Santai Malam 1001

Helloooo ni haooooo #CinaModeOn

Hari ini mau coba post review pake bahasa Indonesia aaahhhh... Walaupun gw tau kalo bahasa Inggris gw tergolong pas pas an, tapi ga tau kenapa kalo nulis blog tuh enakan pake bahasa Inggris. Sindrom sok bule gitu dehh ahhahhaa Nahhh karena hari ini post nya adalah soal makanan Indonesia, gw mau nulis pake bahasa Indonesia aja :p

Resto bernama Santai Malam 1001 ini sebenernya pemain lama di dunia per kulineran ibukota. Seinget gw, dulu pas masih kecil (tapi tidak mungil) gw pernah makan di sini sama bokap en nyokap gw. Nahhhh secara yaaaaa dah lama banget, gw bahkan dah ga inget tu rasa makanannya kaya apa. One day, gw diajak sama colleague gw, Oma Cis buat dinner disana pas kita abis nengokin orang di Gading. Ehhhhh tau tau nya disana ketemu lah gw sama Ibu Putri Mahkota kantor gw #RezekiAnakSholeh long story short, gw ditraktir lah disitu yihaaaaaa

Nah karena kmrn pas ditraktir makannya agak sedikit jaim (males banget kan pergi makan sama bos trus gw nyedot nyedot kerang gitu,,,) gw makan lagi deh a couple of weeks after that. This is what I ordered

Jadi menu andalan nya adalah ikan bawal ini... Bilangnya sih kalo ga salah Saos Padang ya (apa saus tauco gitu deh) tapi nongolnya kok item beginiiiii. Well... Penampilan sih emank menipu, bentuknya item dekil gitu tp rasanya mantep cuyyy.

Jadi si saus item itu kaya campuran kecap manis dan tauco, dikasi potongan rawit yang maha banyak. Rasanya pedes manis tapi gurih, mantaps! Terus ikannya walaupun gede tp gorengnya kering kemudian disirem saus/kuah nya. Kuah nya yang banyak bikin tekstur ikan nya tidak terlalu crispy tapi ga lembek juga.  U will get that beautiful combination of uneven texture and exploding spiciness of the chili padi. Yummylicious!

Selaen itu, si kerang ijo nya yang dimasak dengan nuansa rasa serupa juga enakkkk. Lagi-lagi trick yang dipakai ada deep fried raw materialnya kemudian disirem kuah super gurih nya itu. Another winner ladies and gentlemen.

Trakir pas mau ngembaliin menu nya ke waiter, ga sengaja gw ngeliat kalo tempat ini jual kerang nene!!!! I miss em sooo much jadilah pesen 1 porsi. Nah.... ini dia bencananya.. Saking napsu nya lupa kalo kuah nya pedes bgt, makan banyak dan besok nyaaa mencret --"

Anyway... Tempat nya ini rekomen banget! Great food and doesn't burn your wallet. FYI, dia sudah pindah dari tempat nya yang lama. Sekarang ada di ujung jalan nya Hay Thien (dari MOI, lurus sampe bunderan, ambil kanan lurus terus, ada sign nya di atas)

Very recommended buat yang lagi craving a different and unique taste of seafood like this, Santai Malam 1001 is the answer

Rating: 8/10
Location: Kelapa Gading

Taste Paradise

Today's blog is about... DIMSUM

Yes patients, the little cute addictive devils :p I HEART DIMSUM!!!! U can have em as breakfast or lunch (or even dinner if you're in the mood) When I was a kid, there's not that many dimsum places like nowadays. I remember the IT place for dimsum is Shangrila Restaurant at Pasar Baru area, any of you know this place?

Taste Paradise is a member of Paradise Group, a successful chinese food restaurant brand that has expanded to Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand and London. From Singapore, this brand consistently delivers great and modern chinese food without losing its authenticity. Taste Paradise is the high-end line of the restaurant group. Their Plaza Indonesia outlet is the first one opened outside Singapore.

I LOVE the place! Amazing grandeur over the top decor, very royal-ish. The service is impaccable, one of the best in Jakarta, in a chinese restaurant where usually service comes in second.

The dimsum spread is not that innovative, they stick to the classic with some modern touches. What I love about their dimsum is that they are simple (not some over the top weird tasting dimsum) with high quality ingredients which tastes really really good.

My fave of the brunch: Baked Chasiu Pao

 Simple looking fried rice, taste amazing

The price tag is quite steep, brunch for 5 cost us around 1 million IDR. Anyway, worth every penny!!! My top 3 for dimsum in Jakarta.

See u again patients, keep on munching :)

Follow my Instagram @aris100785 for your daily dose of mouth-watering food

Rate: 8.5/10
Location: Plaza Indonesia 5F

Lost in Bangkok 2014 - Part 3 - Dean and Deluca

Happy new year everybody!!!! Wishing you all have a great year ahead :)

Just a quick post now since my sister is forcing me to leave the computer alone *sob*. This post is still about my last trip to Bangkok. Bear with me patients...

Dr. Cakra is a HUGE fans of western style breakfast (with the pastries, the coffee, the coffeeshop. etc) So every morning we get our daily dose of cafein from a cafe around Bangkok. Finding good coffee shop in Bangkok is not that hard compared to Jakarta. Maybe because all the expats there? In terms of coffee quality, not bad. BUT the recently opened artisan coffee shops in Jakarta have equally good coffee. Some of them are actually better :)

Dean and Deluca is a coffee chain from the United States. I heard the names from movies but this is my first time. There are a few branches of Dean and Deluca across Bangkok, I visited two of them. I forgot the addres of the first one but the second visit is in Sathorn, near the BTS/crossroad.

The place is chic and modern, very big city/urban feel. For me, somehow it's cooler than Starbucks (which has a very homey ambience). The coffee and drinks was good, not great. There's this drink which in an ice blended mango sticky rice and it was... AWESOME.

Now the food... Pardon me for forgeting the names and prices. I remember the food is around 100-250 baht depends on the size and the type of food. The ham is around 220 baht, the sandwiches are around 150 baht.

 Honey Glazed Pork Ham with mashed potato. 

Seriously, top 3 food in my trip. Yummyfuckinglicious! The ham is the epitome of porky goodness and the mashed potato melted beautifully in my mouth.

Ham and Cheese Croissant

 

 This was also gooddd. Melted cheese and pork in flaky pastries = heaven

I think it'sa burrito. All I can say is this dish needs to be shared, a little bit overwhelming to be taken down by one person. Again, YUMMY!

 Nenek Lampir and Dr. Cakra

Rating: 7.5/10
Location: Around Bangkok

Lost in Bangkok - Part 2 - Nahm

Still about Bangkok patients! This post is all about Nahm, 2014's Asia's BEST restaurant. When we was planning this trip, Ms. Momo the fine dining enthusiast already put this restaurant on the top of the go-to place. I was a bit reluctant since fine dining comes with hefty price tag. I was surprised with the quite affordable price! The set menu costs 2200 baht, cheap rite?

Nahm's decor is nice. Wooden table with elegant yet down to earth setting. Spacious and intimate, the place is not as fancy as those fine dining place around Jakarta. We choose the set menu so we didn't pick any of the dishes. I don't remember the details about the food since it was months ago but i'll try my best to tell you guys about that dinner

We started with appetizers.... Nahm served 4 canapes, all 4 has to be eaten in a certain sequence to experience the best mouth explosion. Each canape has a different taste, texture and taste. My fave is the blue swimmer crab one. Oh soooo goodd

The concept of Nahm is traditional Thai food. So just like in Indonesia, we get big plates of food to be shared. Here we go...

 Fresh Tamarind Relish with minced prawn, pork and chilies

 This one is like a sort of salad dressing but warm and meaty. Kinda yucky in a way...

Salad of fresh river prawn, pork and asian pennywort

A really fresh salad, the prawn is incredibly fresh. Balanced sour and sweetness, one of my fave dish of the night.

Grilled pork cheek with smoky tomato sauce

What more do u need? PORK. CHEEK. PERIOD

Coconut and turmeric curry with blue swimmer crab and kalamansi lime

Curry should be the star of the dinner but this curry relies heavily on the yummyness of the crab. Tastewise, just okay. Nothing special IMO.

Clear soup of roast duck with thai basil and young coconut

A really fragrant soup (maybe consome is a better word) Clear soup with young coconut and mushroom, gives a sexy texture to the soup.

Next is dessert :) We choose many desserts to sample and I must say all the dessert is good... BUT not special. 

 

Super fresh!!!! Young mango with pandan sugar, oh so gooddd

 

My verdict...

I don't get why this place has to be crowned Asia's best. The food is just okay, tastes good of course but I don't find it mindblowing. I had high expectation so I was a bit disappointed. Maybe because I come from Indonesia so the herbs and spices don't surprise me?

Tips: DO NOT ORDER THE SET MENU. IMO, if you order the food ala carte, the price is cheaper. After all, the set menu is just picking one menu of each section, not a special set.

Location: COMO Hotel, Bangkok
Rating:7.5/10

February: Around Jakarta

Today's post is gonna be the Around Jakarta series. I used to post this kind review under the title "Dimana-mana Makanan", just upgraded it into English so it can reach non bahasa user --> go international!

Let's start the yummy stroll patients :)

First one we got Bakso Afung. A legendary bakso (meatball) stall, sprawling across Jakarta. The pontianak style bakso charaterized with super yummy beef broth, thin meatballs, scallions and garlic oil makes this particular meatball stands out. The meatballs are served in a bowl of hot broth, usually with beef inards and noodle/kway teow on the side. One of my favorite comfort food hehehe

Now we got this vegetarian pesto pasta from Ideas in Streel Gallery Pondok Indah. A delicate and elegant dish, very appropriate with u gals in diet. The pasta is al dente with smooth and sophisticated taste and fresh ingredients. Price is on the high side though.

Next is Indonesia's favorite noodle, INDOMIE. Yes I mention the brand and no I wasn't endorsed by the company. This is from Tovas, a small street stall selling indomie and roti bakar (toast) in setiabudi area, just beside Four Seasons Hotel and Aston Hotel. The toast is off the hook and the Indomie is to die for.

Last is Marutama Ramen. Their ramen for me is one of the best in Jakarta. Despite the hugely popular Hakata Ikkousha or Ikkudo Ichi, Marutama is in another class. Their place exudes elegance and exclusiveness. Not like the quee-for-one-hour place, with wooden small chairs and the waiters yelling every 5 seconds. The broth is silky smooth yet savory, the pork is tender and flavorful. Not to mention the noodle, springy and soft at the same time. Put more of those fried garlic to add some spark in your bowl

That's it for now, see u guys aroud.

Tony Roma's

Today's gonna be a short post about the super famous ribs place in Jakarta, Tony Roma's.

Tony Roma's is a franchise from the US, conquering pork ribs lover all around the world. Well I gotta say, with that super tender and flavorful pork, who can resist it?

Tony Roma's has 2 kinds of pork ribs. The baby back ribs and the St Louis Ribs. The baby back is the famous one. The St Louis is more meaty but less tender. Over the year, I expanded my choices here... The usual Original Baby Back is getting boring, my new fave is Baby Back Ribs with Carolina Honey sauce, a bit sweet but still savory, goes very well with the ribs.

Don't forget the Onion Loaf, super crispy and addictive. I'm not a huge fans of onion rings but damn... Tony Roma's is yummylicious! Perfectly fried and beautifully caramelized.. Must order when u dine here.

 

Complimentary Bread Basket

Rating: 8.5/10

Location: UOB Building, Jakarta

The Duck King

Happy new year patients! Wow.... Looking back, I've been writing this blog since 2007. It's gonna be our 7th anniversary this year, yippeeee. Thank you for all your support patients :) This blog is a place for me to be me. My philosophy in blogging has always been the same, be myself. Forgive me if sometimes I'm too harsh or too foul but hey, this is me :)

To open this year, I'd like to post about The Duck King. Well.... It's a new year so I'll start with breakfast. Nothing too fancy and too pretentious, just a simple dimsum bfast that I usually enjoy with my family.

The Duck King is an established brand here in Jakarta. IMO, this brand has served us affordable yet great modern chinese food. My visit to The Duck King has become more often since they open their branch in Central Park Mall (FYI, soon they'll open their Baywalk Mall branch, literally 5 minutes from home!) They offer discount on Sundays so we usually come here for dimsums.

Kuo Tie 

Fish and Pitan Porridge

Prawn Chong Fan

Prawn Wonton with Mayo

Ha Kau

Lotus Bun

IMO, the dimsums are not exceptional but tastes really good. Nothing tastes wrong, a bit generic but a good kind of generic. Sometimes, what you need is not super fancy food but just a bite of comfortness from the food you love.

Rating: 7.5/10
Location: Central Park, Jakarta

Pangkep 33

Another post from Pluit/Muara Karang area.. Pangkep 33!!!!

For you seafood lovers, I bet Pangkep 33 is no stranger. Serving makasar style seafood, this place has many loyal fans including Ms. Ratu Lebah. When I asked her about which seafood place is her fave when we were dining in Bandar Djakarta a couple of weeks ago, she instantly screamed PANGKEPPPP #lebai

The new Pangkep 33 has moved to a new place in Pluit Putra Raya. Easy direction, the road from Emporium Pluit Mal leading to Pluit Village where Jakarta Fruit Market and Harvest exists. Occupying what I think is actually a house, the place is ordinary. A big house converted into a restaurant that pays minimum attention to ambiance and comfort.

Talk no more and let's dive into the yummy seafood...

1. Ikan Aji Bakar Rica (Grilled Aji Fish Rica Style)

YUMMYLICIOUS!!! The fish has no fishy smell at all. Grilled into perfection, minimum moisture. Great texture, a bit softer than mackarel but not not too crumbly. Basted in chili, rica style which literally blow your tongue away... Spicy goodness.

2. Cumi Goreng Mentega (Stir Fry Squid in Butter Sauce)

Another winning dish from Pangkep 33. Small squids stir fried in margarine and oyster sauce... Salty and sweet at the same time, the squids are cooked perfectly they bounce around inside you mouth when you bite them.

3. Kerang Bambu cah Tauco (Razor Clams with fermented bean sauce)

The razor clam is fresh and huge! The fermented bean sauce needs a little more salt to give a punch to the buds. The clams is chewy and spicy, fresh chewy and juicy not ewww chewy. The chili helps give layers to the one dimensional salty fermented beans and the ginger minimize the weird clam smell.

4. Kangkung Terasi (Stir Fried Morning Glory with Prawn Paste and Chili)

Another classic.. Well executed but not the best. The morning glory somehow feels not fresh... Missing the crunchyness of a perfectly cooked morning glory.

Although I live near all these seafood places, I rarely dine there. Mostly because IMO,seafood is expensive. I love good seafood but I think seafood in Muara Karang is a bit expensive. Surprisingly, for all of the above plus rice, es campur and ice tea, I only spent around 250K. Well, those can feed up to 4 people right? So it's not that expensive :) Recommended!

Rating: 8/10
Location: Pluit Putra Raya, Jakarta