking for restaurant we've visited. They are:
1. Gahyo (no doubt. Price never lies lol.)
2. Jang Su De
3. Myeong Ga Myeon Ok
4. Arang22

Arang22 was actually the best, but their quality gradually decreases :| Han Gang would never make into my list. Their meats are tasteless! I only love their tteokpokki.
Then we had another 3 restaurant on the list: Chung Gi Wa, Soo Ra Cheong, and Tobak.
I also heard about Born Ga, but from reviews done by another blogger they seem to be so so.

Tobak is pricy. So I postponed until I have special occasion lol. I was torn between Chung Gi Wa and Soo Ra Cheong. Both claimed to have their own farm and guarantee their quality. However, available reviews stated that Chung Gi Wa only serves very little choice of banchan (Korean side dishes). Then I picked Soo Ra Cheong instead. (I do love various banchan okay!)

Soo Ra Cheong located on Jl. Senopati no. 49. Turns out it's right beside the crowded Arang22. However, when we arrived there... it's Abgujong :| GPS said it's the correct address. So? Where is Soo Ra Cheong? I Googled their phone number and called Soo Ra Cheong. I was greeted by, "Good evening. Abgujong. How may I help you?"

Wait. What?

So I had little interview to the employee of Abgujong and they said the place changed its name. So I thought it might be the same place just changes name. But the whole decoration was totally different and I remember I once saw Abgujong on Gandaria City mall (I was in front of the restaurant while making the phone call HAHA) and I asked again, the employee said it has different owner. Duh isn't that mean Abgujong bought that place? -_- so I cancelled. Abgujong was never been on my interest though. It's overrated for me.

Then we moved to Chung Gi Wa. Reached there at almost 9 PM. Place is still packed! We're on waiting list :| To be on waiting list was hard as well. You have to follow the owner (a Korean lady) which holding the paper and asked to be written in that paper. She acted like she doesn't need customer. Understandable though because if you can't stand that attitude, she still has many customers waiting. Gahyo's owner was way nicer.

Anyway we didn't wait long, we got table. But we joined table with other people, 4 noisy girls. Actually only one very noisy, though.

What I read about the banchan is true.

This is what you got: (clockwise) kimchi, spinach with sour dressing, radish slices, and veggies I couldn't figure out but tastes very nice (I assume it was processed with soy paste). All of them are refillable.

Free refillable tea comes in this metal pitcher that keeps it cold and very tiny metal glass that when you drink you can't help but think of shots :| But they take it away after they put it, I don't know what they means putting then taking away -_- probably they ran out of the pitcher since it's very crowded. Very logic reason of every bad service happened there: it's crowded.

So I want to try those banchan and I opened my chopstick. A bit disappointed cause it's wooden chopstick. You know how people judge good Japanese restaurant when it's not using wooden chopsticks, right. I thought Koreans have same level of judgement. But then this happens...

I broke it nicely okay. I just tried to separate them but this happened -_- so I asked the waitress to replace it. 

She replaced with metal chopstick yay! But the girls sat together in our table seemed to look at me all the time or what. One of them saw the waitress took metal chopstick and they want as well because maybe it seems cooler or whatever. She ordered her friends to take 4 pairs for them! I wonder why she wants to be ordered around. They also seem very newbie in eating Korean and also very attention seeking. One of them (the same one who ordered her friends around and is VERY noisy) acted stupid saying the smoke from the grill was disturbing and cover the grill with the vegetables provided for eating the meat -_- won't stop until her friends told her it makes the grill wet and the smoke even wilder. Does she want to impress me or my bf or her friends or simply lame? 

Anyway Galbi Tang came.

Comes with rice. Tasted okay. I prefer Galbi Tang on Arang22 since the broth is thicker and yummier. However, for the meat (which I take zero picture of them :|), Chung Gi Wa wins hands down. We ordered Samgyeopsal and Pork Ribs in sweet marinated sauce. Both are so yummy! Samgyeopsal was the best though. It directly made into rank 2 kicking Jang Su De and other restaurants down haha.. Bf who regularly traveled to Korea even said taste and place of Chung Gi Wa reminds him of place in Korea. And this place has very affordable price compared to others. We spent only IDR 200k for 2 portion of pork meat (pork is indeed cheaper, but they are cheapest!) and a bowl of soup that both of us can share.

Then my latest ranking is:
1. Gahyo
2. Chung Gi Wa
3. Jang Su De
4. Myeong Ga Myeon Ok
5. Arang22

Of course they have weaknesses though. No various banchan, no dessert, bad service, but the waitress are good. But if your pure intention is to only eat meat, then GO. This place is the best. They also sell Pajeon! (Korean pancake) I might be coming back soon though haha.. I gotta admit I underestimated this place cause I thought this was owned by local since they have farm in Bogor or somewhere in West Java. But it's owned by Korean and the meat really marinated the meat well and I feel guilty deep down for not making it my first choice.

Anyway they're indeed hidden gem!

You can find them at: Jl. Dharmawangsa III/ No 2. Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan.