Category: Jakarta

Jakarta is the capital city of Indonesia with population of no less than 10 million. Quite possibly the food haven for food blog if not for the traffic.

Oku

JAPANESE INDULGENCE AT OKU: Where great food exceeds fancy place

I really prepared myself for Saturday’s meet up on May 29th, 2016. It was a lunch invitation from Zomato Indonesia, which was held at Oku Japanese Restaurant in Hotel Indonesia Kempinski Jakarta. When I heard it was at Kempinski the first time, I was like “Oh man, this gotta be good!”

When I arrived, the place met my expectation. Here you’ll meet a clean, modern, and sleek look of Japanese restaurant, but all screams luxury. They have sound-proof private rooms, semi-outdoor private rooms, and a bar too. They were newly opened a couple of months ago.

	Menu They let us picked a seat and mingle with other bloggers. After a few explanations from Rebecca, the PR director of Kempinski, they gave us a couple of menu books. Here was our today’s set menu, full of exciting dishes! Just couldn’t wait to start and I was drooling, haha… You could see that they’d serve more appetizers, just maybe to tease our appetites through main courses.
Appetizer
	Oku Karaage Ok, first teaser was Oku Karaage (IDR 110,000) They were actually black! The plating was as if we were gonna eat coals. I immediately took one, and bit it. Wow, it melted in my mouth! The chicken thigh was tender and juicy, and there was mayo filling inside. They used some kind of black pasta of garlic and leek for the batter to make it looked black. One-of-a-kind Karaage this was! I loved it.
	Karasumi Uni Then the second dish came… On that thick-based plate, you could find angel hair pasta, with uni a.k.a sea urchin and black caviar on top. It is called Karasumi Uni (IDR 320,000). It was served cold, surprisingly. And I found a hint of olive oil when I ate it. There was a sense of bitterness but after a few chewing it was gone.
	Aburi Salmon Roll The next one was Aburi Salmon Roll (price not listed). You can basically find this one in every Japanese restaurant. However, at Oku the presentation was so tempting! Instead of using tobiko on top of the rolls, they used black caviar. It made it tasted so rich.
	Uni The next dish came in in a bowl with bursting smoke! They called it Uni (IDR 245,000). Interesting! Inside the bowl was white asparagus, onsen egg and uni. It was served cold too. Unfortunately out of all the dishes, this was my least favorite. Maybe I just didn’t like it served cold or simply because I’ve never been a fan of asparagus.
	Ajitama Then there was Ajitama (IDR 50,000), organic egg with onion flower and shigureni beef, served with smoked rice straws. The egg didn’t give an egg smell, maybe because it was smoked. I liked this one, except for the small size, haha…
	Sashimi Next that came was a bowl of happiness… or the Japenese would simply call it Sashimi (IDR 350,000). There were 7 chef-selected sashimi, such as salmon, tuna, shrimp, squid, etc. Put as the base of the sashimi were soy jelly, angel hair seaweed, gracilaria seaweed, and sea grapes. These came with excellent quality, very fresh and clean cut.
	Oku’s Signature Cocktails I couldn’t hold myself to try one of Oku’s Signature Cocktails. I picked Ume Jumon (IDR 170,000), which contained Ume-shu, whisky, sugar cane juice, and bitters. In one sip, I knew I fell in love with this one. It was so refreshing, not strong, and just had a slight of bitterness.
Main
	Omi Japanese Beef Ok, then we came to the peak of this culinary party. Did you know what we’ve got for main course? I couldn’t believe myself that we deserved such an indulgence. Okay, don’t freak out! They gave us Omi Japanese Beef (IDR 1,200,000), a 150gr Japanese Highest Marbling A5 OMI Sirloin. The price couldn’t lie. It tasted soooooo good! Like it really melted on your mouth. No extra power of chewing needed, it was so so so soft, tender, and very very juicy. I thought it was everyone’s favorite dish of the day.
	As you can see here, they cooked it perfect medium. The center of the meat was still pink. I ate it altogether with the barbeque sauce, the black paste, wasabi, and fried garlic.
	Potato As a side dish, we got Potato (IDR 50,000). It was a cold potato salad, with cherry blossom, wood smoked aroma. The texture was a combination of mashed potato with diced potato. It was nice but I wasn’t crazy about it.
Dessert
	Granite Dessert time! When these cuties arrived at our table, they got me thinking which one would I choose? These three sorbets on stick are called Granite (IDR 60,000). The green one is made from shiso and japanese plum, the yellow one is from pineapple and yuzu, and the red one is from beetroot and blood orange. I was hesitated between the green and red ones, but I finally chose the green one. It tasted good, so refreshing an had the perfect sourness.
	Lychee Pannacotta Then came the pinkish dessert. They said it was chef’s new creation, a lychee pannacotta (price not listed). The plating was awesome, but I wasn’t a big fan of this one. I found it just a standard pannacotta and a little bit too sweet.
	Yuki Here is Yuki (IDR 120,000). A yuzu-chocolate mousse with lemon cloud, dulcey sponge cake, and crunchy chocolate praline. They added passion fruit sauce at the time. The plating once again was awesome. The mousse, the sauce, the cake and the crunch altogether made an interesting combo. But I didn’t like the lemon cloud though, tasted too sour for me.
	Green Sundae The last dessert, and also the last on the menu today was Green Sundae (IDR 80,000), a sweet matcha custard with shiratama mochi and azuki beans. This one was my favorite. It screamed matcha, the real matcha. Some bloggers found it unflattering because they didn’t like the hint of bitterness. But hey, it’s matcha! I’m soooo gonna buy this one!
	Finally, at the end of the lunch, they brought us the man behind those fancy dishes. That man is Chef Kazumaza Yazawa. He is French-born Japanese. He was actually specialized in French cuisine. But then he got back to his root, and tried to cook Japanese. Thank God he did that, because he’s very good making Japanese cuisine.

The verdict for Oku

OKU is a really great place with great food. They really fulfill their promise: to serve excellent cuisine and not just a fancy restaurant. I’m so pleased with the dishes, and will absolutely go there again. Big thank you to Zomato.id for bringing us here.

Did you know?
The black paste that is used to make Oku Karaage was a mixture of garlic and leek, and it is continuously baked at 40 degree Celcius for a month!

Jun 15, 2016

Sop Buntut Bogor Cafe

Review:

This is probably the most bizarre signature dish (for non-Indonesians) that I have ever written. Sop Buntut Bogor Cafe is a restaurant that serves grilled oxtail soup as its signature dish… and Indonesians (or at least most people I know) LOVE them!

These days, you can find grilled oxtail soup in quite a lot of places. However, I daresay Bogor Café in Borobudur Hotel Jakarta is the first one to do it. For this review, we went to its branch in one of the shopping malls in Jakarta.

There are quite a few dishes that use oxtail as their main ingredient at Sop Buntut Bogor Cafe.

Tahu Pong – 45k – with sweet soya – chilli sauce dip

Tahu pong is a typical Indonesian snack that is made of tahu (tofu). The tofu is then deep fried and served with sweet soya and chilli sauce.

To be honest, this one did not really look like the real ‘tahu pong’, which was usually more round with crunchy edge. However, taste wise, it did not disappoint.

Martabak Buntut – 45k – Sweet soya sauce dip and pickles

Martabak is also an Indonesian snack that you can pretty much find everywhere. However, it can be considered as a pretty ‘heavy’ snack. I think most of you would know ‘martabak’ by now (or you can read it from wiki).

The filling for its martabak was oxtail meat. Taste wise, I couldn’t really tell the difference between oxtail meat and regular beef meat. To make a good martabak, it is very important that you serve nice pickles and sweet soy sauce with it!

Oxtail Nasi Goreng – 125k – Fried Javanese rice with oxtail, pickles, stock, melinjo crackers

It is probably one of the more expensive nasi goreng dishes that you can find in Indonesia. It is the same cost as fried rice in quite a lot of Sydney restaurants!

You only got one small oxtail piece and a few shredded meat in the fried rice. Honestly, I think I would rather have three martabaks than this fried rice.

Hotel Borobudur’s Legendary Oxtail Soup Specialties – 160k – Served with steamed rice, melinjo crackers, pickles, chili sambal and lime

This is what we came here for… and yes they now actually put the word ‘legendary’ on the menu. They have two sizes, medium and legendary. The ‘legendary’ size is actually not that big for non-Indonesians. You can have the oxtail stewed in a soup (regular), grilled or fried. Traditionally, Indonesians love stewed oxtail but it also means quite a lot of fat. Grilled (and fried) oxtail on the other hand have less fat.

I’m pretty sure they were legendary because they were one of the first ones to grill oxtails. These days, you can find grilled oxtail in quite a lot of places.

The final verdict for Sop Buntut Bogor Cafe

Although Sop Buntut Bogor Cafe might be the first one to grill oxtails, it’s apparent that they are quickly losing its competitive advantage and become somewhat overpriced nostalgic restaurant… Nevertheless people are still coming in for that reason.

Did you know?

Whenever you are in Indonesia, always on the look for Avocado juice (like the one pictured below). It is such a nice drink to have!

Rating for Sop Buntut Bogor Cafe:

7.0 / 10

Taste: 7.0 / 10

Price: $4 – $20 per dish

Place: 6.5 / 10

Details:

Street Gallery, Ground Floor, Pondok Indah Mall

Jl Metro Pondok Indah, Jakarta

+62 21 2952 9718

Apr 20, 2016
The Caffeine Dispensary: Where Cofee Enthusiasts Experience Coffee Appreciation

On a bright Sunday morning, my friend, Mieke, and I stood in front of The Caffeine Dispensary door with great excitement about the coffee cupping event that we were going to join in.

When we walked in, we found this simple yet lovely industrial-look cafe. Several food bloggers were already inside. We were welcomed by one of the owners, Aji. He was making a drip coffee. Aji also owns a coffee shop in Singapore, called The Revolution Coffee. The other owner are Rio – the roaster – and Andri, the store manager.

When we asked why the barista area was so spacious, Aji kindly explained that they wanted to make a difference in coffee sipping. They encouraged coffee appreciation and wanted to be more than just a regular coffee shop. Here, the coffee lovers can also participate in making their cups of coffee!

The Caffeine Dispensary serves various kinds of coffee from all over the world and specialises in in-house roasting of their coffee beans.

Rio, the roaster, explained that after roasting, coffee beans only lasted for about a month. While the un-roasted beans would last longer, about a year when kept inside a sack. The roasted beans will bloat but the mass will decrease due to moisture loss. As you can see below, behind me there was a roasting machine, which could produce 1 kilogram of roasted beans in each process.

After we picked our seat, they gave us the menu. The price is very reasonable, and worth the coffee appreciation. They don’t have many choices of food for now, because they want to focus on serving the coffee.

I chose 5oz Espresso White, equaled as Cappuccino, while Mieke ordered Iced Latte Gula Jawa, one of their signature drink. Mine used the Kenya Mugaga beans, and Mieke’s were Aceh Gayo.

Tadaaaaa….our orders arrived. I immediately gulped mine. It was very good! It turned out the Kenya Mugaga coffee had the perfect combination of bitterness and sourness, very aromatic, and overall it tasted well-balanced. I also took a sip of Mieke’s Iced Latte Gula Jawa. I really loved the taste! Aceh Gayo had a floral aroma and you could really taste the flavor of Javanese brown sugar that they used. Not the kind of Iced Latte you’d easily find elsewhere.

They also gave us complimentary sweet treats, one Carrot Cake and one Banana Bread with Chocolate Chip. Both of them satisfied me as a cake lover; Rich in flavor, but not too sweet and had smooth textures. I actually ate both slices, since Mieke wasn’t a fan of sweet cakes. Lucky me!

Upon finishing them, the coffee cupping session began. First, we were given the acknowledgment about The Caffeine Dispensary, the basic theory of coffee and the process of making a good coffee. Then we had a quite interesting Q&A session afterwards.

Afterwards, we moved to the cupping table, where they had prepared 6 different kinds of coffee. They were Nicaragua Misael Sauceda, Toraja Sapan, Kenya Nyeri Mugaga, Sunda Arumanis, Brazil Formoso, and Aceh Gayo. We were given raw beans, roasted beans, and two cups of ground coffee for each type. We carefully sniffed the different aroma between roasted and ground beans. All of the raw beans smelled like grass, so we could ignore those for a while.

The two cups of ground coffee were now poured over hot water. We had to wait for about 4 minutes before we could break the crust. Using 2 spoons, carefully we scooped together the crust from one side to another. If you were an expert, you could do it in just one attempt. After the crust was clear, we could sniff the real aroma of the coffee.

We then began to taste the coffee. We had to loudly slurp a spoon of coffee. I found it difficult as I couldn’t be fast and loud. At least I tried my best and ended up looking silly, haha… We had to taste from the coffee cups for each kind, to test for consistency.

After that, we needed to fill the Cupping Form, which looked like the picture below. We scored from 1 to 10 of the aroma, acidity, body (thickness), flavor, etc. I got a tie for the highest scores between Brazil Formoso and Kenya Nyeri Mugaga, which I scored 9.

They knew that our mouth had gotten a bit bitter after the cupping, so they offered us something from the menu. I picked the Lavender Lemonade, another signature drink. It was so refreshing! A nice twist between the sourness of lemon and the good smell of lavender.

The fun carried over to lunch! They already prepared croissant sandwiches for us. I picked the Beef&Cheese Croissant and loved it! The croissant itself was very buttery, good crisps and soft inside. The filling was perfect, rich in flavor. I really loved this croissant. Mieke said that she loved her Smoked Chicken croissant too.

The final verdict for The Caffeine Dispensary

As a coffee lover, I definitely would love to get back here. I am excited for the new kind of coffee that will arrive every month.

Did you know?

There is lemon-infused water available for free if you need refreshment after drinking coffee. Don’t hesitate to refill your glass! It’s compliment from The Caffeine Dispensary for you, the coffee enthusiasts.

Details:

Jl Kelapa Kopyor Raya Blok 1 No 16, Kelapa Gading, Jakarta

+62 21 452 0109

http://www.caffeinedispensary.com/

Feb 12, 2016
Akane Tokyo Cuisine

Review:

We came to this restaurant for dinner shortly after landing in Jakarta. It was ‘only’ 12-hour journey. Our trusted friends recommended the restaurant and guaranteed it was one of the better ones in Jakarta… So we went along with it!

The restaurant is called Akane Tokyo Cuisine and located in Crowne Plaza. The menu reminds me more of an Izakaya establishment (with a pretty limited number of drinks) than a restaurant. You can obviously nibble through the night with the likes of Edamame, onigiri or shisamo. However, if you want to eat something more substantial, read on…

Yakitori Omakase Mori – Rp 99k – 8-kind charcoal grilled chicken skewers

According to my friend, Akane is famous for its yakitori. They have either the salt or sweet soy sauce version of yakitori. There are quite a few chicken parts you can choose from or you can order the omakase where they showcased eight skewers of chicken parts.

If you are not into chicken, they also have beef and seafood yaki.

Nigiri Sushi Moriawase – Rp 198k – 12-kind hand-formed sushi

The biggest test for any Japanese restaurants in Indonesia is its Sushi and Sashimi. We actually dared to take the risk and ordered the biggest one: nigiri sushi moriawase. They are noticeably more expensive than the rest of the dishes (possibly due to the cost involved in acquiring that level of freshness). However, I think it showcased the ‘standard’ sushi fishes.

We also ordered a couple of other sushi platters below:

Saba Bozushi – Rp 64k – Mackerel Sushi cake

Maguro Zukushi – Rp 113k – Tuna sushi, fatty tuna sushi, tuna roll

Okonomiyaki – Rp 63k – Japanese pan cake

There were generous servings of bonito flakes and mayo on the okonomiyaki. It was actually a pretty good one!

Maguro Misodare Salad – Rp 68k – Semi-roasted tuna salad

Any salad that I want to eat deserved a mention in my blog!

Kiniko Donabe Yaki – Rp 68k – Butter fried mix mushroom in hot pot

It might not look much and pretty expensive for a mixture of mushrooms. However, this dish was pretty delicious and probably one of the good options for vegetarians.

Ika Butter Shoyu – Rp 68k – Butter fried squid

I must say that they give out too much veggies to my liking but it worked well for other dinner guests.

Big Hamburg – Rp 118k – Beef hamburger steak 300g

It was not designed to be ordered on the day. However, I was extremely curious about it – I think it’s the word ‘big’ that got me! When I finally ordered it, I was glad that I made the right decision to order!

Yuzu Iced Tea – Rp 28k and Almond pudding – free

I usually don’t talk about drinks unless they are worth mentioning. I am a big fan of Yuzu fruit and it’s a rarity even in Japanese restaurants. We definitely can taste the strong Yuzu flavour in the iced tea!

The final verdict for Akane Tokyo Cuisine

Akane Tokyo Cuisine served very nice dishes. Their Sushi was also pretty fresh – by Indonesian standard. There was only one big issue…

Did you know?

Akane allows people to smoke in the restaurant and they do not have any non-smoking sections. They would have rated better if they had one.

Rating for Akane Tokyo Cuisine:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 7.5 / 10

Price: $4 – $20 per dish

Place: 6.5 / 10

Details:

Crowne Plaza, Jalan Jenderal Gatot Subroto, Jakarta

+62 21 5268833

Jan 8, 2016
Choco Corner

My Choco Corner Experience:

Located in Mal Artha Gading (North East Jakarta), I must admit that I would not normally visit the area as I tend to stick to Central or South Jakarta (due to the traffic). However if you are around the area, I can say that Choco Corner truly worth your visit.

Established in 2010, Choco Corner have quite a large variety of food on their menu, from classical Indonesian, Indonesian fusion, Spanish, and other – what Indonesians called – the ‘Western’ food.

Beef Nachos Grande might not be as ‘grande’ (large in Spanish) as one would expect. However, it was actually big for Indonesian standards. When you order Nachos in Indonesia, you usually get a few pieces of tortilla with half-heartedly put tiny pieces of meat. So looking at this serving made me quite happy.

Beef Nachos Grande – 43.9k

Our next entree is a hidden gem. It is also appropriately named as the Exotic Delight! The image might not do justice as it only showed French fries and capsicums. However, I can tell you that they are not your usual French fries.

Exotic Delight – 34.9k

I ordered Nasi Goreng Kambing (lamb fried rice) because I wanted to make a comparison (that might sound a little bit unfair) to the legendary Nasi Goreng Kambing Kebon Sirih. In terms of aesthetic, there was no doubt that their fried rice fared a lot better than the legendary site. It was still a good alternative if you didn’t want to travel to Central Jakarta.

Nasi Goreng Kambing – 35.9k

They also have decent-sized ribs, such as Iga bakar balado or Rib original barbecue. Iga bakar balado had quite a unique taste to it as it was meant to be hot and spicy (not your typical ribs, eh?). Rib (notice that it is only one rib) original barbecue on the other hand resembled your typical ribs with slightly juicy twist, Indonesian-style.

Iga bakar balado – 78.9k

Rib original barbecue – 78.9k

The dish that I actually ordered myself was smoked chicken with creamy mushroom sauce. You get nearly half a chicken with a hint of salsa and green veggies at the top. The chicken was perfectly cooked (well, in this case, smoked) and I was impressed with the combination of mushroom sauce and sweet and sour. They also have other flavours for the smoked chicken you are welcomed to try!

Smoked chicken with creamy mushroom sauce – 69.9k

I didn’t get to try the next two dishes. Its Spaghetti Bolognaise was nicely presented with two edible curiously-looking things sticking out of the noodles. If you look at its Lasagna alforno you have to admire its juicy and messy feel to it! Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty in it!

Spaghetti Bolognaise – 36.9k

Lasagna alforno – 36.9k

The final verdict for Choco Corner

All of the dishes were beautifully presented and done at Choco Corner Mal Artha Gading. Our favourites of the day were the Exotic Delight and Smoked Chicken. They were exotically different than other dishes I’ve eaten in Indonesia.

Did you know?

Choco Corner was a brainchild in 2009 of a reunion of classmates from Institut Pertanian Bogor (IPB – Bogor Agricultural University) that wanted to promote cacao commodity. From a simple coffee corner, they expanded to full-blown restaurant service without leaving their core cocoa values!

Details:

Mal Artha Gading – Ground Floor

+62 21 458 641 99

Oct 24, 2014
Cut The Crab

Review:

Every time I go back to Indonesia, I always ask my relatives, friends, and other food connoisseurs about the current trend in the gastronomy world. Some of them mentioned that the 2014 food destination is Cut the Crab. So, here we are trying to figure out what the fuss is all about.

The restaurant’s concept is quite ‘common’ these days amongst seafood restaurants: Your table is your plate. Basically, they just pour everything on the table. You then have to eat with your bare hands. So, you have to throw your table manner far far away and start a savage beatdown on those dishes! However, it is quite a risky business in Indonesia, especially when you have outdoor tables.

Starting off quite ‘civilised’, we have the Garlic Bread and Fish and Chips. For only less than $1, I can’t complain about the portion size of the garlic bread. They served two decent cutlets of fish with the chips. The fish and chips were actually quite nice and it’s a pretty good option for people who don’t want to get their hands dirty.

Cut the crab’s signature dish is the Crab Combo, which is technically just mud crab and corn. You are given a choice of male and female mud crab with sizes range from Extra Small to XXL. On this occasion we ordered the medium male crab and small female crab. They say the male is 1 kg and it costs around $22.

They have an interesting two-dimensional system for its sauce. You can choose a combination of sweet and salty with three levels of hotness: Non Spicy, Medium, and XXX. A word of advice: when Indonesians said hot, then it is really (REALLY) hot!

For me, the best value for your money is either its Crawfish Combo or Shrimp Combo. For only around $10, you get crawfish (or shrimp), green mussel, beef sausages, sweet potato and corn. It is a decent-sized portion for one!

Crawfish combo (Rp 110.000,00)

If you can’t decide between shrimp or crawfish, you can get its Seafood Mix of Green mussel, shrimp and crawfish for less than $20. This one is more for share plate as they don’t include the sweet potato and corn.

Seafood Mix (Rp. 200.000,00)

Last, but not least, I present you the mound of aftermath!

The final verdict for Cut The Crab

I must say Cut the Crab is quite daring in presenting this table-as-plate concept in its restaurant. In general, Indonesia isn’t known for its good hygiene condition. However, there was nothing wrong when we were there (and 10 days after that). The price was very affordable and the taste didn’t disappoint as well!

Did you know?

Mud Crab in Sydney ranges between $65 and $85 per kg! So you could literally eat to your heart’s content and still pay only a fraction of it!

In 2013, Steak Hotel by Holycow was the food destination. They have just opened their first branch in Surabaya.

Rating for Cut the Crab:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 7.5 / 10

Price: $10-20 for main dish

Place: 7.0 / 10

Details:

Jalan Cikajang no 32, Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan

+62 21 7206810

http://cutthecrabcoid.wordpress.com/

Sep 19, 2014