MAD (Moderan Asian Dining)

I was at the Lotte Shopping Mall (LOVE), the one in kuningan I'm sure all of you know. I was about to grab a movie ticket and I saw MAD, which stands for Modern Asian Dining. I gotta say I hesitated to enter, it has this bright orange and neon printings, definitely reminds me of Disney mixed with Andy Warhol kind of vibe. But oh my, I was surprise by the size of the restaurant. From the outside, it looked like a normal entrance but 30 steps into the place, it was HUGEEE, with a capital H U G E! I really do mean it. I think it might cover more than 800 m2, the length of the restaurant was about 50 - 60 meters I think? I know you might think I sound hyperbolic by the bad description of just the 'size' but hey, you need to just enter the place to feel the space. Note : I didn't recommend you to try the food, but just enter and judge the space for yourself. Even better, it's entrance fee is FREE !

As for the food, I am not a big fan compare to the surprise I got by the size of the place :p hehehe

Menu : Pork Mantau

Price : Rp 80,000 ++

Score : 5.5 / 10

>> The photo in the menu made it look really tempting and I ordered. The taste was rather mediocre, the pork belly was juicy and has the right amount of hoisin sauce but apart from that, it's nothing special. Portion is too small for a Rp 80,000. Honestly feel this should be charged for Rp 35,000 instead of  Rp 80 K. A rip off? What do you think?

Menu : Laksa Lamien

Price : Rp 98,000 ++
Score : 6.0 / 10

>> So - So tasting laksa. I wasn't hoping to be better than the one sold in Singapore but I was far from being impressed. Portion was enough for a small adult female, soup was okay, wonton was cripsy, you know the ordinary. Bottom line, far from special, and I wouldn't miss having this. Btw, Din Tai Fung serves better tom yum lamien for only Rp 50,000 ... just something to think about :)

Menu : Josper Wagyu Claypot

Price : Rp 198,000 ++

Score : 6.0 / 10

>> Complete overpriced. Wagyu beef was okay (not brilliant), poach egg was perfect but Rp 198,000 ??? Come on, I think the price tag is not well suited with the ambiance. The place screams casual while the pricing is not casual at all.

Will I come back? Hmm...nope I don't think so. But you should !! See the perspective of the space and NOT the food. I warned you guys hehehehe...

MAD (Modern Asian Dining)

Lotte Shopping Avenue 4th Floor

Phone : 021 - 29889499

Marugame Udon

Marugame Udon, a new entry hitting the Japanese food cuisine dance floor and this actually resembles 'Yoshinoya' in some way. 'Yoshinoya' gives you beef bowl done in a fast food manner. While Marugame Udon serves you Udon done in a fast food manner.

You start the queue with a choice from the menu (8 udon dishes and 4 rice dishes), then choose your additional hot food and then move on to the fried food station. The hot food consist of kakedashi soup, beef sukiyaki, tori ball, mentaiko and tamago while the fried food ranges from inari sushi, fried prawn and vegetables tempura, to beef potato croquette.

I would say the concept is pretty original, even though as mentioned above that it resembles the franchised Yoshinoya food retail chain from Japan. Marugame has an open kitchen which makes the entire floor plan bigger. You'll be able to see all the action happening behind the scene. From the udon making, tempura frying to the selection of extra side dishes that are available for your preference. The main course consist of udon and rice dishes, fried food ranges from prawn tempura to sweet potato fritter, while the hot food includes tori balls, beef sukiyaki, etc. The pricing are reasonable. I would say Rp 150,000 (include tax) for 2 person should be enough. Well, unless you've been fasting for 2 days and this is the first meal you ate after that hahaha!

Menu : Mentai Kamatama Udon
Price : Rp 50,000 ++
Score : 6.0 / 10

>> The udon itself is well done but I think I choose the wrong udon dish. I knew myself isn't a big fan of raw egg but the topping consist of very very very soft boiled egg. The minute you gently mix and stir the bowl, you'll break the egg yolk and it'll oozes all over. Mentaiko and the egg is what all of this dish is about. Very pretty color I must say but I'll opt for the 'beef curry udon, niku udon or the tori baitang udon' next time. But if you like raw egg, then by all means I think you'll enjoy this menu!

Menu : Beef Sukiyaki
Price : Rp 30,000 ++
Score : 7.25 / 10

>> I will hands down say it is better than what Yoshinoya has to provide. First, the portion is much much bigger than what you'll get for Rp 30,000 compare to Yoshinoya. Second, because it is an open kitchen, you'll be able to ask for extra onions!! Which I loveee, a big sauteed sweet onion eater here ^_^. The beef is well cooked, wasn't chewy nor overcooked at all. The sauce was well balanced, with the sweet and salty soy sauce kicking into action upon landing on your palate. Overall, something that I'll re order again and again from time to time.

Menu : Tori Ball
Price : Rp 11,000 ++
Score : 7.5 / 10

>> Texture of the chicken tori balls were little bit on the soft side. Definitely not mushy nor stone hard but the right word to describe would be 'easy to chew, friendly for the elderly too'. Hahahaha...well regardless how I may seem to describe, the texture was well to my liking. What I like more was the soup. It has a strong salty taste but still pleasant on the tongue and definitely not overpowering the whole dish. Remember the 'tori baitang udon' dish that I mention above, that menu has this beautiful babies as the topping! So, that choice of the udon is definitely on my 're visit' meal list.

Menu : Inari Sushi (top) & Beef Potato Croquette (below)
Price : Inari Sushi RP 6,400 ++ & Beef Croquette Rp 10,900 ++
Score : Inari Sushi 6.0 / 10 & Beef Croquette 7.0 / 10

>> What can go wrong with fried food? Well, almost nothing. Let's talk about their inari sushi first. I'd say it's mediocre. Nothing special, nothing fancy, nothing out of the box. Just a simple tofu skin wrap over sushi rice. Done well for the reasonable price tag.

>> Beef croquette; crispy outer layer checked, generous fillings checked, tasty tempura sauce checked, too much potato instead of beef checked too. Well, many good points about this piece but except the proportion combination of the croquette is not right. Too much potato and can't taste the beef at all. But overall, I'll come and order this.

Overall a good solid addition into the so called 'Japanese fast food' in Jakarta. And I'm sure to be seeing this in more and more big malls in and around Jakarta. Itada kimas !!


Marugame Udon
Gandaria City Mall, Upper Ground Floor  #16 - 17
Mall Taman Anggrek, 3rd Floor

Bakmi Orpa

Bakmi Orpa - Pork

Alot of people calls Bakmi Orpa as the rich man's noodle or 'Bakmi Orang Kaya'. Well, due to the obvious reason that the price tag is rather expensive in comparison to other noodles in Jakarta. This beauty on top cost Rp 38,000 while the other noodles in Muara Karang & Pluit area cost around Rp 18,000 to Rp 24,000. But nevertheless, I'm one of their loyal customer. My office is super near to this place and I watched it grow along the way, from their rented ruko, to a better but still 'run down' ruko and now their own estblishment (all along in the same area). I have to say, I rather like their noodle and would give them an 7.5 / 10. They do home made their own noodle and the portion in a bowl was just right. I'm able to finished the bowl without feeling too full nor sick. The meat and the seasoning were on the track too! Good stuff...

PS : Bakmi Pejagalan still taste better (Review Post Dated : 22 May 2013)

Suikiaw Kuah

These are the bomb! I'll score these an 8.0 / 10. I like this much better than their noodles. I'm a sucker for dumplings and their home made skin used to wrap the meat are super thin and flaky thus you can get minimal carb with maximum taste of the meat fillings. Some people like their dumpling skin thick (which I don't understand why), thus if you are those kind, then you won't like these so much. Regardless, the meat itself is generously filled and definitely seasoned well.

Menu : Tahu Isi Daging
Price : To be advise
Score : 6.0 / 10

>> Slightly too mediocre for me and thus I supposed you don't need to bother to order this. The tofu and the meat was well done, but didn't hit my taste buds and made me go 'Wowww'. However, still a decent snack while there. You could order this or not, won't missed out on anything.

Menu : Bakso Goreng

Price : To be advise

Score : 7.5 / 10

>>  Who don't like deep friend Pork Meat Balls. I loooveee it and always have it along with noodles. Their's in Bakmi Orpa was tasty and well fried! You're still able to taste the crunchiness of the outer skin while the gooey inner part of the pork meat was still intact. The chili sauce at the side helped in a big way too. It cuts the oil and thus making this one of the must try during your trip to Bakmi Orpa.

Bakmi Orpa

Jl. Malaka 2 No 25. Bandengan Jakarta Utara

Phone : 021  - 6912450

MonViet

It's a tough thing to find a good decent Vietnamese restaurant here in Jakarta. Well maybe it's due to the lack of 'marketing' I suppose? Japanese, Korean and Thai restaurant has been flooding our go to destination shopping malls all over Jakarta and not so much for Vietnamese food. I'm not quite sure why, but maybe it resembles Thai cuisine? Nevertheless, I was in Kemang Village and decided on this for dinner. As it turn out, I left the place deciding on being a return customer! I believe just base on the 2 dishes I tasted below, the other menu were worth my second trip later in the near future.

Menu : Fresh Spring Roll with Prawns
Price : Rp 32,000 ++
Score : 6.0 / 10

>> The appetizer was a so - so but maybe it was because I opted for fresh raw vegetables instead of the fried one. Anything fried would taste way better, all the time. But anyways, the vegetable were really fresh, with a strong smell of 'Kemangi leaf'. With the additional brown sauce they provide, it's just the right condiments to go with the menu. Prawns were steam and sliced and arranged in such a way that it is visible through the almost see through thin rice skin. A good appetizer to begin, but I'll order the fried one next time !

Menu : Spicy Beef Noodle Soup
Price : Rp 43,000 ++
Score : 7.75 / 10

>> YUMMM ! The soup is goooood. With additional chili given on the side, I poured everything into this, swirl it around for a good mixing and slurp away I go. The broth was splendid with beef goodness and the right amount of seasoning. The vermicelli was spectacular too!! It's difficult to describe the texture of the noodle but it's nothing I had tasted before. It's not too spring, but enough strength for slurping without breaking down too easily. The mouth feel it gave was to my liking. The only thing that I might want more is the beef slices. It's too little in comparison to the amount of vermicelli. It's a meal that is full with carbohydrate and lacking in protein. But hey! I love carbs and would come back for this again.


MonViet
Lippo Kemang Village Mall 
(Outdoor Section; Food Junction)
Phone : 0815 8455 2945

Bakmi Pejagalan

This is the noodle stall that I mention on my post dated (16 May 2013), my favorite noodle of all time! And I personally feel this is the best among the tens and tens of people selling noodles in the crowded area of Pluit & Muara Karang. This place is situated just next to Fong Tu or if you don't know the location in Pluit, get to 'Kwetiau Singapore' and ask around with the guards in that area. It's almost impossible if they don't know it.

The place is decent, with air - con and quite spacious for a noodle stall. It's 'better looking' than your food stall in the Muara Karang area. But never mind the ambiance when you're dining in this area, the food talks and your taste buds don't lie !

Menu : Bakmi Pejagalan, Babi Jamur, Sui Kiauw
Price : Rp 34,500
Score : 9.0 / 10

>> I wanted to dance upon my first slurp. It is that delicious and yes! This is by far the best tasting noodle in Pluir & Muara Karang area. So many things to brag about this and I'm not paid to say all these ;

- Size of noodle : Thin, slightly curled and Perfect
- Pork : Seasoning is Perfect
- Size : Fulfilling to the stomach and Perfect
- Dumplings : Seasoning is Perfect, Thickness of the dumpling skin were Perfect too
- Overall taste : almost too good !!

Notice how each factor ends with a 'perfect' and that is the reason that this earns a nine pointer. There's just something special with the dumplings and the seasoning of the noodle. It wasn't too oily at all. The oil merely glisten and cover lightly across every strand of noodle. Curious? Do try and witness it for yourself!

Menu : Bakso Goreng
Price : Rp 6, 500 / Piece
Score : 8.5 / 10

>> Arrrghhh !!!! Goodness gracious! It's goooodddd!! What I love about this is the fact, the sliced the pork meat ball and then fry it again. Usually, the fried the entire meat ball and then sliced it thus leaving the inside of the meat slightly gooey and chewy. This is definitely different and much much better in all aspect. The price was reasonable too. RP 6,500 per piece and you get half the amount from the picture on the left (Photo show 2 pieces).

Will I come back over and over and over again to this eatery? It's a definite yes and you should be doing the same thing too!


Bakmi Pejagalan
Pluit Barat 1 No 7 Jakarta Utara 14450
Phone : 021 - 6602677

Bakmi Khek

Bakmi Khek when translated to English means 'Hakka Noodle'. I'm a Hakka and it just feels right whenever I ate this. It might be the silent brain washing, taste adjuster that my parents and grandparents had instilled in my taste buds. But Hakka food just has a soft spot in my tummy. Remembering my childhood, my grandmother always cooks Hakka dishes and I thought Hakka was only the type of variety in Chinese dishes. When I grow up, I became more 'smarter' of course, but Hakka cuisine still is my old time favorite dish.

Menu : Bakmi Khek Special

Price : Rp 22,000 (Small Portion)

Score : 7.5 / 10

>> The difference between Special and Regular is the amount of meat. Regular is a choice of pork of chicken, while you get both meat the pork and chicken in the special. And the price of a large portion is an additional Rp 10,000 on top of the small one.

They hand made all of the noodles and the claimed to used a secret sauce that has been in their family since 1969, brought down generations to generations. How true? I don't know. But I'm sure of the fact that this food stall had been 'forever' in Muara Karang; since I was a child and with regards to the taste. It's goooood! The texture has that springy feeling and the amount of the sauce isn't over salty. The additional meat gives it an additional kick to the entire dish.

Menu : Sui Kiaw

Price : Rp 20,000 (5 pcs)

Score : 6.5 / 10

>> Thickness of the skin is good. Not too thick at all. What was a slight let down for me was the seasoning of the broth and the fillings.

The soup was a slight bland, maybe this was a purpose as eaters usually adds their own special mix of sauces and condiments such as soy sauce, chili and pepper.  Not a big deal though.

The amount of the fillings were generous. They used pork and vegetables as usual. A good size and was quite filling to the tummy if you had 10 pieces of this. But again a small issue with the seasoning. A little more sprinkle of salt might made of the big changes to this dish. But overall a solid meal and you should definitely pay here a visit!

I will be doing a post on another Noodle stall in Pluit area which I think is better and deserves a 9 out of 10. Curious? Stay tune and hooked on noodles ^_^

Bakmi Khek

Muara Karang B7 Utara No 115 (Pusat)

Phone : 021 - 6680048 / 6604328

Cabang Kelapa Gading                            Cabang Taman Palem Lestari

Boulevard raya Blok WB No 2                 Taman Palem Lestari AA2 No 3 Cengkareng Jkt Barat

Phone : 021 - 97960704 / 4508906        Phone : 021 - 80739935

Bakmi Orpa (Jln Kopi)

Wonton Soup Rp 30,000 (5 pieces)

Bakmi Orpa (Pork or Chicken) : Rp 25,000

Have you heard about Bakmi Orpa? If you are a Chinese Indonesia living in Jakarta, most probably your parents have eaten here before. Bakmi Orpa is situated on Jalan Kopi and don't judge by it's modest and messy interior of the eatery. The noodles there is damn good! Their home made noodles are silky and has a slight 'bouncy' chew to it. There is a choice between chicken and pork. If you aren't a Muslim then I'll advice you all to try the one with pork, remember to add soya sauce and chili before tucking it. It will elevate the taste !!

To add on, besides the noodle I'm completely in love with their boiled wonton soup. The soup is purposely served bland, all you can taste is the pure chicken stock. Thus remember to season youself with the soya sauce and pepper on the table. The wonton wrapping is simply just magical! It is paper thin, soft and silky! I dislike those restaurants serving wonton with thick wrappings (all you can taste are all the dough in your mouth). In here, you can really taste the meat fillings inside! It usually a bowl of 10 wonton, but you can have it 5 wontons instead; just remember to request on it.

Don't order ice tea when you are in here, remember to try their "ice coffee". It is strong and sweet at the same time. They brew their fresh coffee on site and with the correct proportion of condensed milk, this is simply heavenly good !! Besides their noodle and wonton, they have wonderful selections of small dishes like; bola ubi, siomay, bakso goreng, etc. All of them are delicious, trust me!!!

Last but not least, I'd just want to let all of you know that even though this is a modest eatery, the price tag isn't modest at all. They do charge the eaters with quite a bill. But life is too short to eat bad food isn't it?

Nan Xiang

Out for group dinner on Saturday night at Senayan City with 15 people is a mess. We can't decide on which food to have and make matter worse having to find a restaurant that can fit 15 of us without having to queue narrows the selection down. Finally after 30 minutes of futile discussion we head down to Nan Xiang. No queue is definitely a big plus point that drew us all to there. I was still full from the afternoon snack I had earlier on and thus ate a little. The food was alright, nothing was disgustingly bad nor none was superbly delicious.

Menu : Sup Asam Pedas

Price : Rp 39,800++
Score : 4.0 / 10

>> I don't think this is better than Maystar's or Duck King's. I had 2 spoon full and passed it entirely to David to finish it. It wasn't sour enough nor able to taste the hotness. For the price and claiming as a Chinese Restaurant, soup is the fundamental skill they should be able to master.

Menu : Hak Kao

Price : Rp 19,500 ++

Score : 4.0 / 10

>> I love Hak Kao and often order this dish if you notice my old posts. However this was below my standard and scored only a four pointer. It was just boring and bland! I expect so much more from this restaurant.

Menu : Sapo Tahu Ayam Ikan Asin

Price : Rp 58,000 ++
Score : 5.5 / 10

>> Personally I felt this is slightly expensive for a tofu dish. It taste alright, the portion was medium and the meat slices was pretty generous but the sauce was too thick. I would prefer it to be less viscous.

Menu : Xiao Long Bao - Prawn & Chicken

Price : Rp 48,000 ++
Score : 6.0 / 10

>> The stuffing was good and tasty and the temperature when served was steaming hot (which is correct). But the problem lies with the skin wrapping, it is too thick and doughy! Din Tai Fung has better ones !

Menu : Mie Cha Chiang - Ayam & Jamur

Price : Rp 42,000 ++
Score : 6.75 / 10

>> This noodle dish saved my experience. Right pricing, right portion, right seasoning, right noodle texture, right sauce. Simply fine ! With cut chili soaked in soy sauce and sprinkled generously onto, made this a seven pointer dish. Yumm !!!

Ramen 38 - Sanpachi

As I had mentioned over and over again that I'm a sucker for spicy food and so this seems like a suitable restaurant for me to try out. I've heard of this place a lot of times before but don't know why I didn't get to try it before. Thus on my visit to Pacific Place Mall I made sure I had my chance of eating here. The place was decently decorated, nothing fancy, nothing luxurious it's more of an 'eat and go' type of restaurant. I came during the dinner time and had my taste buds dancing upon looking at the menu. 

You can have level 1 till 10 of spicy experience. As this is my first encounter, I ordered  a level 5 of the 'Jigoku Ramen'. My verdict was that; I can still handle it and I might order a level 7 or 8 next visit. Of course for those chili haters, you can still enjoy ramen that is non-spicy at all. They have the 'Shio Ramen' which tend to be more salty and no hint of chili whatsoever.  When you're finished, they'll serve you a complimentary lychee jelly which I felt was a sweet way to wash off the heat from the tongue. By the way, "Sanpachi" has several branch all over Jakarta, make sure to locate them!

Menu : Pork Chasu Tsumami
Price : Rp 32,000++
Score : 7.0 / 10

>> I like this a lot! The meat was different, it is served cold, not too fatty; the cut was right amount of meat to the fat found inside. The had spring onion at the bottom of the meat and when eaten with soy sauce, it gave your taste buds a disco session.

Menu : Jigoku Ramen (level 5)

Price : Rp 36,000 ++ (small)
Score : 7.0 / 10

>> I had a level 5 chili and reckon that I can still handle this. My next visit here will be a level 8 for sure. Not only that I like the chili, I love the texture of the ramen. I think they might made it themselves in the kitchen. The ramen wasn't too thick or coarse, just the right size for you to have a big slurp of mouthful into your mouth.

Menu : Shio Ramen
Price : Rp 30,000++ (small)
Score : 6.0 / 10

>> This is actually similar to Jigoku Ramen except that this has no chili at all. But being a chili freak I am, I wanted more heat for sure! This has a salty and calm soup.