Potato Head Garage

So much buzz about this place was generated before the beginning of Ramadan season, and I finally brought myself there last Sunday for a  late lunch. I've seen the pictures posted by my friends all over Facebook and Instagram. It looked pretty in the pictures and the real life was a photo copy of those pictures ^_^. 

The decor was very modern, sleek with a touch of opulence. Dominated with a lot of white color and beautiful chandeliers hanging from the sky high attic ceiling. The place resembles an old badminton court or a warehouse and thus spaciously opened without pillars blocking your view. I must say it's a good venue for events and parties. Firstly because of the location, then the layout and lastly you'll end up with pretty pretty pictures ^_^ And oh I forgot to mention, this eatery has a definite connection with the 'Potato Head' in Pacific Place Shopping Mall; across the street.

Menu : Wholemeal & White Bread with Butter
Price : Rp 0.- (complementary, free)
Score : 2.0 / 10

>> Sad, sad, sad.. The bread are free but they need to remember that this is the first dish that customers consume. The bread are not only tough, it's cold and completely tasteless. What's so difficult with warming the bread, simply just place them in an oven for 2 minutes, and the butter is not good at all. I really think that this complementary bread is desperate for garlic butter or even a simple supermarket bought salted butter will be very much welcomed.

Menu : Wood Fire Grilled Beef Salad
Price : Appetizer ; Set Menu
(Rp 350,000 ++ : Appetizer, Main Course and Dessert)
Score : 7.5 / 10

>> Very very refreshing and the perfect way to open up your taste buds after that bad complementary bread on top. The salad were crisp and fresh, while the beef was cooked well. The seasonings were right in all sorts of way. The amount of salt, sugar and the tangy taste from the chili and lemon were balanced harmoniously !

Menu : Wagyu Strip Loin 200gr
Price : Main Course ; Set Menu
(Rp 350,000 ++ : Appetizer, Main Course and Dessert)
Score : 7.5 / 10

>> Beautifully cooked. Asked for a medium and that's what you'll get. The steak is place on top of a hot stone, thus helps in maintaining the temperature of the meat at all time. Comes the choice of sauce and butter that is served separately are quite a selection. I would recommend the 'Bearnaise Sauce' with 'Cafe De Paris Butter' it is subtle thus you'll still taste the sweetness of the beef itself. Assorted seasonal vegetables with a dollop of mashed potato are served separately.

Menu : Valhorna Flour-less Chocolate Cake
Price : Dessert ; Set Menu
(Rp 350,000 ++ : Appetizer, Main Course and Dessert)
Score : 8. 0 / 10

>> YUMM ! (In capital letters). Carb-less chocolate cake!! LOVE the idea of a flour-less cake, thus gave that 'less guilty & more pleasure' feeling. A good real dense chocolate cake and the Valhorna cocoa powder really made the difference. The coffee ice cream on the side is lovely too. Not too overly sweet when have together with the cake. Saw the passion fruit smear in the picture beside? That is super super sour which balance off the sugar level, it cuts through the sweetness of the cake and the ice cream. Overall a dessert that I'll order again and again !!

Menu : Blue Swimmer Crab Cake
Price : To Be Advised
Score : 7.0 / 10

>> Perfectly crumbed crab cake! When I tore apart the crab cake, I can really see the amount of crab meat was generous. A well balanced mixture of starch and crab, shallow fried and served with home made green curry sauce at the bottom. At first, I thought the green curry was going to overthrow the crab cake with it's pungent smell and dense herb taste but in fact, it was complementing the dish! They manage to keep it subtle and yet you can still taste the essence of the curry. A lovely dish!

Menu : Wood Fired Organic Baby Chicken
Price : Rp 130,000 ++
Score : 8.0 / 10

>> The sauce they used were delicious!! Mustard and curry oil is the bomb! Tangy and yet slightly sourish too. But I have to compliment the baby chicken the most! Beautifully cooked with crispy skin part, yet still juicy and served in the right temperature. Just like the above steak served on a hot stone, this baby chicken was served on top of a grill stone. Thus the temperature is being maintained along during our course. But if I may give a little advise, is to provide a side dish to this menu. The baby chicken is indeed a baby. Small in portion and I will be still hungry if I were to only order this. A baked potato or a generous amount of greens and mash potato will definitely be welcome.

Overall, it's a promising venue and has the potential to last. I'd still come back and try out their other dishes. But a bigger portioning of the main course will definitely be helpful. Cheers!

Potato Head Garage
SCBD Lot 14 (Ex Bengkel Kafe)
Jl. Jend Sudirman Kav 52 - 55 Lot 14 
Jakarta Selatan 12190
Phone : 021 - 57973330
Website : www.ptthead.com

Angus House

Got beef? I had some last week and a real good plate of it! It was FW's 31st birthday and as a celebration, Angus House was opted. We had an early dinner at around 6pm and thus the crowd wasn't busy. Just a couple of tables occupied. Well, the interior of the restaurant wasn't fancy at all. It was rather too plain for a fine dining restaurant. The color scheme were mainly white and black with a rather cheesy pink table cloths spread all over. But hey!! The steak is one of the best I've eaten by far. Worth the every bit of the splurge ^_^

If I may comment about the service, it was clearly that the staffs were well trained. Ask them about the entire menu and they all had memorized it very well. Table manners were a specific thing that they all performed while serving, pouring and even while clearing our plates. Well, you're spending an easy Rp 500,000 a head, thus immaculate manners  make sense. Therefore, I wouldn't complain any bit about the waitress but this way, rather gave a 'cold' feeling towards the customers.

Menu : Entree - set menu
Price : RP 345,000 ++ Set Menu
Score : 7.0 / 10

>> A succulent piece of prawns with a grilled white fish at the bottom. Served with a sauteed water spinach at the side. How does it taste? Love the prawns and the fish !!! The veges, well not so much. It was a plain well sauteed veges. The sauce was complementing too! It has the tangy taste and a hint of sweet chilli with it.

Menu : Mushroom Soup - set menu
Price : RP 345,000 ++ Set Menu
Score : 8.0 / 10

>> Yummmmm, but sadly too small of a portion. I'd love a big bowl of it. This mushroom soup is very creamy and yet doesn't give you that 'sick' feeling that you get after a big bowl of creamy pasta. Maybe it's the small portion, maybe it's the type of cream they use, or maybe it's just me and my tongue. But regardless, a solid 8 pointer from me !

Menu : Salad - set menu
Price : RP 345,000 ++ Set Menu
Score : 6.0 / 10

>> This salad is no question fresh and crisp. But as for the dressing, rather too plain for me. It's not a cream nor a mayo base dressing. It was a vinegar base. FW lovesss balsamic and thus he'll probably gave an eight. But it all comes down to a matter of taste. It was an okay for me.

Menu : Tenderloin 200 gram - set menu
Price : RP 345,000 ++ (Set Menu)
Score : 9.5 / 10

>> I regret of not ordering the 300 grams. This is sooo good. Well, to begin with, my fav part of a cow's is the tenderloin. It has the right amount of fat for my taste and the way the chef cooked it was perfect! I asked for a medium and I got a medium. Do you know how many times other steak chef gets the temperature of a meat wrong??!!! You asked for a medium and a medium well comes out, or worst destroy the meat by cooking a well done! But hey! yummmness is all in this plate. Steak cooked to perfection and would ordered the 300 grams one next time. Worth your money !!

Just to mention a few of other dishes that was ordered ala - carte (not included in the set menu)

Top Left : Abalone & Sea Urchin Pasta
Price : RP 160,000 ++
Score : 8.0 / 10

Top Right : Scallop Salad
Price : RP 110,000 ++
Score : 7.5 / 10

Right : Espanole Soup
Price : RP 50,000 ++
Score : 7.0 / 10

Well, last but not least, happy birhday F !! You're getting bald :p

ANGUS HOUSE 
Senayan City 4th Floor No : 48
Phone : 021 - 7278 1588

Do An

I don't get to eat a lot of Vietnamese cuisine in Jakarta. You can get lots of Thai food but not so much on the Vietnamese. Actually I think both of them (Thai and Vietnamese food) has a lot of resemblance in taste wise; sour and spicy! The variety is different for sure but the general taste is some how very much alike. Anyways, I was at Mall Kelapa Gading and decided on a light dinner as I had a heavy heavy lunch -__-lll. In general I like the food, the sour punch is right there on your tongue and just to make things better; the pricing are rather easy on the wallet and well portioned !!

Menu : Bo La Lop

Price : RP 25,000 ++

Score : 6.75 / 10

>> This is a dish of grilled beef wrapped in  wild betel leaf. I'm not really sure what kind of leaf is that but definitely edible haha! I like the grilled beef inside, tender and has that 'smoky' flavor to it. The peanuts sprinkle on top adds an additional texture to the dish and the sauce on the side was much needed to lift this dish! Very sour and has a punch on the tongue.

Menu : Bo Du Du

Price : RP 28,500 ++
Score : 7.75 / 10

>> My favorite dish on the menu !! Price is not only cheap, the portion is enough for 2 person and most importantly has every element of a 'Vietnamese' dish. Spicy, sour and crunchy texture of the crackers, onion and peanuts are all there to compliment the tender beef salad drenched in the spicy vinegar sauce! Yummmm to the max and still minimal on the waist ! Droooolllsssss....

Do An

Mall Kelapa Gading 3

Thai Alley

Saturday night and I head down to one of the mall that I 'less visit' in Jakarta; Pacific Place Mall. I like the size of the mall, a huge selection of shopping stores (real expensive ones), a range of restaurants yet to be tried. But hate the parking space, it's just such a squeeze and don't really like the cinema there, not a big fan of 'rocking chair' while glued to the movie screen. Nevertheless, I'm here because of the food and nothing else but that.  I chose 'Thai Alley' and FW went along with me. I had an early dinner, around 5.30 pm and when we were first there, the place was pretty much empty but half way through our meal, the crowd starts to fill in the place.

Menu : Yam Som O, Gai
Price : RP 35,000 ++
Score : 6.5 / 10

>> This appetizer dish is basically a fresh citrus salad, pomelo salad with minced chicken to be exact. The portion is good, enough for 2 person and in addition, I like the texture of the ingredients taking action on this plate. You have the soft popping texture of the pomelo fruits, crunchy peanuts and the juicy meaty minced chicken. The only issue I had was the seasoning, a little bit more of fish sauce and chili would bump the score higher than a 6.5 !

Menu : Somboon Pong Kari, Poo Nim
Price : RP 69,000 ++
Score : 6.0 / 10

>> This is a Thai stir fried yellow curry, egg, onion with soft shell crab. (There is a choice of seafood to go along; squid, shrimp, crab and soft shell crab). We went for the soft shell crab! The sauce is fairly mild and it needed a good punch of additional spice and herbs. I rather like the texture of the soft shell crab, well cooked and still maintained the crispiness of the batter, not too soggy and has a good bite into it. If only the chef can twitch a little bit of the seasonings of the yellow curry, I'll definitely come back for this again!

Menu : Khao Ohb Nam Liab
Price : RP 49,000 ++
Score : 7.5 / 10

>> This dish is basically a fried rice with Chinese black olives and chicken served with fresh chili, lime, shallots and chashew nuts. Nothing went wrong; the portion is right and the seasoning was spot on! What stood out for me was truly the black olives by itself. I was able to smell and taste the olives in the rice, nothing too overpowering but rather a pleasant fragrance instead of the normal 'Thai Fried Rice' that I usually have; definitely a good alternative to try!

Menu : Tom Yam Goong
Price : RP 42,000 ++
Score : 8.0 / 10

>> I never give an easy 'eight' points for any dish but this dish was a genuine surprise! The powerful punch of flavors was a party on my taste buds! The lemon grass was fragrant, the chili was spicy, the sourness was taste-able and the soup's portion was rather generous (even though the ingredients inside was little, at least the soup was enough for 2 person to share). I looooove this and next time I'm here, this will be a must order dish for me (finger crossed nothing will change from the Chef).

Thai Alley

Pacific Place Mall, 5th Floor. Jakarta

Phone : +6221 - 579 73 600

Jeeva Klui - Lombok (Lebaran'12)

So here I am, slapped back from my 8 days Ramadhan holidays from Lombok, Gili Air & Bali. I'm actually desperate for another extra week to pamper myself but nevertheless, reality is cruel and thus face it -__- lll. I am going to write a series of post with '(Lebaran Holiday 2012) at the end of the title just to mark as a continuation of my 8 days food journey. It might be quite long but i'll try to be as concise as possible. So relax, put your feet up and start feasting your eyes!

Above are several pictures of the resort I stayed (Jeeva Klui) during my trip in Lombok. Jeeva is situated near to the city center and has a stretch of private beach (Part of Pantai Senggigi) connected directly to the resort. Certainly a breath taking view! The resort only has about 20 bungalow cottages and thus it felt very homey. There were a handful of European tourist but even with that, the place still seemed serene to me. A good recommendation for those looking to visit Lombok.

Jeeva Klui only has one restaurant, bearing in the mind the small scale resort that I classify them to be, it make a lot of sense! The partly outdoor resto sits directly in front of the resort pool and open for all breakfast, lunch & dinner till 11 pm.

Menu : Corn Fritters

Price : Complimentary (Free)

Score : 5 / 10

>> The sweet and sour condiment sauce at the bottom suits my taste but I think the fritter itself was rather cold and soggy. But at the end of the day, this was a complimentary dish so I'm not going to complain too much about it hahahaha!

Menu : Aromatic Beef Salad

Price : RP 65,000 ++

Score : To Be Advise

>> I must honestly say that I sort of forget what this taste like. But definitely and surely not horrible! If it was bad, it's impossible for me to forget the dish. On the other hand, it didn't leave an impression on me and thus it is logical to say this salad didn't blew me away :p

 

Menu : Tuna Sambal Bawang

Price : RP 85,000 ++

Score : 6.5 / 10

>> I was surprised by the size of the tuna fish. I am not sure how much does a kilo of tuna cost but man...Jeeva is generous with their portioning. I like everything about the dish, the salad was tasty, rice was perfectly steamed and cooked, the 'sambal bawang' (chili onion) makes the perfect condiments EXCEPT...the tuna was overcooked and thus slightly too tough for my liking. Nevertheless, it might be a one time mistake made by the chef. Thus if you are a tuna lover, you might wanna have a go at this.

Menu : Ayam Taliwang

Price : RP 85,000 ++

Score : 7.0 / 10

>> Again! Thumbs up for the portioning :) Unlike the tuna, this time the chicken is well cooked. Slightly burnt grill on the outside but still tender and juicy on the inside. The only thing that I would like the chef (if possible) improve is on the sauce. Ayam Taliwang is suppose to be spicy and hot but the taste here lean more towards 'coconuty and peanuty' flavor if you can imagine what I'm trying to explain. It is like a satay sauce but with a stronger coconut flavor instead of peanut.

Menu : Trio Tomato Risotto

Price : RP 80,000 ++

Score : 9.0 / 10

>> This might be the best risotto I have ever tasted in Indonesia. I had a couple of good bowl of risotto back when I was in Melbourne, but in Indonesia?? Hell NONE! At Jeeva, the rice were all plump, soaked with all the goodness of the tomato gravy sauce. The risotto is far from overcooked, exactly right on point! The sunripe tomatoes were extremely sweet thus the name of the dish 'Trio Tomato Risotto'. After the 2 Indonesian dish on top, I understood that the resto cater to the European tourist that come to stay at Jeeva and thus adjusting the taste of the food to their tongue not the local Indonesians.

 

Menu : Penne Zucchini

Price : RP 80,000 ++

Score : 7.5 / 10

>> Another good pasta dish! Now I am more certain with the statement I made above; the fact the chef at Jeeva caters to the European tongue and taste. This is my first try on a Zucchini pasta dish. It has a cream sauce base, similar to "Carbonara" but not as thick. I am not a big fan of cream base pastas but this I certainly don't mind having :)

Menu : Chocolate Fondant 

Price : RP 55,000 ++

Score : 7.0 / 10

>> My meal wouldn't be complete if I haven't had dessert to sum everything up. I chose chocolate fondant and it was an average one. The technique behind was nailed; right temperature, soft texture, melted chocolate oozing out from the center upon cutting into but it lacks a little bit of sugar and a gigantic scoop of vanilla ice cream at the side (instead of whip cream). Nevertheless, not a disappointing menu!

Jeeva Klui Resort

Jln Raya Klui Beach No. 1 Lombok Indonesia

Phone : +62 (0) 370 693 035

Fax : +62 (0) 370 693 036