Lost in Japan : Osaka - Part 2

Astagaaaa dah bulan Juni ajeeee --" Setelah bersemangat update blog di April, gw mulai kembali dengan kemalasan tingkat dewa di bulan Mei. Well life kinda sucks at May :( Anyway, mari kita lanjutkan Japan travel post series nyaaa

Hari ke 2 di Osaka schedule nya adalah ke Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan dan ke Nara. Abis itu as usual kulineran ajee. Nah karena super pemalas, kita baru bangun jam 8 trus beres2 keluar apato jam 9 an. Ke Osaka Aquarium ini agak ribet dan cukup jauh, lokasi nya sih di pinggir laut gitu... Dari apato kita yang deket Shin Osaka Subway Station naek Midosuji Line turun di Hommachi trus ganti Chuo Line turun di Osakako Station. Perjalanan kurleb 25 menit naek subway. Abis itu jalan kaki yang lumayan jauh menurut gw ke Osaka Aquarium nya, lempeng doank sih dari Osakako Station itu dan ga bakal nyasar karena banyak sign dan rombongan orang-orang mengarah ke sana.

Begitu sampe ke ujung jalan baru deh keliatan itu gedung nya yang gede dan kerennnnn! Karena blm bfast, kita makan dulu di mal kecil sblm masuk ke aquarium nya. Yah, ada kaya food court gitu deh yang penuh sama turis2 yang mau ke aquarium. Pesen KFC dan seporsi katsudon. Berhubung foto KFC nya blur jadi tidak diupload yaaaa. Oh ya, tiap kali ke luar negeri, gw usahakan untuk makan KFC atau McD buat bahan perbandingan aja sama yang di Indo :p Norak ya? hahahah Anyway... KFC nya ga enak, enakkan indo jauh! Dan mahal, 1 paket 70-80 ribu

Nah begitu ampe depan Osaka Aquarium, langsung cari aja counter buat beli tiket masuk nya. Harga tiket nya 2300 JPY atau kurleb 300 ribu rupiah, agak mahal sih tp worth every penny! I do love this kind of place. Ga tau kenapa demen aja gitu ngeliat binatang, apakah itu aquarium atau kebon binatang.

Seperti aquarium laennya, masuk nya ada jalur nya dan kita bakal muterin exhibit sesuai area asalnya. Misal nya pas pertama-tama itu ada exhibit otter (berang-berang) yang area nya dibuat serupa aslinya. Trus masuk lagi ke dalem dan ada exhibit amerika utara misalnya, nahhh segala macem ikan yang aslinya dari sana ada di situ. Tempatnya sangat rapih (maklum deh ya Jepang gitu) dan info nya cukup jelas. Petugas2 yang ada juga cukup informatif dan full of smile. IMO lebih bagus dari S.E.A Aquarium nya Singapore. Service bagusan ini jauh, ukuran juga lebih gede dan somehow lebih menyenangkan gitu atmosfirnya.

Exhibit utama nya adalah tank super besar di tengah2 yang kalo diputerin mungkin tinggi nya ada kali 4 lantai. Isinya hiu-hiu, ikan gede gede, manta ray dan pari pari lainnya sama... Whale Shark! Yessss people, whale shark yang gede itu, so majestic. Hypnotizing kalo liat aquarium kaya gini tuh, kinda makes you realize that you are just a small person in this huge world :)





Oh ya, jangan lupa check out souvenir storenya, bagus2 dan ga tralu mahal kok hehehe

Next... Himeji!

Awalnya sebenernya gw pengen ke Nara, kan lucu ya liat2 rusa gitu... Tp akhirnya setelah ada info kalau di Nara kurang bagus, akirnya kita ke Himeji buat ngeliat the most beautiful castle in Japan. Jalan ke Shimeji... Cek aja hyperdia deh untuk tujuan Himeji Station, gw juga blindly follow hyperdia. Bisa naek local train bisa naek shinkansen. Waktu pergi nya sih gw naek local train sesuai arahan si hyperdia hehehe

Sampe di Himeji Station, udah keliatan di kejauhan tuh castlenya. Himeji sebenernya kota kecil yang relatif lebih damai dan tenang dibandingin Osaka apalagi Tokyo. Suasananya santaiii banget dan banyak turis yang mau ke Himeji Castle ini. Kita bisa jalan kaki lurus doank ke arah Himeji atau bisa naek bus yang muterin Himeji Castle dengan harga 100 JPY. Tentu saja kita naek bussss, pegellll Naek busnya tinggal liat aja deh dari depan stasiun nya byk halte bus, liat aja bus yang tulisannya Himeji Castle, busnya ga tralu gede dan keliatan kaya bus turis gitu.

As I mention earlier, gw ga suka ke castle atau kuil sebenernya, jadi tujuan utama ke sini adalah liat dan foto doank. Masuk ke dalem ada taman yang mengelilingi castle dan foto2 di lapangannya. Abis itu pulangggg :p

Bagus banget sih castle nya, putih gitu. Menurut info, castle ini awet dari zaman dulu karena tidak pernah kena serangan atau diancurin, jd utuh lah dia dari zaman dulu.. Banyak sakura blossom disini yang membuat view nya jadi makin bagus.. Kinda romantic seeing the white castle and the white-pink cherry blossom, only in Japan.

Pulang dari sana, kita jalan kaki karena mau santai2 aja.... Setelah jadwal yang cukup hectic dari tokyo, di Osaka lebih nyantai dan menikmati Jepang. Jalan-jalan eh nemu oma-oma jualan steam oyster yang satu nya 500 JPY. Behhhh enak benerrrrr, fresh seafood really is the best! Ternyata sepanjang jalan ke station itu byk toko toko kecil yang isi nya lucu lucu. Blm lagi banyak jajanan (ini yang paling penting) jd nya banyak stop nya ahahaahha Sampe sampe di station udah jam 6 sore dan langsung mengarah ke Osaka.

Bingung kan ya mau makan apa... pas ngelewatin Kobe, mikir apa mampir Kobe makan kobe beef... Dah lah ntar ntar aja mudah2an next bisa balik ke Jepang dan mampir Kobe :) The cool thing about travelling to Japan is u can hop off on every city and explore. Karena transport nya yang gampang dan murah, kalo mau pindah2 kota yang tinggal naek kereta apa. Bisa ke Kobe, Kyoto, Nara, Himeji atau ke kota-kota laen di deket2 Osaka, asik kannn. Coba di Jakarta... Mau ke Depok ato Bekasi gitu??? Keburu jenggotan baru nyampe

Terdamparlah kita akhirnya di Osaka Station. Osaka station atau Umeda ini adalah salah satu city centre nya Osaka selaen Dotonbori atau Namba. Jadi make sure to visit these two place when visiting Osaka. Umeda ini lebih kaya CBD area nya, byk high rise building dan mall. Jd turun dari Osaka Station kita bingung mau kemana, akirnya karena sudah cape dan dah malem juga, kita memutuskan masuk mall dan makan di resto di dalem aja. Mall di Jepang kan ga gede gede banget ya kaya Grand Indonesia tapiii lantai nya banyak. Bisa 10-20 lantai tergantung mall nya. Terus semua mall terhubung sama station, jd mabok gitu hadeh mau ke mall yang mana ya, dikelilingi mall kan bingung yaaa

Masuk lah kita ke salah satu mall di situ yang namanya gw dah lupa dan naik ke lantai berapa belas nya buat ke food area nya. Oh ya, biasa nya area restoran di mall ada di lantai atas dan 1 lantai isinya restoooo semua. Dan gila nyaa ngantriii semuaaa. Gw ga ngerti lagi deh sama orang Jepang, kok dimana mana ngantri gituuuu. Dan makanannya ga murah, rata-rata gw liat bisa 2000 JPY seorang... Setelah bingung makan apa akirnya kita makan buffet namanya Platinum kalo ga salah dan seorang kena 2500 JPY. Abis nya dah eneg banget sama japanese food, we need french fries asap!

Well that's the end of our second day in Osaka, see you againnn

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

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

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

Cin Yen

I'm on fire! Another post in less than a week :)

So today I'm hitting a little closer to home. Cin Yen restaurant is a chinese food place in Pantai Indah Kapuk area. I've passed through this place like a million times and wasn't interested at all. Then, some insta-friends recommended this place, saying they have the best fried pork belly. Keyword: Pork. Next thing I knew, I dragged mami to grab a dinner after office.

The place is packed! I went there not long after lebaran so maybe it's a bit biassed since everyone is eating out... Located in a shophouse, the place is not big. They try to maximize the space by building a semi permanent tent at the parking lot, even with that there is still a long queue.

The food is typical Indonesian chinese food with strong influence from Medan. One of their signature is kwetiaw goreng. A dish that medan chinese can't live without. Cin Yen's is subtle in flavor but fragrant and perfect in texture. The type of dish u can have for like 3 plates and feel nothing. Yummy :)

Come the pork belly!! The pork belly is served with a green liquid chili. The pork itself is not as good as I expected. Just okay IMO, I had better. It's not that crispy and juicy that you can't stop munching piece by piece. One thing that differs it from the other is the chili. The green chili has lime leaves and some other aromatics infused, accentuate and give the plain pork the kick it needs to shine.

The surprise came in the next dish, Ayam Tangkap. It's basically fried chicken (free range one I thing) mixed with aromatics and chili. YUMMY!!! Bold flavor, a hint of spicyness and crispy chicken. Recommeded.

I tried some other dishes like Fish Maw Soup with Fish Ball and Cin Yen Tofu Seafood. The soup is good, typical MSG infused chinese style soup which never fails. The waiter said that the tofu was made by Cin Yen. I don't know how they make it but It kinda lean more towards steamed egg than tofu.. Very eggy and soft tofu with spicy sauce which needs salt desperately.

Will I come back? Maybe :)

Rating: 7/10
Location: Pantai Indah Kapuk, Near Waterbom

Beautika

Back to Jakarta patients!!!!

Holiday is over and I am so so so sad :(  But life must go on and tummy has to be filled. Meet Beautika, a perfect example of no pain no gain.

Beautika is a reputable manado restaurant in Central Jakarta. I've known this place for a few years but haven't been a loyal customers since lately. Pluit/Muara Karang area is not exactly where Manadonese people live so it's kinda hard to find a good Manado restaurant here. The one that i actually good, called Rampa Rampa is coming to an end I think.

I wouldn't blabber much in detail since basically this place serves BOLD, SUPER SPICY, YUMMY and AUTHENTIC Manado food. My fave would be the shredded cakalang rica (I think the name is rabe rica) One fucking spicy and yummy dish. Shredded smoked cakalang (blue fin tuna) buried in aromatics and chili. LOVE LOVE LOVE it

Another quality dish is their Ayam di Buluh, more aromatics than chili but still spicy to the max. Combine it with the rabe rica, resulting in chili high and a guaranteed multiple trip to the rest room.

The dessert are great too although a bit expensive. All of them are high quality Manado traditional cakes, greatly influenced by the Dutch when they Invided Indonesia hundreds of years ago.

Nougat Cake

Salad Buah

Last but not least, beware! You've been warned, spicy alert.

Rating: 8/10
Location: Hang Lekir, Jakarta (In front of Moestopo University)