The Duel (Roppan VS Magnum Cafe)

Hallooooo, back with me dr B :)
Untuk The Duel kali ini temanya ada dessert!!!! Kontestan nya adalah 2 dessert place yang lagi happening banget di Jakarta yaitu Magnum Cafe dan Roppan. Let The Duel begins...

Magnum Cafe

Magnum Cafe merupakan produk terbaru dari Ismaya. Walaupun restoran Ismaya itu selalu banjir pengunjung, gw termasuk salah satu yang tidak terlalau suka restoran-restoran Ismaya. Dari sekian banyak restoran nya Ismaya yang menurut gw enak paling cuma 1 2 gitu... BUT in terms of ambiance, Ismaya jagonya. That's why, tiap kali ada resto baru by Ismaya, gw pasti pengen nyoba. After all, dining is not always bout the food, it's all about the experience :)

Terletak di Grand Indonesia, Magnum Cafe merupakan salah satu go to spot disono. Antriannya selalu panjang menjijikan. Kenapa bisa ngantri ampe kaya gitu, gw sendiri juga ga ngerti. Sebenernya sih males banget ngantri tapi ya sudah lah, demi mencoba hehe

Tempat nya seh asik menurut gw. Nyaman, rapih, detail oriented dan yang paling penting adalah punya WOW factor. This is what Ismaya do best after all. Tamu nya semua dianggap sebagai bangsawan disana, dipanggil nya bukan pake "Pak" atau "Bu" tapi pake "My Lord". Emank sih ga penting tapi it's something different right? Nice service though, attentive and fast. Suasana resto nya kaya di ruang makan kerajaan lengkap dengan hiasan ala kerajaan , patung kuda, bahkan singgasana yang bole dipake buat foto dengan minimal pembelanjann Rp. 150.000. Semua menu yang disajikan memiliki nama ala kerajaan pula, agak mabok sih bacanya tapi seru juga hahaha

The food:
1. Summer Tango (Rp. 29.000)

YUMMY!!! Basically ini mango smoothies with choco chip. Jadi ini jus mangga tapi dikasi magnum vanilla. It's sweet with a hint of sour, ada terasa choco chip yang uda di blender jadi alus alus gitu dan rasa mangga nya jd agak creamy. Love it :D

2. Waffle de Regalia Queen Size (Rp. 45.000)

Sebagai orang yang sangat sangat menyukai dessert, ice cream, roti including waffle, makanan ini merupakan sebuah penghinaan terhadap waffle!!!!!!!! OMG, this is the worst waffle ever deh. Mana ada waffle kenyellll, gw uda kaya makan mochi aje. Parah banget... Gw tau sih ini tempat jualan es krim tp ya mbok dicari toh resep waffle yang layak... Gw ampe bingung, ini bos bos ismaya nyobain dulu ga sih menu nya sebelum di launch ke publik? Sama waffle nya A&W aja masi kalah jauh deh, kacau abis. Ditambah lagi strawberry nya yang asam dan tidak juicy, strawberry sauce nya yang kaya sirup beli jadi en kemudian Magnum nya yang cuma asal ditaro aja di atas nya. It looks amazing but tastes like ****. Very disappointing!!!!

Gw cukup kecewa seh dengan kualitas waffle nya... Gw tau kadang gw suka bawel kalo soal dessert tapi kalo ini sih bukan gw yang bawel, emank kualitas nya aja buruk. Kalo Pancious gw kasi 8 untuk waffle nya, ini gw kasi 3 deh.... Walopun tempat nya menyenangkan buat nongkrong2 tp kalo kualitas makanannya kaya gini seh engga deh makasih. Gw mau nyoba menu laen nya jadi males...

Rating: 5.5/10
Location: Grand Indonesia F5, Jakarta

Roppan

Pertama kali gw ngeliat Roppan tuh di Pejaten Village kalo ga sala. Dari luar reklame nya catchy banget. Very anime and kawaii hehe Secara dari namanya aja uda roti, gw uda napsu nih. I'm Aris and I'm a bread addict :p Tapiiii gw makannya bukan di Pejaten, gw makan ini di Gandaria City :)

The place is nice! Dibagi 2 area, area take away en area dine in. Di tempat take away itu bisa milih2 bermacam2  roti panggang yang sangat sangat sangat menarik. Kemudian decor nya didominasi light brown wooden furniture with a touch red. Very eye catching and cozy.

The food:
1. Matcha Honey Toast with Matcha and Ogura Ice Cream (Rp.27.273)

Gw pesen salah satu menu spesial nya... This kind of toast is not common. The best one is by En Dining and their's was really really good. Toast nya sendiri menurut gw enak! Garing tp ga kering... Kemudian kulit luar nya roti yang berbentuk kotak itu juga garing. Sebenernya gw malah lebi suka makan kulitnya hehe Sayang sekali isi nya yang menurut gw kurang maksimal. Alasannya? Simpel... Pelit bener eskrimnya!!!! Kayanya pake scoop yang gedean juga masi untung gede deh -_- Rasa eskrim nya dicampur honey en roti nya seh pas ya. Ogura ice cream nya kurang ok, ato mungkin terlalu dikit kali ya. Karena rasa ogura ga se mencolok rasa matcha jadi kalo dimakan sama rotinya jd kurang berasa gitu.

Overall I like this place... Of course the menu could do some improvements but this is not a high end eatery. Harganya terjangkau, tempat nya bagus dan kualitas makanannya cukup lumayan. Buat tempat nongkrong-nongkrong gitu pas banget :)

 Partner in Crime, Asmet :) 

Rating: 6.5/10
Location: Gandaria City, Jakarta

So... It's time for the verdict... The winner is... Roppan!!!!!!!!!!!!! As I said, dining is about the experience. Magnum Cafe maybe an eight in terms of ambiance but Roppan is a well rounded place with affordable price :)

Dimana-mana Makanan

Chicken Noodle by dr. B

Mie Kadut Pertama (Hayam Wuruk, Jakarta)

Yummy!!! Clean taste, not too oily. Perfect noodle texture, super pricey....

Nasi Galung (Muara Karang, Jakarta)

A plate of rice with cabbage, stir fried bee-hon, potatoes and salted fish. Yummy :) Spicy and refreshing without that "eneg" flavor like in Nasi Padang.

The rendang is also good, tender and juicy. Yummyyyy

Katsusei

Hellllloooooooooooooo patients!!!!! It's been a while :) 

I've been sooo busy the last couple of months.Moved to Depok, stayed in Jogjakarta and finishing my med study :) Things are better now, at least not as hectic as it used to be. I apologized patients for the lack of yummy updates but rest assured there will be lots and lots yummy food ahead :D

For the first review, dr. B gives u.... Katsusei!

I believe many of u had heard bout this place before... Located in Grand Indonesia, next to Toranomon, it's a place that specializes in Katsu food a.k.a Japanese fried food. Just like many many many Jakartans my age, we were raised basically on KFC and Hoka Hoka Bento. Both of them are on the top 3 of my favorite fast food chain. I remembered how I used to LOVE chicken katsu by HokBen (not anymore though, moved on to spring roll!! :p) 

When I browsed the menu for the first time in front of the restaurant a couple of years ago, I was shocked! Damn... This place is like PRICEY. So I decided, no Katsusei for me unless they give 50% discount. Finally, God answered my prayer and give 50% discount using Mandiri Card (the one I borrowed from my dear Uncle Apau hehehe)

The outer part of the restaurant radiates a calming, mysterious yet posh charm that lures every passerby. Once you enter the restaurant, you'll see a very neat seating placements, divided by glass wall decorated by ceramic bowls. The decor is your garden variety minimalist and dark ambiance. For me, it's just ok. Nothing special here. The ceramic bowl on glass wall is... tacky. The open kitchen is too close to the dining area and they kinda miss the japanese details on the table. 

After u order , u will be given some pots of dressing. There are two types of dressings I remembered, the sour one (imagine italian dressing japanese style) and the savoury one (thousand island with japanese touch). Besides the dressing, they also give a big pot of sauce for the katsu. I dunno the name but they sure taste yummy! U will also be given a bowl of tare (sesame seed) to be mixed with the katsu sauce. U are supposed to ground the sesame seed according to ur liking. Cute huh? I love that part for sure hehehehe

Move on to the main course.... 

1. Shrimp and Pork Sirloin Katsu Set (Rp. 195.000)

Two giant Shrimp Katsu and a big chunk of pork sirloin katsu. The presentation, Love it! Served on a tray filled with japanese rice, some sort of japanese pickles, japanese salad, and miso soup. The rice, perfect! Pour the dressing and just finish it!!! The cabbage was fresh and crisp. I prefer the savoury/salty dressing but I suggest u mix it and find ur perfect dressing. Now the soup... The waiter offered two soups. The first one being miso soup and the other is a different miso style soup but with pork bits and carrots. I tried both of them and loved them both. The miso is yummy, a bit salty but I do love salty food. The pork soup is heaven. Period. YUMMY!!!!!! The soup was brothy, meaty and sweet. Love, love, love it.

Next the katsu. After the first bite, I made my judgement. The best katsu I ever had in my life. The prawn katsu consists of two prawns each. The prawns were fresh and sweet, I didn't get any rash (I'm allergic to non fresh prawns) so I think it's very good. The pork sirloin... Just melted in my mouth. It was tender, it was juicy, fried to perfection. Yummylicious!! Dip it into the tare sauce and u'll have another salty kick to ur already awesome katsu. *drooling while writing this*

2. Chicken Katsu Nabe Set (Rp. 130.000)

I opted for chicken to try how the chicken dish tastes like. The katsu nabe set is served on a tray, similar to the katsu set. The nabe was placed on a hot plate so it maintained it's hotness. The chicken katsu is drenched is some brown liquid and topped with egg. Oh geez.... It's an oyako-don but minus the don. Another cooked to perfection chicken katsu. I love how the sauce didn't take the excitement away from the chicken. After all, it's a chicken dish, not an egg + sauce dish. The portion is big enough for two girls I think, especially since it's quite salty so u need rice to eat it with. Yummy :)

We were given some sort of japanese tea after the meal to wash the oil. Well the taste is... tea. But it actually wash the oil at my throat :)

Love the food here!! Definitely wanna go back.... Too bad it's really really overpriced. I know it's a high-end restaurant but come on... 130k for a chicken dish... It's too expensive...Aside from the high price and the tacky decor, I have nothing to complain. The food is yummyyyyy :)

Meet Asmet, he's the one that order extra rice to finish those katsu hehe

Rating: 8/10

Location: Grand Indonesia, Jakarta