so i was at blok m and have been quite disappointed by the mediocre offerings except for the recent gem - kushigin
i decided to explore the other side and see whether there were any hidden gems there. i stumbled into kira kira ginza and was glad that i did. few signs indicating it was good
- quite easily the most crowded restaurant even though it was a tuesday night
- scores of bottles kept for their guests
- japanese women... why japanese women? melawai 9 is this seedy area with ktvs and hostesses which has sort of make this area an after work area for th salary man so its rare to see them here
- and oh, the japanese women prioprietror was entertaining the clients (albeit not in a sleazy way)
the guy beside me was having sashimi and it looked kinda fresh although the fish on display doesnt look too appetizing. when will they learn that that display is not only a utilitarian function just to keep the fish cool but as a selling platform for the snobby customers like me!?
no pictures cause i was too paiseh to take them, too many eyes on me that night, i think i was the only non-japanese there
anyways, i can finally say ive found decent katsudon in jakarta! the pork was juicy and soft while you still can detect some crunch to the crust. it was simply quite divine considering the amount of substandard katsudon i had to go through... of course its not the holy grail, but its a good decent standard one that i will not forget soon nom nom
i ordered the takoyaki and it was good as well. its a bargain as well, it was 27k for 8 pieces
oh i'd definitely be coming back here to explore the japanese menu rather than the pictures menu, i think ive found my new staple for japanese food
Jl Melawai 9, no 30
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Loh Mie Pinangsia
Just in case you're wondering whether the snob family only eats at those establishment, we do eat at Indonesian food too. Here is the Indonesian version of lohmie compared to the darker cousin in Singapore.
While waiting for our orders to came out, some guy in a bike was driving past the store when he suddenly stopped infront of the stall, climbed down from the bike, kept his jacket and immediately started deboning the chicken. Wait a minute, he didnt wash his hands? The sink was just like 4metres away!!!
On a separate note, we ordered lohmie from the neighbour stall afew weeks back and while we were walking there, there were 2 guys sitting on the table presumably customers touching their feet. Now, i dont know what's with the indonesian's obsession with taking off their footwear and touching their feet, but its ridiculously unhygienic and disgusting. Anyway, before i know it, one of the guys turned out to be the owner of the store and promptly started slicing and dicing our order without washing his hands. Now, thats sick. If i dont regularly eat at these kinds of place this is the rational.
Anyway, the food came and the lohmie was sweeter than the ones i had in Singapore. It was good enough that i ate it up quite quickly and was hungry for more. The chicken was also sweet, probably due to the marinade.
Its on the Mangga Besar 1 road, and beside Alphamart
Potatohead
no photos here since the lighting is really awful and i cant be bothered to bring a proper camera with all the works
potatohead and restaurants the like have always been a bane for me. my perception is that they usually focus on decor rather than on the food itself. but potatohead has been a revelation for me since the first time i came.
today we had the special of the day paella and some pasta with mushroom stuffing. i was slightly skeptic on the paella but it came out better than i expected although i wld have hoped they use pork chorizo. the pasta was also quite good too.
well, if you have postpone your visit to potatohead you should go there soon, cause you'll never know when the standard will drop considering they're currently expanding. one thing though, the service was abit scratchy and the boy that served us was quite inattentive which made mummy snob slightly agitated
Its the branch at Pacific Place
potatohead and restaurants the like have always been a bane for me. my perception is that they usually focus on decor rather than on the food itself. but potatohead has been a revelation for me since the first time i came.
today we had the special of the day paella and some pasta with mushroom stuffing. i was slightly skeptic on the paella but it came out better than i expected although i wld have hoped they use pork chorizo. the pasta was also quite good too.
well, if you have postpone your visit to potatohead you should go there soon, cause you'll never know when the standard will drop considering they're currently expanding. one thing though, the service was abit scratchy and the boy that served us was quite inattentive which made mummy snob slightly agitated
Its the branch at Pacific Place
Queens
ive come to this place after getting a tip from an indian friend. he claims that its the best indian restaurant in jakarta and that all the indians go there. he definitely wasnt bulling when there was a party in the private room, the restaurant was akin to a child having his party at macdonalds!
the tandoori chicken was tender and really quite good. it was abit on the moist side and i wasnt sure whether it was a north indian thing since i usually eat the south side.
the prawn curry was the weakest link that night as the taste fell flat
the deep fried fish in masala was good as well. and i love masala, so im definitely coming back here to eat there again
The briyani tasted good too
overall it was quite good and i'd try his other recommendation komala and see how it fares to the one in sg
Permata Plaza, Jl. MH. Thamrin Kav. 57,
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Kushigin
mummy snob spotted this when we were eating at sushi kawana. it was really a hole in the wall kinda restaurant and if anything, it should be good as we saw a number of japanese business man tucking in into their grub. and oh did i mention that a japanese chef was right in the middle of thw sweat fest inside the grill area? immediately plus points for me already!
i came back here today after skipping japanese classes and i was seated behind where there were like mini compartments. btw it was really hot.... They need proper ventilation man
i ordered ox tongue skewer, minced chickeb skewer, bean sprout with pigs intestine in spicy miso sauce and ramen in shoyu sauce.
oh i finally ordered bali hai on tap and i have to say, it tasted good! no wonder the japs keep drinking it
i was given a cabbage salad with soya sauce. it was simple but it worked, although i kept to the thinner pieces
the ox tongue came out first. i squeezed some lemon on it and took a bite. the ox tongue was a little on the salty side, but considering this is more of a robotayaki/izakaya style restaurant plus the beer kinda make it very quite good. plus the ox tongue was really juicy!
then came the spicy miso dish, it was good except it was an overkill for me considering i was alone. i contemplated ordering rice to make this dish even better but i know i wldnt survive the rest of the meal if i did.
the minced chicken skewer came out with a semi boiled egg. the minced chicken had peanuts in it which gave it a different complexity t it. personally i cld have done without the peanut, but it was okay. the skewer dipped with the semi boiled egg was good!
lastly it was the ramen. usually i dont order soya based ramen, and much prefer the tonkatsu or miso ones. but it was clean and refreshing. it wasnt as heavy as the ones i prefer which is good considering how much sweat i was producing in that poorly ventilated space.
i'd definitely come back here and try the other skewers. but its not cheap, i spent bout 200k including the beer
kushingin
jl melawai 9 - 10f
i came back here today after skipping japanese classes and i was seated behind where there were like mini compartments. btw it was really hot.... They need proper ventilation man
i ordered ox tongue skewer, minced chickeb skewer, bean sprout with pigs intestine in spicy miso sauce and ramen in shoyu sauce.
oh i finally ordered bali hai on tap and i have to say, it tasted good! no wonder the japs keep drinking it
i was given a cabbage salad with soya sauce. it was simple but it worked, although i kept to the thinner pieces
the ox tongue came out first. i squeezed some lemon on it and took a bite. the ox tongue was a little on the salty side, but considering this is more of a robotayaki/izakaya style restaurant plus the beer kinda make it very quite good. plus the ox tongue was really juicy!
then came the spicy miso dish, it was good except it was an overkill for me considering i was alone. i contemplated ordering rice to make this dish even better but i know i wldnt survive the rest of the meal if i did.
the minced chicken skewer came out with a semi boiled egg. the minced chicken had peanuts in it which gave it a different complexity t it. personally i cld have done without the peanut, but it was okay. the skewer dipped with the semi boiled egg was good!
lastly it was the ramen. usually i dont order soya based ramen, and much prefer the tonkatsu or miso ones. but it was clean and refreshing. it wasnt as heavy as the ones i prefer which is good considering how much sweat i was producing in that poorly ventilated space.
i'd definitely come back here and try the other skewers. but its not cheap, i spent bout 200k including the beer
kushingin
jl melawai 9 - 10f
Monday, July 20, 2009
Sushi Sei
Mega Bank was having a 50% promo so the Snob Family decides to go and check it out. It's been over a year that we've been back there and the Snob Family has tasted Kenzan, our outlook on sushi has never been the same ever since...
I walked to see the sushi counter and was surprised at how full the sushi display was considering its already Sunday, and fish imported from Japan usually comes in on Tuesdays and Fridays (and i think Sushi restaurants are usually closed on Mondays?), which means Sunday is the last day (well thats what i deduce anyway). But then again, it could be a bad thing as well, maybe no one ate it and thus the 50% discount.
After waiting close to 30mins we were seated at the counter. When i saw the fish up close, i was disappointed in what i saw. First the fish colour was not as bright as what fresh fish should look like. The tuna was not as bright as what i usually see and it was getting very pale in colour. What more, some of the fish were pre cut into slices. Although the sushi restaurant was packed, having to cut the fish before hand is seriously just plain lazy and unslightly. Although i've seen some good japanese restaurants with pre sliced fish, but i'd almost never see it in display.
After i saw the general skill level of the chef, ive decided to order the Chirashi rather than Nigiri sushi set. The wait was awfully long, and the worst part is not the fact that it took a long time to prepare. Chirashi sushi set which was being prepared infront of me was not difficult and personally very hard to go wrong. The worst part was that it was left on the top of the counter for a good 5-10mins before the waitress took it, go to another counter and put the appetizer, miso soup, and cutleries.
Sushi or sashimi is something you need to eat very fresh, and one way to make it taste fresh is to serve it almost immediately. If you let it out of the sushi display into room temperature, the fish would quickly lose its coolness making it worst. What more if you have to mould it in more than 7 steps with the fish on the palm of your hand.
Another problem with the restaurant was how it served the whole set as a set. Because of the very long process of having to get the sushi from the counter, bringing it to another counter to place the appetizers and then serving it to us. I believe they should serve the appetizers almost immediately after we've ordered our sets. So that we can tuck in to the sushi immediately rather than go through the appetizers and miso soup first before paying attention to the fish. Seconds are soooooo important here to retain its coolness!!!!
So how was the Chirashi sushi set? To be honest, im not a big fan of the Chirashi sushi set unlike my brother whose mission is to try all the chirashi sushi sets in the world. Because of that i dont know how to judge it? There is no need to mould the rice, and the fish does not need to be on the palm of the hand to be moulded as well. Freshness, decoration and aesthetics i believe would rule the merits of the Chirashi sushi set.
The fish as i said previously, was disappointing for the colour at least. The taste was okay at best, i didnt have much complain and the uni was one of the best ive tasted in Indonesia. But that doesnt mean its anywhere near "like-an-ocean-in-your-mouth" kinda good and it wasnt as bad as the urine tasting uni we had at Blok m.
I believe if i ordered the Nigiri sushi set i would have be highly disappointed considering how they moulded it. I would have been utterly dissatisfied, so thank god i didnt order it.
I would say, the service was awful, and being in the business for years, doesnt give you the excuse that it was packed that day. The appetizers should have been served immediately or at least before the mains came out. And oh, sushi chef, why are you slicing the fish into so many slices when no one has even ordered it? Doesnt keeping the fish as a whole piece keep the fish from dehydrating?
I walked to see the sushi counter and was surprised at how full the sushi display was considering its already Sunday, and fish imported from Japan usually comes in on Tuesdays and Fridays (and i think Sushi restaurants are usually closed on Mondays?), which means Sunday is the last day (well thats what i deduce anyway). But then again, it could be a bad thing as well, maybe no one ate it and thus the 50% discount.
After waiting close to 30mins we were seated at the counter. When i saw the fish up close, i was disappointed in what i saw. First the fish colour was not as bright as what fresh fish should look like. The tuna was not as bright as what i usually see and it was getting very pale in colour. What more, some of the fish were pre cut into slices. Although the sushi restaurant was packed, having to cut the fish before hand is seriously just plain lazy and unslightly. Although i've seen some good japanese restaurants with pre sliced fish, but i'd almost never see it in display.
After i saw the general skill level of the chef, ive decided to order the Chirashi rather than Nigiri sushi set. The wait was awfully long, and the worst part is not the fact that it took a long time to prepare. Chirashi sushi set which was being prepared infront of me was not difficult and personally very hard to go wrong. The worst part was that it was left on the top of the counter for a good 5-10mins before the waitress took it, go to another counter and put the appetizer, miso soup, and cutleries.
Sushi or sashimi is something you need to eat very fresh, and one way to make it taste fresh is to serve it almost immediately. If you let it out of the sushi display into room temperature, the fish would quickly lose its coolness making it worst. What more if you have to mould it in more than 7 steps with the fish on the palm of your hand.
Another problem with the restaurant was how it served the whole set as a set. Because of the very long process of having to get the sushi from the counter, bringing it to another counter to place the appetizers and then serving it to us. I believe they should serve the appetizers almost immediately after we've ordered our sets. So that we can tuck in to the sushi immediately rather than go through the appetizers and miso soup first before paying attention to the fish. Seconds are soooooo important here to retain its coolness!!!!
So how was the Chirashi sushi set? To be honest, im not a big fan of the Chirashi sushi set unlike my brother whose mission is to try all the chirashi sushi sets in the world. Because of that i dont know how to judge it? There is no need to mould the rice, and the fish does not need to be on the palm of the hand to be moulded as well. Freshness, decoration and aesthetics i believe would rule the merits of the Chirashi sushi set.
The fish as i said previously, was disappointing for the colour at least. The taste was okay at best, i didnt have much complain and the uni was one of the best ive tasted in Indonesia. But that doesnt mean its anywhere near "like-an-ocean-in-your-mouth" kinda good and it wasnt as bad as the urine tasting uni we had at Blok m.
I believe if i ordered the Nigiri sushi set i would have be highly disappointed considering how they moulded it. I would have been utterly dissatisfied, so thank god i didnt order it.
I would say, the service was awful, and being in the business for years, doesnt give you the excuse that it was packed that day. The appetizers should have been served immediately or at least before the mains came out. And oh, sushi chef, why are you slicing the fish into so many slices when no one has even ordered it? Doesnt keeping the fish as a whole piece keep the fish from dehydrating?
Sunday, July 19, 2009
Huize van Wely
Huize Van Wely is situated on the other spectrum serving what might be considered "atas" tea house. Atas meaning high class. Anyway, Van Wely is something i thought Jakarta was missing, good quality extravagant desserts! So far, all the cakes i've eaten in Jakarta has been mediocre.
Cheesecake factory with its really cheap plasticy artificial tasting cakes. My goodness and considering how crowded it is when i pass by it, i really doubt the wisdom of the crowd. Maybe i shouldnt doubt the wisdom of the wallet, afterall Cheesecake factory was full and Van Wely was... empty.
It was tea time and there were the high tea menu which for 10k more rathar than 25k, you'll get a pot of tea or coffee. I got the pyramid chocolate which was layers of dark and milk chocolate in a shape of a pyramid, duh... How was it? As with any french cakes (oh its a dutch outfit that has french cake, but its main draw is the chocolate which should undoubtly use dutch cocoa), the main components are usually the layers of different textural delights, sponge, mousse, fruits etc etc. And as with any french cakes, its usually light enough leaving you wanting for more!
Its the square looking cake with the gold leaf on top
How was it? It was good, the different layers of dark and milk chocolate was paired successfully with the biscuit base that gave it a complexity to the cake. I finished the cake before taking a picture of it came across my mind, so i took one which was in the display, not very well taken of course.
My mom had scones for tea and it came out like little muffins. She tasted it and ask me to try one. To me, i felt it was probably the dutch rendition of scones and that it was more airy, light and fluffy compared to the denser British scones. It was good to me, but mummy snob retorted when i told her i thought it was not bad
How was the tea, i couldnt remember what i ordered but it was a fruity tea, i wanted a cold refreshing tea since its afterall Jakarta all year tropical climate, but the waiter said that the van Wely does not recommend cold tea, i imagine he was referring to the fact that im going to drink tea to accompany my cake. The recommendation is absolutely spot on.
They have a menu for dinner or lunch and im sure it comes from the same kitchen as Shy. So I'd definitely be back to try some of the other stuff
Huize Van Wely
The Papilion, 1st Floor
Kemang Raya 45AA
Jakarta Selatan
Cheesecake factory with its really cheap plasticy artificial tasting cakes. My goodness and considering how crowded it is when i pass by it, i really doubt the wisdom of the crowd. Maybe i shouldnt doubt the wisdom of the wallet, afterall Cheesecake factory was full and Van Wely was... empty.
It was tea time and there were the high tea menu which for 10k more rathar than 25k, you'll get a pot of tea or coffee. I got the pyramid chocolate which was layers of dark and milk chocolate in a shape of a pyramid, duh... How was it? As with any french cakes (oh its a dutch outfit that has french cake, but its main draw is the chocolate which should undoubtly use dutch cocoa), the main components are usually the layers of different textural delights, sponge, mousse, fruits etc etc. And as with any french cakes, its usually light enough leaving you wanting for more!
Its the square looking cake with the gold leaf on top
How was it? It was good, the different layers of dark and milk chocolate was paired successfully with the biscuit base that gave it a complexity to the cake. I finished the cake before taking a picture of it came across my mind, so i took one which was in the display, not very well taken of course.
My mom had scones for tea and it came out like little muffins. She tasted it and ask me to try one. To me, i felt it was probably the dutch rendition of scones and that it was more airy, light and fluffy compared to the denser British scones. It was good to me, but mummy snob retorted when i told her i thought it was not bad
You cant blame me, my mom and my dad because we were brought up eating British scones with Devonshire creamJEEZ
How was the tea, i couldnt remember what i ordered but it was a fruity tea, i wanted a cold refreshing tea since its afterall Jakarta all year tropical climate, but the waiter said that the van Wely does not recommend cold tea, i imagine he was referring to the fact that im going to drink tea to accompany my cake. The recommendation is absolutely spot on.
They have a menu for dinner or lunch and im sure it comes from the same kitchen as Shy. So I'd definitely be back to try some of the other stuff
Huize Van Wely
The Papilion, 1st Floor
Kemang Raya 45AA
Jakarta Selatan
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)