Category: Global Cuisines

All About Food Blog loves trying different cuisines from all around the world. Sometimes food has the same name but completely different look and taste.

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
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
Suminoya

Rating:

8 / 10

Taste: 8.5/10

Price: $55 per person

Place: 7/10

Review:

I have always loved Suminoya for as long as I can remember. I’ve wanted to write about it, but I always had a problem putting together writing and pictures that represent Suminoya. My apology since there is a discrepancy between picture and real life condition. The price has now increased by $5.

If you see the menu, there are plenty of dishes to choose from. You have a choice between gourmet and premium buffet. With premium buffet, you can order as much Sashimi as you want with other fantastic additional dishes along the way. It’s no brainer that I would choose the premium buffet, considering that you only pay $8 more for it. There is also an option to get as much Calpis drink as you want for an extra $5.

I will start off with the Sashimi. They have a range of Salmon, Kingfish, Tuna, Beef, and Squid. Even if you eat just the Sashimi for the whole night, you’ll get a massive value for your money! In line with the Sashimi, they also have Yukke. It’s a marinated raw beef with egg yolk. I know some people might stay away from it, but if you are really adventurous you really must order this. This is the best Yukke I have ever tasted.

With premium buffet, you can order unlimited number of plates for Beef Tongue and Beef Ribs Finger. You get one plate each for the gourmet one. The good news is, they have upgraded their beef to Wagyu for the new menu! There is also Chicken Gristles for bone-crushers. This dish requires a good understanding on how to cook chicken and you really must not eat it raw.

From the seafood department, you can always order Scallops, pre-chilled Unagi, and Garlic Prawns. Like its Sashimi, this seafood was incredibly fresh. It is highly recommended that you cook them through to avoid any food poisoning.

For those of you who don’t really like to cook your food, Suminoya also provided you with a small range of cooked dishes. On this occasion, I tried to order Beef Komutan which is a soup-based dish. There is also a range of salad like Seafood Salad and the always tasty dried seaweed.

The final verdict: Suminoya is one of my favourite restaurants in Sydney. Their Yukke and Sashimi are to die for!

Did you know?

I am really ecstatic to see that Suminoya is now part of the Entertainment Book. Since this is the restaurant that I will always go to, 25% off doesn’t sound so bad!

Do me a favour and buy this book… You won’t regret it and I guarantee you’ll save a lot more than what you pay for the book!

PS: I wasn’t paid to say all these!!

Details:

1 Hosking Place, Sydney, NSW 2000

+61 2 9231 2177

http://yakiniku.com.au/suminoya/

May 9, 2012
World’s Restaurant of the Year 2012

Congratulations to Noma from Denmark for the hat-trick at the top of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants!

Asia’s best restaurant is now at the hand of Iggy’s at number 26! In addition to Iggy’s, Singapore also had 3 other restaurants in the top 100.

Australia is still represented by four restaurants this year, but we have a shift in ranking.

Quay is still at the top of the list at 29, although overall they were down 3 spots in this year’s Restaurant of the Year 2012 list.

Marque is the new number two and sitting at 61. They went up by 3 this year.

Attica also went down by 10 to number 63.

The worst performer, but still managed to hang on to the top 100 spot is Tetsuya’s. They are now at 76, down 18 spots.

May 1, 2012