Lost in Bangkok 2016 - Part 1

This is a VERY LATE post of my Bangkok trip in June 2016. Yes I'm back in Bangkok babyyyy

Bangkok is one of my favorite destination. First, it is quite affordable there. In some areas, it is cheaper than Jakarta. Transportation is cheap and easy, locals are very tourist friendly, hotel price is cheap and I loveee the food.

Long story short, let's begin the food parade...

First stop in Bangkok, Terminal 21

 This pork satay (10 THB) is located on the basement near the main lobby. TO DIE FOR! Thai's pork satay is tender, flavorful and not the tiniest foul pork smell ever occured. Love love love

Oyster omellete, my favorite food court item in Bangkok. The best I've tried so far is the one at Platinum Fashion Mall food court. The watermelon juice (30 THB) is like drinking sugar water, SUPER SWEET yet no sugar was added, yummmm

This time, I stayed at Movenpick Hotel on Sukhumvit Soi 15. It was a very pleasant stay! I love the hotel. The room is spacious, modern yet homey. Location is great, along the super busy Sukhumvit Road and there's a shuttle to Terminal 21 (5 minutes walk). BTS Station is located at Terminal 21 so it's around 3-5 minutes on foot. The breakfast spread is quite good. Pastry station needs some improvement but Egg Station and Cheese/Salad Station was yummmm

Next stop is The Common. The Common is an open air/mini mal consisting of many many restaurants and bars. A very hip and cool place in Bangkok. Went there quite late and were very hungry. I took the BTS and get of at Thonglor Station. IMO, it was still a loooonggg walk. Tips: Stick to taxi not BTS. Just in front of Thonglor Soi 17 where The Common resides, there's a noodle stall. It was very tempting so I decided to give it a try, the right decision.

Noodle (50 THB) was warm and flavorful. Fragrant soup, umami bursting on every sip. Thin noodles with explosive soup, perfect.

I finally reached The Common and very confused, too many options. Decided to try Pepina, an italian restaurat recommended by many food blogger. Well, pasta and pizza never fails right?

The pizza dough was different than any other dough I've tasted before. It was rather chewy. Strangely, it goes well and tasted gooddd. Love the pancetta and the mozzarela and some other cheese which name I forgot. 

The baked rigatoni was divine! Creamy silky gooey cheesy.... YUMMYLICIOUS!!!

SabX2 Wonton Noodle

A very famous noodle joint in Pratunam Area. U could easily search google maps and find its location. From Fashion Mall Platinum, go across the road (Petchaburi Soi 19) It's the small alley next to Shibuya Shopping Mall. Just ask around where Soi 19 is, walk for around 100 M, the restaurant is the one on your right. I found it strange since the place is full of tourist that the waiter can't communicate in English. Using hand gestures, I managed to order a bowl of noodle. The noodle is good, but nothing really special IMO. It's a hongkong style noodle, thin long yellowish noodle with many toppings (pork included) I just don't get the hype but well it is good and worth trying.

So that's all people, will tell you more on my next post... Hint: BEST authentic thai dish I've ever tried

Olivier

Hey guys, I bet by now all of Indonesia has already familiar with Olivier, thanks to the super sensational murder by poison case a while ago... Well, apart from the overnight sensation, Olivier has become one of my new favorite place to eat in 2015. Yes people, it's damn good!

Being a member of the same group with Loewy and Union, they share similar vibe. The vintage decor, the neat servers (and the rudeness too) and the upscale-ish ambiance which attracts Jakarta's trendiest to come running. With the concepts of serving an asian/france fusion casual fine dining, Olivier has a balance offering on both asian food and french food. Personally, I don't have high hopes in a place that serves fusion dish, let alone a restaurant that serves two types of dishes distinctively. Well, I was proven wrong.

Complimentary bread

Crispy crust, warm bread and such delightful spicy butter. Perfect 

 

Roast Chicken with Ratatouille and Mashed Potato (125K IDR)

Hands down the best mashed potato ever! Silky smooth, creamy and buttery. Oh so so so damn good! Chicken is quite big, flavorful and juicy. Served on top oh some sort of juz? Another spot on cooking I might say... The chicken was fragrant, tender and I can really taste a combination of herbs from the chicken, nice..

 Dory Meuniere A La Grenobloise, Sauteed French Beans and Cherry Tomatoes (130K IDR)

This dish is good but missing the oomph factor. Everything was spot on somehow forgetable. Maybe it's lacking seasoning?

Chicken Wings with Spicy Marinade (70K IDR)

Another nicely executed dish but lacking the oomph factor. Sure the chicken was crispy and the dips was good but I feel the dish lost the connection to the dips, resulting in a nice and crispy wings but lack in flavor.

After this visit, I came back to Oliver a couple of months ago. I tried the pork belly/pork knuckle for sharing and it was so good! Yummmmm The pork was super tender, skin falling of the meat like cray cray

Recommended place to grab a hearty meal and s chic place to hang out with your dearest. Price is a bit pricey but worth every penny. See you in another time patients

Rating: 8.5/10

Location: Grand Indonesia West Mall GF

Lost in Hongkong : Part 3

Hello again patients!!! I'm back for the thirs installment of Lost in Hongkong series. A little bit of recap, I went to Hongkong for a couple of days last month. So here I am, sharing all the stories and of course.. the Yummy food...

Hari ke 2 di Hongkong, hari Senin. Schedule hari ini adalah ke Ngong Ping Village. Eiitsss jangan seru dulu... belom sarapan bos! Jadilah pagi pagi di hari Senin, gw muter di daerah Nathan Road buat mencari makan pagi... Muter muter muter, setelah muter dan bingung mau makan apa, gw masuk ke sebuah kedai kopi ala Hongkong (yang tentunya penuh sama orang Hongkong asli)

Setelah pengalaman kmrn yang kita disuru duduk semeja sama stranger, kali ini uda ga kaget. Kita didudukin di sebuah meja bulet kecil yang isi nya 4 orang enci enci lagi gosip seru. Berhubung laper... Bodo amat lah yawwww, kita asik aja melototin menu buat mesen.

Milk tea

Milk tea adalah salah satu minuman paling populer di Hongkong. Setiap kita sarapan, pasti ditawarinnyan selalu teh nya sepet abis! Ga kaya thai tea yang cenderung aromatic dan manis, Hongkong milk tea lebih TEH alias pahit tapi creamy.

Instant Noodle Soup with Pork Chop and Luncheon Meat

Yes people yes!!! They serve pork chop as breakfast!!!! Praise Hongkong!!!! Porsi nya guede, kuah nya biasa aja cenderung tawar tapi pork chop nya donk... Yummm.... Ini sih bfast seri premium klo gw liat di menu nya tp ya sudah lah, kapan lagi toh?

Instant Noodle Soup with Pork Chop and Sausage

Sodara kembar nya yang di atas, cuma beda topping doank. Sekedar info, harga makanan di Hongkong tidak terlalu mahal. Untuk sarapan pagi ini, total kerusakan kurleb 50-60 HKD (lupa) jadi sekitar... 90 ribu IDR. Cukup murah kan??

After breakfast, we go straight to Ngong Ping Village. From our hotel in Yau Ma Tei, we have to take the MTR Red Line to Lai King then exchange to Yellow Line to Tung Chung Station. In Tung Chung station, we take a cable car ride to Ngong Ping Village. Skip the glass bottom cable car since it is more expensive. The usual cable car is good enough IMO.

Take a look around and enjoy the scenery... In the middle of the cable car trip, look for the giant buddha statue. It's majestic!!! Anyway, u can hike your way to Ngong Ping but it is something that I would never do, so damn far.

Upon arriving in Ngong Ping Village,  we will be given the souvenir photos they took when we sat on the cable car. Again... Not important..

Ngong Ping Village is a man made mock village, consistings of souvenir shops and cafes. I gotta admit, the souvenirs sold here are pretty. No wonder they charge a lot for them.. If you visit Ngong Ping Village, don't forget the 4D show of the Buddha's life biography. 

Walk along the village, we will reach the Po Lin Monastery, The biggest and most popular buddhist site in Hongkong. You can take the hundreds stair to get closer to the Gigantic Buddha statue. Sorry. but I can't move my legs anymore :p

The Po Lin Monastery is a beautiful monastery, I enjoyed walking around the monastery while burning the insence. Somehow, this activity calmed me down and lift my mood. Super cool!!

Enjoy the fresh air and the beautiful natural surroundings of the monastery before heading back to the busy city once again :) See you in the next post patients.

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

Bulgogi Brothers

Fresh from the oven patients!!!!! Just yesterday, I had this early dinner at Bulgogi Brothers. A new korean restaurant in Lotte Shopping Avenue. At first, I planned to try Menya Ramen but unfortunately they only accept cash payment (it's 2013 man, nobody carries cash anymore). Luckily, I found Bulgogi Brothers to fix my hunger asap.

I heard about this place a while ago but wasn't interested to try at that time. The place itself is very casual. Heat conduction stove, cubicles of tables and sofas, more like fastfood join IMO. The menu.. quite interesting.. Offering many kinds of bulgogi, I was intrigued.

Banchan (Appetizer)

The food:
1. Bulgogi Brothers Special (400 Gr/Rp. 275.000)
A combination of Unyang and Gwangyang style bulgogi. Relax... I also don't know the difference. All I know is they come from two different regions. The Unyang Bulgogi is made from minced beef and shaped into heart shape. The Gwanyang Bulgogi comes from the southern province of korea made with Gwangyang sauce, mushroom, garlic, sweet potato and onion.

For me, I prefer the Gwangyang. The Unyang is minced, resulting in a rather mushy beef patty which is not my thing. The taste of both the bulgogi is okay, nicely seasoned with subtle sweetness and balanced. The bulgogi is cooked by the waiters so I guess they are trained to cook the beef while preserving its juicyness.

2. Haemul Pajeon (Rp. 109.000)
Korean style pancake with green onion and seafood. Resembles japanese okonomiyaki without the bonito flakes and the creamy mayo. This dish is tasteless without the pickled dip. Lots of seafood going on that pale pancake but once u sprinkle the dipping sauce, the dish comes alive.

I do think Bulgogi Brothers can survive the harsh battle of restaurants in Jakarta. Affordable price (in korean resto standard of course), nice flavor that is not too oily and too overwhelmingly delicious and great service.

Rating: 7/10
Location: Lotte Shopping Avenue, Jakarta

Publico

Heading to South Area! Senopati/Suryo/Wolter Monginsidi area has been known as Jakarta hot spot. A place where new trendy upmarket eateries established every day. This post, I'm going to share about Publico. A place that was once THE trendy place to dine (now the throne has been passed to Cacaote). I actually planned to go to Cacaote but since the place was still closed (it was 11.30 on a Sunday!) I change my destination and went across the road to Publico.

The place was cool! America 1920, has a resemblance with Tin Pan Alley.  Industrial decor seems to be very popular nowadays. The dining area is on the second floor so u need to get on the stairs. Thick heavy sofas facing the walls and metal furniture for the middle area. I love the place! It's artsy, it's classy and it is SEXY.

The food:
1. Creamy Smoked Scallop Spaghetti (Rp. 80K)

Divine! One of the best pasta I've ever had. It's creamy, it's full of flavors, it's elegant and the best thing is... quite a big portion! Very satisfied with this dish. The scallops were fresh and sauteed perfectly, pasta is al dente and cream sauce is oh so velvety creamy yummylicious.

2. Valrhona Mars Bar

Yummyfuckinglicious!!! Sinfully delicious! Smooth and creamy chocolate mousse with caramel sauce and candied peanuts, served cold. The combination of chocolate, nuts and caramel is perfect! Not too sweet that u want to vomit after the first bite but just enough sweetness to make u smile and be happy la la la la..

Ice Peach Tea

Latte

A very nice lunch on a hot sunday afternoon. Will come back for more, ASAP!

Rating: 8/10

Location : Jl. Suryo, Kebayoran Lama.

Garcon

Hari ini mari kita mencoba mengulas makanan dengan bahasa Indonesia yang baik dan benar :) Apa kabar pasien ku tercinta, jumpa lagi dengan saya dr. B. Semoga pasien sekalian tidak bosan bosannya membaca ulasan kuliner di blog saya ini.

Pada kesempatan kali ini saya akan mengulas sebuah bistro di Plaza Senayan. Garcon, sebuah tempat yang menyebut dirinya sebuah bistro. Apakah bistro itu? Istilah Bistro berasal dari Perancis, digunakan untuk menyebut sebuah tempat untuk makan (restoran) yang menyajikan makanan yang sederhana dengan harga yang terjangkau. Agak ironis memang karena apabila sebuah tempat memiliki kata bistro di dalamnya di Jakarta, otomatis harga nya melambung jauh karena dengan embel embel bistro tempat tersebut menjadi terkesan mewah dan elegan.

Setelah saya memesan, pelayan membawakan sebongkah roti perancis dan sepotong mentega. Uh la la.... Serasa di Paris. Kualitas roti nya... biasa saja. Kulitnya cenderung keras (seperti roti perancis pada umumnya), konsistensi agak kenyal dan cukup sulit dipotong maupun disobek. Walaupun begitu, roti dan mentega adalah duet maut yang tidak pernah gagal membuat saya tersenyum setelah memakannya.

Untuk snack berikutnya saya memesan Almond Croissant (Rp. 22.000) sebuah pastry yang tampak sangat menggiurkan. Tidak seperti croissant pada umumnya, lapisan luar nya sangatlah keras, sungguh sesuatu yang di luar standard croissant yang cenderung renyah. Rasanya yang tidak terlalu manis membuat saya bingung menikmati pastry ini. Seharusnya Almond Croissant manis dan ringan namun versi Garcon cenderung berat dan tawar....

Sebagai menu utama saya memesan Grilled Baby Chicken. Tampilan nya unik walaupun saya sempat terkejut melihat BESARnya porsi yang disajikan. Rasa ayam nya lezat dengan bumbu yang meresap dan daging yang sangat empuk. Sayang sekali porsinya yang mungkin lebih cocok untuk anak-anak.

Satu hal yang sangat saya suka dari Garcon adalah suasananya. Pelayannya ramah, sigap dan perhatian namun tidak menganggu privasi. Banyak tersedia stop kontak sehingga saya bisa mengisi ulang batere ponsel. Decor nya sangat modern dan sexy, asyik untuk tempat berkumpul dan berkencan dengan kekasih tercinta.

Rating:
7/10
Location: Plaza Senayan

Tsurukamedou

Hey patients. how's your day? Today I'm gonna post a review of Tsurukamedou. Ramen boom started 2-3 years ago in Jakarta. The pioneer is the one and only ramen 38. People would queue for a bowl of authentic Japanese noodle. Then... Come Hakata Ikkousha.. The one place in Jakarta where people would wait for hours standing in front of the small restaurant just to get ramen. Thank god I live like 200 m from Hakata so I could come near closing time and enjoy my ramen queue free :)

Tsurukamedou is a the last big name in Jakarta ramen scene. As a late bloomer, Tsurukamedou certainly in a huge disadvantage. Opening the one and only branch in Taman Ratu area, this ramen offers a different kind of ramen.

The ramen is plated (or bowled in this case) differently than the other. The half boiled egg is served on a different plate than the ramen. Firstly, the ramen. This noodle, a bit fragile IMO, resembles hongkong noodle. A bit different to the usual rather chewy ramen. Toppings are beansprouts and scallion. Soup a bit thick and dominated with the taste of fermented beans (Miso?) Meat is great, tender juicy and yummy. This rather unusual combination in a ramen is a bit distracting for me. I just can't enjoy a fresh crunchy beansprouts with warm salty thick soup. Doesn't make sense for me. As for the ramen and meat, acceptable.

Pork Gyoza is good but not great. A bit too oily for my liking. 

Japanese fried rice with pork. A plate of happiness! Yummyliciousss. The rice is cooked perfectly, not too dry and not too soggy. Pork toppings in moderate amount, doesn't overpower the rice. Addictive!

Overall, a place u should try. Maybe for a different ramen experience.

Location: Taman Ratu
Rating: 7/10