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

Kira Ramen

Everyone wants a piece of the action at Pantai Indah Kapuk and now introducing 'Kira Ramen' as the new addition to the Japanese Ramen eatery at PIK. I often come to sit at PIK, have dinner, drink coffee, hang out, chit chat and play cards with my friends. But yesterday as I gave the stretch of cafes a good observation, I'm bewildered on the amount of 'Bubble Tea' (six place) and 'Japanese Ramen' (five place) joint. Restaurant is a cut throat business, you excel and survive (which means ka-ching!! high margin profit return) or you loose out to your competitor, within a year or so another person is going to take over your place. Therefore, I'm not sure about the fact whether 'competitors within a location' came in those owners' mind. Nevertheless, I'm here to comment on the food and not to judge ... hehehehehehe ...

Menu : Tonkatsu Shoyu Ramen

Price : RP 45,000 ++
Score : 5.0 / 10

>> The photo on the left was after I stirred my chopsticks into the bowl of soup, then I realized I had forgotten to snap a picture of it. So, as presentation wise, it's definitely better. Bottom line, the soup is lacking in taste. Definitely not enough seasoning and there is no depth in taste of the broth. It simply taste like luke warm slightly salty pork soup. After one sip, I said to FW 'this needs help'. I poured in cut red chilies, spoons of garlic, spring onion, sesame seeds, chili powder, chili oil and a good dash of shoyu. After all those aid, it eventually became better. But a good dish is simply having nothing needed to add into. In addition to the downside, I think the ramen is slightly overcooked for me. Maybe two minutes too long. They didn't offer any choice on how the customers would like their noodles to be cooked, nor on the 'heaviness' of the broth (which some of it's competitors do). But on the up side, their chasu has a much thicker cut, thus a better texture to bite into even after a good 10 minutes in the warm soup. And that pork chasu might have just saved the menu from a fail to the edge of 'just pass'.

Menu : Tori Teriyaki

Price : RP 25,000 ++
Score : 4.0 / 10

>> I'm sorry, I didn't fancy this too much either. This dish is a simple dish executed wrongly. The batter is too sweet for my palate. It feels like a fried battered pop corn chicken heavily dipped in sugar honey glaze and then served. The chicken were at a correct bite size and the batter were crispy, but the glaze on top has to be changed. I'm not a chef nor a good cook but my tongue says 'It definitely needs less sugar'.

Kira Ramen

Pantai Indah Kapuk, Crown Golf Ruko Blok D/30

(The same stretch with Ikkudo Ramen)

Ikkudo Ichi

Finally! I had my share of the new ramen in PIK; Ikkudo Ichi. Some of you guys might already have tried this before I did. I hear quite a good buzz about this new eatery and before I start to blab, I'd just like to mention one point that I like about Ikkudo that we are allowed to cuztomized our ramen to our tongue and liking. Three choice for each categories; noodle firmness, flavour strength, richness (the amount of oil filtered from the soup). My favourite combination is three B's (normal for all three categories). I think it has the best balance for all taste.

Buta Signature (RP 39,800++) Score : 8.5 / 10

Ikkudo's Buta Kara (RP 39,800++) Score 8.5 / 10

Seasoned with cut chili, chili paste & garlic (Score : 9.0 / 10)

Buta Signature Soup - Before Seasoned

If you noticed the two picture at the top, there is a price difference of Rp 4,800 and that lies in the what they claim to be their ' special red sauce '. After tasting both bowl, I have to be honest that I cannot differentiate anything and that both taste equally GOOD ! Note : Order Buta Signature (it's cheaper hahaha).

I have agree with the crowd, that they serve good ramen. Better than Sengoku, even better than Santouka, rather similar to Ikkousha's but I have to revisit Ikkousha to confirm who won the battle at the end of the day. I  like their full set of condiments on the table. The unlimited cloves of garlic, fresh cut red chilis, and also grounded chili paste that when I mixed and poured in abundant into my bowl of ramen (bottom right), I knew I will be coming back to revisit this place!!

The only factor that Ikkudo need to work on is their 'slice pork' or better known as 'Chasu'. Their cut is overly thin and has no bite into it. I had a difficult time finding the meager slice of pork somewhere in my soup. Give the customers a decent cut of good pork and that will certainly win the heart of pork lovers. In addition to the ramen, I noticed their specially designed plastic spoon, love it! It has a certain angle cut at the neck of the spoon thus helping it to be attached to the rim of the bowl.

Menu : Mini Chasu Don

Price : RP 10,800 ++
Score : 7.0 / 10

>> You cannot order this on its own. You can if you have already ordered a bowl of ramen and add this as an additional combo. Good pricing for the rather medium sized bowl. If you're not feeling too hungry, have this instead. Well seasoned minced pork chasu on top of steam white rice. Have it with spring onions, cut chilis and chili paste together and your mood will definitely be lightened up :)

 

Menu : Pork Chasu Curry

Price : RP 49,500 ++
Score : 6.0 / 10

>> I don't like their Chasu, tasteless, soggy and too thinly cut. They serve 5 slices on top the steam rice but quantity cannot compensate for quality. Their curry sauce was rather fine but brings back the memory that I had with regards to that famous instant curry paste that can be bought from up scale supermarket. The taste was exactly like this! So bottom line, this didn't taste bad in any way but just simply too ordinary. I like the mini chasu don (top) better than this and it cost only one third of the price. So...go figure!

Menu : Yaki Buta Gyoza Ebi Iri

Price : RP 35,000 ++ (Same for grill and fried)

Score : 9.0 / 10

>> My favourite Gyoza in town and I mean it. I prayed that Ikkudo will never change the kitchen staff that are behind this dish. I love every bit of this and here are why :

1. The skin is thin, not chewy at all. 

2. Filling is generous

3. Love the crunchy bit inside (not sure what, but I don't care)

4. Pork is good, pork and prawn combination is even better

5. Love the spicy condiments that goes well together with all noodle, rice and gyoza!!

6. A big possibility that their gyoza are better than their ramen...hmmmm

Overall, a must try for those ramen lovers! Stay the same and just fix those chasu meat (a constructive advice to the owners) Cheers!

Ramen Ikkudo Ichi
Rukan Crown Golf Blok D No 2 - 3 Pantai Indah Kapuk
Phone : 021 - 966 28677

Vietopia

My experiences with Vietnamese cuisine are rather shallow and my best ones were certainly a few years back when I made a trip around Vietnam. I'd say the food taste like Thai. Strong in lime, lemon, vinegar and can be spicy sometimes. Definitely my kind of food!!

F.W brought me to this Vietnamese restaurant in Cikini Raya. If you are unfamiliar with the area (just like me) then I assure you that 'Vietopia' will easily passes you by going unnoticed. The restaurant looked gloomy, unkempt and not inviting from the outside. I arrived there around 9 pm and there were only 3 tables occupied on a Sunday night. Maybe it was due to the fact that it is after dinner service peak hour.

Menu : Cha Gio

Price : Rp 26,000++

Score : 6.5 / 10

>> The number one rule : you can never skip spring rolls as your starter in all Vietnamese restaurants and I delightfully obeyed. This is basically a fried spring roll with minced chicken inside. The fillings inside were alright but what made this a delicious dish was the fried skin. It has this gooey slight chewy on the inner side and yet still crispy on the outside of the skin. Yumm - ooh !!!

Menu : Pho Bo

Price : Rp 45,000 ++

Score : 6.5 / 10

>> Pho is a Vietnamese renowned beef noodle soup is served with hand cut rice noodle, generous amount of sliced beef, beef brisket, Vietnamese basil, scallions, coriander, beansprout, lime and chilies to taste. I definitely seasoned my soup very well to adjust my palate. 5 wedge of lime and a few spoonful of cut green chilies. The warmth of the broth definitely warmed my heart.

Menu : Ca Mu Chien Voi Gung

Price : Rp 48,000 ++
Score : 6.5 / 10

>> Resembles 'Gurame Asam Manis' but brought up to a few notch higher. This is a one portion dish of fried grouper served with mushrooms and poured with "Noucmam" sauce. Best eaten with steam white rice. Love the sweet and sour taste!

Menu : Ca Phe Sua Da

Price : Rp 22,000 ++
Score : 6.0 / 10

>> Served in the Vietnamese traditional way of drinking coffee. The coffee potion will slowly drip from the miniature pot on top of the glass filled with sweet condensed milk at the bottom. This might take 10 minutes for all the coffee to be filtered all the way through. You can have this in both hot and iced! Order their 'Ice lemon grass tea' (Rp 15,000) instead if you are extremely thirsty and couldn't wait for 10 minutes.

Total Cost for the meal of two : Rp 180,000 (inclusive tax)

Vietopia

Jl. Cikini Raya No 33, Jakarta Selatan

Phone : 021 - 3915893

Sengoku Ramen

- Tonkatsu Ramen -

Menu : Tonkatsu Ramen

Price : Rp 38,000 ++

Score : 7.5 / 10

Put your hands up in the air if you have been noticing the big changes that Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK) had recently become in the past one year. The stretch of shop houses is nearly filled with all sorts of hangouts, cafes, pubs, karaoke, small eateries, big eateries. You name it, PIK has it. Those of you are 'slightly late' should do yourself some justice and visit there more often.

With new cafes and restaurants opening every few weeks, there is a new Ramen shop that just opened. Just for your information in PIK there are only 3 places that sells ramen :

1. Hachimaki Ramen (not good, don't bother trying)
2. Sengoku Ramen (Exactly next to Stevan's Meat Shop)
3. Ikkudo Ramen (opening soon in a couple of weeks)

Sengoku Ramen serves two kind of broths with every type of soup, the waitresses called it number 1 and number 2. Number 1 is slightly less thin and obviously number 2 is more thick and strong compare to the first. In addition, they serve three types of ramen; normal, firm and extra - firm. I had the 'Tonkatsu Ramen', number 2 with firm noodles. I like that they're generous with their spring onions, garlic and chillies when you asked for extra. Because I've ate in other Ramen places and they actually charge money when you want more onions, they consider it as 'toppings'. Personally, it doesn't cost any money for them to give their customers the basics, it's not asking for free slices of chasiu. Thus, I felt it's ridiculous when they charge for every single things.

Anyways, the service was fine, the soup is good !! I liked the firm ramen, love the extra crunchy mushroom bits. The only let down would be the chasiu slices are overly soft. There is no real bite to it. I'd love to have some firmness on the meat next time please. But overall, a thumbs up and would definitely come back and the others on the menu.

Roppan

It has been 30 hectic days since my last post. I have been bombarded with work as the tax report submission deadline is due on 30th April. My company have yet to finish it --___-- and yes my 'panic button' is definitely blinking BRIGHT RED ! Nevertheless I steal somet lunch hour today and update this blog of mine. I missed writing, I missed sharing, I missed posting...aahhh love and passion for food :)

There is a new mall just opened recently; "Gandaria City", it's situated slightly off the central of Jakarta but the selection of food is just marvelous! I had a go of snacking at this cute cafe called "ROPPAN" it sounds Japanese and yes the food served is definitely Japan inspired. Here are some variants I tried on my first trip here, enjoy!

Menu : Motto Choco

Price : Rp 11,000++

Score : 7.5  / 10

>> This dish is actually relatively very very simple. Chocolate spread with chocolate shavings on top of slightly toasted white bread. But the strong and well balanced chocolate spread is to die for! Not to mention, the soft bread that just melts in you mouth...hmm...yum!!

Menu : Ike Banana

Price : Rp 11,000 ++

Score : 6.5 / 10

>> I liked Motto Choco slightly more than this because it is rather more simple with nothing standing out. I love the generous grated cheese though, to die for!

Menu : Godzilla Burger

Price : Rp 18,000++
Score : 7.5 / 10

>> I love this, good stuff! The home made beef patties is well harmonies with their home made mayo and the melted cheese oozes on your tongue. A great company to have while enjoying their "lychee beer".

Menu : Roppan Udon

Price : Rp 33,000 ++
Score : 5.0 / 10

>> Their 'udon' is a let down, in compare to their bread stuffs. I can't forgive restaurants that serves bland food or under seasoned. I think it is the most basic skill anyone should have before entering the kitchen. The cook might have forgotten to taste before plating because this sure taste salt-less.

ROPPAN

GANDARIA CITY GROUND FLOOR

021 - 2900 7942

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 !!!

Es Teler 77

Es Teler 77 reminds me the good old time when I was 10 years younger,;still studying in Singapore. I had so much of fond memories there as I used to eat so much of their food. Mainly because it is affordable (SGD 2 dollars for chicken noodle *back then in 2000), situated near my school and it was a decent Indonesian restaurant within my knowledge. Upon since my Singapore days, I can't remember when was the last time I had a meal there.

Pleasant surprise due to the price, for 2 grown ups that were starving and had a natural big appetite, it cost Rp 90,000 (include tax) in total for both of us. I wasn't expecting much when I saw the decoration of the place. It was too plain and sparsely decorated. It wasn't comfy or anything suitable for couple of friends to have a chit chat session. The place is purely for diners to 'eat and go'. But at the end of it, I was pretty much satisfied with the food. I guess taste reigns above all things!

Menu : Ayam Goreng Pecak

Price : Rp 25,000++

Score : 5.5 / 10

>> The chicken was too tough but I couldn't expect much from a fried chicken as frying it will definitely made it tough. The traditional 'sambal belachan' is spicy (which is always good for me) but the smell of the shrimp paste was rather nauseating and thus because of that factor, this score only a 5.5

 

Menu : Bakmie Ayam Pedas Istimewa

Price : Rp 20,000 ++

Score : 6.5 / 10

>> For the mere price of Rp 20,000 you get a big bowl of chicken noodle with 2 boiled wonton and 2 beef balls in chicken broth soup. I thought this was a good value for money. I actually quite enjoyed the chicken noodle, the chicken meat and the noodle portion was relatively generous and the spicy taste wasn't overwhelming. However the boiled dumpling was rather disappointing, it was tasteless and not good at all.

Menu : Pisang Bakar Coklat Keju
Price : Rp 11,000 ++
Score : 6.0 / 10

>> Not bad at all. The banana itself was big in size and tastes sweet by itself. The topping was slightly stingy and would have been much better if there were more chocolate and cheese shavings. What I liked most about this is the 'burnt taste' I tasted from the inner side of the banana.

Menu : Es Teler

Price : Rp 25,000++

Score : 6.5 / 10

>> Their famous house name dessert ! Generous pile of jackfruit, coconut, avocado drenched with ice shavings and sweetened condensed milk on top. Love it ! Very sweet, very refreshing and very yummy too !!

Kihana

Last Saturday, I went out to Plaza Indonesia (again haha :p) and had Japanese for dinner.  I'll never thought of 'Kihana' if weren't for my friends who brought up the suggestion. We nearly didn't have our food there because they were 10 of us and the only big table to fit all us has a minimum charge of Rp 2 million (dua juta). I thought to myself the restaurant's rule was quite stupid; the place wasn't packed at all and yet put a minimal charge for that 'special table'. Anyways in the end we stayed and split into 2 tables. Luckily, the food was not shitty (not crazily good either) and the service was alright. Thus, I forgave 'that rule'.

Menu  : Tom and Jerry
Price : Rp 73,000++
Score : 7.5 / 10

» Tom and Jerry is definitely the recommended sushi dish by the restaurant and didn't let me down! Even though the fillings were pretty much standard; Unagi eel, cucumber, seaweed, salmon roe, I felt the spicy mayonnaise generously sauced on top really brought the dish alive!

Menu  : D.I.G Roll
Price : Rp 73,000++
Score : 6.0 / 10

» The fillings were standard, the sauce was standard mayonnaise, the garnishes were standard! Basically just a standard tasting sushi roll. This didn't taste awful but even though the presentation was very similar to 'Tom & Jerry', the taste surely lost when compared.

Menu : Gindara Teriyaki
Price : Rp 100,000++
Score : 5.8 / 10

» The fish was slightly too mushy for me. I'm not sure whether it's because of the fish itself or it wasn't well cooked. The teriyaki sauce was okay, wasn't digusting but didn't blew me either. Nevertheless, for the quite pricey price tag, I felt the portion was slightly too small and didn't even include in the steam rice.

Menu : Gindara Teriyaki
Price : Rp 100,000++
Score : 5.8 / 10

» The fish was slightly too mushy for me. I'm not sure whether it's because of the fish itself or it wasn't well cooked. The teriyaki sauce was okay, wasn't disgusting but didn't blew me either. Nevertheless, for the quite pricey price tag, I felt the portion was slightly too small and didn't even include in the steam rice.

Below are some dishes that my friend ordered but I didn't get a chance to taste it. The price was not noted by me either. I'm sorry for the lack of info. Nevertheless, you still get to 'feed your eyes'. Enjoy !!

Beef Teriyaki

Yellow Tail Sashimi

Tori Katsu Curry Don

KIHANA JAPANESE RESTAURANT
PLAZA INDONESIA GROUND FLOOR MAIN LOBBY (ACROSS STARBUCKS)