Manimga

Manimga is situated in one of the most densely populated area where Korean influence are felt; Kelapa Gading, Jakarta Utara. Countless Korean restaurants can be found in Jakarta but I've never ever eaten 'duck' in a Korean eatery. Instead, I always have the common type of meat; beef and pork (sometimes chicken) cooked in all sorts of way - BBQ, grilled, stir fried, boiled in soup, etc, with all sorts of sauces and traditional condiments - gochujang, bean paste, etc. Not only I was actually surprise that I found a Korean duck dish, but even more that it was the house specialty !!! Goooood stuff :')

Before I go into the details with the menu that I ordered, I have to inform you all that this is by far the MOST value for money Korean food I have ever eaten in Jakarta. Yes, I must say the place wasn't the most prestigious Ruko in Kelapa Gading area (but easy to locate). Yes, the place was rather small and rather run down and gloomy looking. Yes, the restaurant wasn't the best decor compared to other Korean eatery, but let me repeat it once again "Manimga is the most value for money Korean food I have ever eaten in Jakarta".

Buffet centre side dishes is a common thing in all Korean restaurants, but the distance of generosity that Manimga goes is by far the furthest I've known. Below are the pictures of items that two of us got for free. (Bear in mind that the 2 of us only ordered two meat dishes and one bowl of steam rice). Left : Sundubu (others usually charged for around Rp 50,000. Middle : Papingsu & Ice Coffee (ps : free flow rice green tea too). Right : Unlimited centre side dish (the only let down was the super sour kimchi).

Menu : Hunje Ori

Price : Rp 125,000 ++

Score : 9.0 / 10

>> This duck doesn't taste like duck at all. It taste like cured pork sausage and ham. I loooove this stuff. To begin, the portion is BIG. For two person, we ordered the smallest size plate and I was smiling for ear to ear when I saw the portion. Korean dish is famous for tiny weeny meat portion (I guess that is how they earn more money). The duck meat has the right amount of fat, nothing like the one I ate in Chinese restaurant (thick fat layer). This dish has the right amount of fat layer and when wrapped with fresh green leaves, cut chilies, kimchi and dipped into mustard and Korean soy sauce...my taste buds dances! Definitely two thumbs and two toes up! MUST TRY !!!

Menu : Gochujang Jumulruk

Price : Rp 90,000 ++

Score : 6.0 / 10

>> This dish comes after Hunje Ori and with the complimentary Sundubu and endless side dishes my tummy was 3/4 filled. I was again amazed by the portion of meat. My gosh! By far the largest BBQ pork dish served in Korean restaurant I have ever eaten in Jakarta for the price of Rp 90,000. I couldn't help but to think how much profit the other Korean restaurants made when they charged Rp 200,000 and sometimes even smaller portion that this.

However sadly, the taste didn't live up to my expectation and definitely outshined by 'Hunje Ori'. I didn't like the taste, it's too acidic and I couldn't smell the slight burnt taste that BBQ grilling usually gave. The cook might marinated the pork for too long or the helper might grilled it for too short. If only the taste can live up, then my lunch on that particular day was truly heaven. Nevertheless, a good size to share for those people who are not picky about their food. If you are then choose the duck dish instead!

Overall I must say that this restaurant left a big impression on me. Not only the service was very generous, the food portion were certainly satisfying but also not many of Indonesian actually notice this place and therefore NO queue. Bliss isn't it ??

Total Cost for the meal of two : Rp 240,000 (inclusive tax)

Manimga - Korean Barbeque Restaurant

7 Boulevard Barat Kelapa Gading
Phone : 021 - 4526 136

Bihun Bebek 78

Bihun Bebek 78    ( Price : Rp 25,000 )

 I made a special trip to Pluit Selatan for this bowl of duck vermicelli. To come to this place "Bihun Bebek 78", it's easy, you'll just need to go straight past the red light at the Emporium Mall cross road junction. When you see the second red light, turn left and 50 meters from turning left you'll see the sign board.

I heard that the owners came from Medan and brought with them this recipe and since then, they have been established and well known. The vermicelli were soft and silky, I'm not sure whether they made it themselves but sure are slightly thicker than the normal "Jakarta's Bihun". The generous sliced duck meat was tender and not oily at all. They have cut all the fatty part and with what was left were the trim tender meat. Make sure you pour a generous amount of their chili and with the help of the spice kicking into your taste buds, you'll love the dish even more. Lastly, I have to mention the bowl of soup that they serve this with, it was clear and the taste was really unique. Surely they have added some tonic herbs because it tasted like a tonic soup instead of a normal chicken broth with spring onions.

Duck King

This was an unexpected trip to Duck King. David and I wanted to eat "Shabuya" at Central Park; a place that serves grade 9 Wagyu beef hot pot in buffet style for a mere Rp 120,000 per person. However, unpredictably the restaurant was fully booked and we were have to wait for 45 minutes for our seat; thus we canceled our initial plan! We turn our back and the first restaurant I saw on the right was this; "Duck King". The place was fairly packed with Chinese families sitting down on a round table having dinner but luckily no queue (hooray !!).

On the left was the initial dishes that they'll place on the table, it varies from place to place (I got served crispy fish skin this time) and the thing that bothers me the most is that the restaurant always make the eaters pay for this. On the right is my all time favorite condiment; bird's eye chili with garlic in soy sauce. No chili sauce in the world can beat the taste of biting into real fresh birds eye chili !!

Menu : Steamed Chicken Feet

Price : Rp 14,800 ++

Score : 5.75 / 10

>> I noticed I have been eating quite a sum of chicken feet every time I come to a Chinese restaurant. Mainly because since my glorious experience with Din Tai Fung, I'm actually fond of the menu. Duck King's wasn't too bad, even though it was certainly not as great.

Menu : Hak Kau

Price : Rp 16,800 ++

Score : 6.5 / 10

>> Fresh Hak Kau is David's all time favorite Dim Sum. He loved this a lot but personally for me it was good but not damn good. The shrimp meat were fresh, the food was served steaming hot but I'm sure I had better ones.

Menu : Tom Yam Seafood Soup

Price : Rp 38,000 ++

Score : 7.0  / 10

>> I usually have Szechuan Wonton Soup when I hit Duck King but this time I had a different one. Their Tom Yam was good, they had the level of sourness just right and balanced it well with the chili too ! Good stuff !!

Menu : Garlic Steamed Scallop

Price : Rp 19,800 ++
Score : 7.5 / 10

>> My goodness, one of the most fresh scallop I had ever consume in my life. I may sound exaggerating but this was better than the Duck King's in Emporium Pluit branch. This was succulent, firm, scallop big in size and most importantly the garlic and the soy sauce was heavenly good as ever with white rice!

Menu : BBQ Double Combination

Price : Rp 78,000 ++
Score : 6.5 / 10

>> This is a double combination of BBQ chicken and duck. I liked the chicken better because it was more fragrant and seasoned better. While the duck has a little bit too much bones and the layer of fats was slightly too much for my taste.

Menu : Deep Fried Squid with Chili and Pepper

Pirce : Rp 52,000 ++
Score : 6.0 / 10

>> I don't particularly like squid, octopus, calamari or anything of the same species. But this I quite enjoy the seasoning. I like anything with fried garlic and abundance was poured on top of this dish; together with chili and pepper. I would also like to praise about the bite size portion, you'll be able to easily pop one entire piece into your mouth.

Menu : Watercress in spicy shrimp paste (Kangkung Terasi)

Price : Rp 34,000 ++
Score : 8.0 / 10

>> This may look like a humble dish, but this is the star of the night. The portion was generous, the vegetable was really fresh and crispy but most importantly the taste was really good. You can taste the shrimp paste without overpowering your entire pallet, great seasoning !!

Menu : Glutinous Rice with Durian Ice Cream

Price : Rp 25,000 ++
Score : 3.0  / 10

>> Bad dessert and was extremely disappointed! The glutinous rice was so bland that I thought water has more taste. The durian ice cream was also a joke, it was too tasteless and just doesn't taste good at all.

Satoo - Shangrila Hotel

I was in a gluttony mode last Saturday night, six of us went to Shangrila Hotel and ate at their "SATOO" dinner buffet restaurant. A complete selection from Japanese, Indian, Western, Indonesian, Chinese, Italian food. You can almost get everything you want from a complete buffet table there. Their selection and variety of food is not only abundant but clean and delicious! If you have a BCA Platinum credit card, their promotion  on weekends of 'buy 1, get 1' cuts the price to Rp 250,000 (for 2 person). A person of Rp 125,000 is very reasonable isn't it? 

It was impossible to name all of the dishes, and thus only photos were posted here. I'm sure this will definitely drool all you readers! Remember to call at least 3 days before to make a reservation or else you'll sure be disappointed.

Menu : SATOO Dinner Buffet

Price : Rp 250,000 (BCA Platinum Credit Card, buy 1 get 1. Rp 125,000 / per person)

Overall Score : 8.0 / 10

>> I officially came out of the restaurant as an obese.

SATOO
Address : Shangri-La Hotel, Jakarta, Kota BNI. Jl. Jend Sudirman Kav.1 Jakarta Pusat
Phone : 021 - 574 8168