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

Lost in Bangkok 2014 - Part 1

Hello patients. wassup!!!! It's been 5 months I guess from my last post, all thanks to my laziness, guilty. Since I am too lazy to give honest review about restaurants around J Town as usual, I'll be sharing my last holiday in Bangkok. Here we goooo

Last September, I went to Bangkok with a couple of friends. Since we are living in different countries and provinces, we decided to go on vacay in Bangkok. A vacation that was planned almost a year ago and yet Ratu Lebah didn't make it. Shame on you Ratu Lebah!

I and Nenek Lampir bought this really cheap CGK-DMK return ticket from Lion. Should've known better but we are so cheap we sacrifice everything for the ultra cheap 1.200.000 IDR ticket. We were fooled... The schedule is changed over and over again, we decided to get a refund for the DMK-CGK ticket. Booo!!!!

Anyway, Nenek Lampir and I arrived in Bangkok around nood and we went straight to our hotel. We stayed at Centara Watergate Pavilion Hotel. A new 4 star hotel around pratunam. Walking distance to Platinum, located steps away from Paladium Shopping Mall. The hotel itself is located on top of a shopping mall but not a very good one. I highly recommend the hotel, excellent service, affordable price and great location.

Nenek Lampir couldn't hold her excitement and forced me to have a mini tour while we're waiting for Ms. Momo and Fab Doctor to arrive. First, we grab some food. OMG we're starving... I took Nenek Lampir to the food court in Platinum. I love the place, cheap eats, authentic thai food and yummy!!

We went to Jim Thompson's House after lunch. Jim Thompson is a bule a.k.a caucasian (forgot where came from :p) who lived in Bangkok around the 50's. He was a rich guy and have good relationship with the royals of Bangkok. His house was amazing! Located on the riverside, the house is a combination of traditional Thai house with a touch of european elegance. We can see lots of antiques that Jim collected. The collection was impressive, ancient statues, ceramics and some ancient paintings that Jim recovered from all over Thailand.

Dr. B Tips: While travelling in Bangkok, don't be a cheapskate. Bangkok is even cheaper than Jakarta in terms of living cost. So grab a taxi or tuk tuk, don't waste your energy on the sky train. Short trip by taxi or tuk tuk cost around 100 baht (33.000 idr) You can share with friends so it is very very cheap. A trip using sky train cost around 50-100 baht, not that cheap right?

Later that evening, we went to dinner. Ms Momo and Fab Doctor had arrived around 7 PM. We decided to grab a bite in Central World Mall. Looking for a thai restaurant (i know, it's so cliche), we grab a random restaurant since Nara is full.

 
The food was good (not great) The taste is just okay, not much different from the ones in Jakarta. The som tum is excellent! This you can't find in Jakarta :( We ended the night at Vertigo, a sky bar on Banyan Tree Hotel. I'm not a huge fan of sky bar, it was just ok. Nothing special, just another dark and windy bar with pricey drinks.

Me - Nenek Lampir - Ms Momo - Fab Doctor

Last... I'll skip to breakfast. The next morning, after extensive googling, we decided to have breakfast in this little cafe called Cafe Tartine.  An expat place with pricey food. I was not impressed at all. The place is cozy but the food is sub par. Good coffee though :)

 Cafe Tartine - One meal and coffee costs around 200-300 THB

Okay patients see you around :)

Song Fa

Holaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

It's been ages since I wrote my last post :p Such a lazy blogger --" What's up patients? I bet life's good for all of you. After my Hongkong-Macau-Singapore trip post, I suddenly lost my will to blog.. So to apologize, let me take you the wonderful world of porky goodness

Meet Song Fa, the IT place to eat now in Pantai Indah Kapuk area. Located in the Ozone Mall, just across RS PIK, Song Fa has become the new PIK sensation. Originated from Singapore, Song Fa has already had some eager foodies buzzing, having tasted them in SG I think.

The place itself has no special decor, just your ordinary casual dining place. Very generic with light wooden furniture and simple minimal design. They are very confidence with the quality of their food and they were right.

The specialty of Song Fa is Bakut Teh. I am not a huge fan of bakut teh. The tea colored pork soup is a bit to herb-y for me. Then, someone told me that Song Fa's serves a different kind of bakut teh, a peppery clear soup. I was intrigued

The bakut teh is a clear pork based soup with a very strong pepper taste. The ribs is oh so fucking yummy! Super tender although the meat is thick, no porky smell or whatsoever and you can have your refilled! I was in love... Then.. I met pork ribs sexy sister... Pork kidney. Fuck... It is even better... I tried the pork kidney and pork tenderloin combination soup. Using the same soup, this combination is deadly. The creamy kidney combined with the super tender tenderloin which literally melts in my mouth...

Not only they serve a great soup, they also serves cakwe (dough fritters) which I think is designed to be eaten with the soup and a rather salty chicken feet with bean curd. LOVE the bean curd, gives a salty sting to the rather peppery dishes.

Downside, a bit too pricey. I think spending 100-150K per pax for a dinner with soup is too expensive. BUT, since the food is good, sometimes we should splurge a little.

Rating: 7.5/10
Location: Ozone Mall, Jakarta

Lost in Macau

Hey patients! Have u been to Macau? From Hongkong, I moved to Macau for a short one night trip. It's very common for Hongkong Tourist to travel to Macau since they are quite close. One thing that is interesting, in Macau, we can use Hongkong Dollar to pay for everything but not the other way around.. I wonder why...

Back to bahasa mode :) Dari hotel gw di daerah Yau Ma Tei, gw naik taxi ke ferry terminal. Gw cuma bilang sama supir taxinya (gw pake taxi karena jaraknya ga jauh dan biar ga repot cari cari aja sih...) Langsung deh sampe ke terminal ferry yang bawah nya mal. Kita langsung naik ke atas dan beli tiket ferry. Gw pake turbojet, tiket harga sekitar 250 HKD untuk one way economy class. Bisa aja sih beli yg VIP tp ga penting deh kayanya.... Nah abis beli tiket, kita antri imigrasi. Dari situ kita ke waiting lounge nya aja nunggu dipanggil. Nah di ferry terminal ini kurang rapih, agak sedikit membingungkan, jadi tanya2 aja sama orang orang disana. Tunjukin aja tiket nya dan tanya kita musti tunggu dimana.

Perjalanan dengan ferry ke Macau kurleb sejem, ga tralu lama apalagi kalo lagi cape, tinggal molorrr hehehe Buat yang ga mabok laut, siksaan batin sih secara goyang goyang gitu, kebawa ombak. Tapi overall, cukup nyaman lah.. Enakkan duduk di ferry daripada di low cost airline :(

Sampe di Macau, cuaca lebih dingin dari di Hongkong. Brrrr... Asik hihi Nah... terminal di macau lebih jelek lah intinya daripada di Hongkong. Turun ferry, langsung ke arah gerbang aja. Dari sana tinggal liat mana tuh bus bus dari hotel mewah di Macau parkir, tinggal naek deh. Moda transportasi umum di macau ga selengkap di Hongkong. Jadi kita manfaatkan saja bus gratis itu :)

Gw nginep di City of Dreams, Hard Rock Hotel. Kebetulan City of Dreams punya armada bus sendiri jadi gw tinggal naek en langsung nyampe ke sana. Shuttle bus jadwalnya juga enak , kayanya tiap 15 menit sekali deh. Jalanan pun bebas macet...

Sekilas Macau... Daerah nya berpulau pulau juga kaya Hongkong cuma ga serapih dan semodern Hongkong. Untuk hotel gw, lokasi nya di cotai, tepat di seberangnya Venetian yang hits bingits itu hehehe Di area itu isinya kompleks hotel super besar dan casino mewah yang baru. Selaen City of Dreams dan Venetian, Ada juga Galaxy dan Sands. Gila tuh Galaxy keren bener ya! Sayang harganya amit amit mahalnya...

Sampe di hotel kita langsung check in. Hotelnya cukup bagus walopun agak kurang mewah menurut gw. Di Hard Rock ini temanya nya rock star ya jadi ya gitu deh. More sexy less fancy... Di City of Dreams ini si Hard Rock yang paling murah walopun sama sama 5 stars, apa itu penyebabnya kamar mandinya kurang wow? Anyway... I love the hotel, sleek, simple and sexy.

ari hotel kita naek shuttle bus ke kota. Turun di Hotel Sintra, kita jalan kaki dengan tujuan ke St Paul Ruins (yang gw kaga tau dimana) Hp ga nyala karena sim card ga bisa dipake di Macau, free wifi agak busuk. Alhasil, gw ngasal aja jalan dengan pedenya, eh sampe juga hahahaa emank kecil sih kotanya, jadi don't worry too much.

Sampe di Senado Square, lapangan yang cukup gede sebelum sampe ke St Paul Ruins, foto foto dulu. Lalu ikuti keramaian jalan menanjak sampe ke St Paul. Gila dah kiri kanan jajanan semua, gw nyomot aja tuh samp;e dendeng di pinggir jalan, enak!

St Paul sendiri menurut gw nothing special ya, gitu gitu aja. Mendingan muter2 liat jajanan en souvenir di gang gang disana deh. Gw nyoba pork chop bun sama kuo tie di sebuah gang. Seru! Rasanya sih biasa biasa aja, cuma seru aja kan jajan panas panas live cooking di tengah dinginnya Macau hehe

Selain itu, jajanan khas Macau laennya adalah eggtart. Banyak banget yang display eggtart... Iman pun tergoda dan hap! langsung beli dan habiskannnn :p

Selesai dari sono, kita puter puter aja tanpa tau arah tujuan, dengan maksud cari Sintra hotel buat balik pake shuttle bus ke Hard Rock. Muter muter muter, laper... Nyari makanan bingung kok kayanya ga ada restoran yang buka. Bingung kan... Akirnya nemu sebuah resto chinese food deket Hotel Lisboa.

Makanannya... kurang oke.. Gw mesen nasi hainam, ayamnya kaya mentah, nasi nya biasa aja. Trus mesen babi asam manis, yummy :) Hati senang... Satu lagi pesen nasi goreng gitu, enak juga sih. Harga makanan di Macau agak mahal menurut gw, mgkn karena tempat ini turis bgt, jadi harga nya ya agak mahal. TAPI, kalo rokok atau minuman alkohol, murahhhhh bangettt. Gw dapet wine seharga 40 HKD (Rp. 64.000) bahkan ada wine yang harga nya 30 HKD saja.. Gila bisa mandi pake wine nih #lebayyy

Pemandangan malam di Macau sih mantep lah... Kasino warna warni, walopun kita ga judi tapi seneng aja ngeliatnya. U feel alive... Berhubung belum mampu ke Las Vegas, ya sudahlah kita ke Macau dulu saja...

Anyway, back to Hotel. Gw memutuskan untuk mencoba peruntungan di kasino bawah dan... GAGAL. Hiks... Seru sih ya di kasino, ngeliatin orang yang menang dan kalah judi, makin malem makin rame. It was a great experience I think. Trus jangan lupa, tidak boleh foto di kasino. Maklum norak, berfotolah kita di dalam kasino, ga ampe 5 menit didatengin dan disuruh hapus fotonya #malu

Malam masih panjan and it's time to have some fun! Di City of Dreams ada club yang konon paling hits di Macau yaitu Club Cubic. Masuknya bayar (damn gw pikir gratis) jadi tekor dahhh. Club nya keren sih... Gede, soundnya keren dan pemandangannya cihuyyy. Xiao Cie (baca: Gadis Cina) rok super mini kurang bahan bertebaran dimana-mana. Well, most of them are not free (baca: prostitutes) tapi cantiknya sih mantap, kalah dah artis... Sayang ni club lagunya top 40 tapi zaman 5 years ago.. Jadi kesannya kurang asik gitu, kaya club kota.

Di tengah malam sepulang nya dari Cubic, laper berat. Akirnya memutuskan buat mesen room service. The steamed minced pork was goooodddd, sayang mahal :( maklum sih room service.... Tapi enakkkk, jadi kepengen lagi nginep di Macau hehe

Keesokan harinya, gw bangun kesiangannnnnnn. Kacauuu... Gara2 clubbing dan supper, gw bangun jem 11 siang aja lho. Padahal itinerary gw jem 10 uda check out dan menjelajahi venetian hahaha  Saking nikmatnya tidur di Hard Rock, ampe kesiangan. Setelah buru2 mandi dan beres2, kita nyebrang ke Venetian. Venetian ini sih gede banget... Lebi gede dari City of Dreams padahal di City of Dreams ada 3 hotel (Hard Rock, Crowne dan Grand Hyatt). Karena waktu terbatas, kita buru2 foto foto trus masuk mallnya venetian buat cari makan. Uda ga sempet lagi deh muter2 ngeliat mall nya secara lengkap, we go str8 to food court. Ehhh Tuhan emank sayang padaku, tiba2 nemu Lord Stow's Bakery. Langsung aja gw beli eggtart buat jadi dessert abis makan hehe Anyway, egg tart nya enak! Tapi ya ga ampe kebawa mimpi sih seperti kata orang orang...

Makan di food court nya, juga enak! Gw order BBQ Rice pake babi dan bebek. OMG, that BBQ rice was YUMMYLICIOUS! Mahal sih seporsi ampir 100 HKD but worth every penny.. The Duck was sooo fragrant and juicy. Roast pork nya gede, juicy, gurih dan garing. I just died and went to BBQ heaven... Trus kita order juga sebuah makanan yang gw kaga tau namanya dari portuguese resto, semacam stew gitu deh. Rasanya sih mendekati curry tp less herb and spice, more creamy. Itu juga enakkkk yummmm love the food. Gila ya di food court aja enak apalagi di resto ya? (Apa gw nya aja emank rakus?)

Setelah termehek mehek sama tuh BBQ, gw cari shuttle bus buat ke ferry terminal. Oh ya, venetian ini shuttle bus nya banyak, jadi kalo mau jalan jalan, bisa memanfaatkan shuttle bus nya si venetian ini. Akhirnya... We're back to Hongkong!

See u in my next post patients, goodbye Macau!

Lost in Hongkong: Part 5

Day 3 in Hongkong!!!! Hello again patients, back to my Hongkong trip! Today's itinerary Disneylandddd, the happiest place on earth. Woohooooo
I didn't take pics of my breakfast that day :(

This is a chasiu steamed bun from a small stall near hotel. It was a perfect snack on a windy morning, yummyyyy

So let's jump to our first destination, Chi Lin Nunnery. From Yau Ma Tei MTR, take the green line and go to Diamond Hill Station. The Nunnery is just across the MTR exit (Hollywood Mall). To get to Chi Lin Nunnery, we went to Nan Lian Garden. Nan Lian Garden is a man made garden, manicured very beautifuly, it's like hidden paradise in Hongkong's concrete jungle. We walked around the garden and then go the Nunnery.

Chilin Nunnery is one of the biggest and historical temple in Hongkong. The location is at the mouth of a mountain, making it some sort of "gate" to the mountain. It was BEAUTIFUL!!! The ambiance is serene, mystical yet very comforting. I love love love temples...

We got back to Hollywood Mall and grab McD for lunch. Here it goes...

Wings Combo

Double Cheeseburger

I would say that the McD lunch is satisfactory. I like trying fast food places abroad. The taste is somehow different from Indonesia's fast food. The wings are good but a little bit expensive but everything is more expensive here right?

After lunch, we take a stroll at the mall and then went straight to Disneyland!!!!! 

To go to Disneyland, take the red line and then switch to yellow line at Lai King Station. From there, take the yellow line and switch to Disney Line at Sunny Bay Station. From there, there will be a special train to take you to Disneyland.

Disneyland was AWESOME!!! It is literally the dream of any children and adults :p The rides are fun and cute. I got on two roller coaster rides there, one is Space Mountin and the other one is Runaway Mine Cars. Geez... This is my first time and I'm not sure there will be a next time 

Anyway, other than the rollercoasters, the park is amazing. It's like entering dream world... :) Tips from me, go there late afternoon so you can catch the fireworks at 8 PM.

Back from Disneyland, we grab a bite in Flower Street, Mongkok and find this amazing small restaurant selling BBQ. Check it out

 

The chasiu is AMAZING!! Yummyfuckinglicious... Tender, Sweet and Savory at the same time, fragrant and really good texture. LOVE LOVE LOVE IT!

One thing to watch out when ordering food in Hongkong is the chicken. The usual pek cam ke or boiled chicken usually still has blood in the bones. Resulting in a tender chicken but tastes a bit raw. YUCK... The roast duck in the other hand, again... Yummyfuckinglicious

Each portion costs around 60-70 HKD but worth every penny