Dear fellow tasters,

A few days ago, to welcome the lunar or Chinese year of the dragon, I was invited to a Yee Sang Dinner at Lai Ching (meaning a beautiful jade), a sophisticated and stylish Cantonese restaurant located on the second floor of five-star Four Seasons Hotel Jakarta.  Prior to a couple of weeks before the dinner, I was not aware of what Yee Sang is.  But after tweets from Erza S.T. who invited me to the dinner and googling through wikipedia and other websites, I became a bit acquainted with this salad dish which have been more popularized in Indonesia in recent years as a Chinese New Year cuisine.

Yee Sang or Yu Sheng (鱼生), literally means “raw fish” but also known as prosperity toss, is a raw fish salad, comprising of different shredded vegetables, slices of raw fish (salmon is commonly used these days), mixed with sauces and condiments, and other ingredients (in some version up to 27 ingredients are used).  The Chinese philosophy behind yee sang is its homophone to the same Chinese words meaning “an increase in abundance”.  Thus, yee sang is considered a symbol of wishes for abundance and prosperity in the coming year.

The Lai Ching version of the yee sang that evening consisted of carrots, radishes, lime leaves, jellyfish, pumpkin, ginger, cucumber, papaya, orange peel, grapefruit (pomelo), almond, pickled garlic, and salmon.  Meanwhile the condiments included pepper, cinnamon, sesame oil, plum sauce, and crunchy golden crackers.  The most interesting part before enjoying the yee sang, more with the Chinese philosophy,  was that with the adding of ingredients, a spell related to each ingredient was mentioned as a notion of good wishes and hopes for the year to come.

Then came the tossing part involving every dinner guests picking up the chopsticks, stirring and tossing the yee sang while supposedly pronouncing more spells or the “Lo hei lo hei” (撈起, 撈起) – we kind of skipped the last part because of too much enthusiasm.  It is believed the higher the tossing, the more abundant the fortune will be.  For the eating part, we couldn’t even be bothered to pick up a small plate and just shared together the yee sang on the big serving plate.  As for the taste (for me as a yee sang virgin), it was surprisingly delicious, with sweet, sour, spicy, bitter, salty taste as well as with a jumble of different textures from all the ingredients, crunchy and utterly refreshing.

Then after the yee sang as the focus and the first appetizer of the evening, the dinner continued with several courses of Lai Ching’s signature dishes, cooked by Chef Suratno with great balance and consistency.  The braised bird nest with bamboo pith might look a bit plain, but the taste was elegant and delectable.  It was then followed by the braised sliced abalone with oyster sauce on top of crunchy lettuce – simple yet flavorsome seafood choice, and the steamed soon hock with soya sauce – a clean and well-balanced fish dish.

Another winner for me was the roasted crispy pigeon, a bit of a hassle to eat but definitely a delightful scrumptious treat.  The tiny yet tasty pigeon was good enough to eat on its own or with a dash or peppered salt and seasoned soy sauce.  The following two courses were the garlic sautéed assorted mushroom – delicious and tasteful, and the spicy fried rice with wagyu beef cubes – a bit ordinary but quite enjoyable.

I was feeling a bit full after all the delicious dishes but the dessert was just too good to pass by.  A dessert platter with three different samplers were served – from most favorite to the least, the “guilin” herbal jelly or guilinggao served with honey (supposedly made of turtle shell powder), the chilled mango pudding, and the chilled almond bean curd with fruits.  To finish off the wonderful dinner that evening, another Chinese New Year specialty was presented, the nian gao (also known as kue keranjang or basket cake).  The Lai Ching version is made using glutinous rice and white sugar, instead of brown sugar, and then flour coated and deep fried, resulting in crunchy on the outside and sticky sweet on the inside delight.

I certainly had a mind-blowing Chinese New Year dinner that evening, even though it was a little bit early.  There were good conversation, good companies, a lot of good laugh and definitely good food on the lazy susan.  I would like to thank Mr. Erza, Ms. Marlene as the Director of Public Relations of Four Seasons Jakarta, Ms. Uti as Lai Ching Restaurant Manager, and Four Seasons Hotel Jakarta for the wonderful Yee Sang dinner.

恭喜发财, 新年快乐!  Gong Xi Fa Cai, Xi Nian Kuai Le!  Happy Lunar New Year!

PS: Yee Sang at Lai Ching is available until 15 days after Chinese New Year for a price of 288k++, special Chinese New Year set menu is also available for lunch and dinner starting from 688k++/pax

The taster’s notes:
Favorite dish – yee sang, braised abalone, roasted pigeon
What to try next time – curious about the dim sums
Food rating  
Price rating unknown but I’ll put in
Ambiance rating  
Service rating  
Damage 0/pax

Lai Ching
Four Seasons Hotel Jakarta, 2^nd Floor
Jl. HR Rasuna Said, Jakarta 12920
Ph: +6221 2523456 ext 7149
Fax: +6221 2520287
http://www.fourseasons.com/jakarta
Follow @FSJakarta

Dear fellow tasters,

The chicken wing fast food industry is somewhat booming recently with different outlets bringing different recipes popping in shopping malls around Jakarta.  Kamikaze Karaage, a Japanese contender, is one of them.  I’ve been to their Grand Indonesia outlet several times and I can say that I kind of like their chicken wings and other menu items.

From all visits, I always ordered the kamikaze moriawase or set menu, already including a choice of meat (tebasaki, karaage, mixed, or yakiniku), five choice of sauce, rice, and two small side dishes.  The tebasaki (chicken wings) or karaage (boneless chicken fillet) is just a matter of preference but I’ve tried and enjoyed both.  Tebasaki is perfect for those loving the savoriness of chicken wings, while karaage is surely a choice for those wanting more meat without having to sort out through the bones.  And the most delightful part is definitely the coating which is simply crunchy, spicy, and super tasty.

Kamikaze Karaage offers five different sauce to choose from: teriyaki, kaffir lime shoyu, kuro kosho (black pepper), banzai (spicy), and kamize (very spicy).  I’ve only tried the kuro kosho and kamikaze but I think I liked kamikaze best.  Bring on the spiciness!  As for the sides, some I’ve tasted from the most favorite to the least were shisito tempura (tempura of chilli pepper with cheesy filling), tofu furai (deep fried stuffed tofu), tori fireball, kani corn salad, and kakitama soup.

いただきます。 Itadakimasu!

The taster’s notes:
Favorite dish – tebasaki, karaage, shisito tempura
What to try next time – yakiniku, kamikaze bomb burger, and other sides
Food rating  
Price rating  
Ambiance rating  
Service rating  
Damage around 50k/pax

Kamikaze Karaage
Grand Indonesia
Level 3A Unit FD-1-07
Ph: +6221 23581878
Fax: +6221 23581877
http://www.KamikazeKaraage.com
http://www.facebook.com/KamikazeKaraage
Follow @KamikazeKaraage

Dear fellow tasters,

Several weeks ago, still in December 2011, I was invited to a bloggers’ food tasting event for Pandan Village, a casual Indonesian restaurant, nicely located on third floor of Plaza Indonesia.  Despite the modern ambiance and furniture, the dining place offers a taste of home recipes, just like its tagline, with a menu of assorted Indonesian cuisines from around the archipelago.

The list for the food tasting comprised of items from their best sellers.  To start, some snacks and appetizers were served for us.   The risoles (deep-fried stuffed spring rolls) and tahu kipas udang laguna (deep-fried shrimp tofu) proved to be quite a hit.  There was also a unique salad dish named salad borneo (banjar-style chicken salad) – with cucumber slices and yellow mayonnaise-like sauce, topped with shredded chicken and potato chips – and the East Javanese tahu telor pandan village (tofu omelet) although both tasted a bit ordinary.

Then for main course, we first tried out two soup dishes, the asem-asem iga sari kuring (beef ribs sour soup) and sop kikil pandan village (ox-feet soup).  I liked the asem-asem iga with the tender beef ribs and the refreshingly sour tomato and chilli broth.  Kikil is not really something I eat, so I only got a sip of the sop kikil’s broth and it tasted a bit similar to gulai or Indonesian curry.  Then, there was the delicious gurami bakar nusa penida (grilled guramee), which the people at my side of the table seemed to enjoy very much.  Strangely, the same dish at the middle part of table appeared to be untouched.  It turned out the fish was not prepared properly that it still had a bit of muddy flavor.

Other main course dishes that we tasted were the sambal goreng tongkol manalagi (long-tail tuna cooked in red coconut milk) – quite spicy and delectable, the ayam bumbu rujak (Javanese-style chicken sautéed with red chili) – pretty nice although could be more spicy, and two satay or chicken skewer dishes, the sate ayam pandan wangi and sate ayam suroboyo.  Both were quite enjoyable especially the sate ayam pandan wangi which had that distinctive fragrant flavor from the pandan leaves.

The restaurant also offers various Indonesian-themed desserts and drinks.  I tried out the es kopyor (crumbling coconut ice) which were quite pleasant, although they could have been more generous with the kopyor.  Overall, it was a wonderful food tasting event.  I think Pandan Village could be a great addition to Indonesian restaurants, especially in Jakartan shopping malls which have been more dominated by Western and other Asian cuisines.  Lastly, I would like to thank Pandan Village and Mr. Jefri for the kind invite.

Selamat makan!

The taster’s notes:
Favorite dish – asem-asem iga and sambel goreng tongkol
What to try next time – gurami pesmol and sate tulang
Food rating  
Price rating  
Ambiance rating  
Service rating  
Damage 0/pax

Pandan Village
Plaza Indonesia 3^rd Floor No. 118 B
Jl. MH Thamrin Kav. 28-30 Jakarta
Ph: +6221 29923603
Fax: +6221 29923604
http://www.facebook.com/PandanVillageJakarta
Follow @pandanvillage

Dear fellow tasters,

Have a joyous new year!  Last year has been truly a foodie blessing for me.  This blog already reached 40,000+ hits and I also received many invitations for food tasting and gathering events.  So for the first post of 2012, I am going to look back to a food tasting that I had in December 2011 and it was quite a wonderful and fulfilling one.

The tasting was for Collage, an all day international dining restaurant at the recently opened Pullman Hotel Jakarta Central Park.  With stylish urban-pop industrial-raw concept, Pullman Jakarta is a refreshing sanctuary in the midst of crowded West Jakarta vicinity.  Collage is no less entertaining for the gastronomic appetite with scrumptious line-up of various cuisines buffet and live cooking shows, available for breakfast, lunch and dinner.  Besides the buffet, some popular signature dishes, alcoholic cocktails, and non-alcoholic mocktails are also available via a la carte.

My exploring Collage started with a visit to the hors d’oeuvres.  I picked four of them and one was quite unique, the foie gras brulee.  Next stop was Japanese with some sashimi slices (ask the friendly chef to slice some for you) and mini soba.  Sushi was also served but I didn’t get a chance to try.  Then, I picked up a plate with some Indian dishes.  The mutton vindaloo was quite tasty.

The next course was one of the highlights of the evening with the scrumptious and tender slow-cooked beef slices.  I also tried the lamb a la provencale, quite enjoyable but too medium to my liking.  Another signature dish worth trying was the fluffy and fragrant nasi bakar majapahit (majapahit grilled rice), a wonderful attempt at a traditional Indonesian cuisine.  Regretfully, there was no other Indonesian cuisine to accompany the rice, except for the selection of sambals.  I actually wanted to try the Peking duck for my Chinese plate, but apparently they ran out of it so I picked some fried dim sum and red bean pancake instead.

More were served than I could actually eat.  Homemade pasta, cold cuts, fresh seafood and oyster, and noodles were some that I didn’t get a chance to try.  I supposed I would rather save some place for the delightful desserts.  Colorful macaroons, panna cottas, hazelnut praline, financier, and croissant pudding were some scrumptious items from the array of Collage’s assorted desserts.  Thank you Collage and Pullman Jakarta Central Park for inviting me.

Happy new year and happy eating!

The taster’s notes:
Favorite dish – the slow cooked beef and desserts
What to try next time – pasta, fresh seafood and oyster
Food rating  
Price rating  
Ambiance rating  
Service rating  
Damage 0, the price for the buffet is from 190k++/pax

Collage All Day Dining
Pullman Jakarta Central Park
Podomoro City
Jl. Let. Jend. S. Parman Kav. 28, Jakarta 11470
Ph: +6221 29200088
Fax: +6221 29200099
http://www.pullmanjakartacentralpark.com
http://www.pullmanhotels.com/gb/hotel-7536-pullman-jakarta-central-park/index.shtml
http://www.facebook.com/pullmanjakartacp
Follow @Pullman_Jkt_CP

Dear fellow tasters,

This was the second time that I got invited to a Krispy Kreme event; the first one was for the VIP party to celebrate the Krispy Kreme Doughnut Cafe opening.  At the party, there were a lot of things going on and when I finally sat down in the cafe, it was very crowded and there wasn’t many chance to try out their doughnuts and baked creations.  So when a second invitation for a separate blogger gathering came in, it was very much welcome and we did end up having a wonderful sugary Krispy Kreme time.

Back to the Krispy Kreme Doughnut Cafe at Central Park Mall on a lovely Saturday morning, several food bloggers and I were ready to go through the rundown for the gathering.  First, there was an introduction and explanation of the new doughnut cafe concept by Mr. Yayat, the store manager and Ms. Enny, the marketing manager of Krispy Kreme Indonesia.  Then, before we got to the tasting part, we were taken inside the Doughnut Theater where we got to see the production of the original glazed doughnuts using automated machines.  It was very interesting and the best part was that we were given a freshly-made hot original glazed doughnut which tasted silky sweet and gave the ‘melt in your mouth’ sensation.

The tasting continued with the Christmas special snowman and snowflake doughnuts.  The snowman doughnuts were launched to celebrate the festive Christmas season around the world.  Shaped like a snowman, there are two variants, the red scarf snowman with chocolate filling and the green scarf snowman with blackcurrant filling, both with lickable premium white chocolate topping.  There is also another holiday treat, the snowflake doughnut, with delicious custard filling, chocolate topping and sugar powder sprinkled in a snowflake shape.

Then, there were the new baked creations product line, the kruffins and pull aparts, some I had managed to taste on the previous event.  This time I tried different variants from each.  For kruffin, the Apple Streusel was my new favorite with a texture lighter than regular muffins and apple filling in the kruffin hole.  For pull apart, I tried the Double Cheese which tasted delicious with the melting cheese after getting warmed in the oven.  For drink, I also got a chance to try a Krispy Kreme beverage, the mocha marshmallow which tasted quite nice with heart-warming chocolaty coffee flavor and sweet marshmallow on top.

The last program on the gathering was to ‘design your own doughnut’ in the Processing Area.  I didn’t take part in designing my own doughnut but other bloggers were quite enthusiastic about it and you can see some of their creations in the picture gallery.  It was overall a fun gathering with lots of picture taking, chatting and of course eating and tasting.  I even felt a bit on a sugar rush after all the sweet treats.  Thank you Krispy Kreme Indonesia for inviting me to the Krispy Kreme foodie blogger gathering.

A doughnut without a hole is a danish!

The taster’s notes:
Favorite dish – the snowflake doughnut and apple streusel
What to try next time – might try other doughnut, baked creations or beverage
Food rating  
Price rating  
Ambiance rating  
Service rating  
Damage 0

Krispy Kreme Doughnut Cafe
Central Park Mall – Podomoro City
Ground Floor (Access from Tribeca Park)
http://www.krispykreme.co.id
http://www.facebook.com/KrispyKremeIndonesia
Follow @KrispyKremeIndo

Dear fellow tasters,

Last month, I entered another eating competition but in a much smaller scale than the previous one.  I learned about the registration from twitter and it was for Marutama Ra-men.  Apparently, the eating competition was a part of a two days event organized by Plaza Indonesia with nine other participating F & B tenants and the Marutama Ra-men session was assigned to the second place for the first day.

Long story short, the competition was to finish one bowl of Marutama Ra-men (noodle, broth, vegetables and everything in it) and the fastest two will get the prize, 200k Marutama Ra-men voucher each.  This time, there were only ten contestants for the session.  The eating lasted for less than five minutes and I was no luckier than my first attempt at eating competition.  I lost and I blamed it on the hot soup that scalded my tongue and made it harder to eat at a faster rate.  Nevertheless, all the contestants got a consolation prize, 50k voucher for Marutama Ra-men, and a You vs Food T-shirt to wear for the competition although the size was a bit small for me.

Wish me luck on the next eating competition.

Marutama Ra-men
eX Plaza Indonesia
2nd floor #eX-20
Jl. MH Thamrin Kav 28-30
Jakarta 10350
Ph: +6221 3160705
Fax: +6221 3151874
http://m-ramen.com
http://www.facebook.com/MarutamaRamen
Follow @MarutamaRamen

Dear fellow tasters,

On Thursday last week, I joined another food tasting gathering.  Well, I didn’t get invited at first but I read about it on twitter, so I mentioned Mr. Curry’s twitter account and yay an email came in for the invitation *grin*.  I have been to Mr. Curry several times but only at their Grand Indonesia restaurant.  This time, the food tasting was held at their second and newest outlet at Pondok Indah Mall 2.  Location wise, it’s not that far but add weekday after-work hour and crazy Jakartan traffic, it took me two and a half hour to get there.

By the time I got to Mr. Curry and had a chance to catch my breath, it was already 8 pm and all the other tasters already passed through the appetizer and ready to start the main course.  Fortunately, I still managed to get some pictures before the food got devoured and Miss Mila from Ismaya also ordered a new batch of appetizers for me to try.  There were two appetizer dishes, four main courses and two desserts on the food tasting list but more items actually appeared on the table.  Check them out below.

Appetizers

• Salmon Carpaccio – I just loved the freshness of this dish, the crunch of the lettuce and cherry tomatoes, the delicious salmon slices, and the tasty tangy salad dressing.
• Korokoro Tofu – These breaded and deep fried silk tofu dices are so hard to get away from, I couldn’t seem to stop munching them.

Main Courses

• Chicken Katsu Curry Rice – I didn’t manage to get my hand on this, but I had it before on my previous visit to Mr. Curry and loved it.  This chef’s recommended good old chicken katsu with curry sauce and rice is a classic.
• Assorted Mushroom Omurice – The omurice was not that fluffy melty type which I am still searching for.  Nevertheless, the portion was generous and it tasted quite delicious.  The omelette rice was nicely drenched with double cream and demiglace sauce with lots of mushrooms in it.
• Minced Beef Spaghetti – Pasta and curry proved to be quite a match in this menu.  The spaghetti was paired with tasty minced beef mixed in sweet savory curry sauce.
• Hokkai Curry Ramen – The ramen was also served with curry sauce, topped with egg, tofu and scallops.  The noodle was a bit soft to my liking (probably overcooked), but it was quite enjoyable.
• Oyakodon – This chicken and egg donburi contained curry sauce as well and tasted pretty yummy.
• Salmon Curry Pilaf – I didn’t get a taste of this fried rice-like dish but it sure looked appetizing.

 Desserts

• Macha Karamba – This scrumptious dorayaki tower was made of a stack of hanito (honey toast) and dorayaki and on the side were three scoops of macha (green tea) ice cream with a dash of red bean paste.  I especially loved the bittersweet flavor of the ice cream.
• A Dash of Fruits Splash – Didn’t try this one either, pretty much the same as macha karamba but with vanilla ice cream instead of macha, and fruits instead of red bean.

For drinks, there were two items that I tried.  The first one that I ordered upon arriving was the blueberry lassi which was a nice refresher with sweet and sour blueberry and yoghurt flavor.  And the second beverage was the black sesame smoothie, also very enjoyable with sweet roasty taste of black sesame.  It was a fun food tasting evening, regardless of the stressful ride to and from the premise.  Thank you Miss Mila from Ismaya and Miss Grace from Mr. Curry for being wonderful hosts.  Thank you Mr. Curry for the scrumptios treats.

ご馳走さ。 Gochisōsama!

The taster’s notes:
Favorite dish – korokoro tofu, salmon carpaccio, assorted mushroom omurice, macha karamba
What to try next time – haven’t tried the naan and other desserts
Food rating  
Price rating  
Ambiance rating  
Service rating  
Damage 0/pax

Mr. Curry, Japanese Curry & Sweet House
Pondok Indah Mall 2
Restaurant Row, Level 3
Jl. Metro Pondok Indah, Jakarta
Ph: +6221 75920666
http://www.ismayagroup.com/mrcurry
http://www.facebook.com/iloveMrCurry
Follow @MRCURRY_

Dear fellow tasters,

One fine Sunday evening, several blogger friends and I gathered for a self-organized dinner for the first time ever, after a series of meet-ups through food tasting or blogger gathering event.  We had planned this through twitter for several days and although in the end only eight person managed to come, the eating had to go on, come rain or storm.  Tapas was the theme of the evening and we decided to try the recently opened Tapas Movida, located in what used to be Praline, in Cipete Raya, South Jakarta area.  The restaurant’s interior was decorated with Spanish Flamenco dancers paintings on the earth-colored wall and furnished with comfortable brown sofa lining up the dining area.  There was also a more interesting semi-outdoor area with colorful tiled and white plastered seating but it turned out to be a smoking area.

It was a wonderful experience trying out Spanish tapas and cuisine, a rare thing to be encountered in Jakartan culinary scene.  Five of us arrived earlier and we ordered a paella to share, which took around 40 minutes to cook, while waiting for the other three to show up.  We also ordered a jug of sangria, various tapas and some desserts.  Here goes the order list.

Raciones (bigger portion to share)

• Tortilla Española / Spanish potato omelette – Quite delicious
• Albóndigas / Spanish meatballs – Definitely one of the highlights of the evening, the meatballs were tiny but huge in flavor.  It was meaty, well seasoned and dipped in delectable brownish sauce.

Pinchos (single portion tapas)

• Gambones con gabardina y alioli / Prawns in jackets with garlic mayonnaise – Prawn and mayonnaise on toast, what more can you ask.
• Tosta de brie y cebolla caramelizada / Toast with brie cheese and caramelized onion – Loved the taste of the cheesy brie and caramelized onion
• Montadito de ternera con queso azul y cebolla caramelizada / Tenderloin, cambozola and caramelized onion on toast – The tenderloin was a bit chewy but overall quite enjoyable
• Patata confitada con salmón y compota de manzana / Candied potato with salmon and apple compote – Sweet tasting potato with scrumptious smoked salmon, however didn’t really get the apple compote taste
• Bruschetta de guacamole y gambas al ajilo / Guacamole bruschetta with garlic shrimps – Simply delicious with fresh lemony guacamole and tasty shrimps.
• Pintxo de pollo moruno con salsa de yogur y queso / Chicken, yoghurt sauce and cheese – The chicken was well marinated and flavorsome, perfect with the sour and herby yoghurt cheese dipping sauce.
• Espárragos trigueros con huevos pasados por agua / Green asparagus with poached eggs – Didn’t really try the asparagus and didn’t get a picture, appearance was a bit ordinary.

Hmm, that was a lot of tapas to describe but eating them surely was much easier.  The main course and desserts follow next.

Platos Principales

• Paella de marisco / Seafood Spanish yellow rice – The only main course that we ordered, the paella was of generous portion, served on a wide pan with lots of stuffs in it, chicken, prawns, squid, string beans, and other ingredients. Tasted a bit salty to our liking, but according to Chef Manuel Verdaguer, Tapas Movida executive chef, the authentic Spanish paella is just about the same as what was served on our table.  Nevertheless, it was delicious and very enjoyable.

Postres (dessert)

• Milhoja de fresas con sabayon de vainilla y salsa de chocolate / Strawberry millefuille with vanilla sabayon & chocolate sauce – Quite enjoyable but I didn’t get the taste of the sabayon.
• Reinette / Nougatine, vanilla ice cream served with apple tatin cake, topped with vanilla sauce and chantilly – We loved the ice cream and the sweet sour apple tatin.

Any Spanish dinner is not complete without sangria.  And guess what, we did not just finish one, but two jugs of sangria.  The second jug was Chef Manuel’s complimentary because he hated to see our empty glasses.  Muchas gracias, señor Manuel.  The Sangria is a wine cocktail or punch made from a mix of red wine, orange juice, soda water, syrup, and diced fruits.  Just enough to make you giggly and tipsy with a glass or two.  All in all, we had a great tapas evening.  The food was superb and I will certainly go back for more tapas and other menu.  Thank you Imelda, Natasha, Umi, Sara, Anthony, Febi and Ichil for sharing the wonderful dinner.  We should definitely do this more often *grin*.

¡Buen provecho! ¡Buen apetito! Olé!

The taster’s notes:
Favorite dish – the paella and albóndigas
What to try next time – the lamb shank main and other tapas
Food rating  
Price rating  
Ambiance rating  
Service rating  
Damage around 130k/pax

Tapas Movida
66 Cipete Raya, Jakarta Selatan
Ph: +6221 7510851
http://www.tapasmovida.co.id
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100002609010528
Follow @tapasmovida

Dear fellow tasters,

Last Friday, I was invited to a meet and greet event for culinary bloggers organized by SendokGarpu, one of Indonesian restaurants guide website.  It was always great to meet other fellow food bloggers and this time, the meeting point was at Kaffein, fX lifestyle X’nter Senayan.  The main agenda was to try Kaffein’s holiday beverages and to get acquainted with SendokGarpu and its soon-to-be-released new version of the website.  The rest of the time was spent in delightful conversation and foodie information exchange.

About Kaffein, it’s a recently operating local coffee shop under the management of Panorama Group.  They currently open three stores, in Mal Taman Anggrek, Panorama Building Tomang, and fX.  That evening, we were introduced to Kaffein’s two holiday drinks, the black forest frosty and black forest mochaccino.  The frosty is a coffee ice blended drink with sweet black forest recipe flavor, topped with pink whipped cream and green sugary sprinkle, meanwhile the mochaccino is the hot version of the drink with stronger coffee in it.  We also tried another favorite non-coffee drink, the oreo cheese cake ice blended which is quite unique because it features grated cheddar cheese on top to give it a cheesy twist.

About SendokGarpu, we were explained by Mr. Sastro Gozali, the founder, about the website and its upcoming features for the new version which includes more social networking functionalities.   We also learned about new food venues, dining experiences and other culinary information from each other.  Thank you SendokGarpu and Kaffein for meeting and greeting me.

“Sleep is a symptom of caffeine deprivation.”  –Author Unknown

The taster’s notes:
Favorite coffee/food – the black forest frosty and oreo cheese cake
Food/coffee rating 
Price rating 
Ambiance rating  
Service rating  
Damage 0/pax

SendokGarpu
http://www.sendokgarpu.com

Kaffein
# f1, FX lifestyle X’nter
Ph: +6221 25554135
http://www.mykaffein.com
Follow @mykaffein

Dear fellow tasters,

Delicious duck doesn’t have to come in a plate of duck confit or Peking duck and for the price of one portion of duck confit in a fancy French restaurant, it will feed two to three people in this place, rice and drink included.  Of course, the comparison is well unbalanced but for a taste of duck with traditional Indonesian flavor, Bebek Kaleyo might just be the perfect destination.

One afternoon, I happened to stop by their Tebet branch for lunch with some friends and the dining area was already well packed with hungry eaters and munchers.  Fortunately, we were able to find ourselves a table in the air-conned non smoking area and started ordering immediately.

When we began ordering, the waiter told us that they only had bebek muda (duckling/young duck) menu, so that was what we ordered.  A friend and I ordered the bebek muda cabe ijo (fried duckling with green chili), while the others were having the bebek muda goreng (fried duckling) and bebek muda bakar (grilled duckling).  We also ordered some fried tahu (tofu) and tempe (fermented soybean) for side dish.  I didn’t get to try what my friends ordered but my green chili duck was surely delectable with the generous spicy yet tolerable crushed green chili and crispy-on-the-outside but tender-on-the-inside duck, well seasoned and very tasty.

For drinks, we had es campur (mixed fruit ice) and sop buah (fruit soup) which were quite refreshing.  We also ordered a plate of rujak colek (mixed fruit with sambal made of palm sugar and chili) but there was nothing special about it.  We ended up very full with a happy belly.  Although the place can be crowded and service is passable, I would surely recommend Bebek Kaleyo if you get tired of mall food and are looking for great affordable Indonesian duck dishes.

Enjoy your duck!  Quack!

The taster’s notes:
Favorite dish – bebek muda cabe ijo
What to try next time – other duck or chicken menu
Food rating  
Price rating  
Ambiance rating  
Service rating  
Damage 42k/pax

Bebek Kaleyo
Jl. Lapangan Ros No. 49
Tebet Jakarta Selatan
Ph: +6221 95700055