Spanky's Ribs

A friend recommended this 'Ribs' restaurant, saying it's better than all those Outback, Planet Hollywood, Hard Rock Cafe and even Tony Roma's ribs !! And of course being a food enthusiast myself, I wanted to taste it for myself. Spanky's Ribs is situated in the Kemang area, Jakarta Selatan. Not too difficult to locate, it's around 200 meters after Mc'Donald. Hence, just keep on staring onto your right after you drove past Mc'Donald. It's in fact the new tenant of 'Nu China' if you're familiar with the area. Nevertheless, the restaurant was rather quite, only a few tables were occupied (bearing in mind it was 8pm on a Saturday night), but then again, it was raining so I guess couldn't judge too much from the crowd. Ambiance was alright, it was decent although it gave a feeling of a 'diner' instead of a steak or ribs' house. I'm not going to judge too much on the decor but instead 'yap' away on the food ......

Menu : Pile 'O' Onion Rings
Price : Rp 49,000 ++
Score : 6.5 / 10

>> What can ever go wrong with fried onion rings? Almost nothing right. But to make it spectacularly good...hmmm that's another story. The one served here was alright, a 6.5 over 10 from me. The onions were crispy all good and the additional home made 'sambal mayonnaise' was a great combination. The way it was served was similar to the one in Tony Roma's too. Piled on top another with all the wonderful bits of burnt parts distributed over. Well, a good starter but didn't blew me away.

Menu : Baby Back Pork Ribs
Price : Rp 315,000 ++ (Full Slab)
Score : 8.5 / 10

>> I sort of get it why my friend highly recommended this place. The pork ribs itself was a perfection! Very very succulent, the meat just slides off the bone. It didn't need too much effort in biting off the meat from the rib bone. On top of that, they managed to keep all the juices intact inside the baby back ribs. 

Whether it is better than Tony Romas? Hmm..I would say on the same caliber! But what was special about it was more on the sauces. We're given 2 choices of sauces that is served aside; Tangy Mango Chili, Spicy Alabama & Indonesian BBQ. The best one was the Tangy Mango Chili and that simple sauce might help hit the home run for this menu!

Menu : Chicken Wings
Price : Rp 45,000 ++
Score : 6.5 / 10

>> For this menu, there is a choice of 'spicy buffalo' or 'honey bbq' and served with blue cheese on the side. We opted for the 'spicy buffalo' and another tasty dish. A 6.5 over 10 for me is like saying 'Well done, but a lot of other people can do just as good. Room of improvement!' hahahaha. The chicken wings were cooked well, crispy and moist on the inside. The spicy sauce were glazed evenly and the blue cheese were a good combination. Who thought of blue cheese with fried chicken right !!?? But again as I said, needed that extra kick somewhere.

Menu : Pulled Pork Quesadilla
Price : Rp 65,000 ++
Score : 7.5 / 10

>> Hmmm yumm! I love quesadilla and I mean who don't?? Warm, thin, crispy pita bread with pulled smoked pork in between. Have a good dollop of salsa and guacamole on top and pop it into your mouth. Hmmm...yumm!! The pita bread was well done and the guacamole was heavenly. It was obviously freshly made in the kitchen and couldn't stop asking for more. The salsa was alright, fresh but rather mediocre. And they could definitely improved more with the amount of fillings inside. The delicious taste of the guacamole overthrow the taste of the meat. But overall it is still a good dish for my taste.

Menu : Key Lime Pie
Price : Rp 42,000 ++
Score : 9.0 / 10

>> I was full as hell but was sooooo glad that I decided on the dessert. This is the best key lime pie I had ever taste in Indonesia. The sourness of the lime and the combination of the cream cheese with the perfect amount of sugar was heavenly! Well, I must say if you're not a fan of sour food then don't go for this one, have a chocolate cake instead but if you like it then, you'll love this! I finished every bit of the slice and licked my fork glistening clean. That was how good it was. Delish dessert !! Bravo !

Spanky's Ribs
Jl. Kemang Raya No 24 A, Jakarta Selatan 12730
Phone : 021 - 7182876

Velpa

Seven of us tried this for dinner on Saturday night. What lured us was the board sign saying "50% off on Food only" and that was eye catching for sure! With their discounted price tag, great cozy ambiance, no queue, quick service, flat TV screen (which was important at that time because there was soccer match on Man Utd vs. Everton), soothing live band playing easy listening songs and also beautiful acoustic voice the main lead vocal had, we all enjoyed our time there and finger crossed might be going back there again.

Menu : Alaska Short Ribs

Price : Rp 132,000 ++ (50% off)

Score : 6.25 / 10

>> The sauce actually tasted like 'rendan' which wasn't actually bad or disgusting. I liked it actually. The meat was tender and slips off easily the bone. However I'm concerned with the 'apple side dish' it tasted just wrong and honestly awful. I personally think they should have changed it with just some simple greens.

Menu : Steak with Pasta

Price : Rp 150,000++ (50% off)

Score : 6.75 / 10

>> The hero of the dish is the steak! Wonderfully seasoned, the meat is also tender and of the right serving size. The pasta was just to bland and dry. It was supposed to be aglio olio but I taste nothing but olive oil.

Menu : Panini Chicken Sandwich

Price : Rp 54,000++ (50% off)

Score : 6.0 / 10

>> It was alright for me. Nothing really stood out, it accomplish on the basic thing you asked for a sandwich but as I said, it is ordinary. I like the thinly mandolin cut fried chips though, it doesn't stuff you stomach even further due to the relatively big sandwich portion.

Menu : Dallas Burger

Price : Rp 66,000++ (50% off)

Score : 7.5 / 10

>> Love their BBQ sauce. It is spicy, salty, tangy, zesty, definitely great balanced sauce! Their home made fatty wagyu patties is not only thick but most importantly juicy and on top of that melted Swiss cheese with BBQ mushroom combined wonderfully together.

Menu : The Original Cowboys Steak

Price : Rp 152,000++  (50% off)

Score : 7.0 / 10

>> Even though David asked for a well done the meat wasn't tough as hell. It still retains the moisture and their "Jack Daniels" sauce was certainly different from the normal mushroom or black pepper sauce. Oh, I need to mention their mashed potatoes, soft and silky that just melts on yout tongue! YUMM!

VELPA
GANDARIA CITY GROUND FLOOR

Little Penang

The first time I ate "Asam Laksa" in Jakarta was at this restaurant but the one in "Taman Anggrek Mall" branch. I thought it was amazingly delicious and fell in love with the sour and tangy flavor of the tuna broth that all Asam Laksa typically will taste. I often come back there often for that particular dish. When I start working full time, I go there much lesser and when I made an unplanned trip to "Pluit Village" (previously known as Mega Mall Pluit) and saw that restaurant, I knew what I'll have for lunch. 

I didn't order their "Asam Laksa" because their menu had certainly grew in variety and that sort of lured me away from my initial intention. David and I order  three ala - carte courses and my overall experience went down slightly as to compare before I went in. Maybe it was the dishes that I choose but still it is no excuse for them to execute the dishes so poorly.

Menu : Tahu Goreng Penang

Price : Rp 24,800 ++
Score : 4.0 / 10

>> The menu said minced seafood stuffed in tofu and covered with bread crumbs and fried till golden brown. The tofu and bread crumbs I can taste, but seafood??? I see none, I taste none and disappointingly tasteless too.

Menu : Kerang Putih Asam Manis Chili

Price : Rp 39,800++

Score : 3.0 / 10

>> The sauce was pretty good, a typical sweet and sour sauce but the clams was disgusting. It smells of fishy and screams to me 'NOT FRESH'. I hate eating not fresh seafood, because the smell will be just way too bearable ! BAD BAD BAD !

Menu : Iga Sapi Steak Sauce

Price : Rp 59,800 ++
Score : 5.5 / 10

>> This is was a pleasant change from the previous 2 dishes. The meat is very tender and slip off easily from the bones. The black pepper sauce is of the right amount of seasoning and overall I think this save my overall experience of this trip to the restaurant.

Yummy Sydney Part 3

This is the third part of my food journey in Sydney. One of the star attractions in Sydney are the beaches and this trip I visited 2 beaches; Manly Beach & Bondi Beach. We choose a prefect sunny day to make a trip there. While the boys were swimming, I was busy eating and of course shopping!!!

MANLY OCEAN FOOD

I heard they are famous for their fish and chips and that was exactly what I ordered! I had the grilled one and DH had the fried. The seafood was really really fresh and I love the fact that we're on the beach eating fish that is some how very rustic and comforting.

COPENHAGEN ICE CREAM

After I had my fried and grilled fish, I went simply next door and wash down with ice cream!!! I had 4 scoops; rum and raisin, Ferraro, mango and strawberry sorbet. I love the rum and raisin, very very yummy indeed. If I can turn back time, I'll make sure I get a part time job in a Gelato store back when I was studying in Melbourne.

MAX BRENNER
Before I came to Sydney, I had my 'what to eat' list and this sweet cafe is definitely on that list BIG TIME! I love sugary chocolate so much that I can't imagine what my life will be without it. On dramatisation, I might shrivel up and die without chocolate hahaha !!

HURRICANE'S GRILL
I had "Hurricane Grill" for dinner when I was at the Bondi Beach. But let me tell you that the queue was just amazingly crazy, long, busy and hectic. Put it simply; Full House. Luckily, they had a 'Hurricane Express" right next to the restaurant. It is exactly the same food served in the restaurant except that it is a take away instead of eating it. Thus, we all picnic up at the sandy beach and ate our super yummy take away Hurricane Ribs.

SYDNEY'S FISH MARKET

KOREAN BBQ RESTAURANT
This Korean restaurant is the middle of the city, if I'm not mistaken it is on "Goldburn Street" about 2 blocks away from Paddy's Market. The food here is pretty okay, I wouldn't say it was amazingly yummy but was overall suitable for everyone's taste buds.