JenzCorner

Aug, 16 2008

Posted by jeny at 09:02 AM

Two weeks ago we had dimsum at Red Sapphire, a new chinese restaurant located at a new place called Pluit Junction. It looks glamorous from outside and nice from the inside. The walls are plastered with red wallpapers and Chinese poems written on them. A few pieces of Chinese antique furniture are scattered about. The dimsum menu consists of about 30 items to choose from. We picked mini egg tart (3pcs) 10.8K, prawn dumpling 13.8K, Xiao Long Bao 12.8K, chicken feet 10.8K, beef cheong fan 13.8K, prawn cheong fan 15.8K, char siew cheong fan 13.8K, siew mai 13.8K, taro cake 12.8K, chasiu pie 12.8K, duck dumpling 12.8K, fried prawn dumpling 13.8K, fried durian dumpling 20K, pork ribs with taro 12.8K. with Chinese tea (ti kuan yin) 5K. Overall, the dishes tasted above average & the price was moderate, but the service was quite slow. We had to wait for some time for every order to come to our table, especially our last order: fried durian dumpling, which took more than 30 minutes. Hopefully if we have the chance to return in the future, they would have already improved their service.

The Red Saphire
G/F, Unit 010-010b Pluit Junction
I Pluit Raya Street
North Jakarta, Indonesia
ph. +62(21) 66607332

Aug, 13 2008

Sate Khas Senayan Express

Posted by jeny at 09:05 AM

We had dinner with several friends at Sate Khas Senayan Express in Artha Gading Mall. I like the design that still uses traditional elements mixed with comtemporary lighting, making the restaurant looks fresh, while still retaining traditional style. The menu is simplified from Satay House Senayan with several additional rice menus. We ordered nasi pepes combo 41K, tongseng sate combo 60K, tahu telur sate combo 41K, sate ayam bumbu pedas combo 37K, nasi gudeg combo 29K, nasi begana combo 32K, es coklat kacang merah 15K, es campur 15K. The dishes' presentation was very nice. My nasi pepes tasted ok, although not as good as nasi pepes tante liana. My friend complained the her sate ayam blora was cold instead of hot. Other than these issues, the dishes were decent. Maybe next time we'll stick to their best dishes: satays and Tahu Telor. :)

Sate Khas Senayan Express
Mall Artha Gading
North Jakarta

Aug, 11 2008

Furama

Posted by jeny at 09:02 AM

Last month, we had dinner at Furama restaurant on Hayam Wuruk street. The place was very crowded, since there was a birthday party at that moment. Luckily, we managed to grab a spot as soon as we arrived. The menu was quite extensive. We ordered ayam garam crispy 46.7K, lapis kuping babi 28.8K, goreng jamur kulit tahu 28.8K, tim kaki ayam 8.8K, siew mai udang 11.8K, hakau udang 12.8K, udang goreng telur asin 58.8K, wong san cah fumak 43.8K, sapo terong furama 39.8K. Overall most of the dishes was only so so. Their dimsums were not fresh anymore, maybe they made it in the morning. I once read in Laksmi new Jakarta Good Food Guide that this place got the best udang telur asin in town, but it fell far short of the mark set by Liyen's signature dish. The sapo terong took ages to arrive. We had to ask several times and it finally came out after we have finished with our meals. :(

Furama
Jl. Hayam Wuruk No. 45
Central Jakarta 11160
ph. +62(21) 6257272
fx. +62(21) 6260163
furama-jkt@yahoo.com
www.furama-jkt.com

Aug, 09 2008

Huize Van Welly

Posted by jeny at 12:31 AM

3 weeks ago, we tried this small & stylish cafe inside Glow Store at Plaza Indonesia. It was a branch of the old Kemang stalwart. Although the place is not big, the interior is decorated in classic contemporary style. They have several cakes displayed in the counter, but there's not much to select from the menu. We ordered Du Hammam Tea (green tea, rose, green date and red fruit) 25K++ and from their dessert list we ordered chocolate profiterole (filled with stracciatella ice cream and caramel sauce) 45K++. I like the profiterole very much, with the ice cream containing coarsely ground peanuts. The tea was also good. Pricey, but worth my every rupiahs :D

Huize Van Welly
Patissier - Chocolatier - Glacier - Tea Room

The Papilion, 1st floor, Jl. Kemang Raya 45AA
ph. +62(21) 7191975, 7195737 fx. +62(21) 7181574

Glow, Plaza Indonesia, Ground Floor, #179
ph. +62(21) 3928305 fx. +62(21) 3928305

Jakarta, Indonesia
www.huizevanwelly.com

Aug, 07 2008

Simpang Tiga

Posted by jeny at 08:58 AM

Last month, we had a quick lunch at Simpang Tiga restaurant. It's a Padang restaurant that is very famous in North Sumatra. If you travel around North Sumatra by car, you'll find a lot of Simpang Tiga along the road that has become traveller stops and they serve decent Padangnese cuisine. However, I found this one to be quite contrary from my expectations. The interior of this restaurant is very glamorous and a bit tacky. The service is very friendly though. They didn't serve the dishes the way Padang restaurants usually do. We have to order what we want to eat. So we chose Gulai Otak 12K, Daun Ubi Tumbuk 8K, and Ikan Patin Asam Pedas 10K. SC was quite satisfied with the dishes since they weren't spicy at all. Their ikan patin asam pedas was quite delicious. But I'm disappointed because the dishes tasted too sweet for my preference. Maybe it was because they've adjusted the taste to suit Jakartan's taste. Since it was quite pricey, I think I won't be visiting this fancy Padang restaurant if I have other choices.

Simpang Tiga
Jl. Pluit Barat Raya No.1
North Jakarta
ph. +62(21) 66694237
www.restoransp3.com

Aug, 05 2008

Bamboo ID

Posted by jeny at 10:06 AM

On our way home, we stopped by Bendungan Hillir area to buy some Lumpia Semarang from Bamboo ID. I've tasted this lumpia before, but didn't have time to take a picture, since it vanished quickly right after I put it in front of my colleagues. So this time, I decided to take a picture first before eating it. Since both of us feel very full, we only bought 5 pcs (30K) home. At first I thought I can only eat 1 or 2 pcs, but I ended up eating 3 pcs (SC got 2). It was simply delicious. There were no hint of the smell normally associated with bamboo shoots that usually makes me hesitant to eat Lumpia Semarang. We definitely will be back. Hopefully, they will open a cafe soon, so we can eat the lumpia on the spot instead of taking it home first. :)

Bamboo ID
Jl. Bendungan Jatiluhur no. 74
Bendungan Hilir, Jakarta 10210
ph. +62(21) 7164-7131
www.bamboo-id.com

Operating Hours
Mon - Sat: 9:30 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Sun: Closed

Aug, 03 2008

Gourmet Garage

Posted by jeny at 06:22 PM

After our not so lucky experience at Dijan's, we decided to return to Gourmet Garage again. This time we're lucky as there were several empty spots in the small parking lot. Gourmet Garage is a combination of 3 restaurants: Jbay, Hiro, Sabaa & 1 supermarket in one roof. No wonder this place is always full. We chose to sit on the first floor at Jbay. After scanning the cake & ice cream selection, we ordered Hot Chocolate Melt Pudding 39K. The service was very nice compared to Dijan's, even though we only ordered 1 item (with no drink). About 15 minutes later our order came, a small chocolate cake accompanied by a waffle basket of vanilla ice cream + chocolate sauce. The taste was simply superb. The chocolate inside tasted like dark chocolate and it goes perfectly with the vanila ice cream & mint leaves.

We went back several weeks later and this time, we ordered three scoops of ice cream (12K each): chocolate chip, tiramisu & banana pistachio, and also ordered their apple tart. All of it are delicious. The chocolate ice cream was bitter as dark chocolate should be and the apple tart had a nice cinnamon aroma. We will be back again for their other menus when we have time :P

Gourmet Garage
Jl. Kemang Raya No.66
Jakarta 12720
ph. +62(21) 7190875, 719-0758
fx. +62(21) 719 7279

Aug, 01 2008

Dijan

Posted by jeny at 06:17 PM

After lunch, we decided to have dessert at some other place. I've heard/read somewhere that Gourmet Garage's ice cream & chocolate cake is delicious. Since we're near Kemang area, we immediately headed there. Unfortunately, when we arrived, the parking lot was so full. So we went to Dijan instead for pannekoek & planned to return later if we're still hungry. Contrary to the situation at Gourmet Garage, Dijan was empty. We're the only customer there. I like the interior of this place, it was an old colonial house turned into a restaurant. We only ordered a potion of Pannekoek (small) 25K with mineral water, and then I saw that they also had a hot chocolate cake, so I ordered it. The waiter asked us twice as if he can't believe that we only wanted to order desserts.

Our pannekoek came first. It was only so so, not bad, but not good either. After finishing the pannekoek, we waited and waited and waited for our next dessert, but after more than half an hour, nothing came out from the kitchen. Then I asked them & they said that we didn't make it clear that we wanted chocolate cake too, so they didn't prepare it. I was quite annoyed, so we quickly paid and left. Definitely not going to return. :(

Dijan's
Jl. Kemang Selatan No. 102A
South Jakarta
ph. +62(21) 7179 3538

Jul, 31 2008

Boka Buka

Posted by jeny at 06:14 PM

Last month, we want to have something fancy for lunch and decided to try out French dishes. So we head out to Coquelicot on Puri Mutiara Raya. Unfortunately, it was closed for a private party. So we turned to another restaurant on Cipete Raya: Boka Buka. The place is not big or glamorous, but it has a nice & cozy atmosphere, with friendly service.

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Jul, 30 2008

Le Seminyak

Posted by jeny at 05:45 AM

We found a restaurant called Le Seminyak that serves Balinese dishes in Pacific Place Mall. As we're quite fond of Balinese cuisine, we decided to try it. The place is spacious, with high ceilings and nicely decorated. We ordered their Nasi Campur Bali (steamed rice topped with a seasonal mix of vegetables, meats, satay and sambal) 32.8K and Cram Cam (Balinese traditional chicken soup) 22.8K. In my opinion, the dish was not as good as the decoration. It was decent, but they still need a lot of improvements before they can be compared with the "real thing" :(

Le Seminyak
Pacific Place, Lt.5, unit 38
Central Jakarta
ph: +62(21) 514 00610

Jul, 29 2008

Wan Toe

Posted by jeny at 05:36 AM

Last month, After working hour, I'm meeting SC at Mall Ambassador for dinner. The place we chose to have dinner this time is a small place called Wan Toe located at the left corner of the mall. I arrived early and the room was half full. I asked for a table for two in non-smoking section. To my surprise, I was ushered to the very back of the restaurant, where's there's only 2-3 table available and with the aircon blowing to the back my head. I was very uncomfortable with this situation & later asked to move to the corner of the smoking section.

The menu is mostly Asian selection, so I ordered Udang Telor Asin (fried prawn in salted egg sauce) and lindung goreng (deep fried eel) to eat with 2 bowl of rice, plus a plate of durian goreng for dessert. I always looked for udang telor asin first whenever I entered a new restaurant. The udang telor asin was different from the one from Li Yen as they put fried curry leaves on top of the dish, giving it an aromatic smell, but I still prefer Li Yen's over this one. Their lindung goreng was only OK and a bit on the sweet side. Their dessert was quite oily with average taste. In short, there's nothing here that makes us want to return. OK, maybe for the Udang Telor Asin, but only for take away order.

Wan Toe
Ruko Mall Ambasador 16
Jl. Prof. Dr. Satrio Kav. 8
South Jakarta
ph. +62(21) 576 3101

Jul, 26 2008

[Reopening] Ya Udah Bistro

Posted by jeny at 08:04 AM

Ya-Udah was our old time favorite western restaurant, we're dissapointed when they decided to sold the premises at Jalan Jaksa. So when we heard & read that they've opened again in the new location, we're very excited. Last month, on 15 June, several days after their reopening, we head there with several friends for brunch. The new place on Kelapa Gading Boulevard is not hard to find, located a few hundred meters from the Kelapa Gading/Kayu Putih/Perintis Kemerdekaan intersection. The interior stayed more or less the same. I guess they tried to create the same atmosphere like the one at Jaksa. There are 2 separate dining area, inside or at the terrace. We chose to sit at the terrace, which is sheltered by a yellow awning. That's why all the pictures we took looked yellowish. :(

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Jul, 24 2008

Te Sa Te

Posted by jeny at 06:10 PM

We had dinner with a friend several weeks ago while he's in town. It was Friday afternoon and Jakarta traffic is very crazy that night. It took us about 45 minutes to reach Plaza Senayan from Plaza Semanggi. We decided to try this new & fancy restaurant called Te Sa Te. This place is a more upscale version of Satay House Senayan, with a wall separating the smoking & non smoking section. We were led into the non smoking section through a white & futuristic looking hall. The inside is quite spacious, accented with traditional carved wood panel. There are several hanging lights shaded with prints of Javanese scripts.

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Jul, 04 2008

Bali Deli

Posted by jeny at 08:07 PM

2 days ago, SC gave me a link that announced Bali Deli has reopened its door again at the same old place (Sudirman Place, now renamed to FX Lifestyle X'nter). We decided to try it this weekend. So last night after office hour, I rushed to Bali Deli and saw SC already sitting there sipping his tea & eating croisant. The interior still look quite messy, it looks like they opened in hurry. The elements don't quite matched up & the chairs (in its coffee shop anyway) are mostly uncomfortable. Exposed ceiling shows all the aircon pipes & sprinkles. I love their old interior better than the new one.

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Jun, 11 2008

Puro

Posted by jeny at 05:11 PM

Expensive is the first thing that comes to my mind whenever anyone mentions Puro / Blowfish. One day, while we're at City Plaza, we saw that there's a discount lunch promo for pizza / pasta, so we decided to try it. The place is not as spacious as i thought, dominated with white color and an open kitchen. While Blowfish offers Japanese cuisine, Puro is for Italian cuisine. I heard that this place serves authentic Italian cuisine (which mean they didn't adjust it to Indonesian local taste like some pizza joint do, so if you're looking for pizza rasa rendang, you've came to the wrong place). the menu consists of antipasti (appetizers), la pasta, secondi piatti di pesce (seafood main courses), secondi de carne (meat main courses), gourmet pizza, dolci (dessert), le nostre zuppe (soups) & I risotti (rice dishes).

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Jun, 03 2008

Y&Y

Posted by jeny at 12:37 AM

We've visited this place several time in the last 3 months whenever we went to Pacific Place. This place is quite interesting. They served several kind of dishes, from bread, pasta, pizza and even sushi. There are several dining area: inside the cafe, outside in the "yatch", or even at the light house. So far we've tried 2 types of pasta from their menu: squid ink linguini pasta 30K & minced wagyu (if i'm not mistaken), served in a hot stone bowl, potato & leek soup 25K, & warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream 23K. Overall the dishes tasted great. The presentation is nice, although that should be a given since Y&Y is managed by the people behind Y! Grill, a fine dining restaurant on Wisma Nusantara. Its friendly service and affordable price ensures that we'll be back for more :)

Y & Y
Pacific Place Mall 4-65 & 4-72
Jl. Jend. Sudirman kav 52-53
Jakarta 12190
ph. +62(21) 57973137 / 3127
fx. +62(21) 57973138

May, 29 2008

Samarra

Posted by jeny at 10:45 PM

Last month, an old friend from my university days returned to Indonesia for a visit, so we planned to take her to dinner at a place that offers Indonesian dishes. At first, my friends suggested that we went to Palalada at Grand Indonesia, but I've heard that, it's extremely overpriced, so we decided to visit Samarra instead. This restaurant is run by the same group that manage Warung Babah and Shanghai Blue, so the interior is no doubt amazing. Designed in middle eastern style, it was dimly lit but not as scary as Warung Babah

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May, 20 2008

Dinar Seafood

Posted by jeny at 06:50 PM

3 weeks ago, we had dinner with several friends at Dinar seafood restaurant. The restaurant serves Makassar-style dishes. One of their specialty is ikan kudu-kudu bakar (it's a uniquely shaped fish that has a hard scale and grilled with spice in its stomach). So here's what we ordered : ikan kudu kudu bakar 40K, kepiting jantan lada hitam 70K, udang mayonaise 45K, kangkung belacan 12.5K, cumi saous XO 45K, sop kepala ikan 40K, and pete bakar (1 papan) 5K. Overall, all the dishes were impressive although the portion was not very big. I especially like the kudu-kudu fish, their sop kepala ikan was hot and tasty, it reminded me of Manado's sop ikan asam, combined with Thai's Tom Yam Kung. The crab was also superb with generous amount of black pepper. I love mixing my pete bakar with the black pepper and eat it with rice. It tasted heavenly :)

Dinar Seafood
Pluit Indah Raya No.168A
North Jakarta

ph. +62(21) 66698363
fx. +62(21) 66698361

May, 18 2008

King Of Thai

Posted by jeny at 07:31 PM

Last month, while waiting for SC at Plasa Indonesia EX'nter, I had a quick lunch at a place called King Of Thai, The place is not big and it was crowded at lunch time. I have to wait to get a table at non smoking section. I ordered their Pad Thai 35K and a pot of hot lemon tea. Actually I did not expect much from this place, but surprisingly, I found the pad thai to be quite delicious. The portion was also moderate. The desert looked tempting, too bad I was alone so I didn't dare to order it. I was afraid I couldn't finish it.

King of Thai
Plaza Indonesia - EX'nter, Jakarta, ph. +62(21)3146086
Jayakarta - The Food Place, Jakarta, ph. +62(21) 6391214
Senayan City - Jakarta, ph. +62(21) 72781444
MKG - SOGO, The Food Hall, Jakarta, ph. 452 4958

May, 15 2008

Lang Viet

Posted by jeny at 07:30 PM

3 weeks ago after attending a batik exhibition held at Jakarta Convention Center, we planned to have lunch at Warung Tengil - Kelapa Gading. But due to my sore throat, SC decided to postpone it and we went to Lang Viet instead. From what we've heard, the place serves quite authentic Vietnamese dishes. So we ordered pho bo (large) 44K to share, fresh goi cuon 25K and lemon grass tea 20K. In my opinion, this is one of the best pho I have ever tasted, but I'm not sure about the goi cuon as the rice paper that wrapped the goi cuon was a bit sticky, though the dish still tasted OK. Their hot lemon grass tea was so delicious, while the cold lemon grass tea was a bit tasteless. We will be back here again to try their other specialties. Btw there's a sing sing ramen in this complex too :)

Lang Viet
Flavours of Vietnam
Wijaya Grand Center, Blok F36/B
Jl. Wijaya II, Kebayoran Baru
Jakarta 12160

ph. +62(21) 7206774(hunting)
fx. +62(21) 72790341

email. langviet@cbn.net.id
www.langvietcafe.com

May, 04 2008

Soto Madura Rendi

Posted by jeny at 07:02 AM

It has been so long since we last visited Soto Rendi, which, in my opinion, is the best soto madura I've ever tasted in Jakarta. We returned last week to savor the soto once again. From what we heard, Soto Rendi has expanded and opened a second (bigger) branch near Kampus Anggrek Binus. We tried to look for it but couldn't find it. So we decided to visit the old one instead. Located in Kompleks Sandang, the place is very very cramped. We were lucky to find two empty seats inside. We ordered the usual bowl of Soto Ayam Nasi Campur (rice topped with all the soto inggredients & drenched in chicken broth) at 8K per bowl, a very reasonable price, although it has increased since our last visit almost two years ago. The ingredients were not as generous as I remembered, but the taste is still every bit as good as the last time, especially when you add a dash of lemon & some sambal. Soto Rendi was even reviewed by Laksmi Pamuntjak in her newest edition of Jakarta Good Food Guide.

Depot Soto Ayam Madura
RENDI
Jl. Kompleks Sandang No.D8
Kemanggisan - West Jakarta
ph. +0813 83765678

Apr, 26 2008

Warung Tengil

Posted by jeny at 07:08 PM

Today we tried this new restaurant called Warung Tengil at Kelapa Gading that serves Balinese suckling pig. I was so excited the first time I heard about this place because Balinese suckling pig is hard to find in Jakarta. the place was quite easy to find, not far from the big roundabout, and they put up a big smiling pink pig sign that is hard to miss. The interior makes us forgot that we're actually sitting in a shophouse. Decorated in warong style, with bamboo structures, exposed bricks wall, eccentric chandeliers, lots of paintings & brick flooring. I kind of like this place. :)

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Apr, 25 2008

RM Saji

Posted by jeny at 07:24 PM

I read about this place on Jalansutra mailing list about 2 months ago. Several members said that Saji serves up decent and very reasonably-priced Thai cuisine. So one day, along with some colleagues, we went there for lunch. The restaurant is located in a shophouse in Sudirman Park Apartment area. The interior is very spartan, just like a cafeteria with a bit of Thai accent in the corner.

The menu turned out to be a combination of noodle selection (mie ayam,mie bakso, mie goreng, lomie etc), rice (nasi goreng, nasi capcai, nasi goreng ikan asin, nasi goreng hongkong, etc), chicken (ayam goreng mentega, ayam goreng ala thai, ayam kungpao, ayam kuluyuk, etc), beef (sapi lada hitam, sapi panggang thai, sapi cah jamur, etc), prawn (udang mayonaise, udang cabe garam, udang tauco, etc), fish (gurame asam manis, gurame tahu tausi, etc), veggies (kailan polos, kailan cah sapi, bayam taiwan polos, etc), and some other common chinese dishes.

There's no specific heading for Thai dishes, so we just picked several dishes that have Thai sounding names or are well known Thai dishes: Tom Yum Kung 22K, Ayam Daun Pandan Thai 20K, Cumi Cabe Garam 25K, Udang Goreng Cabe Garam 30K, Kangkung Belacan 12K with Thai ice Tea 7K. Overall, the meal was not bad. I especially love their udang & cumi cabe garam. The Tom Yum Kung, though tasty and aromatic, was not my favorite as it was not hot & spicy at all.

RM Saji
Sudirman Park C/32
Jakarta
ph. +62(21) 32302363

Apr, 20 2008

Casa

Posted by jeny at 08:38 PM

After late lunch at Sari Melayu we still have some time to kill before picking SC's sister from the airport, so we headed to Casa - Kemang determined to try only the dessert. Located on the second floor of Aksara Book Store. I like the decor of this place, it was so sixties. The place was still empty so we can have our meal without having people smoking next to our table.

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Apr, 17 2008

Sari Melayu

Posted by jeny at 06:32 PM

Last week I tried to visit Lapo on Jobunta (again) but they not open (are they close for good?), so we turn around and visited Sari Melayu instead. They served Medanese Melayu Cuisine, The place was quite deserted since it already passed the lunch time, we picked several type of meal from the counter : chicken curry 10.5K, Gule Otak 9.5K, tumis daun pakis 7.5K, didn't tried their famous gulai kepala ikan (we're afraid we coudn't finish it). In my Opinion the meal have a similarity with Padang Cuisine, this one was more tame. their tumis pakis was delicious, the green chili sambal wasn't hot at all, but still the taste was above average. :)

Sari Melayu Resto
Makanan Khas Melayu / Medan
Jl. KH. Ahmad Dahlan No.21
Kebayoran Baru
South Jakarta
ph. +62(21) 7221216

Apr, 11 2008

Kamseng Restaurant

Posted by jeny at 12:31 PM

Last month I bought a new book by Laksmi Pamuntjak called Jakarta Good Food Guide 2008-2009, it consist of about 400 eateries from all over the place in Jakarta. One of the place recommended by this book was this sapo restaurant called Kamseng, served all kind of congee 24 hours. The congee selection include : beef, all kind of pork offal, squid, fish, chicken, Guangzhou - Beijing - Shanghai - Taiwan Special, saklon, seafood, prawn, meatball, eel, 3 flavor, crab and plain. Since we're still a bit full from nasi goreng, we only ordered the eel congee 24K with telur phitan 5.5K. The meal came in a hot sapo pot, the congee was very tasty but the texture was too fine. Usually I didn't like this kind of congee but this one can makes me scrape the bottom of the bowl. later I found out that we can choose a coarse type of congee. With this price plus it was much2 more delicious than the famous congee next door, we surely will be back. :)

Kamseng Restaurant
Bubur Sapo
Jl. Mangga Besar I No.26
West Jakarta
+62(21) 6492319, 70766958 ()

Apr, 10 2008

Tom Yum Mama Kitchen

Posted by jeny at 06:18 PM

Two weeks ago we were at Mangga Dua doing some errands, and I'm taking that opportunity to try the famous Tom Yum at Mama Kitchen ITC Mangga Dua. The stall was quite crowded at the time we arrive, but we still managed to get a seat. They served only tom yum, from tom yum kung super, seafood, with noodle/kwetiaw/rice to tom yum fried rice (with salted fish, prawn & pinneaple, seafood). So I ordered a bowl of tom yum seafood (very hot) with rice 20K with ice tea 2K. After waiting for a while the meal came, the soup color was so tempting, range of orange to red which could only mean one thing : the soup is super hot, with fresh seafood topped with cilantro makes this meal irresistible. I'm not sure if this meal was the authentic Thai cooking, but It surely delicious. :)

Tom Yum Mama Kitchen
ITC Mangga Dua Lt.II Blok B No.15
North Jakarta 14430
ph. +62(21) 6017129

Apr, 06 2008

Ah Tuan Ee's

Posted by jeny at 07:39 PM

The first thing that grab my attention from this place is its interior. Decorated in Malay's kampong house style, using bird cage as their hanging lamp, plus the servant dressed in sarong and kebaya makes this place quite catchy. Located at Pacific Place, served malaysian nyonya cuisine. such as nasi lemak, asam laksa, char kuay teow etc. we decided to order the asam laksa 35.5K, kuay teow 28.5K with teh tarik 13.5K and honey lime 17.5K. Actually the food was not bad, but not really suit my taste. the asam laksa's concoction was too thick compared to what I had at Penang. but the taste was OK though. the kuay teow was too sweet and a bit too oily, the teh tarik was good, but my honey lime turn out to be kum quat juice. :)

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Mar, 29 2008

Dimsum @ Samudra

Posted by jeny at 07:04 PM

1. Siew Mai (12K) & Kaki Ayam (11K) 2. Bubur Ayam Phitan (14K) 3. Cheongfan Udang (14K) & Cheongfan Cakwe (14K) 4. Lumpia Saus Tiram (11K) 4. cristal seafood (13K) 6. Hakau (12K) 5. 7. 8. Guo Tie(11K) 9. Lobak Goreng Telur (14K) 10. Puding Mangga (14K), Almond (13K) & Alpukat (13K) + Coffee (7K) 11. Talas Goreng (11K) 12. Bebola Kumis Naga (13K) 13. Tan Tat (11K)

Samudra Seafood Restaurant
8th BRI II Center Park
Jl. Jend. Sudirman Kav 44-46,
Jakarta 10210
ph. +62(21) 5713600
fx. +62(21) 5704124

Mar, 26 2008

Ting An

Posted by jeny at 07:48 PM

This place is one of SC's favorite place. Located at Taman Palem Lestari - West Jakarta, served Jambinese noodle. they served 2 types of noodle : tamie kecil and tamie lebar in various size (regular, regular with double topping, big, big with double topping & with soup), they also served kwetiau & bihun. We usually only ordered the regular portion (11K) plus one bowl of pangsit ikan (15K), the noodle came with a bowl of broth soup (fish & meat). What make this noodle special is we can add several condiment to the noodle and soup to enhanced the taste. I usually mixed it with a little black vinegar, fish sauce, chilli sauce, and chilli slices. and it tasted so delicious, but some times too much chilli makes my stomach hot all day long. :p

Ting An Tamie
Taman Palem Lestari
Jakarta
(closed every monday)

Mar, 12 2008

Bihun Bebek 75

Posted by jeny at 01:59 PM

Last week, SC drag me to tried Bihun Bebek 75 located at Pluit Sakti Raya, we heard that this place served 'duck beehon' with soup made from chinese herbs. So although we're still full from previous lunch at dapur umum & ragusa, we entered and ordered a portion of bihun bebek, the meal came with a bowl of beehon topped with steam duck slices, spring onnion & cilantro, the soup was put in separate bowl. I tried the soup first, since the soup smells so good, the soup itself was really delicious. next I tried to mixed the soup with the duck beehon, the meal was delicious, but the soup became a bit salty :)

Bihun Bebek 75
Jl. Pluit Sakti Raya No.49
North Jakarta
ph. +62(21) 6693 980

Feb, 14 2008

Prefere 72

Posted by jeny at 11:14 AM

Last month, we tried a new restaurant called Prefere 72 located at Pacific Place, apparently it was a branch restaurant from Bandung. I have read about this place before, it was a combination beetween restaurant and library. So we ordered one of their recomendation menu : spaghetti kampung and sop buntut. I was quite eager to tried the 'spaghetti kampung', because it said that it was made with Indonesian traditional spices. When It came, the noodles was swimming in a yellowish sauce and topped with shredded cheese. It smell quite weird, but it tasted quite OK, the sauce taste more like the soup buntut, but I'm not sure about combining it with cheese. on the other hand, SC's sop buntut taste was delicious, although the spices was not as strong as Sumatra's sop buntut. I even help him to finish it :P

Prefere 72
Pacific Place, 4th Fl #4-56
SCBD Complex, Jenderal Sudirman Kav #52-53
South Jakarta

Feb, 10 2008

A Presto

Posted by jeny at 05:22 PM

3 weeks ago, we tried this new restaurant at Pacific Place called A Presto. It is one of the branches of Crystal Jade Restaurants that served western cuisine such as tapas. The restaurant is small but cozy, the service was really good, too bad smoking is allowed :( Since we're planning to have dinner somewhere else, we only ordered some tapas : crispy diced cheese and potato (the combination of cheese and potato, crisp fried and served with olives and pickles) 20K, the soup sampler called a little bit of soup (4 types of soup : carrot, mushroom, brocolli and pumpkin soup served in 4 small glasses) 25K, and a slice of butter chocolate cake 20K and peach snow ball 5.5K. Great meal and great presentation!

A Presto
by Crystal Jade
Pacific Place
Unit 1-45/46
Jl. Jend. Sudirman Kav. 52-53
Jakarta 12190
Indonesia
ph/fx. +62(21) 5140-0438

Feb, 03 2008

Segarra

Posted by jeny at 09:43 PM

Last weekend we visited Segarra at Pantai Carnaval Ancol. The place is perfect for hanging out with friends, enjoy sunset and have dinner with sea breeze. The design reminds me of a similar beach club called Ku De Ta at Seminyak - Bali, perfect for watching sunset. At 6PM Saturday night, the place was filled with nicely dressed people, we have to wait at the lounge for about an hour to get a table.

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Jan, 30 2008

Patisserie Francois

Posted by jeny at 12:00 PM

After a not so successful dinner, we wandered around in the mall and I was attracted to a small space (it only has 2 small tables) with clean decoration that sells home made desserts. They offer 40% discount after 8PM (if I'm not mistaken), so we sat down and tried Hawaiian Parfait which surprisingly tasted very good. The place also offers coffee to go with the dessert. We definitely will be back. :)

Patisserie Francois
Homemade Petit Fours & Coffee
Pacific Place B1-40
Kompleks SCBD
Jl. Jend. Sudirman Kav.52-53
ph. +62(21) 51400514
fx. +62(21) 6317902

Jan, 28 2008

Lasagna Deluxe

Posted by jeny at 11:54 AM

Two weeks ago, we visited Spaghetti House at the Pacific Place Mall. I used to love their lasagna deluxe that I've once ate years ago and it has been so long since I last tried it. So this time, I ordered their lasagna deluxe 42K with mushroom soup 15K. I don't know whether I put too much expectation on the meal or I was just being nyinyir, but I was quite dissapointed when the meal came and it was not as good as I rememberred it. The mushroom soup tasted more like instant soup, while their lasagna was not good either. It was gooey, not as creamy as I remembered and I think the chicken they used was not fresh because it tasted weird. I noticed that the price was still similar to a few years ago, so maybe they reduced the food quality to maintain that price. :(

Spagetti House
Pacific Place Lt. 5-57
Jakarta
ph. +62(21) 57973057
fx. +62(21) 57973058

Jan, 25 2008

Bakmi Keriting Siantar 19

Posted by jeny at 09:43 AM

Last weekend I craved for Bakmi Keriting Siantar. A lot of noodle stalls claim that they sell this kind of noodle, but finding an authentic (and tasty) one is quite difficult. After asking a friend about this, SC took me to a restaurant at Muara Karang called "Bakmi Keriting Siantar 19" (still in the Muara Karang traditional market area) and we had a bowl of Bakmi Keriting Siantar 12K and Bihun Kari. It was very delicious. The minced meat was juicy & generous, the wonton was also not bad. I think we will be back again this weekend for more :)

Bakmie Keriting Siantar 19
Jl. Muara Karang Blok Z5 No.10-12
Jakarta 14450
ph. +62(21) 66690622

Jan, 19 2008

Kenny Roger's Roaster

Posted by jeny at 06:18 PM

Two weeks ago, we visited Kenny Roger's Roaster. Apparently, this restaurant once operated in Jakarta during the early 90s but then closed down. So when it opened again next to Kem Chick in Pacific Place, we went there to try their 1/4 Chicken Meal with original/black pepper sauce 39.9K. The chicken comes with 3 choices of side dishes (I chose the savoury rice, potato with garlic & parsley and mixed fruit) and home-made muffin (3 choices : chocolate raisin, banana raisin & vanilla) with ice lemon tea (refill) 14.9K. The service was quite speedy (can this place be categorized as a fast food restaurant?). Overall the meal was not bad, although SC said that he'd prefer Q than this one. The portion is big. I can hardly finish my muffin so we had to ask the waiter to provide a doggy bag. :)

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Jan, 14 2008

Suncity

Posted by jeny at 06:50 AM

We had our last dimsum last year at SunCity Luxury Club located at Lindeteves Trade Center. From the interior and ambiance we can guess that it is a fine dining chinese restaurant. We arrived late so our friends have already started ordering and we just sat and dig in. One of the orders that I found quite special was the roasted baby duck 118K (4pcs). It was pricey but tasted good.. and to eat it, they provided us with a set of plastic gloves, so our hands wouldn't get dirty. The other menus were also delicious, such as the fish porridge 28K, xiao long bao 13.8K, talas goreng 11.8K, lobak goreng tauge saos XO, tan tart 11.8K. The desert was great too. We ordered puding sago mangga, pudding mangga, tim ginseng dengan kurma merah 22K and gui ling gao.

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Jan, 04 2008

May Star

Posted by jeny at 07:48 AM

2 weeks ago we had a family dimsum brunch at this new restaurant called May Star located a Le Grandeur Hotel (ex Dusit Hotel). I don't really like the interior (imho the romantic & flowery decoration just don't match with Chinese cuisine), plus it was so cold there. The restaurant have a vast selection of dim sum, and they offered a portion of roast duck for only 1K if our bill reach 500K. Overall the meal was good, I especially like their "chrisanthium pudding" and "Chinese snake soup" but not their "almond pudding". Overall we spent about 75K per person and it already include the roast duck. :)

May Star
Le Grandeur Hotel 3rd Floor
Jl. Mangga Dua Raya
Jakarta 10730
Indonesia

Nov, 20 2007

101 Rolls

Posted by jeny at 08:10 AM

After reading about this place from RestoDB and Appetite Journey, I urged SC to have dinner here. Located not far from Papa Mama Pastries. This place claims to serve Manhattan cuisine in Japanese style. We entered and asked for a non smoking section, but apparently the non smoking section is already full, so we have to sit in the smoking section. The service was quite good and fast, we ordered one of their specialty: Popeye's Favourite Chicken Roll (Spinach rolled with mozarella, breaded chicken and served with balsamic black pepper sauce) 36.5K, Cream of Mushroom Soup 16.5K, ice lemon mint tea 16.5K, and Malaysian Teh Tarik 16.5K. Overall I'm quite impressed with this place, our meal was delicious (both the mushroom soup & popeye's chicken roll) and the teh tarik was also delicious although it tasted more like chai. The presentation was attractive, but I'm not sure about their steak selection (it reminds me too much of abuba's steak). I suppose if they dared to call themselves 101 rolls, everything should be served rolled :)

101 Rolls
Manhattan Cuisine, Japanese Style
Kompleks Green Ville Blok AS No.41
West Jakarta
ph. +62(21) 563 2950

Nov, 04 2007

Saung Rasane

Posted by jeny at 12:32 PM

Last month, SC and I try this 'hip' restaurant called Rasane at Taman Palem (also available at pessanggrahan), we already heard about this place for quite some times, but the high price made us hesitate to try it. Since its just the two of us, we only ordered 3 ounce kepiting asap telur 34.5K, kangkung lombok 19.5K, kerang darah rebus 15K, udang pancet telor asin 35K, steamed rice 4K, and es teh tawar 5K. The crab came in wrapped in banana leaf, it taste OK but not what I had in mind when I was thinking of smoked crab :) We do love their kangkung lombok and Udang pancet telor asin. I think we will be back to this place some other times to try their other specialties.

Saung Rasane Seafood
Taman Palem Lestari Blok A5/25
Cengkareng, West Jakarta 11730
ph. +62(21) 555-2552

Oct, 24 2007

Dimsum at Ah Yat

Posted by jeny at 12:27 PM

3 days later, still in a holiday mood, we went to Ah Yat again for dimsum (they offer 50% discount on weekdays & saturday, 30% on sunday or public holiday using BII card). This time we arrived quite early, but the place was already full with people. We sat and ordered everything from the dimsum list: chicken claw with black bean sauce 9.8K, steamed pork ribs with garlic 13.8K, xiao long bao 15.8K, deep fried crispy wan tan dumpling 15.8K, deep fried yam dumpling 13.8K, pan fried carrot cake 13.8K, baked BBQ pork puff 13.8K, deep fried man tao, baked egg tart 9.8K, steamed prawn cheong fan 15.8K. We also ordered several plate of cold dishes: kaki babi 45.6K, kuping babi 22.8K, sapi dingin 22.8K, lidah bebek 22.8K, century eggs 22.8K, and also non-dimsum items such as iga babi saus spesial 32.8K, ikan teri Jepang 39.8K, tahu goreng lada garam 22.8K and beef with japanese sauce 68K.

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Oct, 20 2007

Bihun Bebek Beijing

Posted by jeny at 12:23 PM

Last Friday, we're planning to have dimsum with some friends at Ah Yat, but when we arrive at the Golden Boutique Hotel around lunch time, it was filled with people, and the waiter outside the restaurant informed us that the Dimsum menus were already sold out. We decided to go to ITC Mangga Dua and have our lunch there instead. Since it was 2 days before Eid-ul Fitri, some of the eateries there were closed. Fortunately, we found a place called Bihun Bebek Beijing that was still open. We got a table and started to eat everything put in front of us as we were very hungry. There were bakso ikan & talas goreng, 4 packs of tape singkong @3K, 6 portions of bihun bebek @26K, 2 portions of nasi kari, 1 roti cane + kari kambing 20K, 2 portions of rujak @15K, 10 glasses of liang teh. Overall, the meal was delicious, but we were quite shocked when we paid as it was quite pricey. I don't know whether this was because the coming Eid-ul Fitri made the raw materials expensive or because this place does have a higher price tags.

Bihun Bebek Beijing
ITC Mangga Dua Lt.1 A No.10-11
Jakarta
ph. +62(21) 6016441

Oct, 09 2007

Hong Kong Cafe

Posted by jeny at 11:31 AM

Lately, I often find myself visiting this place. It is located on Jl. Sunda (next to ATL Hayam Wuruk & Bakmi Gajah Mada). When I first heard about this place, I was thinking of a place with chinese interiors, but I was surprised when I entered the building. It is chic & cool, bit white with minimalist design. It has murals painted on the wall, white & pink furniture and high ceiling. I instantly fell in love with the decor. (plus they have a fast & free wifi, and let us sit there for hours )

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Oct, 05 2007

Jun Njan Restaurant

Posted by jeny at 04:21 PM

About 2 months ago, Jun Njan opened their new branch at Pluit. So we decided to have a family lunch there. The place was quite crowded at lunch time, but fortunately we managed to get a table. I don't really like the interior design. It looks like that the designer was aiming for a minimalist look but ended up with numerous ill-suited chinese decorations. It makes the restaurant looks more crowded that it really is. So we ordered: ayam garam, fish, prawn, kepiting telur asin, tofu, and fried noodle. Overall the meal was OK, except the ayam garam was way too salty (the restaurant manager promised to remedy this), while the tofu and kepiting telur asin were delicious. We will visit this place again someday.

Jun Njan Restaurant
Jl. Pluit Utara Raya no.41
North Jakarta
ph. +62(21) 9828-2250, 9126-5353

Sep, 24 2007

Mie Rebus RM Surya

Posted by jeny at 01:06 PM

We went to RM Surya to try their Mie Rebus. The noodle appearance was very attractive, the egg noodle (not instant noodle) drenched with coconut soup, sprinkled with dendeng garing, some green vegetables, and topped with poached egg and pink rice cracker. With that kind of color, I expect the noodle will taste hot and spicy, but the taste turned out to be very smooth, all the spice were blend perfectly in a perfect harmony, for those who who like it hot and spicy, may add more chillies. In my opinion, for 11K a bowl, this kind of noodle was very affordable. :)

RM Surya
Jl. Bendungan Hilir No. 5,
Jakarta
ph. +62(21) 573-1474

Sep, 20 2007

Kafe Star

Posted by jeny at 10:16 AM

Several months ago, on our way home, we stopped by a place located at Jl. Panjang called "Kafe Star" for dinner. The place look quite spartan but clean compared to the cafe2 tempat nongkrong we always found in the mall. They served a various selection of Javanese cuisine such as : rawon dengkul, rawon daging, garang asem ayam, timlo solo, tahu pong, tahu telur, racikan selat, garang asem, lontong opor, nasi opor, nasi langi, nasi bakmoy, nasi bakpuy, nasi lodeh empal, nasi pecel tumpang, pecel tumpang, nasi pecel, pecel telur, gado-gado, tahu acar, sosis kecap, ramb