Din Tai Fung The Shoppes at Marina Bay Sands Singapore

Had a little getaway to Singapore last month, and stuffed myself with all foods I've been craving. I also got recommendation from my cousin who studied at Singapore that said it's a must to try Din Tai Fung at Singapore. I've tried Din Tai Fung in Jakarta, but I'm just indifferent about it. My mom was recommending it too, said it's different from the one in Jakarta. Turns out that it actually does, cos it's not halal :D

The system is to write down your order first (ask for the menu, paper, and pen to shopkeeper outside) and give it back to her. She'll then give you queue number and later call you accordingly. You can sit back and wait for your order, cos she already put it into the kitchen.

Siew Mai

The most popular menu at Din Tai Fung, be it in Jakarta or overseas, is their famous Xiao Long Bao. As widely known Xiao Long Bao is dumpling filled with clear soup. My father specially requested to not order this because he doesn't like the soup. I agreed and ordered Siew Mai instead, thinking it would be like an ordinary Siew Mai. Turns out it's still Xiao Long Bao lol. Only topped with prawn and have thicker skin so maybe that's why it's called so. It's good though, I personally like it. The green vegetables on the picture was sauteed Dou Miao (that's extremely hard to order in Jakarta, they kept running out of it).
 

Roselle Drink

I ordered this while my parents ordered Chinese tea (typical..). Thinking it would be sweet (bcs I usually ordered in here and it's sweet!) but it turns out more towards sour x_x (probably due to dried sour plum drowned in there) mom likes this though, we ended up switching drinks :| I find the drink is unique cos the ice cube is made from the roselle as well! So when it melts, it wouldn't change the taste of the drink. The ice cube is so round and so cute and not as sour cos hasn't been disrupted by the damn sour plum.

Pork Chop Fried Rice

*insert heavenly sound effect here* It's the star of the show! The fried rice is just like any other Chinese fried rice, but the pork chop though! It's to die for. Next time I go here, I'm sure going to order the pork chop separately! The portion is quite generous, I share this with mom.

Mango Pudding

My favorite (Chinese) dessert of all time. Love the generous amount of mangoes they put both as topping and inside the pudding. I have no complaint.

I think it's true that you at least have to try this once because the variety of menu is completely different from the one in Jakarta. The selection of menu is not too many, but each deserves honorable mention. Unfortunately due to our weak currency it's actually quite pricey. If only our exchange rate towards SGD was like IDR 5,000 or 6,000 like in the past, this actually on par with Indonesia's Din Tai Fung's price. Nevertheless, when I go to Singapore again (despite of heavily used Mandarin language here that I couldn't understand), I will definitely come back.

Rating: ★★★★☆

Will I be back: Yes.

Pipiltin Cocoa Senopati Jakarta

Back to business!

I don't know why I said business when I literally earn zero from this blog lol.

So I've been MIA for more than half a year! Still ate in random places though, just being lazy to write hehe~

Last April, my friend (with her cousin) and I bought Groupon promo for Pipiltin Cocoa (which I had trouble to spell the first time. Pipitlin? Pitiplin? Pipiltin.). The promo was reasonably priced, so we thought why not. There are 3 of us, but each of us bought 1 Main Menu + 1 Dessert lol. But thank heavens we did that, because the portion was small!

First up was the drink. Mine is in the middle: Iced Apple Tea Caramel. The two in sides were either Lychee or Lemon Tea.

While waiting for our food, we wandered around the store. They also sell all kinds of chocolate treats that you're free to nibble. Even if they don't display some tester item, the waitress would willingly crush 1 item for you to test :) my friend's cousin made a big talk about how she would buy some of those, but at the end she didn't :/ I pity the waitress.
One treat that interest me was something like croissant stick dipped in chocolate. I also didn't buy btw. But if I was to buy, I will buy that one :D

Slow-Cooked Chicken Rolled

This was my entree. Shocked when seeing the portion honestly. And I actually forgot whether the filling was chicken or meatball hmm O_O Anyway, despite of its disappointing portion and the chips which I really despise, the taste was good. So I forgive you wtf. My friend had the same, only the filling was sausage, I think. Her cousin had cheese quesadilla. Not pictured, I also didn't try.

Another Egg "No"

That's no no. This could've been a good dessert if only those chocolate soils were removed! It was chili chocolate for crying out loud! Other than that, the rest were acceptable. The problem was, we can't eat those "acceptable other parts" cos the soil gets in the way la!! It is. Really. Spicy. And ruins everything. Probably there are adventurous people out there who loved spicy chocolate but definitely not us!

Macadamia Chocolate Soft-Cookie Pizza

This was okay taste and huge in portion. We whined about the portion of the entree and thought about where we should eat next, until this came and we could barely finish it. It has chewy texture and sweet in general. There was bits of very ripe banana in here, so it could be extremely sweet. Other than that, it was also very fulfilling. Hence why we cancelled the next destination lol.

Chocolate Soup

Probably the best menu we ordered. The white crumbles were crushed white chocolate? Or just sugar lol cos it's sweet. The brownies bits were also good. The chocolate shell would melt the second you pour the hot chocolate soup. Overall it was good dessert.

I visited this Pipiltin in Senopati branch. I heard there are other branch (sorry, couldn't remember!) which serve more menu than Senopati. Buying the voucher was worth it, but if I have to pay on full price I'd have to really think hard hehe..

Rating: ★★★☆☆

Will I be back: As said, when there is another promotion :p

Suntiang Grand Indonesia Jakarta Review

I had known about this restaurant around July this year when I passed it on Pondok Indah Mall. But then I finally found colleagues who are willing to try this strangely fusion food so here we are, 4 months late lol.

Suntiang is apparently a Japanese-Padangnese restaurant, that mostly served Padang food but also tried to make it into Japanese form of food. I noticed on the menu that they served ala carte menu of Padang food but not Japanese food. For example: Ayam Pop, Gulai Otak, Dendeng Balado, etc. They also served ramen but none of it is Japanese ramen cos what I saw was something like Ramen Cabai Ijo (Green Chili Ramen) or whatnot :|

Here are our orders:

Ayam Pop Roll

Tasted okay, not bad but not excessively great, just okay great. Problem is, eating this makes me want to eat the whole Ayam Pop chicken instead of the sushi, because the sushi rice was too firm and stuffy, while the chicken.. As you can see. Just that tiny pieces..

Gulai Otak Roll

I'm a huge fan of Padangnese' Gulai Otak. It's cow brain btw lol, not a cannibal. When it's cooked properly, it can turn into most delicious food on the table. This Roll, again the sushi rice is disappointing, and the otak somehow is crispy (?). As I know it should be moist though. I can hardly enjoy it but I cleaned up the plate somehow :| (because my friends are scared of brain -_-)

Dendeng Balado Roll

Probably one of the dish that I enjoyed eating. I have no idea what the roll with white topping was, I guessed it was melted cheese but tasted nothing like it. But it's successfully brought up the real dendeng taste into a sushi form. Good job!

Onigiri Ayam Bakar

Cute faced Onigiri stuffed with grilled chicken, complemented with mysterious sauce that tasted sweet. Again, the sushi rice... And the grilled chicken is a bit tasteless. Overall is confusing to eat.

Sate Padang Hotplate

Simply disappointing. The sauce was too watery and tasteless. The meat was marinated well but too mushy.

Nasi Goreng Rendang (Rendang Fried Rice)

Okay I admit, we ordered too much, thinking the portion would be small but turned out to be very firm and fulfilling. This has huge portion and spicy enought for me but not for my other friends because they have higher spiciness tolerance than me, but trust me even my level is already high. Don't trust their tolerance. We cannot finish this bcs too full of those sushi rice, so this one went to waste. But it was actually good.

Kue Cubit Green Tea

This is apparently the most famous dish of the restaurant. I've seen plenty of Instagram posts uploading this. It has another version with KitKat Green Tea but when we ordered they ran out of the KitKat -_- Shame! Anyway I like this Kue Cubit! Dunno how to phrase it in English and don't bother to search for it anyway. It has the right level of doneness (?). It makes the dish not too solid, but not to mushy. I like it! Even after so full of those rice (cannot letting go), I still want to nom the whole plate. I bet the one with KitKat would taste better :)

Cream Cheese Ice Cream and Hazelnut Ice Cream

Suntiang is having promotion when you're uploading any pictures of the food to Instagram or Path while using hashtag Suntiang and mentioned them, you're eligible for free ice cream! However it's only limited to 2 ice creams per table/bill. My friend was jokingly requested we split table and he would order only ice tea so we can obtained more free ice creams lol #kiasu (but no we didn't haha..). Second best food of the night goes to these free ice creams :s


I came to the conclusion that Japanese food should be left like what it is. And as awesome as Padangnese food, I think it should just be left to those traditional Nasi Padang stores. I saw a family came to this restaurant ordering white rice with ala carte menu like Ayam Pop etc. I wonder why. Other Nasi Padang stores taste better and cheaper than here. If you do come here, do order the strangely fusion food here, then decide whether it's worth coming back or not lol. Life is about experience! ^^

Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Will I be back: Eh.. I don't think so for now. But when I'm up for something unusual maybe I will. Haha..

Popolamama Mal Taman Anggrek Jakarta Review

I always feel bad whenever I'm writing a bad review. It feels like I hold personal grudge to the restaurant. But it isn't. I just feel very disappointed that I need to share :(

I've seen Popolamama signage months ago replacing Ajisen Ramen at Mal Taman Anggrek. I wasn't interested bcs I thought it would be as mediocre as Ajisen. But then my friends at social media started to post "sweet pizza" at Popolamama Sudirman and I thought "Hey, Taman Anggrek has this place also." So when my brother asked me to have lunch there today, I said okay. Needless to say, I'd rather eat somewhere else.

First, I should say the service is terrible. When we got in, somehow only our table wasn't prepared with utensils, plates, tissues, ketchup, and basically everything. It's just table.

Brother ordered Pasta Set Menu A (IDR 70k); consists of Pasta of your choice (limited to only Bolognese, Tuna Aglio Olio, and Soy Sauce Beef, Spinach, and Rucola), Mini Salad, and choice of beverage (Coffee, Tea, or Iced Lemon Tea). Brother picked Bolognese & Iced Lemon Tea.
I ordered Cream Based Pasta with Beef, Spinach, and Rucola (IDR 52k) and also Iced Lemon Tea (IDR 20k).

Iced Lemon Teas with Mini Salad

Wait until 5 minutes with many waiters passing by, no one realized we weren't equipped with utensils. I had to raise my hand and asked for it. But what you asked is what you get. Only utensils and still no plate or everything else, while other tables are fully equipped -_________-

Spaghetti Bolognese & Cream Based Spaghetti with Beef, Spinach, and Rucola

I've always loved Rucola when it's cooked right. But this one is probably very raw with very tangy scent and I had to hold the urge of mini vomit everytime I put a spoonful in my mouth. Pasta was chewy and dry, no taste of cream. Only the beef had the cream absorbed -_- Bolognese was also very plain according to my brother, and we had to ask for Ketchup & Chili Sauce to get this through our throat.

Right after the waiter put this down, he took away our receipt (the paper you stick in customer's table to monitor all the orders) and said, "All of the orders have come out ya." And left wtf. We had to call him back to say that our pizza hasn't come ... And he said, we ordered no pizza. Earlier the waitress that took our order didn't bring any piece of paper and just memorize things I thought she's so capable but turns out, she missed the pizza omg...

We had to re-order. Brother was still eager to try the pizza, while all I wanna do just leave right away.

Classic Margherita Pizza

The only good thing in this disappointing lunch. Even though the topping more or less is the same like Domino's Pizza Deluxe Cheese, but the dough is definitely better. 

Popolamama is pretty much like Pasta de Waraku, except no matter how bad Pasta de Waraku is, it's still better than this -_-

Rating: ★☆☆☆☆

Will I be back: No.

Ikkudo Ichi Central Park Review

2 posts in a row! Hehe..

Visiting Ikkudo Ichi for the first time last Saturday. There's always this continuous debate between Hakata Ikkousha and Ikkudo Ichi (just like Tekko vs Leko, never ending). I think everyone has their own opinion on this infamous debate. Anyhow, I've only tasted Hakata so far and liking it at first. But only the one in Kelapa Gading branch, but then last time I went it somehow turned disappointing. Tried the one in PIK, also disappointing. Tried the one in Taman Anggrek... even more. They don't even serve pork!! They promised pork menu will be available after Lebaran last year, and hey it's almost Lebaran again this year wtf.

So yea back to Ikkudo lol I'm rambling. Went to the Central Park branch, that's somehow famous for its bad service. I'd say after visiting.. not so bad. Few weakness but I wouldn't say bad. The waitress just didn't offer us menu -_-

Buta Signature

Learned that Buta means pork and Tori means chicken! Hahaha.. On appearance, it appears smaller than its competitor, but after I finished this I feel very full! I didn't customize my ramen, but if you'd like to, you can customize the type of the noodle and the thickness of the broth. I like the ramen, despite the very thin slice of the chasiu :|
I read harsh comments that say if you like ramen in Jakarta, means you've never tasted better. Well.. I've never been to Japan and if you're so prude like that you shouldn't be eating ramen in Jakarta -_- sorry occasional rage :|

Bf ordered Buta Curry something. He likes it so much he dips everything in the broth, even the premium pork cheek we ordered -_-

Premium Pork Cheek (5 slices)

I took the pic when it was still 5 slices but the pic magically disappears T.T The meat tastes good and very tender. But I don't lust after pork as much as my bf so in the future I might be unwilling to pay IDR 72k for this 5 slices of pork. But bf certainly will *shift eyes*

Overall this is a fresh change after many disappointment, and I think from now on when I crave for ramen I will only eat Ikkudo :)

Rating: ★★★★☆

Will I be back: Yes.

Jiuzhai Valley Restaurant PIK Jakarta Review

I just got email from a certain five star hotel in Jakarta. Though I rarely check my email and the invitation has obviously expired, I do realize people do read my blog hehehe.. (well yea I have statistics but due to the lack of comments I sometimes feel disheartened.)

Anyway, got recommendation from a China native man to eat at this Chinese restaurant at Pantai Indah Kapuk Jakarta. He said this is the closest he gets to the authentic cuisine back in Guangzhou. Closest in Jakarta, but nowhere near the authentic. The statement is ambiguous. Anyway, bf and I gave it a try. Bf has tried the one in Guangzhou and I think he could make a fair comparison.

Gan Guo Pork Intestine

This was bf's favorite cuisine when he visited Guangzhou. Cooked with lots of oil and many kinds of chili. Very tasty but prepare for the spiciness. The spiciness is real O.O There are also few slices of potatoes inside, but the intestines are the stars. (Small portion: IDR 58k, big portion: IDR 78k)

Hui Guo Rou

To be honest, we looked at the menu and got confused, hence we asked the waitress what's the popular dish in there and she pointed this. This is pork belly cooked with, again, lots of oil and chili. But there is edible green veggies there (garlic chives?). The spiciness is not as overwhelming as the pork intestine but this tastes as good. When we visit the second time (yes, there is already second visit lol) we ordered this again. And the pork intestine, of course. The pork belly costs: for small portion IDR 48k, big portion IDR 68k.

Yang Chow Fried Rice

We visit this place after we had massage at Nano Reflexology, Pluit. That place gives free food and beverage as compliment and since I finished faster than bf, I had chicken porridge there hahaha.. So I only took few spoons from this Yang Chow Fried Rice. Tasted okay, nothing special. Price: IDR 30k.

I have to remind if you don't like salty food, this isn't the place for you. I like it and I know when food are overly salty, but for me this is decent and a good salty. Please trust my taste buds haha.. I just have to clarify this because I read people complain of the food being too salty. For me it isn't, but I guess it depends. Jiuzhai Valley opens until midnight, so if you're in the neighborhood and want nice food with rice at very late (bcs Indonesian can't live with rice :D), do come visit.

The only minus thing from this place is the waitresses!! They are not waitress. They're more like your maid or helper from home and asked to serve in this restaurant. Very rude, no manner, talk back to customer, record the wrong order (we order big portion, she gave small one wtf), sit in the customer table, sleep in customer table -_______- but then again, you do not pay for any service charge!

When we visit the second time, there this native Chinese lady (I assume the owner) and the waitresses behaved a bit better :|

Rating: ★★★★☆

Will I be back: Yes. (I need to explore other menus though, since twice went there I ordered the same thing T.T)

Bubur Kam Seng Mangga Besar Jakarta Review

Years ago, I saw one of my Facebook friends posted Chinese food and caption the picture as "Kam Seng!!!". At that time I thought Kam Seng was a Chinese word with a meaning like "Kanpei!". Turns out it's a name :|

So last night I finally had a chance to visit this porridge place with my brother and unwilling bf lol.

Here's what we ordered. From the very left side clockwise: Bubur Tiga Rasa, Tahu Kecap, Cheong Fan/Cheong Fun (Chinese Rice Roll) large, Bubur Guangzhou Special, Cheong Fun small, and 3 portions of Cakue.

Closer look of the orders without the cheong fun. Bubur Tiga Rasa (3 flavored Congee) contains 3 kinds of eggs inside; salted eggs, century eggs, and I forgot the other one sorry :| Bf ordered this. Then me & bro shared Guangzhou Special Congee with peanuts, char siew, and sliced fried eggs.

My portion! Congee is usually eaten with side dishes but even though I'm a Chinese descendant, I'm not a big fan of porridge and never really eat congee. We usually ate porridge plain or just with chicken or fish fillet, the end. Then we're kind of amazed that everyone else in this place ordered a lot of side dishes to complement their congees. As other reviews have stated, their cheong fun is indeed memorable. It's the nicest dish on the table. It has tiny bits of char siew instead (optional) but the rice roll itself tastes very nice.

Rating: ★★★☆☆ (additional comment from bf: Best porridge but not exceptionally great, there's a lot of other menus to explore :D)

Will I be back: Yes.