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..

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.

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.

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.

Sari Sanjaya Flavor Bliss Alam Sutera Review

Few weeks ago, I was blog-walking few Indonesian food blogs and it left me wanting local food in the middle of the night. During Moslem New Year, I had Bebek Goreng Hj. Slamet. (Local, right? Lol.) Then 2 weeks ago, I went for the first time to Sari Sanjaya. Sari Sanjaya, as I read, focuses on South Sumatera cuisine. They sell many kind of Palembang food, from the famous fishcake until local market's cake.

I went there with my friend who's born in South Sumatera, though. So she helped me in judging haha..

She told me that foods that being sold here are actually not main course. She stated that back in her hometown, foods like these are actually snacks. Lol. Anyway, she had Mie Celor Kuah Santan. (Chewy Noodle served with Coconut Milk gravy)

There are few small prawns in there, half boiled egg, veggies and chewy noodle. I took a bite, and just nod. Lol. I can't judge. For you who didn't like strong taste, there's also choice of Kuah Bening. (Clear soup without coconut milk)

Forgive my upside-down picture. It can't even be helped with rotate tool lol. I was experimenting so much, trying to be artsy -_-

I had this: Pindang Ikan Patin. Uh.. I'm not sure how to say it in English. Tasted like Tom Yam. Very fresh, the fish was very soft; it's like melted in your mouth, and the sour and spicy level was just perfect. Unfortunately this is only 1 person's portion. There's like 1 slice of Patin Fish inside there lol. I had it with white rice.

 I also ordered this. It's called Roti Tissue. (Tissue Bread??) I'm getting ridiculous in translating. Anyway, I ordered this for dessert. Many times I've seen my friend posted food like this on their social media profile but I can't figure out where they had it. (too ashamed to ask :|) But theirs don't look like this. Their Tissue's skin are smoother and taller. It's served with thick condensed milk.

It's endless... O_O

You just can't stop eating it! First because it's yummy, and second because it has lots of layers. Kudos to whoever made it, rolling it perfectly without cracks. Top skin was crunchy and bottom skin was chewy. Oddly I like the bottom cause it reminds me of Martabak's skin in my hometown. Even though I ate this with my friend, we can't finish it x_x I want to bring it the leftover home but ashamed larr ahahaha..

 

My friend also had this, cause she said this is the only thing reminds her of hometown. This is the infamous Es Kacang Merah (Shaved Ice with Red Bean). Tried it also, but I'm not a fan of red bean though :D

I also had 3 fishcakes (Pempek) there. But I had no pic, cause I'm that brutal when facing fishcakes :| Ordering 1 portion means 1 piece only. I had 2 Lenjer (the usual long one) and 1 Kulit, (Chewy skin?) which I never tried before.

PS: I do use a lot of chewy and skin word in here :|

Added with 2 drinks, I had Iced Lime and she had Ice Tea, total damage was IDR 130k for both of us :) It was worth it!

Totally coming back! They also served seafood and veggies like normal restaurant, but I'm afraid it would be too expensive to pay. It was end of the month, anyway. :P

Until then! ^^

Brussels Spring Central Park Jakarta Review

There was that one weekend me and bf spent with our best friends, talking about upcoming work project. Since it was right after lunch time, our tummies were full enough to had another food, but we had to sit somewhere. And sitting in a coffee shop would be too mainstream lol. I was aiming for Churreria at first, but it was full! So we were torn between Bakerzin and Brussels Spring, ended up choosing Brussels Spring, for a very long Sunday afternoon chats.

Bf loves their ice cream here. His choice was Belgian Chocolate and Ferrero flavor. We were once here before and I tried the Strawberry one, it was.. well, you can say authentic since it tastes a bit sour. But I like my strawberry ice cream sweet with milk taste so I didn't order ice cream. I had a fusion food instead.

My dessert is Fla Berry Pancake, topped with ice cream of your choice. I picked Black Forest flavor. Yummy! But it melts easily, see. Probably because the pancake was hot. Tell you, it's actually a doubted pancake lol. It's not a proper pancake. More like a kue dadar your mom made during your childhood and it's so chewy. The fla is also the fla you can find it kue soes haha.. I was confused choosing between pancake or waffle, and I did go with pancake at last, but if it's a traditional cake I can make on my own, maybe I should try their waffle next time. Their pancake is a bit loss in here, but the ice cream was worth a re-visit.

This was our drink: Lychee Orange something.. Me and bf shared since the price almost equalizes the food's price and we just don't think it's worth it. The glass wasn't so tall either, and it's just a mixed of soda with lychee syrup, given few cuts of fresh oranges. But it's freakishly sour. They had another drink in there such as milkshake thingy, but I didn't order since it would be too bold after ice cream.

At the end of our super long meeting, I mixed the melted bf's ice creams with few of sour oranges and actually tasted it hahaha.. A sour chocolate ice cream :| my invention. Told bf to try it as well and he did!! With a lot of cringes lololol.

After that we continue dinner at Tatsuya Teppanyaki. We had a good time! :)

Dessert at Imperial Chef Hayam Wuruk Jakarta Review

Well, not purely a review :D I think I just want to put the picture of my most favorite Chinese dessert of all time (other than Durian Pancake :p). It's Mango Pudding from Imperial Chef!

Note: Imperial Chef is Duck King branch that serves porkie~ ♥

Anyway, if you wonder why I don't post the whole dining experience, it's because I always fail in capturing moment while eating here. Food is always gone in a flash. Dessert is captured because it's leisurely time lol.

I think this mango pudding needs no explanation. It's simply the best mango pudding in Jakarta. The scooped fruit usually consists of honeydew and watermelon. This time when I took the pic, I got all watermelon. But I prefer this way. I don't like honeydew :|

Then 2 days after this visit, my family and I visited here again lol. Never get enough of the pork and dimsum! I tried to step out of my comfort zone (in choosing dessert) and didn't eat mango pudding, though I would really like to eat it everyday!! I ended up choosing Fried Ice Cream O.O

Then I regret it lol. From the form, it's actually different from what I pictured. I had one in Singapore and it looks nothing like this :| Another thing, it took long time to come out. I understand since frying an ice cream should be needing a skill, no? But then it just tastes like a vanilla ice cream (you can't choose the flavor. Only vanilla boohoo~) with a fried flour. They don't go well with each other, but if you eat them separately they actually taste nice!! Sorry I cheated on you, dear mango pudding. I won't choose another dessert from now on :s

The NEW Magnum Cafe House of Chocolate Grand Indonesia Jakarta Review

So right after light dinner at Kamikaze Karaage, I was actually saving up spot in my tummy for this Magnum Cafe. Bf suggested that we should head there directly as the queue can be really crazy. But surprisingly it's not as bad as I heard from other people. It was quick queue though despite it's on Sunday night. Or because the day after is Monday so..

I've never been in Magnum Cafe before. Previously when the first Magnum Cafe was opened, I didn't had a chance to visit at all. This time I should've not missed it! However, this is bf's third time because his cousins were big Magnum Cafe fan.

Few snaps I took that night while queuing lol.

The view you can see while on escalator :) looks luxurious isn't it.

First picture is background of the queue line. Lots of people took picture in here. Also got very bright lighting. I also took a pic! ;)

Second picture is the busy receptionist. She held a walkie-talkie to communicate with people on the inside.

We had a choice to sit both indoor and outdoor. Outdoor was meant for smoker and I usually HATE smokers. I still do, because they're so inconsiderate. But the view beats my hatred so I chose to sit outside. I think Magnum Cafe was on level 6 so the view is quite breathtaking. (not as breathtaking as SKYE of course. I jokingly said to bf that outdoor Magnum Cafe is like SKYE's inspired :p)

We took our order and we're told the food will come in 10 minutes. I was busy camwhoring so it didn't feel like 10 mins. It feels faster! Haha.. Drinks come earlier though. I had chilled Apple Juice (IDR 20k) and bf got Coca Cola (comes in can for IDR 15k)

Chocolate Brownie with Magnum Chocolate Truffle

Forgive me the actual name is really hard to remember. But the waitress speaks it out fluently she might be have some French blood on her. That's joke if you can't see it coming :| But you got my point :) I hope with the description it can help you in ordering :D

Chocolate Crepe with Magnum Chocolate Truffle

(both picture taken with flash and both food came out at the same time)

MINE! This is HEAVENLY! I'm sure deep inside those crepes (it's soft crepes btw) contains some delicious chocolate liquid! The combination of cold ice cream and warm chocolate sauce is DIVINE! Too bad because they already cracked half of the chocolate cover of the ice cream, mine was bent and it fell from the stick wtf. I eat ice cream with fork and knife as result :| but it was YUMMY!

The brownies' also YUMMY! Suddenly I'm lacking of vocabulary because of yummy food I had that day. I actually interested in the Rainbow Cake and Red Velvet menu. However it dips the magnum ice cream into some kind of powder (?) and I'm afraid it will taste sandy in my mouth. Also bf's cousin already had it and she said it's just ordinary. But those two menus we had was beyond ordinary!

I will come back for 3 more times I guess. I want to try the strawberry chocolate liquid dessert, waffle, and fruit pies! Give me voucher, dear Magnum? Hahaha.. *shameless*

Anyhow thanks for the experience! Please don't be a temporary store like last time :( I also wait for one of the variant with all strawberry inside and white chocolate outside! :D (saw once on Philippine ads).

View you see when you walked outside. Before going, don't forget to take pic with the gigantic ice cream!

I LOVE MAGNUM! ♥

Kamikaze Karaage Grand Indonesia Jakarta Review

Very quick and short update!

There was this weekend when I had 4 meals a day! I normally only have one though :|
Lunch at home, followed by tempura udon at Waraku, then at Kamikaze Karaage! (after that it's Magnum Cafe but that's another story lol.)

It's my very first time to visit Kamikaze. I usually stick to OMO! Chicken and lately been attached to Lotteria. Like I previously stated, Korean biased. Kamikaze is Japanese based and I don't really fancy Japanese. However, few days before I decided to visit, one of my close friend suggested me to try and she said many of her office friends claimed it's good. Beside I can do review as well lol :|

Dayum! Definitely Kids Meal! Haha.. told you I had 4 meals that day, so I can't eat too much. I forgot the actual menu name but it should be easy to spot as the rice shape is very.. eye-catching. Eye-catching is underrated though haha..
The menu consists of rice, 5 or 6 stripes of boneless chicken (YES NO BONES!), and (should be) cheese croquette. But the croquette wasn't available so it could only be replaced with salad or sauteed vegetables. I was disappointed at first but the salad is amazing! I forgive! The menu included tiny glass of Nestea lemon tea. For few gulps but that's enough for me.

Bf ordered one set with rice and 2 side dishes. Forget to take pic, but he can choose the sauce for his chicken. I think mine was soy sauce and his was sweet spicy. Both are equally good! His drink was normal size of cold Ocha, refillable. Both sets also got miso soup for free :)

The table however has many studs (?) lol. So when you're pushing your plate or bowl be careful. You don't wanna spill the yummy food, do you? ;)

Price also affordable. One set is around IDR 30k - 40k. I will come back to try another dish!! I saw something in bun! That'd be my next target :D

See you in another post!

Lotteria Supermal Karawaci Review

Call me biased! You all may be agree or disagree, but I really think there's some kind of Korean invasion into this country, correct?

Anyway to those who's looking for food information in here, I'm deeply sorry that I didn't update my blog for a very long time.

So today's post is about another Korean food stall entering Indonesia. Lotteria has been in Indonesia for quite some time it's just me that's late noticing :| As I know there are already 2 Lotteria, each at Gandaria City and Mall of Indonesia, Jakarta. Somehow they expanded into Lippo Village in Karawaci, Tangerang and I'm thankful for it. For me personally it's better than BonChon and like an upgrade version of KFC (yeah, Kentucky Fried Chicken).

I was first seeing it on Twitter. It's a very random day to see grand opening of a food store on Twitter, I know. But what catches me and made me squeak to everybody I know to accompany me going there is because 2 reasons. First, I once saw Lotteria in this Korean variety show, Running Man. It's my favorite show and I'm literally addicted to it. Each episode has been replayed by me minimal 10 times. Ask me any episode and I'll tell you the guest and their missions right away wtf sorry out of topic. So ya I saw Lotteria in Running Man, episode 74, if you care to look by yourself lol. Second reason, the endorser is Song Joong Ki. Former Running Man cast as well. He's the latest endorser I think, because back in 2000 when Lotteria first established in South Korea, the first endorser is Song Ji Hyo. Also Running Man cast lol. The only female member, super pretty, smart, and bad ass. Even though super blank most of the time but she is adorable and so goddess like. Cut the story short, I tried Lotteria because of Running Man. End of story :| Eh those two people sharing both Song surnames are not related btw haha I dunno why I bother explaining this -_-

This is Lotteria Chicken Set. Buying set means you already got 2 chicken pieces (one big, one small), rice, simple salad, and drink of your choice. The chickens consist of soy and sweet spicy. I ate this with my BFF and we both agree that the sweet and spicy isn't really nice. Compared to the soy one which is HEAVENLY. After that day I brought bf here as well and he's agree that the sweet and spicy isn't nice.
Later on we figured out that you can change one of the chicken but only into original one. We asked for both soy sauce but can't get :p So we have one original and one soy sauce since then. The top one (dark reddish one) is the sweet and spicy sauce chicken, while the bottom one is the heavenly soy sauce. The cashiers are usually polite and will patiently explain the menus to you, and later they will deliver your order to your table. But maybe you should be the one that have patience when the store is packed because other than the original is usually not yet made so you should wait a bit longer compared to ordering only the original one :) They have the set with one chicken thigh, that's only original and you are not allowed to change. The best part that I secretly like is they don't serve chicken wings. I hate chicken wings T____T it's too complicated to eat, contain very few meat, and too mainstream tsk. [TIPS] Also if the store isn't crowded you can ask which part of the chicken with which sauce. I usually order upper thigh with soy sauce (since it's bigger :p) and the lower thigh with original one :D

Drink included in the set is choices of soda like any other junk food store but it can be upgraded by only adding few thousand Rupiahs. I upgraded into Ice Choco.

It's not chocolate milk. It's chocolate drink. Better than Milo, a bit more like Cadburry hot chocolate drink. Except this is iced of course. Took a picture of a tray because it's cute hehe.. Koreans love pastel so much! Like I do! :p

Dessert! Something that should not be missed! Well, Indonesian McDonald's has finally brought McFlurry Oreo into the store but strangely only Orange Ice Cream flavor is available -_- so when I see this ice cream I was interested because I thought it's McFlurry Oreo! This is called Tornado. Comes in 3 flavors: Oreo, green tea, and forget... :| but it's too watery? Also the biscuit isn't Oreo because it tasted bitter :(

I ate in here 3 days in a row lol. First day with BFF. Second day with bf. Third day with brother. Hahaha.. they all love it. But I don't think as much as I do. Objective opinion without being biased, the chicken is really nice. Also the chocolate. I also already tried the Beef Teriyaki burger. It was good as well, but I don't really like the texture of the bread. Other than that no complaint! I believe it has lots of calories, fats, and oils... but it's nice haha.. Price also very affordable (read: cheap).

Give it a try and later leave comment if you'd love to! See you around :)

Marutama Ra-Men Plaza Indonesia / EX Jakarta Review

Marutama Ramen, or written Marutama Ra-Men, located on EX Plaza Indonesia Jakarta, 2nd floor just right across EX XXI. I completely forgot what it was before Marutama. The place located above the bowling arena so if you're seated near the window then you can see people playing bowling.

Arrived there quite early on Saturday evening so the place wasn't really packed. Got seated near the window. There are only 4 choices of ramen which surprised me, since the other ramen place has many choices. But Marutama only offers chicken/pork, vegetables, seafood, and something I forget. For rice menu they offer Japanese Fried Rice and Curry Rice, also many interesting choices of side dish. Anyway it's Google-able and they have official website as well :)

The waitress that handle seating allocation and taking order is the same person O_o And she took it without taking notes. I was worried that she might get the orders wrong but thankfully she didn't.

First came table was empty there's only a small bowl of fried garlic and sesame. Then she gave us chopstick. Which in the back of the chopstick is a customer review. But no pencil provided and I didn't bring any so I didn't fill in.

A very useless picture of chopstick hahaha sorry :|

Cold Ocha's served in Coca Cola glass? This glass was said a collector's item. It was sold in 5 different colors in Singapore and each day only sold one color. ...And in here they just freely provide in the restaurant. Mystery.. for me, at least. Choosing Ocha of course because it has refill :D Don't even bother to look at other drink menu lol :|

Yummy Yaki Gyoza as side dish!!!!!! The dip was weird though, or unique? Tastes sour, salty, spicy.. Undetectable haha.. But the gyoza is perfect! You can choose to have pork gyoza or chicken gyoza. This one is pork. Much better than Sanpachi has.

-Marutama Ramen-

Yes. The name is Marutama Ramen! The very first of 4 choices of ramen. A very soft handmade noodle with seaweed, and 2 slices of pork. (WHY 2?? Lol) The broth has very strong taste of egg? I don't know man it was good! I personally like the noodle and bf likes the broth. He ordered the spicy one, while I had the non-spicy one but he said it's not spicy at all :| I believe him because our spicy level is the same. I just chose to not have the spicy because I wanna taste the original taste.

It also seems that you can add additional topping into your ramen or even had additional noodles. Official Twitter of Marutama usually give away codes for free Tamago (egg) but when I requested one before I came, the admin said they only distributed the code from Monday to Friday. (I requested on Friday late night) so I didn't have it -_- non sense. But however that's their rules. Also if you share your picture while eating there you'll get free Ice Dorayaki! :)

 

For me one word best described Marutama is Authentic :)

I guess it's the nearest ramen in Indonesia that's quite close to those we had in Japan. But I haven't tasted the famous Hakata though ;p

I didn't have dessert because we're in hurry to watch Battleship. Which by the way super awesome and I would like to give rating 11/10. Only 3 movies in this year so far that gets me teary and feel all awesome inside. They are: Battleship, The Hunger Games, and Man on the Ledge. You just can't beat combination of good action with good humor and good love story (couples or family).

Have nice food and nice movie!