Coco Curry

 

If us Indonesians have our rendang then the Japanese promote their distinctive curry sauce. Thick consistency with the great fragrant is a factor, sweet with a touch of heat is another trait. A franchisee came into the action at Grand Indonesia, goes with the name of 'Coco Curry'. If I am not mistaken, the original store was obviously in Japan and made it's way down to Singapore and then here Jakarta.

Do I like it? Umm...not so much actually. I am quite a big fan of Japanese curry but this was pretty ordinary. Nothing out of box; taste wise. I wouldn't say don't try it but it didn't made me crave for a second helping. I might come back here maybe in another 6 months time though...hehehe...

Coco Curry

Grand Indonesia, West Mall

( Across Fook Yew )

Sombrero

I was invited to a food blogger gathering by Michelindo; they had just opened up a new restaurant called the 'Sombrero'. If you guys have yet to know, Michelindo is the company behind the success of Bonchon Fried Chicken. It's a huge diversification from something that is so familiar to the Indonesian menu of 'fried chicken' to 'mexican'. Bravo on the cross over!

Even though I've never been to Mexico but I think I had my fair chance of eating Mexican food. Jakarta isn't too densely swarmed with Mexican cuisine and on top of my mind is 'Hacienda' which might be my favorite Mexican place in Jakarta !! I'ts not an apple to apple comparison between 'Hacienda & Sombrero'. Hacienda has more of an authentic taste, higher price tag and more of a fine dining feel, while Sambrero is casual and the taste of the food was very much fusion-ed to adjust to our local Indonesian palate.

To be fully honest, there wasn't too much dishes that we got to try and hence couldn't share too much dishes in the menu by regardless, here it is ... my honest opinion ... cheers and do the salsa dance !!

Menu : Spicy Sombrero Fried Rice
Price : Rp 15,000 ++
Score : 6.0 / 10

>> A tiny tiny portion of  a hot spicy rice. It's basically long grain rice with a lot of hot sauce. Thankfully I've got a crazy threshold for spicy food and hence was rather happy with the taste. But I assure you that this is something that all people can enjoy. There is a choice of other sides dishes such as; classic mexican fried rice (Rp 15,000++) available on the menu. The title 'classic' somehow assures me that it's on the mild side.

Menu : Mex - Ixxa
Price : Rp 55,000 ++
Score :5.5 / 10

>> There's a few things going on this plate; their Mexican Pizza which was an open faced tortilla with sombrero sauce, cheese and a choice of beef, chicken or vegetables, served with nachos chips, salsa & guacamole on the side. I must say that this is really fusion-ed to the local palate. The sambrero sauce was leaning heavily on the BBQ taste and the toppings on top was mediocre to alright. Wasn't a big fan of the guacamole but their salsa taste great. By the way, this menu came with the rice on top (Spicy Sombrero Fried Rice) free of charge.

Menu : Mexican Tapas Style (Sampler choice of 3)
Price : Rp 45,000 ++
Score : 5.0 / 10
>> Left : Chi Mi Changa : crispy tortilla shell stuffed with beans and a choice of chicken beef or cheese. Ummm...I didn't quite like it. Bland and there is mushy feeling when biting into the fillings inside. Middle : Fuerro Burrito : Soft tortilla shell with cheese, veges and a choice of beef or chicken. Hmmm...a similar case to the Chi Mi Changa, wasn't too pleasant. Right : Dip'n Wings : a tasty cripsy chicken and was definitely a huge relieve that they brought a piece of Bonchon to this sampler plate hahahaha.

Menu : Black Tie Churros
Price : RP 23,000 ++
Score : 6.5 / 10


>> Dessert at last !! Churros was cripsy and hot, which was crucial to any churros (relieved!). There's 2 dipping sauces; chocolate and white chocolate. The white chocolate was overwhelmingly sweet, one dip and the sugar smacks you on the face. The chocolate on was much much balanced.

Overall, I personally feel it has potential but need a big boost in the recipes. I think a comment or a valuation card is crucial during these kind of food blogger gathering and I hope they'll provide one next time. At the end of the day, the taste buds don't lie and what it all comes down to, is not about the location, decor nor the image. It's nothing but the food itself. So..no hard feelings hahahaha but I rather voice a honest opinion rather than a biased one. * I hope I didn't scare restaurant owners away and still get invited to future food gatherings after this hahahaha *

Sombrero
Grand Indonesia, West Mall 3A Floor 
(Exactly across Yoshinoya)
Phone : To be advised

Tokyo Belly

Another subsidiary restaurant branch by Ismaya Group. Just to let you know, Ismaya is a holding company of a handful successful restaurants & lounges such as ; Social House, Kitchenette, Ismaya Catering, D'Journal, Pizza e'birra, Fook Yew, Skye, Sushi Groove, Pasta de Waraku, Blowfish, and a couple more of others. So anyways, this fusion Japanese eatery is an exchange of the previous place called 'Mr. Curry'. I'm not sure what happen to Mr. Curry but I guess business wasn't doing well and thus they refurbished and changed the concept to this 'Tokyo Belly'. Will it be doing well, or follow the declined footsteps of Mr. Curry? Hmm....let the food do the talking. After all, the taste buds never lies.

Menu : Blossom Belly

Price : RP 55,000 ++

Score : 3.0 / 10

>> I don't like the food. The waitress recommended on this but not my taste! The salmon in the middle was a mush, and the cheese in the middle only became an additional mush. The crunchy bit on the outer layer was okay but hey come on, for Rp 55,000?? The sauce drizzled over wasn't great either. To add on it's overpriced but the only positive note is the fact; it didn't contain any rice. So maybe those who are doing Atkin's diet can have this hahaha. And lastly just for your info, there was 6 slices to this dish and not just 3 (only in the picture).

Menu : Beef Kimchi Ramen

Price : RP 58,000 ++
Score : 6.0 / 10

>> This was better than the appetizer and thank God for that. The soup was slightly too thick but it became less viscous as the temperature cools off. The ramen was still al dente and the seasoning was well balanced. I got the kimchi kick and the chili punch (I ordered extra spicy), thus a much welcome change after the above ' Blossom Belly '. But to talk about the toppings inside?! It's pretty much empty! There's two half sliced egg, a single piece of seaweed, a few strands of kimchi cabbage and maybe two very very thinly sliced beef. Bottom line for sixty thousand, you're getting plain noodle in a fairly good broth. 

Menu : Beef Steak Rice

Price : RP 68,000 ++
Score : 5.0 / 10

>> Issues with a couple of thing. Number one the salad. Very much over dressed in a mango flavored mayonnaise. How hard is it to proper dress a salad? Light dressing equally spread is not that difficult I suppose? Number two, when you read 'Beef Steak', I was hoping for a decent piece of meat, yet what came out was a very very very over cooked chunks of beef. It was like chewing a rubber tire. Utter disappointment. What give this a mere pass is only the curry sauce. I like the taste, slightly sweet but could still settle well on the taste buds. 

Over all, faced with the ultimate question of 'Will I come back'? Hmm...sadly the answer is a 'No'. Don't get wrong, Ismaya cooks great food at Kitchenette and Social House, I go there regularly but this branch over here was a surprise for me, definitely needs additional help in the cooking department. Nevertheless, do visit and tell me your thoughts. I might be seriously wrong. Cheers !!

Tokyo Belly

Grand Indonesia Shopping Mall

West Mall, Level 3 A.

Mad For Garlic

Where did you guys ate on last Saturday? I was touring Grand Indonesia with FW and couldn't make up our mind what to have for dinner and then a sudden outburst of 'lets have garlic aja lahhh' with a positive response coming from me landed us both here! It's been quite a while since my last visit here, might be around 10 to 12 months ago I supposed. 

A typical family restaurant I must say, with tables of kids running around and their babysitters trying to feed them while the mom and dad sit at the side eating their food. One aspect of the interior that gave an impression was actually the 'raw garlic chandelier'. Very cheesy but unique at the same time. The drop lamp is basically a  hanging round light with raw garlic cloves decorated all around. If vampires are really afraid of garlic then this eatery must definitely be clean 'vampire swept clean'.

Menu : Garlic Snowing Pizza
Price : RP 115,000 ++
Score : 7.5 / 10

>> Mad for Garlic special sweet pizza topped with shrimps and pineapple slices. 

Base on first glance, it seems to be unattractive, very one tone color no excitements coming from the usual pizza color. But I've never tasted a pizza like this one over here. It has a sweet cream sauce at the bottom, relatively mild to medium garlic smell, thin crust base (just how i like it), crunchy fried garlic generously thrown on top. Pretty unique and recommended to be try!!!

Menu : Garlicpeno Pasta

Price : RP 60,000 ++

Score : 7.5 / 10

>> This is a pasta that is full of garlic and mexican pepper. It has 3 chilies written on the side of the menu, but I could barely taste the heat. I expect it to be similar with Aglio Olio but surprisingly very different, in a positive way. The pasta was well cooked and I love the bits and pieces of herbs, mexican pepper and chopped garlic at the bottom of the plate floating together with the olive oil. The crunchy fried garlic on top not only serves as a garnish but also an additional texture to the dish. A good alternative for those who like Non - Creamy pasta!

Mad For Garlic

Grand Indonesia West Mall Ground Floor 20A

Phone : 021 - 2358 1076

Jittlada

My friend; Caroline came by Jakarta last weekend and we had dinner together. It has been ages since I last saw her. She's getting married this March and that was a much needed get together session! I choose Jittlada for dinner because David was so crankily hungry and Thai food seems very appealing to him at that moment. 

I ate here quite often, has been repeating myself for multiples of time. To describe the decor, it was some how leaning towards 'modern traditional Thailand' and strangely enough there is an odd looking wedding cake stand / shop at the back of the restaurant floor. Even though the ambiance was alright, the service was rather annoying especially they got packed during dinner time. They forgot one of our dishes, it came out like one hour later. Overall, I like the food there on average and will come back repeatedly for future to come.

Menu : Shrimp Cake with Bread
Price : Rp 23,500++
Score : 6.25 / 10

» Slightly too oily for me but the bread was really crispy and the sweet chili dipping goes hand in hand very well. The fillings should be 'richer' Some additional vegetables should be mixed inside instead of just plain prawn fillings.

 Menu : Poh Piah Tod
Price : Rp 23,500++
Score : 5.0 / 10

>> My friend Ratna likes this very much however I don't. The rolls are stuffed with chicken, vegetable, mushrooms, onions, shrimp and glass noodle. But the taste didn't really stood out., it was just bland. Only the sweet chili, I thought it gave a very nice additional kick to the spring rolls!

Menu : Tom Yam Kung
Price : Rp 34,500++
Score : 7.25 / 10

>> Even though for the price, the size was rather miniature, the taste was a perfect balance of sour sweet and hot. I LOVE THIS SOUP. The broth was just delicious but the fillings should have been more creative, instead of 2 pieces of prawns and some mushroom slices floating on top.

Menu  : Green Curry Beef
Price : Rp 45,500++
Score : 6.5 / 10

>> I am not a big fan of dish containing coconut milk. But every time I swing by this restaurant, I'll order this soup. The soup is some how calming in a way the coconut is not too pungent and doesn't give you a feeling of uneasiness in your tummy or throat after dinner.

Menu : House Special Claypot Prawn with Glass Noodle
Price : Rp 65,500++
Score : 2.0 / 10

» Good God! This is atrocious! The food was cold, the glass noodle were all broken into small pieces, the taste was just too plain but the most disgusting thing is the "licorice spice" they mixed all in and over the dish. I hate licorice so damn much and can't ever understand why you'd want it in your food --___--". Will the chef that made this recipe get a grip of his tongue???

Menu : Soft Shell Crab, Garlic Pepper & Salt
Score : 7 / 10

» Jittlada captured my taste for Thai food. This dish is good good good, slightly too salty actually but when ate together with steaming white rice it was party in your mouth.

Menu : Beef Nah Yang
Score : 8.25 / 10

» I love this beef, tastes like bbq beef jerky. It's sweet and tangy with a splash of sourness. The entire table agree this is the best tasting dish of the evening and all of u should try this!

Menu : Soft Shell Crab with Black Pepper
Price : Rp 75,500++
Score : 8.0 / 10

>> This is GOOD stuff! The sauce, the spice and the soft shell crab just mixed together into a dish is simply a God sent.

Menu : Minced Beef with Crispy Basil
Price : Rp 48,500++
Score : 6.5 / 10

>> This dish is quite confusing. Meaning the restaurant cook this inconsistently. Some occasion this can taste really superb and I'll give a 7.5 in a heart beat. But today...not that 'great'. The chef might be having a fight with his Thai girlfriend in Bangkok haha!

Menu : Baby Kailan with Sliced Beef
Price : Rp 37,500++
Score : 6.25 / 10

>> The oyster sauce is good. I don't like sauce that are too thick and they are of the right consistency here. One of the downside here is the portion. It is too small or am I just too greedy ?

Menu : Man Cham
Price : Rp 17,500++
Score : 3.5 / 10

>> Not good. Do not bother to order. They have this watery slime at the bottom of the sweet tapioca. Maybe the food is turning bad? Well I do not think it was that extreme. But definitely not good, however better than the horrifying glass noodle (above) ;p

JITTLADA THAI RESTAURANT

GRAND INDONESIA, EAST MALL FLOOR 3A

Ninety - Nine

There was a midnight sale from 7pm - 1am in Grand Indonesia last weekend and I made my way there with a couple of friends for dinner before doing some shopping therapy. We had dinner at the Ninety - Nine, Ranch Market. I like the design and layout of the place. It is very 'open' and comfy. The selection of desert is just abundantly amazing; they even have a store specially catered for french pastry. The main course selections were well priced and on top of that delicious! Every one's dish tastes really good and everyone left the place feeling satisfied and will be coming back soon for more!

 

Half Roasted Chicken Rp 69,000++ & Australian Grain Fed Beef Burger Rp 79,000++

Menu : Tenderloin Steak
Price : Rp 129,000++
Score : 7.5 / 10

» Very very very tender! Every cut of this meat screams "EAT ME"!!! The mushroom sauce was beautiful and salad at the side were crunchy too! On top of that, look that thickness of the meat. Good stuff :)

Menu : Sop Buntut Sembilan Sembilan
Price : Rp 79,000++
Score : 6.5 / 10

» I personally think what makes a good oxtail soup is the broth. That is the most important factor of the dish; the make it or break it element. And this definitely has a great broth!!! Serves quite a big portion and satisfying indeed.

Menu : The Ultimate Beef Eater
Price : Rp 79,000++
Score : 6.5 / 10

>> The base was the right thickness for my liking, it wasn't too thin yet not thick at all. The meat was generous and well sauced and spiced. But if you don't like black olives, then you shouldn't order this, or you'll have to fork them out all over.

Menu : Chili Fries with Cheddar jalapeno Sauce
Price : Rp 39,000++
Score : 6.25 / 10

>> This was actually a side dish to the tenderloin steak main course. Though I had to pay extra money for the side dish but I think it's worth it. The fries served was generous and the dipping was yummy! The meat and bean gravy may look disgusting but don't be mistaken, it's good!!

Menu : " Bonjour French Pastry" : Chocolate mousse
Price : Rp 32,000
Score: 7.0/10

>> This cake reminds me that I can always eat dessert NO MATTER how full I am. I can feel the genuine goodness of the cocoa coming out hahaha!



Menu : Strawberry Mousse
Price : Rp 30,000++
Score : 6.0 / 10

>> Soft and Sweet just the way I like it. It would have been much much better if the crust was crispy. The use a sweet bread instead. However, the fresh strawberry made up for it.




NINETY - NINE, RANCH MARKET
Address : Grand Indonesia, East Mall Lower Ground Floor
Phone : 021 - 2358 1199

Social House

Social House (SOHO) is one of the many Isamaya Group chain of restaurants. And what I love about Soho is that they have beautiful brunch menu which I always tend to order nearly every time I'm there. Definitely my Sunday late lunch favorite place to hang out and eat! The food are well priced and the decor were comfy with great selection of wine to order too. For those who don't drink, order their great selection of mocktail, they're girly and very very yummy! PS : Lily of the valley is my favourite.

Menu : Eggs Benedict Breakfast with Chicken Sausage
Price : Rp 65,000++ (Chicken Sausage Additional Rp 20,000++)
Score : 7.0 / 10

» Reminds me of being overseas, having big brunch style. I like everything about this dish, from the garlic toast, poach eggs till the turkey ham, except for the vege leaves at the side. It was very bitter :( But I have to admit that overall, I enjoy this very much. I wished the chicken sausage would had been bigger. The pork sausage my friend ordered was much bigger.

Social House opens till late in the wee hours during weekends but make sure you have your bookings reserved prior or you'll be disappointed.

SOCIAL HOUSE
Address : Grand Indonesia, East Mall. 1st Floor

Phone : +62-21 2358 1818, 2358 0450

Monday - Sunday : 8:00 am - 1:00 am