All About Food

Category: Surabaya

Surabaya is definitely the best city in Indonesia. It has a whole range of culinary experience for our food review with a lot less traffic than Jakarta.

  • Dome Coffees

    Dome Coffees

    Rating:


    7 / 10
    Taste: 7/10
    Price: <$15 main course
    Place: 7.5/10

    Review:

     

    We started off our Indonesian food journey with a stop on Dome coffees. I know this is not strictly Indonesian food – as a matter of fact it’s actually a franchise from Australia. However, Dome coffees in Galaxy Mall presented a unique experience of café with truly edible choices of food (i.e. it’s not just sandwiches and cakes!).

    Espreski is Dome’s signature drink. Indonesian-version of espreski is quite different. It is still a blend of espresso, ice cream and crushed ice, but it has different flavours. The most interesting one is Avocado Espreski. The combination of Indonesian avocado and Espreski was truly out of this world. It’s a shame that their Latte(s) are not the normal style (with the coffee on top).



    Zuppa soup is probably the most ordered dish in this restaurant. Its massive size (for a soup) and round pastry top should be enough to entice onlookers. You can choose to enjoy the soup and pastry separately or mix the pastry together. I suggest you do the latter one. The combination created reduction for the soup and enhanced the pastry’s taste. Zuppa soup is one of the few soups that I would order in a restaurant (without being given to me freely as a package).

    For light snacks, our choice would be the Deep Fried Mushroom since it was crispy and soft with a side of mayonnaise. I don’t really recommend the Cheese Sticks. They were pretty average and didn’t go together with the sauce.

    Our first main dish was Peking Duck Pizza, although I’m pretty sure the term ‘Peking’ is used loosely here. It was a pretty unusual topping for pizza, but (upon searching in the all-knowing Google) there were quite a few restaurants serving this dish. Although it looked quite pale, the base was actually quite thin and was supported by additional crispy topping. They also put hoi sin sauce for the topping to enhance and complement the duck flavour (a no-brainer really given the strong taste of duck).


    Cordon Bleu has always been one of my favourite dishes, I’d order when there is one. This one was an okay one. It was slightly small, but it has a nice mushroom sauce and crispy coating. The better main dish of the night was John Dory Fish. The fish was surprisingly fresh, considering this is a ‘plaza restaurant’. Then there was the sauce, lemon and capers. It further refreshed the overall taste of the dish.



    The final verdict for Dome Coffees

    There’s an overall standard to its quality at Dome Coffees.  Being a coffee shop, their drinks were fabulous and everything on their Espreski line was nice. Most people ordered Zuppa Soup to accompany their drinks and I think that made the perfect combo.

     

    Did you know?

    Dome Coffees Galaxy is (supposed to be) part of an Australian café chain. However, when I looked at the website, ALL of the Indonesian cafes are not listed there. Furthermore,none of the menu listed on the website resembles the menu on these Indonesian ‘branches’, not even its signature drink – Espreski. The only activity I can get from Dome Indonesia is through its twitter @DOME_cafe

    This Dome Coffees café also offered free WiFi for its patrons. This service seemed to be the standards for café business in Indonesia these days.

     

    Details:

    Galaxy Mall II, 2nd Floor, No 249 & 296, Surabaya 14240

    http://www.domecoffees.com.au/

  • Layar Seafood Restaurant

    Layar Seafood Restaurant

    Rating:

    7.5 / 10

     

    Taste: 8 /10

    Price: Rp. 75,000 – Rp. 150,000 =$8 – $17

    Place: 7/10

     

    Review:

    We concluded the month of Indonesian food journey with one of the best seafood restaurants (in terms of taste) in Surabaya,Layar Seafood Restaurant. I put the bracket there because its table was poorly set; in fact it was only covered with layers of plastics for their ease of cleanups.

    Although they have gained considerable amount of fame, Layar still managed not to charge exorbitant price for its menu. You can either pick your food straight from the fish tanks outside, or choose from the plenty choices on their menu. We started the night with the drinks, Lychee Juice and Iced Tea. As with any other Indonesian dinner, we had share plates for tonight as well.

    The first two starter-ish dishes were Garlic steamed oyster and Deep fried eels. The oysters are sold individually because of its size. One massive oyster was served on a heated aluminium serving plate. It had a nice taste, although it lacked chewiness due to its size. The other dish was extra crunchy and the dipping sauce created an extra taste of yumm!

    The two vegetable dishes that we ordered were Ca Kangkung (loosely translated into stir fried water spinach) and Sambal Eggplants. The water spinach added a touch of freshness to our otherwise ‘greasy’ night. The eggplants were served in a sizzling hot plate with a hint of chilli taste, though not overpowering. They were sort of twice cooked and were quite soft – unlike the hard, grilled eggplants from BBQ.

    I must say that the highlight of the night came from the next two dishes. First one was Salted egg yolk Soft-shelled Crab. I must admit that even with the lettuce garnish, it still didn’t look appealing. However, when you had them with your steaming hot rice, they were perfect. The crab’s crunch and coarseness of the egg created a nice combination for us to enjoy.

    Then came the ‘actual’ crab, Crab with Padang-style sauce. This was actually a work of art. The aroma, the presentation and the taste were all appetising. Even with all the difficulties of eating a crab, this was still the dish to order. You will be able to choose between, small, female (with egg), or Jumbo (they might sometimes call it Super) crab. Personally I like the ones with egg, because of the added taste of the egg, but if you want value out of your crab, I suggest you order the Jumbo ones. They were all massive and meaty.

    The final verdict for Layar Seafood Restaurant

    Their Padang-sauced crabs and Soft-shelled crab in egg yolks were dishes to die for. They were absolutely amazing. Feel free to explore the different kinds of fish they have, especially the steamed ones, because unfortunately we didn’t order any this time around.

    Did you know?

    Layar is possibly the fastest growing seafood restaurant in Surabaya this 00’s decade. It started off as a tiny off-the-street restaurant and grew over the last decade to have two restaurants on major streets of Surabaya. They simply provide one of the freshest seafood with great taste.

    Location:

    Jl. Manyar Kertoarjo No. 62, Surabaya, East Java

  • Boncafe Steakhouse

    Boncafe Steakhouse

    Rating:

    7 / 10

    Taste: 7 /10

    Price: Rp. 100,000 pp = $11

    Place: 8/10

    Review:

    This week we’ll visit (possibly) the oldest and most well known western restaurant in Surabaya, Boncafe Steakhouse. It manages to survive amongst the elites due to its ability to reinvent itself over the years and bring in new and attractive menu to its customers. This improvement is apparent in its renovation of the building and a change in its fries and some other new food.

    You will always start your lunch/dinner with complimentary bread when you order the steak. I chose to go heavy on the drink by ordering a mixture of coconut and avocado juice, named Snow on the Desert. I love avocado juice in Indonesia because of its soft and sweet taste. The coconut was sort of sprinkled on top with coffee syrup sprayed over it.

    For starters we ordered two of Boncafe’s originals: Kulit Ayam (Crispy Chicken Skin) and Butter Corn. Although it might not be the healthiest starter, the skin was incredibly crunchy. Combined with their special sauce, it became one of my favourite starters of all time. The butter corn was boiled corn with a hint of butter and a sprinkle of grated cheese served in a petite corn-shaped bowl. It was also sweet and nice.

    Before we move on to the steak, I must tell you that unless you stated otherwise, it will always come with Boncafe’s legendary mushroom sauce. I would also recommend you to have the steak medium well, considering the meat products of Indonesia.

    The steaks were served in sizzling hot plate and I personally love the sound of the sizzling when the waiter pours the sauce onto the plate. The first one we ordered was the original Sirloin Steak. It was a decent-sized steak with a little extra side dish. Then came the new food on the menu, BBQ Lamb Ribs. Slightly bigger size than the Sirloin, but I guess it was due to the bone part of the Ribs.

    However I would still recommend you to taste their original collection: Cordon Bleu, Spring Chicken, or Mixed Grill.

    The final verdict: Old favourites like Spring Chicken and Cordon Bleu are still better than the new additions. Unfortunately this time we didn’t order them. Otherwise, It’s a decent restaurant with a local taste.

    Did you know?

    The one I visited was actually the branch. The main restaurant is located in Kertajaya. Boncafe is one of the rare few restaurants that manage to withstand local Surabaya’s harsh food climates. People continually crave for innovative new choices in restaurants or they’d face the inevitable decline of patrons.

    As with most restaurant in Indonesia, unfortunately they do not have a website that we can go to.

    Location:

    Jalan Raya Gubeng 44 – 46, Surabaya, East Java

  • Takigawa Restaurant

    Takigawa Restaurant

    Rating:

    7 / 10

    Taste: 7.5/10

    Price Range: Rp. 90,000++ » $10

    Place: 6.5/10

     

     

    Review:

    One of the surprise finding of my trip to Indonesia, Takigawa restaurant captured my attention with their nice display of the food, great taste, and nice ambience (they have free Wi-Fi connection too!).We typically oversaw this restaurant because of the bigger-name chain restaurants available at the mall.

    Takigawa restaurant

    On with the starters for the day… Shiitake Ball and Kawa Salad. An early surprise for me, this deep-fried shiitake mushrooms were filled with minced beef, then garnished with Katsuobushi, Japanese mayonnaise and sauce; An excellent combination of savoury starter. Kawa, deep-fried skin, salad added a nice addition of freshness to the starter.

    We started the main course with a nice plate of Chahan, Seafood Fried Rice. A generous serving of seafood for its price, Chahan acted as the tummy-filling main course. My all-time favourite dish came next: Syake kabutoyaki, a.k.a. Salmon Head Teriyaki. Yes, you read it correctly… the best piece of salmon (yet, the cheapest!) grilled and salted to perfection with teriyaki glazing. Granted that this part of salmon took a bit of effort, but it’s only 1/5th of the price of Salmon Belly and you got twice as much meat.

    Our last main course of the day was Cheezy Seafood Pan. Bear a striking resemblance to Sushi Tengoku’s baked scallop, this dish was an absolute killer. Layers of grilled scallop, salmon, tuna and crab stick baked in a melted cheese and mayonnaise with tobiko. It’s just wonderful to taste, but unfortunately the portion is quite small (you might need to order two plates).

    For refreshment we chose the all-too-standard Hot Ocha (Japanese Green Tea), but it was a free flow! So, you can have the tasty Green Tea as much as you like. We also ordered Green Tea Smoothies. Again, the taste of it was as expected of any other Japanese Green Tea. Chocolate Melt seemed to be the big kick to end the night, however the Chocolate Souffle was sort of a letdown in what could have been a perfect dinner experience.

    Overall, it’s still a worthwhile visit to the restaurant and we’re still eyeing for the Green Tea Creme Bruleé, they were sold out when we were there. Additionally, there are like 100+ choices that you might want to explore in this restaurant.

    Did you know?

    As mentioned on my other review, Surabaya Town Square (Sutos) is the newest shopping mall in Surabaya. If you want to go there, don’t go on weekends since there will be crazy amount of people trying to get into the mall. Traffic management has become the main cause of chaos surrounding the venue. Lack of parking space and poor parking space design has led to congestion in every entrance and exit of the mall.

    Sutos is the place to be when it comes to asking your date out. It has everything you want to do, from the only 3D cinema in town, to the best Karaoke lounge. It has nice restaurants and also a pool bar.

    Location:

    Surabaya Town Square Plaza Level Unit P 31-32 Jl. Aditiawarman No. 55 Surabaya

    http://www.takigawaresto.com/en/home.html

  • Fish n Co

    Fish n Co

    Rating:
    7 / 10
    Taste: 7.5/10
    Price Range: Rp. 90,000++ » $10
    Place: 7/10

    Review:

    The restaurant visit happened nearly a month ago and unfortunately some of the drinks name escape my mind… my apology. However, I can still describe how it tastes. There were 5 of us but we only ordered 2 appetisers and 2 main courses since the portion was massive.

     

    Located in the newest shopping mall in Surabaya, Fish & Co (or Fish n Co) picked the prime spot of the mall, near the centre stage. It provided both good and bad for us customers. When there are events on centre stage, the place can be really crowded and noisy. Just like most of good seafood restaurants, Fish & Co is decorated with marine and harbour theme. They have wooden wall decoration and wooden fish placemats.

    We ordered the most basic appetiser: Bread with Garlic Butter. As you can tell the taste was – well – garlic-y. The bread was nice and warm with a nice butter spread. For the second appetiser we had Soft Shell Crab Salad. It was pretty disappointing since there was only one TINY crab. Fortunately the salad was fresh with a nice dressing.

    We also had two main courses: Seafood Platter For Two and Spaghetti with Mushroom Sauce. In our opinon, the first course was not for two, because we (5) had difficulties in finishing it. It consisted of one grilled fish, 10 tiger prawns, grilled squids, and 4 grilled mussels in a bed of fries and yellow Mexican rice. To supplement the platter we were also given tartare and sweet chilli sauce. The seafood was really nice. Our second main course was also fabulous. It was a simple presentation of spaghetti in alfredo sauce with mushrooms and cheese.

    Unfortunately we could not remember the drinks name, but we remembered one was with passionfruit and the other with lychee. The drink came in a massive glass as seen in the picture. You could order the iced coffee for a much smaller glass or soft drinks.

    Did you know?

    As mentioned on the review, Surabaya Town Square (Sutos) is the newest shopping mall in Surabaya. If you want to go there, don’t go on weekends since there will be crazy amount of people trying to get into the mall. Traffic management has become the main cause of chaos surrounding the venue. Lack of parking space and poor parking space design has led to congestion in every entrance and exit of the mall.

    Sutos is the place to be when it comes to asking your date out. It has everything you want to do, from the only 3D cinema in town, to the best Karaoke lounge. It has nice restaurants and also a pool bar.

     

    Location:

    Surabaya Town Square, Unit P.03 & P.05, Surabaya, Indonesia

    http://www.fish-co.com/

  • American Grill

    American Grill

    Rating:

    7 / 10

     

    		 Taste: 7/10

    Price Range: Rp. 120,000++ » $15

    Place: 8/10

    Review:

    After so long tinkering on what would have been my first review on Restaurants in Surabaya, the choice fell to American Grill. There are some candidates to the review that I decided to shelve until sometimes in the future. I personally think that American Grill was a nationalised version of US’s steak giant Sizzler since I don’t have any evidence on the correlation between the two. However, the restaurant’s logo and concept are strikingly similar to Sizzler.

    American Grill

    Why American Grill? Simply because I love everything BBQ or steak. There was a steak place that we love to eat, called Pro Steak. We reckon that was the best steak place in Surabaya. Unfortunately, the place was closed down. This restaurant turned out to be one of the contenders to win our hearts in the meat department.

    In American Grill, you get to eat as much as you can for its salad bar, ice cream, and other light meals on the bar for every main course you order. My choice of main course fell to the three racks of American BBQ Beef Ribs.Three gigantic beef ribs (according to Indonesian standards) were stacked on a hot plate on top of a bigger serving plate – yep, that’s a lot of plate on the table. It’s accompanied by your choice of fries and an odd complement of two slices of watermelon. I don’t understand why watermelon since it’s free to pick from the fruit bar anyway.The ribs themselves were fabulous. They were grilled up to the non-burnt limit. They could be cut off the bone really smoothly. The BBQ sauce was a little bit of a let down since they tasted like those supermarket brands.

    They have quite a bit of variation with the ribs that include Steak and ribs or Boneless Ribs and Sirloin Steak. The steak was pretty bland and was not fresh. You would have to take the optional condiments for the steak to taste better.

    On with the salad bar! Since I had a ‘green veggies only’ restriction, I could only show you the pic of green beans, broccoli and potato skins in white sauce. They had a full range of salad bar with four different sauces. They also served three kinds of soups.

    On the fruit and desert department, they had sweet basil seed jelly, various fruits and puddings that I couldn’t take and/or finish. The night was ended with a cup of Lychee Yoghurt in Raspberry sauce. The yoghurt had a good balance of sweet and sour. Optionally, you could also have a chocolate ice cream with different kinds of lollies, peanuts and chocolates.

    Did you know?

    IMHO, Most of the tastiest food in Surabaya came from a small restaurant that provides a single menu. For example, Bebek (Duck) Palupi of Rungkut, Lamb Satay in Pucang or Soto (some kind of soup) Ambengan. Thus it creates a different atmosphere to a big chain restaurant. It is also pretty difficult to describe the singular food experience to be written in my blog.

    My aim is to get the next two weeks of review on restaurants in Surabaya, or possibly one in Bali. We’ll see how it goes…

    Location:

    Tunjungan Plaza 3 Lower Ground Floor, Basuki Rahmat 8 – 12, Surabaya, Indonesia