Sunday, November 30, 2014

SHIRAYUKI PANTAI INDAH KAPUK

When this first opened I was in Australia so I could only drool over my phone's screen, luckily I still manage to hold myself from unfollowing everyone! A few days ago, I visited this incredibly happening dessert house and here I am blogging it for you all! Shirayuki, which by the way means "white snow" is located in the guilty pleasure neighborhood, Pantai Indah Kapuk and just beside Ohka Ramen and near Food Plaza/Fresh Market in the Rukan Emerald (so it's not around the Ikkudo Ichi Ramen or Sumoboo but kind of align). From what I heard, it's the "reincarnation" of Kabocha

To be completely honest, I hate going to PIK, I don't know man, it's just that for me, PIK is kind of far and the road taken is kind of long, even though it's not actually far far! So everytime I go to PIK I have to know the purpose of going there and need to at least hop into several (if possible) new cafes! Not to mention, the traffic and how packed PIK is almost everyday. Generally, I don't like crowded places, I like quiet romantic peaceful place but it's absolutely not what business dealers always want. They want customers!

I initially wanted to go to Cake-A-Boo right after Shirayuki, but guess what? Bloody rain started to pour and turn the table around, but you have to see this post as well to know the other reason why I cancel my visit to Cake-A-Boo!

Enough yakking! PHOTOS!!!

The interior
Shirayuki is actually not as big as I expected, it's just medium, but for some reasons that I was not sure of, I love staying here and the ambiance felt homey to me. The combination of the earthy elements such as wood, iron and the color that they're using were just a good balance. 
The "Wire Wall of Fame", next time you go here you'll probably see my photo.

Christmas decorations were already set since Christmas is just around the corner!
Wildberry Soda
IDR 29k
I ordered the Wildberry Soda since Jakarta has (always) been humid during the day and I was in need for the ultimate thrist quencher. This was your typical refreshing fruity drink and as you can see it's sparkling, basically just common but I did like the usage of popping bobas.

Kashoku Latte (hot)
IDR 30k
This was divine! Frankly speaking, this was probably probably the first time for me to ever try literally all nut based beverage and I freaking love this one! the nut flavor was very rich because the nuts were actually roasted, the foam was very creamy, I just love how unique the flavor was because I could hint a little saltiness that somehow blends nicely with the sweetness from the milk and sugar! Even though you can choose to have the hot or cold version of this, do me a favor, order the hot one and fell in love.

I don't know how to really explain the nut flavor but if you've ever eaten in Chung Gi Wa and had that nut powder that they served for the meat, that's pretty much how it's like!

Kushikatsu C
IDR 40k
This menu happened to be one of their best seller and yes you have to order the "C" set. The portion consist of Chicken, Beef, Tomato and Cheese, Spicy Lotus Root and Spicy Shitake Chicken. My favorite one has got to be the beef as it's very tasty with juicy and tender texture. I also quite liked the Spicy Lotus Root as it had green chili infused to it, the tomato and cheese was also unique, I just love when the tomato burst in my mouth blending the flavor and texture of the cheese. Simply nice.

Cabe Ijo Bianco
IDR 45k
Green chili was the main ingredient for this dish and that's why they named it Cabe Ijo Bianco. The green chili did not only give a little heat to the dish, but also managed to deliver lovely flavor to it. I must say I love this simple meal for basically the green chili. The other condiments such as mushroom and shrimp were given generously but I didn't notice a lot of eggplants (which was good because too much eggplants could make this dish appear sticky, soggy and tasted funky).

FYI when you know exactly how a dish tasted and especially when it's spicy and you're trying to describe it = DROOL!
Salmon Cream Soup with Spaghetti
IDR 55k
Another favorite of mine from the savory selection must be this one! The soup was incredibly seasoned with semi-creamy consistency but not milky according to my taste bud. If you're wondering if this particular dish is the same as Pasta De Waraku's soup pasta, well I must say they're completely different both from the concept and flavor. This one was tastier with quite rich salmon flavor and al-dente cooked pasta.
Premium Viva La Cocoa Yukidaruma Matsuri
IDR 58k
First things first, I was sold to how cute this dessert looks! Unlike their common presentation, I came just on the right time since they just released their Christmas edition Yukidaruma! I am giving 9/10 for the presentation only. I've heard mixed reviews from people about this particular menu but I guess I am going to speak on behalf of myself about this. I think you need to order their chocolate one! I didn't try both blueberry or strawberry but I could already picture how it would taste and somehow considering their condiments, I guess the chocolate sauce fits and blend with everything much much better! I didn't think I was lucky, I just opted for the better one.

Say hi to the most famous snowman at the moment!


The portion came with stuffed mochi, mochi ice-cream and coffee jelly topping.
Tip: logically since it's shaved ice sculptured to look like snowman and if you happen to experience problem with "breaking the ice" then I guess you should pour the syrup all over the Yukidaruma's "body" part and clockwise! DO NOT pour them only on that one certain area. I understand that it's probably for the photo purpose but you have to be smart as well!

Bailey's Kanten
IDR 36k
Another cute presentation! Appreciate the extra effort to actually include the "noodle jelly" maker, basically a block of plain jelly put inside the thing and when you shove it, you're going to have noodle shape jelly. As you can see this portion also came with matcha ice cream and Bailey's! The matcha ice cream was wonderful, and for me, much much better from its opponent on the same area. As in for the Bailey's I don't think I need to explain how it tasted.

Seriously? You don't know how Bailey's tastes? Geez. HAHA just kidding peeps, I sounded exactly like a bitch alpha blogger from mean girls (only there's none and I am a guy). So, Bailey's actually a liquor and yes it has alcohol in it, the flavor was pretty much creamy (if you know Irish cream then it's pretty much like that), a little chocolaty, coffee-ish, caramel-ish (imagine a little butterscotch) and Whiskey like. If you don't know how Whiskey tasted like you better go to the nearest club and start getting laid HAHAHA!
This.is.so.cute!

Bailey's with rocks (ice). I tried mixing the Bailey's with the matcha ice cream and found that there were certain good characters from both elements causing them to fit incredibly perfect! The natural bitterness of the matcha got toned down by the creamy flavor of the Bailey's but the matcha worked nicely in toning down the alcohol flavor!
Their matcha ice cream was adorable!

Watanoki Matsuri - White Winter Wonderland
IDR 37k
Everything here is either cute or cuter! I could easily died of cuteness here and I literally went "aww" when I saw dessert after dessert coming! Anyway, I decided to opt for their White Winter Wonderland or simply the plain original one because I wanted to see how every element complement one another. You can choose the ice cream flavor, since I had the matcha one I went with the "Kashoku" or mixed Japanese nuts (and by the way they imported them). The texture of the ice cream was obviously the same and I am referring to good, flavor wise, since I am a diehard matcha fan, I root for the matcha, but to be honest, their Kashoku ice cream was very nice with rich nut flavor, caramelish, fragrant, smooth and creamy but comparing to the Kashoku latte I had earlier, I must say that the character of the nut spoke louder on hot situation.

The portion came with soft and fluffy Warabi Mochi. You have to dip it to the brown sugar dip to get that different texture and a tiny bit of flavor.
The brown sugar didn't really speak or had that much flavor.

As much as how cute the presentation of this dessert is, this was my least favorite, but don't mistaken or translate the phrase "least favorite" as "hate" or "dislike", it's just that I couldn't find the correlation of the combination I was expecting, maybe it's just meant to be cute.
Continuing what I said earlier, I guess another reason why I canceled my visit to Cake-A-Boo was because of the amount of food I had :"). Shirayuki impressed me in so many ways. To be honest (and I have been mentioning this a lot), there are so many new spots opening these days but most of them had this bullshit content and yes I am referring to the food and I kinda pre-judge Shirayuki but after actually coming here and tried out some of their best sellers, Shirayuki rose up on my list of favorite spots to have matcha! They ain't bullshit and I won't disregard how good they're with their matcha creations and I won't diss any brands here but I guess we're on the same line, almost like wifi connection we connect! I was fond how how they set the price for their desserts here, for me, they're very affordable. Desserts here range from IDR 30k-IDR 58k and their savory courses range from IDR 30k-IDR 80k.

Their savory courses were not bad too, aside from their matcha ice creams and cute desserts, I really do think I'm going back for their Cabe Ijo Bianco and I am starting to imagine the flavor and it's not healthy at this hour! (typing this post on 12 AM right now).

Thank you for reading and please do enjoy this currently (and hopefully will always be) popular dessert spot in town, but oh, think I forgot to mention that they are close at every Thursday!



Shirayuki
Rukan Emerald, Jl. Raya Pantai Indah Kapuk
Pantai Indah Kapuk, Jakarta Utara 14440
021 - 2970 4981
Opening Hours: 11:30 AM - 10 PM (CLOSED ON THURSDAYS)
Pricing: $

FIND ME HERE

Map for Fresh Market PIK

Saturday, November 29, 2014

IKAN BAKAR CIANJUR - ALAM SUTERA

It's not often that I blog about something that's already very famous, popular and reputable, if restaurant is a celebrity, then this following name is definitely Mariah Carey famous, so when I do, it's either because it's very good, very legendary or simply to show you guys how much I love it.

Ikan Bakar Cianjur is a legend. Ever since it served its first customers back in 1989 and after 19 outlets later, it's still going very strong. My family (and I am talking about my big big family) has always been enthusiast about IBC and especially the queen of the big family (my grandmom): she's an avid fan of their Nasi Liwet! But trust me, their Nasi Liwet is just that little piece of them that you're gonna love, many more to come.

Living in the western part of Jakarta easen up the access for me to fulfill my IBC craving, I could easily chose their outlet in Pecenongan but this post is going to be talking about their particular outlet in Alam Sutera which I found very beautiful and in a sense, earthy. To be completely honest, I had something to take care in my university which located not too far from Alam Sutera and I usually go with both my parents and my grandmom (for some reasons they love the ambiance of Tangerang) and right after finished dealing with some administration thingy fast forward here we were!
This particular outlet wasn't hard to reach, it's located just across Living World and near Flavor Bliss Alam Sutera.
I honestly liked the design of this particular outlet, from the usage of materials, coloring and design, I felt like I was actually in a colonial themed building, only with more food, more people and more fun! Another good point about this particular outlet was the fact that they have a little green area on the side allowing natural sunlight and in a way, sense of refreshment! The first floor could accommodate up to 250 people and it was packed when I went there (as usual)!
The second floor looked even more colonial with the semi-outdoor concept, and it's also where the VIP rooms (the green door) and the al-fresco dining area are located.



Now we better move to the fun part: FOOD! I'm gonna start with what they're MOST FAMOUS for: NASI LIWET! It's surprising but won't be a surprise that they manage to constantly sell 300 POTS (yes 300 freaking pots) of Nasi Liwet every single day (probably more on the weekends). I mentioned earlier that my grandmom is a die-hard fan of their Nasi Liwet, well, in this case: ME ALSO! The secret to have such delicious fragrant tasty rice is to basically soak the rice for 2 hours in their own homemade signature broth before it's slowly cooked in low heat and finally topped with Medanese sauteed anchovies!

Tahu Goreng
Fried Tofu
Tumis Kangkung (Stir Fried Water Spinach)
IDR 22k
There's something about water spinach that's so simple but very special and believe it or not, it has the power to convert those who dislike vegetables to like (and I mean only like) this particular vegetable and I've seen so many! The water spinach was stir fried in light seasoning and along Terasi (some kind of shrimp paste product), shallots and garlic! FYI they only use the water spinach brought from Lombok (according to them the stem's bigger and hence, crunchier). I love how they executed the cooking process and clearly on a decent temperature because it's still crunchy and fresh!

Sayur Asam (Sweet-Sour Mixed Vegetable Soup)
IDR 15k
Their Sayur Asam was one of my favorites that day because it was very refreshing with decent balance flavor and generous condiments. I love when Sayur Asam is perfectly balance because when it gets either too sweet or too sour, it could be a total fail, big time and luckily this wasn't the issue!

Nasi Goreng IBC (IBC Fried Rice)
IDR 32k
The fried rice might look standard and simple but it's actually quite nice! I love the seasoning of the fried rice and especially that hei wok smoky flavor (always love when stir-fried food had that smoky flavor to it!). If they could make a more beautiful sunny side up (just for the sake of aesthetic value) that would be even better, but that's just my personal preference and not the up-most important actually!

Ayam Bakar (Grilled Chicken)
IDR 18k
Grilled Chicken is cliche but this one was a total yum! I bet you can see how the generous sweet soy-sauce glazed on the tender chicken and in this case, what you see is what you get! It's sweet but not overpoweringly sweet and still had that savory touch to it which is mandatory.

Gurame Pesmol
IDR 75k
This was the deep fried Carp which then processed with the dipping in IBC Homemade Pesmol Sauce and then topped with sliced tomatoes, green chili and fried shallots. This was their signature dish along with Nila Pesmol (Tilapia fish) and as well as one of their best sellers. I had no wonder because this was really good with really rich seasoning, nicely executed fish (smooth, soft, tasty) and incredibly flavorful and I don't mean it in the most hyperbolic way but it is damn it! Having this with the Nasi Liwet was like a burst of flavor in the mouth. Dayum!
Kambing Oven (Oven Cooked Mutton)
IDR 48k
If you read my blog, I bet you know how much I rave about my dislike towards mutton and lambs, well it's not hate hate but it's just that I get traumatized because of how often I got the stinky mutton and lambs *barf* but this one has got to be that little part of the exception because this was good! The mutton was marinated in their homemade sauce before actually getting to the oven and processed. The meat was tender and tasty, the portion came with their homemade nut sauce and pickles, I loved having it with the nut sauce but as simple as "just the meat", I was happy enough.

Sop Iga IBC (IBC Rib Soup)
IDR 48k
This one got into my recommendation list and one of the must order for some reasons: First, because it was really good, second: it's the only dish with soup on the lunch and it's just me who believes that soup is mandatory on the set! The soup was actually beef bone stock and seasoned beautifully resulting this tasty and fragrant beef based broth, even more with you have it with generous fried shallots and spring onion. The ribs were actually quite tender and tasty, not a surprise when you know they're being slow cooked for three hours and pre-seasoned with local herbs and spices.

Left: Es Cianjur Right: Es Campur Tempo Doeloe
As always, my motto is to start with something savory and ends with something sweet (and refreshing of course) and these ice desserts could be just that! If you ask me, I think both of them were nice, equally using the coconut milk, condensed milk and various topping but still, in a way, different, but I am rooting for the Es Campur Tempo Doeloe more! Just because it's more fragrant and sweet <3.

I didn't manage to capture a decent shot because I realized the focus was on the glass (so I better not upload) but for the drinks, you have to order their Carrot juice, it was the winner!

So far, Ikan Bakar Cianjur is still one of my family's favorite when it comes to a decent place for family dinner and gathering! Most importantly, good food without eventually feeling ripped off! The range price for the food starts at IDR 10k - IDR 80k and the drinks starts at IDR 5k - IDR 20k! It gets a little packed during lunch time, no actually almost all the time, but if you want to bond with the communal, you are more than welcome, but if you want a more quiet ambiance, you can come in between the lunch time and dinner (est. 3 PM - 5 PM). I love going here on the dinner time, this might sound corny but I think that's the peak of the family time: it's night and having a lovely dinner with your family, sometimes it's nothing better than that!

Ikan Bakar Cianjur - Alam Sutera
Jl. Alam Sutera Utama Kav. 20
Alam Sutera, Tangerang
021 - 2921 1600
Opening Hours: 10 AM - 10 PM
Pricing: $$ IDR 200k for two
WEBSITE 


FIND ME HERE

Map for Ikan Bakar Cianjur Alam Sutera

Monday, November 24, 2014

CHRONICLE JAKARTA - COFFEE AND COCKTAILS

Went to this newly opened cafe yesterday for lunch with Cindy and since we both had good experience, I wanted to blog this asap, well not really, it's because I am those people who manage to go here earlier hence I want to blog about it before everyone else does HAHAHA! No lah joking, probably half true, it's just that I am always excited when it comes to visiting new places and be the one who promotes them at the early stage, that's probably certain percentage of happiness there is for me. Before I start, I just want to tell you that it doesn't matter if you blog something fast or not, make sure you make a bloody good post and you can tell when it's good, it's like you can feel the writer's passion on the writing and not ONLY for the sake of reviewing, not to mention, take freaking good photos and chill on the editing, don't hurt someone else's eyes.


Chronicle is located in Jalan Wijaya 2 around Dharmawangsa neighborhood, the venue wasn't as spacious as Common Grounds or anywhere fancier looking like Common Grounds, it's more humble, simple and proper, but I won't give you a lot of interior shots because they're still on their soft-opening days and some furniture are still pretty much temporary, their grand opening will (hopefully) falls on the next two weeks and I am so coming back for the final appearance! But so far, just like the coffee shop nowadays: wood materials majority, simple design and clean.


I learned that Chronicle is actually the sister of Common Grounds and that's why you're going to find a lot of Common Grounds cups and actually sip their coffee when you order some, so what is it that makes this coffee shop and cafe different from Common Grounds? Well here's the thing, you can say that it's the daughter of Wilshire and Common Grounds since it's the owners' (Yoshi and Hanna) venture together so there is not only going to be coffee but also food, but different from both Wilshire since it's concentrating on the casual fine dining cuisine, and Common Grounds since it's concentrating more on the all day breakfast menu and here's something to highlight: Chronicle is actually a coffee shop and cocktail bar! Again, COCKTAIL BAR - I even "bold" and underlined it for you so you can remember -, so you won't only experience the "common grounds" but also their own cocktail creations, especially the coffee cocktails.

 Not only the coffee, you can also experience special brewed tea here by Jing Artisan Tea.
Hibiscus and Blackcurrant Tea
IDR 30k
First of all, this tea was very fragrant and had this intense hibiscus scent but nowhere near sweet floral, this was Cindy's order and she actually liked it, it had this quite rich blackcurrant flavor (and natural of course) and in a way quite light, the thing about hibiscus is that the flavor can be subtle, but enjoyable.

Iced Cappuccino
IDR 30k
I had no further comment about this since Common Grounds is currently one of my favorite coffee shop in town and I always order this one whenever I am visiting. I love it! And oh, since I just came back from Oz, my standard for coffee is now pretty high! Common Grounds is actually quite there yet.


Belitung Noodle
IDR 45k
Uh oh I am so excited when it comes to this one! It's probably not your everyday thing to have local or Asian cuisine in a coffee shop but I was glad that Chronicle decided to follow their gut because this was very delicious! It happened to be Hanna's mom recipe and it has been the family's "signature dish" on events like family gathering. First and up most important: the broth! The broth had this medium consistency (not too thick and loose) and flavor wise: beautiful, you'll experience delicate flavors in one: sweet, tangy, savory, well I love prawn based broth but there are times when it gets too thick and disgusting you just want to throw it away but thankfully that's not the case here. Secondly, the noodle, it was actually not noodle noodle, but they're using spaghetti and glad they cooked it al-dente! As the topping, you're going to find fried tofu, homemade prawn fritters. If you love adding a little 'heat' on your meal, you're going to love their homemade chili, so damn good and really lived up the whole flavor!!! I'd be happy to pay for more than 45k for this one beautiful dish. Recommended!



Buttermilk Chicken Burger
IDR 70k
I have always been a fan of buttermilk chicken and decided to give it a try and boy didn't I regret my option! As simple as the buns were executed awesomely, wasn't sure about this one but I bet they're using good butter because the bun had this beautiful combination of sweet and salty with a little smoky flavor in it from the cooking process. The buttermilk chicken was perfect. Big big cuts-deep fried, ultra tender and juicy and lovely seasoned. The portion came with fresh lettuce and adorable fries and yes the fries were really good, something about the seasoning that screamed!



Lobster Roll
IDR 95k
So far if you think we eat like crazy, YOU ARE RIGHT. When we looked at the "lobster roll" written on the menu, we went crazy and decided to order one! As you can see on the pic below, you can tell how generous they are with the filling and toppings. The beautifully seasoned lobster was accompanied by diced tomatoes, avocado and all together tossed in mayonaisse sauce.  I love how they added this citrus flavor to the meal resulting different refreshing twist and flavor. The bun was semi-crunchy just how I like it



Since it was raining and we both stuck inside, we didn't realize that we've spent 4 hours in Chronicle and got hungry again, another bowl of the beautiful Belitung Noodle was what we had in mind and we re-ordered it! I was happy that they still manage to be consistent with everything. Nice!

FYI I AM TYPING THIS ON LUNCH TIME BUT WITH ME HAVING NO MEAL SINCE THE MORNING NOW I AM FUCKING HUNGRY!!! I think I should go back for their Belitung Noodle!

Even though their grand opening will be in two weeks but I still highly recommend you to go here and try what they have in store. Based on my experience, I wasn't disappointed, everything was up to my standard and the pricing was good. The range here starts at IDR 25k-95k for beverages and IDR 40k-IDR 95k for food, good deal it is!

Chronicle
Jl. Wijaya 2 No. 73
Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan 12160
0821 8888 1538
Opening Hours: 10:30 AM - 11:30 PM
Pricing: $$

FIND ME HERE

Map for Jalan Wijaya II