Bakerzin

After a movie in Plaza Indonesia tonight, My friend and I decided to grab some snacks at the not-so-newly opened Bakerzin. Bakerzin Plaza Indonesia had just been relocated from the Basement to the Ground floor, exactly next to Kichenette. It still has the elegant aura but I like the new one better since they really separate the smoking and non-smoking zone with the kitchen and cake showcase in between them.

Bratwurst with Sauteed Potato - Rp 45k

We ordered the sausage and it was heavenly! We were not hungry but we wanted more of these.lol The sausages were fat, tasty, and tender. They was not too fulfilling so they left us wanting more of them. The baby potatoes were also delicious. They were soft inside but crunchy on the outside.

Mango Sparkling Fruity Tea - Rp 27.5k

I ordered the Mango Sparkling Fruity Tea for the drink. It was mango tea mixed with Sprite, if I'm not mistaken. I really loved this! It was sweet and refreshing.

Grand Marnier Souffle - Rp 47.5k

For dessert, we got the Grand Marnier Souffle. I am a fan of their Baileys Souffle, but this time around my friend suggested the Grand Marnier one instead. I still preferred the Baileys Souffle over this one, but I quite liked it. However, my friend did not like it at all. She said it was too milky. I actually felt the same, but I didn't find it disturbing tho'.

On a side note, I would like to say that I like their menu with beautiful photographs of its food.

Bakerzin

Plaza Indonesia, 1st Floor E17

Jl. MH Thamrin Kav. 28-30

Jakarta Pusat

Ph: (021) 2992-3715

http://www.bakerzin.co.id

Ayam Penyet Jakarta

I passed by this newly opened restaurant a lot since it was close to my office. My coworkers and I had always wanted to try it but they were always crowded. During this Fasting month, some of us (who did not fast) thought it might be the right time to try it out. Even so, the restaurant was full, so we got seated on the second floor.

The food towers!

What attracted me is the towers (piles) of food in the display case.

Nasi Gado Ayam Penyet - Rp 13k

To be honest with you, I do not really get they idea of smashed _ _ _ (fill in the blank), like smashing ribs, smashing chicken, etc. They do NOT look smashed whatsoever, in fact they always look appetizing and neatly still intact to their bones. In this case, the chicken was actually fried though. I ordered the smashed chicken with gado-gado (Indonesian salad), and it was good! The meat was juicy, tender, and easily fall of the bone. The Gado-gado was so so.

Kripik Kentang - Rp9k

We also ordered the spicy potato chips for share. Needless to say, a portion was not enough for the five of us. We had to fight for it.lol It was great. The chips was thin and crunchy. Furthermore, it was not too spicy that I was able to enjoy it :)

Tahu Tempe Goreng - Rp1k each

Yes you read it correctly, it was only Rp 1,000 each! They were okay..I am not a big fan of tahu tempe, but my coworkers love it.

Orange Juice - Rp 7k

The orange juice felt soooo refreshing since the restaurant did not have any  air-con.lol

Ayam Penyet "Jakarta"

Even though the name was Ayam Penyet Jakarta, they actually first opened in Medan, and this was their first branch in Jakarta! Overall, I really liked the food and will come back, IF I'm in the area. However, if you live far from the place and have to specially drive there, I do not think it's worth it.


Ayam Penyet "Jakarta"
Jl. Raya Cilandak KKO No. 9
Jakarta Selatan
Ph: (021) 7825-641

Bakso Akiaw 99

My cousin "kidnapped" me to Bakso Akiaw last week. I told him that they had a counter in Eat & Eat Mall Kelapa Gading 5, which I believe a lot more comfortable with air-con and all, but he insisted to eat at the original depot. So we went there instead. The place was crowded.

I heard a lot of good reviews about it, but had never been there myself. My mom was actually a fan. Since it was really famous, I set the expectation really high.

The waitress asked whether I wanted it with vermicelli, rice noodle, or egg noodle. I picked the vermicelli. When the order came in, I was a bit surprise since they gave me two bowls. Apparently, one was for the meatballs and sliced beef, and another for the vermicelli. The vermicelli was a lot since they gave us a bowl full each. Furthermore, I did not expect to get sliced beef in my meatball bowl. However, they were really good! I actually am drooling over my keyboard right now by looking at the picture. yummmmmm.....

Anyway, I was surprise again when we paid. The bill went for about Rp 70k for both of us, mind you each of us ordered just a bowl of meatball and ice tea. In my opinion, it was quite expensive considering it was just meatball and the place was not nice either. But, I am a big fan now regardless!


Bakso Akiaw 99
Jl. Mangga Besar No. 2B
Jakarta Barat

Bakmi Bintang Gading

Bakmi Bintang Gading is one of my favorite place to grab a bowl of tasty noodle, other than Bakmi GM, of course! The most famous dish here is Ujung Pandang Wonton Noodle. Ujung Pandang Noodle is different from the ordinary noodle you usually get just anywhere. It was thicker yet chewy. 

Pangsit Mie (small portion) - Rp 19.5k

It was my fave dish there, Mie Pangsit (Wonton Noodle). There are 2 options for the type of noodle, thin noodle, which is ordinary noodle, and Ujung Pandang thick noodle, which is its specialty. It came with BBQ pork and/or steamed chicken, depended on your choice. I loved to mix them both since I can taste the sweet BBQ pork and the salty chicken. yummmy... It also came with one fried wonton and one wonton in the soup, again you could pick either you want to have one each or two pieces a kind.

Bakso Goreng - Rp 3k each

I love this type of bakso goreng and I always eat it with the sweet and sour sauce. However, the one there was a bit tough to chew. Even though I did not like it that way, I always order one :p

Nasi Goreng Ujung Pandang Special - Rp 26k

My friend loved its fried rice. The Ujung Pandang Style Fried Rice was different that you ordinary fried rice. I think instead of using sweet soy sauce or soy sauce, they use tomato ketchup (?) Correct me here, since I'm just guessing. I tried a spoonful of it, and I thought there was nothing special about it.

I went to Ujung Pandang a year ago, there I tried the best Ujung Pandang Style Noodle and Fried Rice. They were superb! However, the one in Bintang Gading was the best I could find around Jakarta. The taste of the wonton noodle was close to the one I had in Ujung Pandang.

Bakmi Bintang Gading

Jl Boulevard Raya Blok QA 5 No 20-21

Jakarta Utara

Ph: (021) 4585 7082

Ninety Nine

Since Magnum Cafe was super crowded (to say it's super crowded is an understatement) when my friends and I were there the last time, we decided to go to Ninety Nine. It was strategically located in the middle of East Mall Grand Indonesia.

We had to wait for about 15 minutes for our table for we didn't make any reservation on a Friday night. For the interior, they had 2 themes. The garden theme was for the non smoking section, and the dark vintage theme was for the smoking one. Unfortunately, I forgot to take any picture of the interior since we were too busy catching up.

In Ninety nine, one also can order from Bonjour Pastry or from the bakery on the other side.

Nasi Goreng Kampung - Rp 39k vs Nasi Goreng Istimewa Rp 69k

One of my friends recommended its fried rice. Therefore, we ordered 2 different kinds. Nasi goreng kampung, the less expensive one, only consisted of fried crackers and fried egg. Meanwhile, the nasi goreng istimewa got an additional fried chicken and satay. I didn't try them, since I was on a diet *cough..* but they said that Nasi Goreng Istimewa tasted better.

Quarter Roasted Chicken - Rp 39k (half for Rp 69k)
with Belgian French Fries - Rp 29k

The other friend ordered roasted chicken and she said it was delicious. She wished she ordered the half one.lol However,the waitress who took our order was a bit tricky. She asked my friend whether she wanted it come with french fries or mashed potato. Thinking that the side dishes was a complimentary, she said she preferred the french fries. It turned out, we had to pay for it. 

Chicken Quiche - Rp 24k

My friend ordered this Chicken Quiche from the Ranch Kitchen & Pastry to share. And let me tell you, it was the BEST quiche I'd ever had! I couldn't get enough of this. It was super yummy. Now, I'm craving for this as I'm typing. It was that good

Ice Yakult - Rp30k & Ice Chocolate - Rp 40k

I ordered Ice yakult thinking that it would be a pack of yakult served in a glass lol It turned out it just had a hint of yakult flavor. It's more like yogurt drink. I liked it tho', it was refreshing. and since we talked much (girls..lol), I had to order another drink. I ordered the Ice Chocolate. It came with vanilla ice cream. However, I did not like it. It was too milky for me. I love chocolate milk, but I couldn't drink regular white milk. So I couldn't finish it.

Rare Cheesecake - Rp30ish & Eri - Rp 28k

We got the cake from Bonjour French Pastry. I felt that the rare cheesecake was okay, too cheesy to my likey, but most of my friends adored it. Eri was basically chocolate mousse. I do not really like mousse, but I love its chocolate ganache. Both cakes looks really cute tho'.

Ninety Nine

Grand Indonesia 

East Mall Lower Ground
Jl. MH Thamrin No.1 Jakarta Pusat 10310
Phone: (021) 2358 1199

Sop Buntut Ibu Heni

I always search for oxtail soup that is comparable to the one from Bogor Cafe and less pricey. A couple of my friends mentioned that the one here was good enough, or even better. I doubted it, but still I went :p And it's street food, so it should be a lot cheaper, at the least.

I went to the one in Sunter. Apparently the main one was in Muara Karang. I went there with one of my cousins and I wasn't hungry, so we decided to share.

Grilled Oxtail Soup

Like in Bogor Cafe, they offered 3 kinds of oxtail, which are grilled, fried, or served in the soup. I thought I was a pro enough in ordering oxtail soup (like there's such thing.lol), so without hesitation and asking for any suggestion, I ordered the grilled oxtail soup, since in Bogor Cafe, the grilled one was the best. After ordering, I noticed that a lot of people actually ordered the fried one.

I should had asked for suggestion, because I really really didn't like its grilled oxtail. It has this annoying taste in the sauce, which I was not sure what it was. I was only able to taste one bite, and that's it. However, my cousin said that it was okay for him. And we liked that texture of the meat was tender.

On the other hand, the soup was tasty. I kept wanting more :p but they only gave so little of it. 

When it was the time to pay, we were shocked. The bill came in about Rp 60k for a portion of grilled oxtail soup, a portion of rice, and two glasses of ice tea. In my opinion, it was expensive considering it was in a tent, and not in an air-conditioned restaurant, if you know what I mean.

Note to self: always ask for recommendations when trying out new places!


Sop Buntut "Ibu Heni"
Jl. Taman Sunter Indah
Jakarta Utara
Ph: 0817 988 4783 / (021) 9562 2576

Bogor Cafe

If one asks Mr. Foo, what's the best food in Jakarta, Sop Buntut (Oxtail Soup) from Bogor Cafe would make it to the top list. It was indeed one of the most legendary food in Jakarta. I might be a bit exaggerating there, but it was super famously delicious!

Bogor Cafe was located in Hotel Borobudur. They also offered lunch and dinner buffet. The oxtail soup was also offered in the buffet and actually the price for the buffet was only about Rp15k-ish more, but you'd get to try other food as well. However, I always ordered the oxtail soup a la carte because I did not like buffet; it would make me eat more than necessary.

Free Bread

The free bread was kinda good. Maybe it was because I was super hungry. The butter bread was soft to my liking.

Grilled  Oxtail Soup - Rp 116k

There were three kinds of oxtail offered,the original, fried, and grilled oxtail; The soup would be the same though. I had tried them all, and both of the original and fried oxtail were just okay, but the Grilled oxtail was superb! The oxtail was perfectly sweet and tender, and the soup was just heavenly. It was indeed the best oxtail soup in town, or in the world if I may say. But it was kind of pricey though.

For the drink we had Hot Earl Grey Tea (Rp 35k) and Ice Lychee Tea (Rp 53k), both were not pictured.

It was just proper to say that the oxtail soup was the best and worthed the price. Legendary food was priceless, indeed.

Bogor Cafe
Hotel Borobudur
Jl. Lapangan Banteng Selatan
Jakarta Pusat
Tel: (62-21) 3805555

Foek Bakmi Karet

I love noodle, and Bakmi GM is one of my favorite. However, a best friend dared to tell me in the face that there was one that made Bakmi GM tasted like a sh*t. Ok, I exaggerated it, but the comment was along the line. I felt challenged, for the love of Bakmi GM.lol

So today, after a slow gym session, due to the lesser than usual calories burned :(, I requested him to take me to the famous noodle shop. Noted that I was reaallllyyy hungry.

Foek Bakmi Karet

You can see from the picture that the sign was so small, and also the opened door. I thought it was closed. It was so hard to find a parking space, since it was located in housing area, just right behind Wisma Gading Permai Apartment Complex. We had to park a little further, and my stomach was about to growl.

It was not really a restaurant. It was actually a house, and we ate at the terrace. I was shocked once I stepped inside, it was full and we were there at 2 p.m., I believed it wasn't lunch hour anymore. Despite the enormous amount of people inside, they were still able to manage its cleanliness. Anyway, we waited in line. And I thought my stomach just cannot stand it anymore, moreover with the view of people eating noodle voraciously. So when the waitress offered to join in other people's table, we accepted, whole-heartedly.  I was THAT hungry.lol 

Bakmie Karet Suikiaw + Daging Campur - Rp 17,500

Pangsit Goreng Jumbo 2pcs/pax @ Rp 5,000

Bakmi Karet Suikiaw was the most ordered, so I got that. Once they put the bowl in front of me, I just could not wait to put it into my mouth, but I had to take some picture to be posted here -.- Anyway, the noodle was good, but that's it. It was not extremely good, it was not to-die-for good; it's just ok. But important to notice, I do NOT eat spicy food, so I did not put any chili sauce or chili or any spicy sauce whatsoever to the bowl. I guess that affected the flavor, since I saw ALL of the people put a lot of chili sauce to their noddle soup. I did not have high expectation for the suikiaw since I was a little disappointed already with the noodle and I did not like wonton. Little did I know, it was the BEST wonton/suikiaw that I had ever tasted in my life! It was perfectly mixed of saltiness and sweetness; which I think the sweetness came from the pork meat it made out of. 

And just FYI, they offered Bakmi Suikiaw, Bakmi Wonton, and Bakmi Pangsit. I didn't get the differences, but Bakmi Suikiaw is the most expensive. My friend, who was a regular, ordered the Bakmi wonton. He told me that the suikiaw was better than wonton, but he ordered wonton just because he ate suikiaw too often.lol

So if you are around the area, you can try it yourself and share whether it is really better than Bakmi GM :) To me personally, I still like Bakmi GM more. But I have to admit that eating here is a different experience.

Foek Rumah Bakmi Karet

Jl. Gading Elok Barat 2 CF 1 No. 1

Kelapa Gading, Jakarta Utara

Indonesia

Ph: 021 4522473

A thousand good laughs at Seribu Rasa

The Birthday Bash series continued. Tonight, it was with two of my best friends from high school. No, actually I had been friends with one of them since we were in middle school! We had fun anyways :)

Ok, enough about the reunion. Seribu Rasa is under the same management of Penang Bistro and Hongkong Cafe. They serve Southeast Asian food. It is super strategic, located in Menteng just right behind Hotel Nikko, if I'm not mistaken. Traffic in jakarta was still clear (I can drive like 130 km/hr in the highway on my way to the office! which is rarer than a Birkin considering it is Jakarta). However, Seribu Rasa sign was not that clear, we almost passed it by.

Going in the parking garage, we were welcomed by a car valet. It seemed that you HAVE to valet your car, well, they were kindly forced us at the least. It was just Rp 5.000 for the service, but I could see that the practice could potentially irk some customers. The same practice happened in Penang Bistro too.

I like the ambiance. The service were great, and the waiter gave good recommendations, so we basically just ordered whatever he suggested. One thing fascinated me, the waiter's recommendations were not determined by the price. You know, the waiters in most restaurants would always "suggest" the most expensive ones. But not in Seribu Rasa. So here's what we got:

Claypot Tofu Seribu Rasa - Rp 47.000

Lamb Honey Sauce - Rp 79.000

Fried Chicken with Longan Sauce - Rp 51.000

I had to ask the waiter several times whether the lamb honey sauce would still have the "lamb smell," and he convinced me that it wouldn't. And it wasn't! The Lamb was good but not special. The Fried Chicken with Longan Sauce is delicious! The more I ate it, the more I liked it. The chicken was fried to the right crispiness and the sweetness of the longan sauce was perfectly sheer. But my favorite was the claypot tofu. I love the sauce, I love the tofu, but there was just no vegetables in the claypot :(

The drinks were also fun:

Ceria Pangandaran - Rp 29.000

Mangga Gembira Slush - Rp 32.000

Semilir Brastagi - Rp 29.000

Apparently, Semilir Brastagi was the most popular drink. Unfortunately, I forgot to take notes what's in it -.-' Anyway, I tasted it a little, it was strawberry with a hint of fresh ingredients, can't think of what it was though. Mine was the Mangga Gembira Slush, I didn't care about the mixes since I love mango, and it was great and refreshing.

Singkong Gondo Arum - Rp 27.000

We shared Singkong Gondo Arum for the dessert. It was fermented cassava (tape in Indonesian) served with caramel sauce and cheese. I had never liked tape but I could eat this one, and it was not bad actually.

We ended the night by going for a little shopping at Grand Indonesia Mall. I might share the loot on the next post. Stay tuned!

Seribu Rasa
Jl. Haji Agus Salim 128
Menteng, Central Jakarta
Ph: 021 3928892

Late-Birthday Surprise at Pastis

My friends and I went to Pastis on last Saturday. It's located right across Four Season Hotel, strategically in between Kuningan and Sudirman Street. However, one of my friends lost her way here, so maybe it was not that strategic, eh? The road was empty because of the  Eid holiday or Eid ul-Fitr or Idul Fitri in Indonesian. I heard more than 1 million (!!) people traveled out of Jakarta, either to celebrate Eid or just for holiday.

We went there for an early dinner so the place was still empty even though I saw "reserved" signs on most of the tables. The ambiance was nice as expected. The interior decoration was not as advertised. It was supposed to mimic a kitchen, but I barely notice the kitchenette-feeling. Anyhow, the light was perfectly bright and they have a lounge in the backyard. It was closed though on the day because it was raining. 

The dinner menu was divided into Appertizer (or light bites I forget how they phrased it), Asian, Pasta, and Main Courses. They also served breakfast and brunch (until 5p.m. if I'm not mistaken). I didn't have high expectation since some of my friends said the food was blah.

After asking what the waiter recommended and used our judgement, we had:

Spicy Escargot - Rp 35,000

Nasi Goreng Ijo - Rp 65,000

Chicken with Beer & Onion Sauce
(I forget how much but I think it's around Rp 85,000)

Nasi Goreng Ijo was REALLY GOOD. The green color was from green chilies; however, we could order it "not spicy." It was still a bit spicy but oh boy, it was good! The portion was generous. It fed three of us. Spicy escargot was good too, moreover for the price.

The Chicken was a disappointenment, we didn't finish it. The salad was a bit bitter, the dressing was not that nice either. Lesson learned, stick to what the waiter suggested.

Anyway the surprise party went smoothly. I was so surprised when suddenly the waiters sang "Happy Birthday" to me right when I was about ordering desserts. My friends bought the princess cake from Awfully Chocolate. They also brought paper crowns to complete the princess theme.lol I had so much fun

Oh, we had Melon Ice Tea (@Rp 25,000) for the drink and it was SOOOO GOOD. It was really sweet, but I love overly sweet stuff.lol

Will I come back again? Definitely!

The Kuningan Suites
Setiabudi Utara, Kuningan
Jakarta Selatan

DKI Jakarta - Indonesia

PH: (021) 526-0260