Chandara

I decided on a Thai night of feasting and chose the Chandara in Plaza Senayan initially. Due to booking numbers and space issue, I cancelled on that branch and switched to their second branch that just opened in Plaza Indonesia. I had so much food ordered that I couldn't keep track of everything. Unfortunately I had several dishes slipped away, not having them taken picture or tasted. So a revisit is confirmed.

I would say for a busy weekend dinner time, their service were surprisingly quick. I didn't expect food to flow out of the kitchen that fast and that everything tasted pretty awesome. I wouldn't the best of everything but on a scale of one to ten base on overall experience. A good solid 7.5. Rather pricey but a splurge every now and then is definitely a must. It makes the economy goes around.

Menu : Pomelo Salad

Price : RP 55,000 ++
Score : 6.5 / 10

>> I usually have the normal Thai Mango Salad or Papaya Salad, but Chandara serves additional different selection. 'Jeruk Bali' or known as 'Pomelo' became the base of this dish. Just imagine shredded pomelo bits mixed together with lime, chili, small dried shrimp. I think what was missing was the balance of sweetness. This dish has potential if only the pomelo fruit was ripe and sweet enough.

Menu : Gai Takrai

Price : RP 40,000 ++
Score : 5.5 /10

>> This is basically a fried chicken. Good flavorings, but the issue here is the chicken was too dry. A good fried chicken should still able to maintain the moisture and juiciness of the meat. This is a small portion and thus omit on this one if you're super hungry.

Menu : Olive Fried Rice

Price : RP 60,000 ++
Score : 7.0 / 10

>> Even though I can't taste any olive inside, I love this dish. Good portion, great seasoning, generous fillings, has a combination of texture; crunch from the nuts, well cooked rice. I like the kick of cut red and green chili, red onions and the sourness of the lime when you catch them by surprise while chewing. 

Menu : Thai Beef Basil
Price : RP 65,000 ++
Score : 7.0 / 10

>> You all might think I'm bullshi*ing but I made quite a few times of this dish back during my Melbourne Uni days and I would say mine was better than this. Not that this tasted wrong in anyway, I gave this a 7 pointer but just that mine was simply better, hahahahahaha !!!!!

Menu : Chicken Green Curry
Price : RP 65,000 ++
Score : To Be Advised

>> I am truly sorry. I took a picture of this but then realised I didn't get a bite. None of my friend said this was bad and thus I assume, an average green curry dish. Next time, I'll pay more attention and write a revisit post.

Menu : Phad Thay
Price : RP 60,000 ++
Score : 7.0 / 10

>> One of my favorite dish of the night. When this plate came, I pour the entirely small bowl of sweet and sour dipping and properly mixed it with the beansprout, chili and peanuts and gave a good squeeze of lime given at the side. I end up with a yummehhh phad thay! Good portion too ^_^ PS : Chandara serves a choice of Vermicelli Phad Thay or Rice Noodle Phad Thay.

Menu : Mad Ke Yao Pad La

Price : RP 45,000 ++
Score : 2.0 / 10

>> Okay, to begin with I don't like egg plant at all and this was specially ordered by FW. Well, I did put it into my mouth and gave a quick chew and swallow it with a gulp of tea. Bottom line, an egg plant will always taste and look like an egg plant regardless how the chef would cook it in any way. After this dish, I'm still not a fan in anyway and might not ever will. I don't like mushy texture, just yucky in all way when chewing inside my mouth.

Menu : Neua Yang

Price : RP 86,000 ++
Score : 8.0 / 10

>> My favorite beef dish in almost all Thai restaurant. A good cut of tenderized beef, perfectly grilled to well done (not chewy at all), comes with a sour and slightly smokey dipping condiment. This is not spicy at all and thus those afraid of chili will love this as they can't eat much variety in a Thai restaurant. Almost all the dish under a Thai menu involves chili in one way or another.

Menu : Poh Piah Tod

Price : RP 30,000 ++
Score : 6.5 / 10

>> Minced chicken mixed with vegetables wrapped inside a spring roll paper skin, then deep fried to absolute crisp. Like the crispiness but rather lacking in flavor on its own. The sweet and sour Thai Sweet Chili Sauce was a savior to this,  a good combination. Take out the dipping and the score would dropped to a 5.0 / 10.

18 pax and the bill comes down to RP 2,850,000. Around RP 160,000 for one person and remembering the amount of food and the free flow of drinks, I personally think the price tag rather make sense :)

Chandara
Plaza Indonesia 1st Floor # E.18
Phone : 021 - 299 23775

Restaurant Mandala - Revisited

Do cross read my post on 15th July 2012 for my first experience with Restaurant Mandala. Thus, making this post my second trip and on this trip FW and I ordered a different course of menu. The two of us had 3 dish as follows :

Menu : Sup Kepiting Asparagus

Price : RP 75,000 ++

Score : 8.0 / 10

>> On this trip, FW and I realized that there's a 'half portion' bowl available. The previous trip we came (go to post 15 July 2012) we had the full portion of Sup Mun Tahu and we were over bloated by the end of the meal. This 1/2 portion order was definitely a smart move made. I'm not sure which one is better, Sup Mun Tahu or this, both are good but this one is definitely more pricey; twice the price. But I guess it's value for money, because I can notice the chunks of crab meat and asparagus floating and swimming all around.

Coming back to the taste, good seasoning, viscosity is just right, quite generous on the fillings inside.  Overall, it is a good big bowl of soup. Half portion is enough for 2 to 3 people to share.

Menu : Bistik Sapi

Price : RP 77,000 ++
Score : 7.5 / 10

>> The same menu we ordered with 'Bistik Ayam' on post dated 15th July 2012. But instead of chicken, we had beef this time. I would say this taste better. The meat is tender and neither chewy or overcooked. It also comes on a sizzling hot plate, served with potato wedges at the side.

After all the sizzling effect is gone, there will be a layer of sticky sauce lying at the bottom of the hot plate, that is all the goodness!! Combine it with the potato wedges or simply scoop it and have it with steam rice !

Menu : Nasi Goreng Seafood
Price : Rp 46,000 ++
Score : 6.5 / 10

>> The portion was actually slightly smaller that I had anticipated. I expect it to be a 'porsi kuli' dish but instead a decent portion. For a quite pricey fried rice, I expect a lot of meat fillings and they lived up to it. Chunks of crab prawns, fish bits, squids are thrown into quite generously.

As for the taste, it was good but rather ordinary, my taste buds surely did not scream "TO DIE FOR". I might order the 'Nasi Goreng Ikan Asin' the next time I'm here but as for the time being, I have no complains whatsoever. A happy customer :)

Restaurant Mandala

Jl. Woltermonginsidi No 80 Blok Q Jakarta Selatan

Phone : 021 - 9389 9597

Seribu Rasa

 

I gathered some of my friends on Saturday and had a birthday dinner at 'Seribu Rasa', which means literally "Thousand Flavor". It is an establishment in Menteng area (right behind Deutsch Bank) that serves posh Indonesian food. The ambiance of the place was alright, just ordinarily pleasant; dim lighting, parquet flooring, high ceiling, spacious dining area, separate smoking and non-smoking area available. The only 2 big thing that turned me off were; a lot of mosquitoes and only one female toilet !!!!!! It took a long time just to take a piss ---__--- geezz !

Anyways, back to the focus attention; FOOD. It wasn't my first time there, but on this occasion I made sure I ordered the dishes that I haven't tried before (except for the dendeng balado). I liked the dishes on a general scale, it came out on a pretty decent lead time, the service was pleasant and quick too. Bottom line, I'm not too fussy about anything (which is a positive note).

Menu : Kerabu Mangga Melayu
Price : RP 35,000 ++
Score : 6.5 / 10

>> This mango salad dish is slightly different from the normal ones. This has an extra kick of spiciness which I very very much welcome. Sweetness from the sugar, sourness from the green mango and the spicy punch from the chili..hmmm...yummmm !!! Reminds me of Thai food actually.

Menu : Chicken Satay

Price : Rp 35,000 ++
Score : 6.5 / 10

>> Like the chicken, like the complete condiments, like the temperature when the food came out. Like it, all except the portion :( Tooooo little, toooo small, simply not enough :'( A mere five sticks for a portion and the meat are just too skinny and small !

Menu : Dendeng Balado

Price : Rp 85,000 ++
Score : 7.5 / 10

>> This is a spicy beef dish, sliced into medallions. Well it's not spicy for me at all but hey...my threshold for chili is above ordinary and so this was child's play for me hahaha :p There's two types of chili, green and red chili paste. I like the green one better due to the fact it has this slight more fragrance to it. The meat was tender and not chewy with a little bit of veins to it. For those who can't handle chili, just simply scrape it off to the side and pass it to you 'hot' friend.

Menu : Pineapple Fried Rice

Price : Rp 56,000 ++
Score : 5.5 / 10

>> The presentation was good, it has this half sliced mini pineapple on the plate, but the taste was ordinary. Nothing too special about it, taste the way it was supposed to taste. One of the turn off point was the squid were very much overcooked, chewy like hell !

Menu : Nanking Beef

Price : Rp 85.000 ++

Score : 7.0 / 10

>> Portion is an issue here again -__- gosh, why are restaurants trying to earn sooo much profit?? I like the flavor though, slightly too sweet but when eaten with steam rice it is compatible ! The beef was cooked well, tender and juicy.

Menu : Fried Chicken with Mango Sauce

Price : RP 63,000 ++
Score : 7.0 / 10

>> Wasn't a disappointment. Even though the chicken was fried, it maintained it's juiciness, tenderness and flavorings was on the spot! I can taste the sweet and sour taste of what the name of the dish had promised to me.

Menu : Ko Samui Red Beef Curry

Price : RP 85,000 ++
Score : 7.5 / 10

>> My favorite dish of the night. It has this coconut pungent curry base paste and yet didn't overpower the meat. The beef was cooked well, the temperature was right. It wasn't chewy or tough in anyway. The bread containing all the goodness was heavenly too. It was slightly thick but has this crispy crunch to it. Hmmm...good stuff :) Don't miss out on this when you're ordering your dish here.

Menu : Kangkung Balachan

Price : RP 45,000 ++

Score : 6.0 / 10

>> This was alright, no mistakes whatsoever. Didn't leave me a memorable taste though. This just came out and taste like what other proper Indonesian restaurants can provide, except with a higher price tag!

Menu : Ketan Durian Malaka

Price : RP 33,000 ++
Score : 7.5 / 10

>> I looooove this one! The 'ketan' is sticky enough but not too sticky or tough that you cannot chew. The durian is definitely noticeable, it tastes super ripe and sweet. And lastly the brown sugar sauce was on the spot !! Love the balance of the texture and the sweetness. Yummmyy !!!

Seribu Rasa

Jl. H. Agus Salim 128 Menteng Jakarta

Phone : 021 - 392 8892

Restaurant Mandala

This restaurant is apparently a famous one in the Selatan area, but being a clueless me about the food in that area, I'm a truly a late bloomer. This run down restaurant has been established for quite sometime and had earn a lot of recognition by words of mouth across not only the Chinese, but also the Muslims community in Jakarta. They definitely serve good food, but be surprised on the interior. I think the owner is an extreme clutter but hey! Those weird looking ornaments made this place even more unique!

In addition, be sure to come slightly early from the 'peak dinner time' to avoid waiting for seats while smelling and staring at the rest of others eating and munching in front of you. It's a torture!!!

Menu : Sup Mun Tahu
Price : Rp 66,000 ++
Score : 8.0 / 10

>> Don't look down on this rather 'unappealing' looking kind of 'egg drop soup'. One of the best Mun Tahu soup I had for a long long time. The soup consist of the typical ingredients, tofu, minced beef, eggs, tiny prawns with scallions on top. But the secrets is definitely in the broth! Suddenly, this soup makes expensive ingredients seems trivial and not important at all. Cheap ingredients can certainly makes a print on your tongue. Perfect consistency and seasoning is what makes this soup shines!

Be careful when drinking it, don't get your tongue burn of you'll have a hard time enjoying the rest of the meal. A great portion to share for 3 to 4 person.

Menu : Bistik Ayam

Price : Rp 67,000 ++

Score ; 7.0 / 10

>> Be careful of staining your white clothing from the sizzling hot sauce and by that means you need to be slightly patience to let it cool down for a few minutes or else, you'll definitely burnt your tongue.

As of the above, this dish is a good size to share for 3 to 4 person. It comes with potato wedges on the side that compliments the dish even more if you drench it with the sauce. This dish might be a little bit too salty when you eat it on it's own, but steam rice will balance it extremely well. Chili sauce will be a good condiment to go along with this dish.

Total Cost for the meal of two : Rp 170,000 (inclusive tax)

Restoran Mandala

Address : Jl. Wolter Monginsidi No. 80 Blok Q Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan

Phone : 021 -9389 9597

Platinum

The first time I tried "Platinum" is at Mall Ciputra which was then a hip trendy mall that had deteriorated in quality and image. I remembered the restaurant as a place that serves cheap steak. I forgotten all about the taste or anything that got to do with the place but when I visit Mall Karawaci the other day I wanted to try it; remembering the good old days.

Surprisingly, I wasn't disappointed at all and bearing in mind their very reasonable and leaning to cheap price tag, I was actually impressed. I ordered the Chicken Mozzarella and David ordered the Combo Tepanyaki that comes with steam white rice. I had 'Strawjelly' (Rp 12,000++) for drinks which was yummy too! Strawjelly is a mixed of fresh strawberry, strawberry jelly and fresh milk blended into one with ice! I reckon it tasted straw-licious!! For two grown ups our bill came down to Rp 83,000 (included tax) which was a good value for money!! I'll definitely come back here again in the near future.

Menu : Chicken Mozzarella
Price : Rp 32,000++
Score : 7.5 / 10

>> For the mere price of 32K, I personally think 'Platinum' hit the ball out of the park! with this fried chicken dish! A home run indeed! Crispy chicken skin on the outside, still tender and juicy in the inside.  With a good swap of barbeque sauce in between the fried chicken and melted mozzarella cheese was awesome. The portion is perfect in size with all the extra vegetables on the side to make your bowel smile :)

Menu  : Combo Tepanyaki
Price : Rp 24,000 ++
Score : 6.0 / 10

>> I can't complain about the pricing that comes together with a bowl of steam rice. The sauce is well seasoned, vegetables were not soggy, chicken and the sausages were well cooked too. However maybe due to the 'hot plate' that still cooks the beef even until the dish is in front of me for a good 10 minutes made the beef overcooked and thus chewy. Apart from that, well done! and definitely coming back there!

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

Bubur Ayam Abang - Abang (Road Side Chicken Porridge)

I have been in working in PT. Wihadil for about 1.5 years and just for your information and slight free advertisement; we're a manufacturer of sodium cyclamate (artificial sugar or sweetener) and for details, you can visit www.wihadil.com hahaha! Anyways back to the food topic, I had my first "Bubur Ayam Abang Abang" since I get in here. I often ate bubur ayam (Chicken Porridge) in my previous company for breakfast. But I don't know why, I stop having chicken porridge in the morning. 

I love road side chicken porridge, even though it is truly a simple food and some people think it is a 'peasant' food, it taste real nice and authentic to our traditional way of what the local eat. On top of the porridge you'll find shredded chicken meat, roasted ground nuts, birds eye chili, special gravy and crackers on the side. The food is cheap; RP 5,000 and it surely fire you away in the morning, giving you the extra energy to get through another day in the office.

Bubur Ayam Abang - Abang
Price : Rp 5,000
Score : 6.5 / 10

>> It has been ages since I ate bubur ayam and to be honest my first time eating it in the office. I was surprise and the price in comparison to the quantity. For the mere Rp 5,000 the portion is quite large and not only that, the shredded chicken and all the other goodness were plentiful and yummy! Definitely going to have breakfast more often in the office.

Tesate

Last Sunday I forced myself to get out of my bed to go to Plaza Senayan with a couple of my Melbourne friends. I was actually very very sick, I was having bad fever, body was shivering, entire body was listless. But one thing that was still working alright; my taste buds and sense of smell was still working fine. We had "Tesate" for dinner, Indonesian cuisine that is cooked onto a higher level.

Menu : Nasi Lemak Ijo Royo - Royo
Price : Rp 74,000++
Score : 6.5 / 10

» Savory coconut rice, intensely flavored with green herbs, served with minced duck wrapped onto lemon grass. Salad and crackers were served at the side too.

Menu : Nasi Goreng Kambing
Price : Rp 59,000++ Score : 6.0 / 10

» Aromatic lamb fried rice, infused with curry flavor served with salad and crackers. This dish would have obtain a score of 6.5 but unfortunately the lamb was too pungent; in a way "stinks"! The salad on the other hand was brilliant, the photo may look 'ugly' but the taste speaks otherwise.