Author: Ardi

Churrasco Restaurant

Rating:

7.5 / 10 Taste: 7.5/10

Price: $44 per person

Place: 7.5/10

Review:

If you are familiar with the name Churrasco, that is because I did the review about this restaurant more than two years ago. Churrasco review was one of my first ones. Back in those days, Churrasco had just one vegetarian dish in their all-you-can-eat arsenal. They even charged us extra for a bowl of vegetables.

Since then, they have opened in two other locations, increased their quality, services, ambience, and last – but not least- they have also included vegetables! So, despite the unavoidable increase in price, the value was pretty much justified, considering that other high-end Brazilian restaurants also charges between these regions. Waitresses still go around the restaurant offering slices of meat to your plate.

Let’s now start with the new menu, vegetables. I am still not a big fan of them, but at least they have my favourite, Rocket Salad with balsamic vinegar. They also added french fries, tomato and capsicum salad, eggplant and capsicum antipasto-style (not shown in picture). You can still get Zucchini and cheese. I will introduce other new stuff according to their classification.

To get the real feeling of Churrasco, the next couple of pictures were from its skewers. Only Churrasco’s chicken range utilises this method. Their common chicken range is the Brazilian Chicken. They also have a new Sweet Soy Chicken that was really yummy when grilled to perfection. Other chicken range includes: sausages, wings, and -the one I can never get enough of- chicken hearts.

Special to Wednesday-only, Churrasco’s Beef Ribs are worth fighting for! The beef range has lots of staple food like Rump Steak and new Pepper Beef. They also have a couple more new beef in Chilli Beef and Mushroom beef. I didn’t get the pictures of their already-extensive beef range: Sirloin steak, scotch fillet, eye fillet amongst other things. Their condiments also got a little face-lift in the addition of Chilli sauce. Farofa is now strictly by request. They also trialled polenta, before they pulled it out of the menu.

Lastly, the following dishes could be considered rarities since they were served once in like half an hour. Their newest range, Banana Fritter, was my instant favourite. The banana was both crunchy and sweet. My previous favourites, cheese bread and grilled cheese were still served and tasted as good. Grilled pineapple is kind of a cat in the bag. You can sometimes get a really sweet one but other times it would be really sour.

The final verdict for Churrasco – revisited

I would like to give more score for this restaurant, but its occasional inconsistencies in the way the dishes are cooked prevented me from doing so. The new additions to the menu gave us an increased experience to the dining in Churrasco. Although it is still predominated by meat dishes, I now leave the restaurant with much happier feeling and not stuffed.

Details:

240 Coogee Bay Road, Coogee

+61 2 9665 6535

http://www.churrasco.com.au/

Aug 21, 2012
Sate Khas Senayan

Sate Khas Senayan’s Rating:

7 / 10 Taste: 7/10

Price: $12 per person

Place: 7/10

Review:

Sate Khas Senayan has the words timeless tradition written in their menu’s front page. I think it really captures the very essence of satay. Indonesian satay is pretty unique in its own rights. What we call satay is actually skewers of meat (chicken, lamb, or beef) with thick peanut sauce and/or sweet soy sauce. With this review, I concluded my review of Indonesian restaurants during our June’s trip.

First off the bat was Sate Ayam Campur Bumbu Blora. Ten good ol’ chicken skewers on a modernised bakaran sate (griller). This particular plate was called campur because it was mixed (dicampur) with chicken skin satay. I particularly love the skin since it was tastier than the white meat part. Sate is best enjoyed with lontong (rice cake wrapped in banana leaf).

The presentation of Appetizer Sampler was so appetising. It was a combination of Tahu kipas (stuffed tofu), risoles (croquette), sosis solo (a type of sausage), and rambak petis (beef crackling with shrimp paste). It’s a nice way to explore the diversity of Indonesian entrees. I ordered Tahu Komplit (‘complete’ tofu) as well to show you that the Indonesian tofu is a bit different that the Japanese one. Instead of silky / smooth and dense, the tofu was quite airy and best served deep fried. This way, it would bring out the crunch.

Another type of sate came up next, Sate Cumi (squid satay). Unlike its predecessor, this sate was only served with sweet soy sauce. It is rather unusual to have a squid satay since it is technically grilled squid on a stick. There was a massive expectation riding at the back of Kepiting soka saus asam pedas (spicy and sour soft shell crab) as one of my favourite ingredients. It didn’t disappoint in terms of crunchiness of the crab and the balanced sauce.

I didn’t try Sop buntut (ox tail soup) since it was ordered for my friend’s son. It is a clear vegetable soup with oxtail and melinjo crackers. Despite the presence of highly fattening oxtail, the soup was actually quite refreshing. Tumis kangkung terasi (stir-fry spinach with shrimp paste) had an extra shrimp paste added to the dish that created a nice dimension to the otherwise spicy vegetable dish. Tahu telur (tofu in fried egg) was our last dish of the day but unfortunately I’ve enjoyed a much better one during our visit to Indonesia this time.

Deciding what to drink was the hardest challenge that we had to take in Sate Khas Senayan. Out of the four in the first picture, I would choose Es Cincau Hijau (pandan-flavoured grass jelly ice), which was the horizontal one in the picture. There was also a nice and refreshing Cendol. This is a rice-flour and palm sugar dessert that is normally served as a drink. My eventual choice went to Teh Poci, a traditional hot tea in a clay pot with rock/lump sugar.

The final verdict for Sate Khas Senayan

As the name suggested, Sate Khas Senayan is all about satay. They have a whole range of satays and they made really good ones. I wouldn’t suggest you to try the other dishes apart from the entrees and drinks.

Did you know?

If you are looking for a place to stay in Jakarta, make sure you book any hotels in this area. Jakarta people wouldn’t mind meeting you in the malls surrounding this area and you don’t need to care about traffic jam since everything is here!

Details:

Resto FX Lifestyle X’nter

Jalan Jend Sudirman Unit F1 22-23 Jakarta Selatan

+62 21 2555 4150

Aug 12, 2012
Bubba Gump Shrimp Co

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co’s Rating:

8 / 10 Taste: 7.5/10

Price: $20 per person

Place: 8.5/10

Review:

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. is the most awesome restaurant chain I have ever visited. They created the whole Forrest Gump (that movie with Tom Hanks) experience complete with their version of the characters’ favourite food. As you might already realise by now, their specialty is shrimps.

It got more awesome with the fact that the restaurant was decorated in a ‘60s setting. The staffs were incredibly cheerful and every so often you’ll hear them singing happy birthday with a full ‘orchestra’ (drums made of tin cans etc). There were sign plates (Run Forrest Run and Stop Forrest Stop) on each table to signal the waiters rather than just waving our hands.

Our first dish of the day was Traditional Shrimp Cocktail. A dozen of jumbo shrimp served with Bubba Gump’s zesty cocktail sauce in an icy goblet. It was a nice and refreshing start of the day. FYI, the sauce was a little bit hot.

Barramundi with Lemon Garlic cream sauce was our first dish of the day. It turned out to be the least impressive dish with a little excess on the lemon. Our first theme-influenced dish came out next, Lt. Dan’s Drunken Shrimp. These chargrilled shrimps were positioned upside down to illustrate the ‘drunk’ness. It was complemented by sausages, mashed potatoes, and string crackers with Bourbon sauce. One of the dishes you must order at the restaurant!

Bubba’s after the storm ‘bucket of boat trash’ presented a different approach for the night. Various deep fried seafood and chips were laid out on special-purpose (and clean!) newspapers in a tin bucket. You will also get three sauces (cocktail, tartare, and garlic oil) and a small plate of salad. Even with the skin on, the shrimps were edible-y crunchy with perfect seasoning. It might be one of the more expensive range (at Rp 230,000.00 ~ AU$ 25) but it is definitely worth trying!

Bourbon street mahi-mahi was a bit too similar to the drunken shrimp but in this version, they used fish fillets instead of shrimps. For your little one, you can order Li’l Forest’s Favorite fish and chips complete with its ornament ship and fresh vegetables.

Our first choice of dessert was my all-time favourite dessert Mama’s Cinnamon bread pudding. It’s a shame that the plate looked so messy since the actual centrepiece was really nice. The biggest surprise of the day came in last, Chocolate chip cookie sundae. The waiter recommended us and it looked like the most unhealthy food I’ve ever seen. The dessert soon became the best of the day since it was incredibly yummy! Mountain of whipped cream with peanuts and chocolate and caramel sauce covered the hidden warm chocolate cookie. For someone who doesn’t like chocolate, not only could I stand this dish, I actually wanted more of it!

The final verdict for Bubba Gump Shrimp Co

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. is not just a restaurant with the perfect rendition of Forrest Gump’s era. Their shrimp-dominated menu was also fantastic. If you still have some space on your tummy, I would strongly suggest the Chocolate chip cookie sundae.

Did you know?

Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. also provided entertainment for kids and adults alike. They had the catch the mascot game and also trivia about the movie. So for those of you Die Hard Forrest Gump fans, brush up your skills and take this ultimate challange!

Details:

Komplek Pertokoan Kuta Centre, Blok A1 No. 1

Jalan Kartika Plaza No. 8X, Kuta, Bali

+62 361 754 028

http://www.bubbagump.com/

Jul 31, 2012
Sagoo Kitchen

Rating:

7.5 / 10 Taste: 7.5/10

Price: $4 per person

Place: 7.5/10

Review:

I fell in love with Sagoo Kitchen the first time I saw it, unfortunately I had had my lunch at that time. The restaurant has a retro feel in it. Once you are inside, you are presented by vintage decorations, very homey ambience and wooden furnitures. There was a little vintage stall as you enter the restaurant.

Since Sagoo Kitchen’s specialty is Nasi Goreng (Fried Rice), we ordered three different kinds of fried rice. You can ask the level of hotness of your nasi goreng. You might know it by now I don’t fancy spicy food, so I ordered the one without chilli. Nasi goreng Sagoo was my choice for the obvious restaurant-named dish. It had an interesting presentation: volcano-shaped with beef jerky in the middle. It was complemented by the usual suspects for fried rice: shredded omelette, pickles and prawn cracker.

The second nasi goreng might only be enjoyed by some people since it had beef tripe and it was pretty spicy. Nasi Goreng Babat Semarang was said to be originated from central Java. It was presented much-less gloriously with a generous serving of beef tripe and fried onions. The last one was Nasi Goreng Tempo Doeloe, literally translated ‘fried rice from the old days’. It was cone-shaped fried rice with the usual extras and ebi (dehydrated shrimp). Unfortunately, this one lacked the punch, over-shadowed by the other two.

Beehoon Goreng Rawit Sagoo was the one I didn’t get to taste since it contained the ultra hot green chilli! However, the next dish was so good that we had to order the second one. They called it Tahoe Kopjok Telor (tofu in fried egg). It was a combination of savoury tofu dish with sweet and sour soy sauce. I really loved the sauce, it was so tasty and when combined with the tofu and some pickles, it was unbelievable!

There are assortments of desserts and assortments to choose from the menu but since I already had limited capacity, my choices fell to Klepon and Es Katjang Singapore. Klepon is a native South East Asian dessert which is a glutinous rice ball dipped in pandan essence with liquefy palm sugar and coconut. It had a chewy texture with melted palm sugar filling. Es Katjang Singapore isn’t actually an Indonesian dish but I just couldn’t help it with the Green and Red syrups.

The final verdict for Sagoo Kitchen

Sagoo Kitchen is definitely one of the restaurants you must visit in Paris Van Java. In addition to them being nice and clean, the food was also excellent.

Did you know?

Don’t go to Paris Van Java on a weekend! The traffic is really bad that Jakarta’s traffic is like a walk in the park!

Details:

GL-D-05, Jalan Sukajadi 131-139, Paris Van Java, Bandung, Indonesia

+62 22 8206 3754

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Sagoo-Kitchen/88725198134

Jul 20, 2012
Boon Tong Kee

Boon Tong Kee’s rating:

7 / 10 Taste: 7.5/10

Price: $8 per person

Place: 6.5/10

Review:

We are extremely excited to welcome you to our first ever review on a restaurant in Singapore! Our friends recommended me of a ‘nice’ Hainan chicken rice place that I would really enjoy. I was taken to the east coast branch of Boon Tong Kee. Little did I know the restaurant was featured in Wikipedia for its infamous chicken dish.

In Boon Tong Kee, the dish was simply called Signature Boiled Chicken. It should be ordered in the companion of a bowl of Chicken Rice. The chicken was cooked to perfection with a shiny glazing of its sauce. Portion-wise, I can say it wasn’t built for Australians. You might want to order two of these when you come around.

I just realised that our three out of the next four dishes had ‘crispy’ on its name. The first one was Crispy Roast Chicken. This was the roasted version of the chicken. It presented a different dimension to the boiled chicken and this one was served on the bone. It was crisp and crunchy on the outside with a tender meat. Both dishes came with preserved vegetables on the side.

Crispy Beancurd was supposed to be the entrée but we would take it nonetheless. It was bite size and had an orchid flower as a decorative ornament. I wasn’t sure what they used for the coating but it was crunchy as well as soft. It kind of reminded me of a dried agedashi tofu since there was also a Japanese mayonnaise for the sauce. Our vegetable dish, Poached Chinese Spinach with Assorted Eggs, didn’t remotely look like the one on the menu. It was very soupy and it didn’t really showcase the assortments of eggs. We also had to fish out the century egg.

Our last dish of the day was Crispy Cereal Prawns. There were four giant prawns on the plate and my immediate thought was ‘value for money’. However as it turned out, it was more than just that! The prawns were crispy all the way that you could eat the whole thing! As an added bonus, they were coated with salted duck egg yolk.

The final verdict for Boon Tong Kee

Four prawns + salted duck egg yolk – the price = a must! However, we must not drift too far from the signature boiled chicken. Boon Tong Kee’s was definitely better than most Hainan Chicken Rice in Sydney.

Did you know?

Singapore’s Changi airport is one of the best airports in the world. It has EVERYTHING you need (even shower and massages!).

Details:

199 East Coast Road, Singapore 428902

+65 6478 1462

http://www.boontongkee.com.sg/

Jul 10, 2012
Phloey – Authentic Thai Cuisine

Rating:

8 / 10 Taste: 8/10

Price: $15 per person

Place: 8.5/10

Review:

We are back from our fantastic journey to Indonesia and ready to deliver you All About Food. This week, I am going to take you to one of the fine food in Jakarta. Phloey, self-titled Authentic Thai Cuisine was located in the lower level of Jakarta’s main street. It doesn’t cost hundreds of dollars to enjoy food in Jakarta!

Our evening started with a bang! The Sampler Platter looked simply stunning. Three of Thai food’s most common entrees arranged beautifully with a generous serving of sauce, presented in a cocktail glass. Our second entrée was the all-time favourite, Tom Yum Kung. Although the soup was designed for one, it was slightly too generous if you were to share other plates. The soup was refreshingly sweet and sour. Lastly, we ordered Som Tum Kung Pao. This was the traditional green pawpaw salad with a million of tastes in between. There was too much chilli to my liking on this one but that was how it was supposed to be. Nevertheless, three flawless entrees got me really excited about the restaurant.

Our first staple food was Pad See Yu. Some of you might recollect this as Fried Kwetiau, but this one was cooked Thai style. We also enjoyed Kai Ho Bai Teay – Fried chicken in pandan leaf. This chicken was a killer; One of the must order in the restaurant! I loved the texture and the rich chicken flavour infused with pandan. Keng Phed Ped Yang – Roasted duck in red curry with tomato and pineapple came next. There was really little to compare to the previous dish, in addition it was a bit sour for the duck (I like my duck tasty or sweet).

We ordered two fishes in this occasion. The first one was Pla Kao Sam Rot – Fried grouper with three-flavour sauce. Fabulous sweet and spicy fish filleted for your enjoyment. The next one was Pla Bu Pek Sa – steamed ‘lazy’ fish a la Thai. It was a different kind of steamed fish since Thai food was meant to be sour. The fish was extra soft and perfectly steamed! If only they toned down the sourness, I would devour this as quickly as I could.

Since we were really happy with the food, we decided to order desserts. The first one was Durian Sticky Rice. For some people, durian can be repulsive, but for me that was a nice dessert. The next one was mixed ice of pomegranate, young coconut, avocado and jackfruit. Es Delima is what it was called. The surprise came in last, what I had expected to be a simple Cassava turned out to be a masterpiece. They reinvented simple cassava to be jelly-like and reduced the rough texture of the dish.

The final verdict for Phloey

Phloey presented me with a unique opportunity to taste authentic food in a city where non-Indonesian food was hard to come by. They also managed to bring out real Thai taste to the table!

Did you know?

I couldn’t find the meaning of Phloey, if you know what it is, please let me know and I’ll update this part 🙂

Details:

Gedung Panin Center, Jl. Jend Sudirman Kav 11

+62 21 739 4018

Jul 4, 2012