Shabuya (Sukiyaki)

Hey patients!!! How u doin :) Today dr. B is gonna bring u to one of my fave place in Central Park, Shabuya

I have posted a review bout their shabu-shabu menu a few months ago and I love it. Now I got the chance to try their sukiyaki menu, thanks to Goorme and Shabuya :D I'm gonna cut this short and go straight babbling bout the food, ok patients?

The food:
First the appetizers... I LOVE them all. This time I got 3 kinds of korean appetizers. Forgive me for not knowing the name, at the time I totally forgot to ask for the names and went straight to take a bite hehe

 

 This one is caramelized sweet potato with sesame seeds.Yummy :) Love the smooth sweetness and the fragrant sesame. A perfect appetizer to tingle your tastebuds

This kimchi is good... Well, not the best Kimchi I ever had but not bad. I don't like the messy appearance tho.. Usually kimchi is like a pile of mustard (sawi putih) cuts in small pieces, this one is like mashed mustard.

 

Now... This one is like japanese beef burger.Yummy!!! I think they should be careful with this dish, people might think this place sells beef burger. I like the consistency, the salty/sweet sauce, the fragrant meat. Love love love it! :)

Now move on to the main course. In shabu-shabu, we were given a plain soup to cook our meat and then dip them in ponzu (the sauce). In the ponzu, we can add daikon (raddish), finely chopped garlic, chopped scallion and chopped chili. In Sukiyaki, the soup/broth given has taste. It's a light brown water with a hint of sweetness. I like how the sweetness of the soup doesn't overpower the meat so we can enjoy the goodness of the meat. We can add those condiments above but I don't think it's gonna suit the sukiyaki soup... At first, the soup was just ok but after u cook the meat, the sukiyaki soup becomes brothy and taste really really good!!! Yum...

The meat served was angus beef, thinly sliced and served on a big plate. I don't really understand about beef grading and stuff but one thing I do know is Shabuya's meat was great. The manager told me that customers can ask about what kind of meat the prefer. We can ask if we want out meat lean or with marbling. I prefer the one with lots of fat but afraid of getting high cholesterol hehehe 

Besides beef, Shabuya also offers seafood. I don't recommend seafood with sukiyaki based soup but well, depends on how u like it. I personally don't like seafood in Sukiyaki, prefer it with ponzu :) 

They give a bowl of veggies, mushrooms and udon to accompany our meat. The veggies go well with the sukiyaki soup but the udon is not. Tastes weird.. I like my udon salty not sweet :(

 

For Rp. 125.000/pax all u can eat, it's a bargain!! High quality meat, great service and nice ambiance, this is a  must visit spot :)

Rating: 8/10

Location: Central Park, Jakarta

Life As We Know It

Life As We Know It merupakan romantic comedy terakhir yang masuk ke Indonesia. I watched this a few weeks ago but forgot to review bout it :p At first, I heard bad review bout this from a friend, saying that although funny and nice at the beginning but the movie is getting boring in the end. As an avid rom-com/Heigl fans, I decided to watch it :p

Cerita nya tentang Holly Berenson (Katherine Heigl) seorang pemilik bakery cantik tp sedikit neurotik yang ga laku laku. Nahh dikenalin lah dia sama Eric Messer (Josh Duhamel), seorang playboy slengean. Secara mereka berdua bertolak belakang, gagal lah mereka berkencan... Tapi perjalanan nasib berkata lain, mereka terpaksa mengasuh anak teman mereka BERSAMA. Trus apa jadinya tu anak?????

Kedua pemeran utamanya seh ga usa diragukan lagi... Katherine Heigl is now the reigning queen of romantic comedy!! I love her, love love her. She's pretty, she's funny and she is the strongest contender to be the next Sandra Bullock. Josh Duhamel sebenernya punya segala potensi jadi rom-com star tapi kok gw ga tralu demen ya. Kayanya dia lebi cocok jadi aktor serius daripada rom-com gitu... Yah disini seh dia jauh lebih baik daripada di When in Rome tapi tetep aja, kurang bisa ngimbangin Heigl menurut gw.

Dari segi cerita, walopun agak cliche (neurotic pretty chic meets handsome bad boy) tapi karena dikasi twist ada baby jadi nya lebi fresh. One thing I like about it is the movie is not how Holly and Messer fall in love but about how they become a family. Si baby nya disini bukan tempelan doank, jadi bagian penting dari ceritanya. Untuk hal-hal lainnya seh seperti layaknya rom-com, sweet and romantic in several scenes, boring and cliche in more scenes.

It's a good movie but not great. A nice date movie or to hang out with friends :)

Like a bowl of vanilla sundae, you already know how it tastes (sweet and comforting but boring) yet u still crave for it :)

Rating:7/10

Radja Ketjil

Radja Ketjil merupakan sebuat chain resto masakan peranakan yang dimiliki oleh Tika Panggabean. At first, gw pikir cuma just another celeb-owned resto yang rasa nya gitu gitu aja tapi belakangan gw denger, this place serves more than just decent peranakan cuisine. Yah dicoba lah ya hehe

The place looks ok... Ambiance peranakan jadul nya sudah dicoba untuk dibangun walopun menurut gw masi kurang kuat dibandingkan tempat lain yang mengusung tema serupa. Tapi yah... not bad lah buat sebuah resto di mall yang ga tralu merhatiin decor tempat nya.

The food:
1. Tahu Hujin Tje Lie Rina(Rp. 33.500)

Menurut waiternya ini adalah salah satu menu andalah dari Radja Ketjil. Seporsi tahu yang dibuat sendiri oleh Radja Ketjil yang di permukaannya tertutup suatu lapisan kehijauan (i assume it's seaweed/veggie) dan disiram dengan ayam dan jamur saus tiram gitu. Rasanya seh lumayan yah.. Cuma kok kayanya ga nendang gitu. Enak tapi cenderung bland, ga bikin pengen ngabisin tuh tahu nya.

2. Ayam Kung Pau (Rp.27.500)

Seporsi ayam kungpau dengan rasa yang standard, tidak ada sesuatu yang outstanding. Just ok and edible food.

I can't say it's disappointing but it's not great too. The food compared to the reigning chinese-food-with-cheap -small-portion resto, Tawan is nothing. Tawan is wayyyy better than this. Tapi ya secara bukanya di daera selatan semua dimana menurut gw menemukan chinese food yang enak seperti nyari jarum di jerami, this one is enough kale ya

Rating: 6/10
Location: PIM 2, Restaurant Row, Jakarta

Seafood 212 Wiro Sableng

Sebagai salah satu tujuan wisata kuliner di Jakarta, kawasan Gading tidak pernag kehabisan stok tempat makan yang enak dan bikin ngilerrr. Based on several recommendations, a few weeks ago, gw nyoba Seafood 212 Ikan Bakar Wiro Sableng. Nahhh seru ga seh tu nama hahaha gw berharap abis makan ni seafood, kalo megang kapak bisa kluar sinar laser laser gitu *kebanyakan ntn sinetron*

Anyway.... Gw pikir tadinya ini tempat tuh kaki lima gitu, ehhh kaga tau nya bentuknya ruko gitu. Damnnn.... Ya sudah la ya, masa gw mo pulang lagi. Akirnya makan juga disono :) Tempatnya seh rada menyedihkan ya, kurang bersih en bangkunya ga pewe! Tapi untungnya ber-AC jadi nyaman makannya.

The food:
1. Ikan Kue Bakar (Rp. 45.000/5 ons)

Yummy :) Gw suka deh bakarannya.... Kering gitu jadi nya ga eneg. Kan suka tuh ikan kalo dibakar lembek2 ga jelas, nah kalo ini tuh kering en bumbunya ngeresap. Kemudian walopun kering, ikannya ga garing! Yah... enak deh, tingkat kematangannya pas :)

2. Cumi Goreng Tepung (Rp. 35.000)

Seporsi cumi goreng tepung yang lumayan garing tapi sedikit kurang asin menurut gw. Disajikan dengan sambel terasi yang enak... A good sambel is very important, kekurangannya si cumi goreng tepung bisa tertutupi sama sambelnya yang enak itu!!!! Oya, porsinya lumayan besar tapi harganya emank ga murah2 banget seh...

3. Udang Telor Asin (Rp. 55.000)

Now... This dish is a bit weird.. Pertama dateng gw ampe bengong kok bentuknya kaya begini... Jadi udangnya itu digoreng tepung kemudian ada telur orak arik dan bawang bombai. Rasanya cenderung asin manis dengan sedikit berkuah. Well, it's actually yummy but weird!! Udangnya lumayan besar, yah seporsi dapet lah 7-8 ekor.. Gw ga kaya makan seafood tapi kaya makan chinese food gitu, what a unique dish :)

4. Toge Ikan Asin (Rp. 15.000)

Seporsi toge dengan remahan ikan asin diatasnya. Togenya kurang pedes dan ikan asin nya kurang asin... Well it's not bad but not something great.

Overall, it's a nice seafood place with affordable price. All the food I had were above average with ikan bakar as my fave, recommended :)

Rating: 7.5/10
Location: Jl. Boulevard Raya Blok QA No. 2, Jakarta

Toranomon

Toranomon is a yakiniku place in Grand Indonesia. Located in the same lot as Katsusei, I think they belong to the same group. I once browsed the menu and amazed by the price, didn't have the nerve to try :p Then... Came along Ratu Lebah!!! She celebrated her bday there so the food was on her, yippeeeeee thanks hon :)

The place itself offers privacy. U wouldn't think u are still in a mall... Too bad the decor is nothing special. Just some tatami room and sofas with standard wooden decoration. They provide a beautiful Japanese-garden-like smoking room, it was kinda cool.

The food:
1. Utage Big Plate (Rp. 1.375.000)

A big plate full meat!!!! The beef used is wagyu but unfortunately I don't know what grade. According to the waiter, this set uses the highest grade of wagyu compared to the other set. The set include a big cut of sirloin, tenderloin, gyu tan and some other cuts that I don't know (some Japanese/English name I can't remember). The meat was super tender, it melts in my mouth :) Sooo good... The marbling of the meat is so beautiful (and dangerous, hello cholesterol)

There are two types of sauce used for grilling, the sweet one and the salty one. I prefer the sweet one...  But even though the meat has been dipped in the grilling sauce, we still have to dip it in the other sauce given, otherwise the meat is gonna be a bit tasteless. There are two types of sauce to dip the meat before we eat it. The first one is rather sour and salty, the other one is nutty and salty. I don't know the name... :( I prefer the sour salty one since the nutty is too powerful, it covers the original taste of the beef

2. Ohgi Big Plate (Rp. 575.000)

This set rank third in term of price. BUT, this set has chicken in it. The chicken was standard... Just like Hanamasa's chicken.. I think for 575K, they really need to put more chicken. Chicken is like super cheap rite? The sauces are the same as the Utage.

3. Gyu Tan (Rp. 135.000)

The tongue was thinly sliced and then grilled. I love tongue!! But... This one is just ok, maybe I prefer it as steak not sliced like this.

4. Tiramisu (Rp. 35.000)

It was yummy...The presentation was cute and very appetizing. The tiramisu was big, creamy and sweet, just the way I like it :) The sponge cake is soaked in rum and it was perfect... I haven't taste a tiramisu this good for a while haha

5. Mango Pudding (Rp. 35.000)

The mango pudding was just ok, a bit too jelly. A pudding especially mango has to be thicker than jelly, also it should have a deeper taste than jelly. Toranamon's is a mango jelly not mango puding.

Despite the high quality of beef, Toranomon didn't serve that high level of food. It goes below my expectation. The sauces need improvement... They should accentuate the beef, Toranamon miss a note on that one.

ps: Special thanks to Ratu Lebah for treating us, wish u and your baby the best hon :)

 Ibu Duit - Ratu Lebah

Arip - Ibu Duit - Ratu Lebah - dr. B

Rating: 7.8/10
Grand Indonesia, Jakarta

Ryou Zen

Ryou Zen adalah salah satu resto di outdoor area nya Pluit Village. Secara jarang bener japanese resto di sini, gw sebenernya uda niat nyoba. Apalagi si Ryou Zen ini sering banget ngasi promosi diskon 50% buat semua makanannya, menggiurkan banget kan! Nahhhh yang bikin males adalah kabar miring mengenai kualitas makanan disini... Gara2 kmrn ade gw su Yuu dipanas2in temennnya, katanya enak dan murah, dia maksa2 mo makan disono, ya sudah lah gw coba juga

Tempatnya standar bgt, kaya platinum dengan sentuhan modern minimalis. Yah.... Gitu deh, what do u expect dari resto kaya gini, Kita bisa makan di luar resto nya, di outdoor area yang setau gw kadang suka ada live music gitu. Well maybe itu salah satu daya tariknya kali ya...

The food:
1. Premium Beef Teppanyaki (Rp. 59.500)

Dagingnya keras kaya batu ampe kaga gw abisin, bisa ancur tu mulut lama-lama ngunyah daging karet itu. Seafood nya lumayan lah, edible.... Nasi putihnya adalah bagian terbaik dari satu set teppanyaki ini. Oya, chawan mushi nya overcooked!! *ngelus dada*

2. Sushi Rolls

 Salmon Maki (Rp. 26.500)

 California Roll (Rp. 34.500)

 Dragon Roll (Rp. 48.500)

 Flaming Salmon (Rp. 48.500)

Rainbow Roll (Rp. 37.500)

Tuna Nigiri (Rp. 15.000)

Intinya, sushi nya kaga enak!!! Nasi nya terlalu asem en keras. Ikannya kurang fresh... Untuk fusion rolls, sausnya pelit.. Harganya murah untuk yang fusion roll tapi buat yg nigiri ato maki mahal yaaaa, males bgt

Rating: 5/10
Location: Pluit Village, Jakarta

R.E.D

Back with movie reviews :) Bukannya ga mau nulis movie reviews lagi nih tapi emank dr. B lagi sibuk bangettttt, jadi emank kaga nonton :( tapi minggu depan dr. B libur!!! yayyy, siap siap nonton semua film di bioskop hehehehe.

R.E.D bercerita tentang Frank Moses (Bruce Willis) seorang pensiunan CIA yang pengangguran. Setiap hari kerjaannya cuma nungguin cek pensiunnya kemudian menelpon Sarah (Mary Louise Parker) petugas di badan pensiun. Suatu hari, tiba-tiba dia mau dibunuh oleh sekelompok orang. Nah... Untuk mengetahuinya, dia pun menemui teman-temannya dulu, Joe Matheson (Morgan Freeman) Marvin Boggs (John Malkovich) dan Victoria (Hellen Mirren). Bersama-sama mereka berusaha menemukan penyebab semua kekacauan itu.

Menurut dr. B this one is quite good. Finally, a real action movie. Bruce Willis emank ga ada matinya jadi aktor action ya, dengan dia nongol aja kayanya dijamin tu film bakal keren. Dengan jajaran cast laennya yang keren itu, R.E.D menjadi sebuah tontonan action yang bukan hanya seru tapi smart and classy. Bukan cuma tembak-tembakan, darah dan ledakan tapi ada witty comedy dan funny expressions dari masing-masing karakter, detail yang ga penting tapi ngasi nilai tambah ke film ini. Seru tapi santai gitu filmnya, enak bgt nontonnya

Soal adegan actionnya seh sebenernya biasa aja but that's what I like about it. Bukan sesuatu yang lebai dan hard to believe tapi some old school CIA stuff with current technology. Plot cerita nya juga standar, walaupun dikasi twist di belakang tapi agak ketebak sih.. Yah lagian film action gitu, ga penting juga kan ceritanya, yang penting seru!

It's recommended :) I like this movie.It's fun and entertaining, the core of top notch action flick

It's like a combo meal in KFC. U already know how it taste but U still enjoy every crunchy delicious bite of it :)

Rating: 7.5/10

Beautika

Beautika is a legend in Jakarta. Kalo orang ngomong "suka makan manado nih" reply nya pasti "uda cobain beautika blom?" Nah.... Sebagai fans makanan Manado (yang bener tuh Manado ato Menado seh?) akirnya gw cobain juga ni resto :)

Resto nya seh biasa aja ya, dalemnya wooden decor kaya di villa buat maen ski gitu. Untungnya full AC (AC nya dingin buat ngebalance makanan nya yg pedes2 itu :p) Begitu sampe kita tinggal milih mau makan apa, ya kaya di kantin gitu deh. Nanti makanannya dipanasin en dianter ke meja kita. Pretty simple and perfect buat yg mau buru-buru.

The food:
1. Perkedel Jagung (Rp. 6.500)

Yuck... Kaga enak! Tebel en keras.... Biasanya resto manado selalu punya perkedel jagung yang rasanya mantep tp yang ini seh buruk. Apa mungkin karena ga baru digoreng ya jadi kaya gitu? Uda keras, rasanya juga kurang enak, ga manis ga asin, ga jelas maunya apa ni perkedel.

2. Ayam Woku (Rp. 32.500)

Hmm... Yah... It's ok lah.. Nothing special though. Ayamnya pake ayam negri gitu jadi berdaging tapi yah gitu deh. Bumbunya seh enak ya cuma kan dia bentuknya kering, jadi nya kurang meresap gitu. Unless dimakan sama taburan bumbunya yg seabrek itu, ayamnya cenderung tawar...

3. Cakalang Saos (Rp. 32.500)

YUMMY!!!!!!!! Wow... Now I know kenapa resto ini terkenal... Cakalang saosnya enak banget. Love it... Pedes parah bikin nagih gitu. This is the best Cakalang Saos I ever had :) Dagingnya ga tralu suwir banget, ada yang masi dalam 1 potong besar, sambel nya ga pelit, banyakkkk. Bayangin aja, pake dikit aja uda pedes, ini dikasi banyak. Gw ampe ga abis en akirnya bungkus :p

4. Panada (Rp. 5.500) dan Brudel Tape (Rp. 6.500)

Hmm... Panada itu kue manado yang bentuknya seperti pastel, teksturnya kaya kue bantal en isinya ikan (kayanya tuna/cakalang deh) I had better seh... Cuma si Beautika punya Panadanya gede en isinya banyak. Brudel Tape nya std banget, kurang berasa tapenya menurut gw. Too spongy pula jadinya kurang mantep.

Hmm.. Dengan harga yang masi reasonable (kecuali nasi yg Rp. 7.000/porsi) dr. B seh tertarik buat balik lagi. Mungkin perlu nyoba menu laen nya seperti Marlin Rica atau Cumi apaaa gitu yg item item gitu. Hmm... Emank seh untuk kualitas rasa biasa aja, cuma si Cakalang Saos doank yang enak tapi mengingat begitu masyhurnya resto ini, mungkin dr. B musti coba menu laennya.

Less but not least, waiternya yg di depan pas milih makan, JUTEK!!!!! Grrrr.... Kalo ga laper uda pengen gw tinggal aja tadinya.. Tapi service yg di dalem pas makan ok lah :) dr. B minta refill es teh ampe 3x dilayanin dengan penuh senyum hehe

Rating: 7/10
Location: Jl. Hang Lekir No. 1, Jakarta