Yo' Panino

So here is a story ... a big pig and a somewhat smaller pig was caught in a dilemma. Two of them had lunch around 2 hours ago and it's still 3 hours to dinner time. Both trying to loose weight, both even skip on dessert after lunch meal, they also managed to not have rice during lunch! But as mentioned, they're pigs! So both of those pigs did what they do best, snack up and eat. Well, that smaller pig is me :p hahaha. We're waiting for dinner time in Plaza Indonesia and after much contemplation, we gave up to ourselves and surrender to Yo' Panino! I must be honest, it was one of the most satisfying sandwich ever !! Felt guilty but who cares ... diet starts tomorrow... or never ... hahahaha ! 

 

So the concept here pretty much simple. You choose on the filling and then craft your own sandwich. There is 21 types to choose from and divided into 4 pricing. Rp 35.000, Rp 43.000, Rp 53.000, Rp 63.000 ++. After deciding your kind of sandwich, you choose your type of bread. A selection of 4 ; Multigrain, Turkish Pide, Brioche, Framhouse White. Next station would be on the extra fillings (extra cost), you can have more chicken, or beef, additional bacon bits or egg and cheese. Then, you may go crazy on the unlimited veggies and toppings. The selection of veggies and toppings is massive and thus be smart when constructing your masterpiece. Don't try to have everything, too much may turn out to be a disaster. And to finish off, choose your sauces! Upon that, go take a sit while they stuff everything in and toast your sandwich to perfection. In around 10 minutes, they'll be serving it to you.

Note : They have vegetarian selection.

BBQ Chicken Club : Rp 53.000 ++ (Score : 8.5 / 10)

 >> As mentioned above, I wasn't experiencing great hunger and thus I was in my choosy and picky mode on food. Anyways, I had the BBQ Chicken Club, which originally consist of hickory smoked chicken, turkey bacon, Monterrey cheese and their very own Yo' Barbie-O sauce (which I'm sure is BBQ sauce).  I opt for the Turkish Pide, had no extra fillings. Then I choose paprika, lettuce, cucumber and onions for the veggies. I had extra spicy sauce slabbed in between too. Nothing too hot about the sauce, everything just seemed right.

It was DELICIOUS !! I didn't expect it to be good at all and honestly this is what people mean by 'do not judge a book by it's cover'. The place has simple decor, the seating area wasn't great either, in fact they're situated below escalator (superstitious Chinese people thinks it's bad luck, because people are trampling over you). But hey, the taste buds never lie. I will definitely be a regular. The pricing was reasonable, the service was pleasant, the ingredients were fresh and the end product was certainly yummy !!

Yo' Panino

Plaza Indonesia Extension, 4th Floor (Replacing Dante Coffee)

Phone : +62 21 2992 4019

Starbucks

Menu : Beef Felone
Price : RP 26,000++
Score : 5.0 / 10

>> I was waiting for my manicurist at Plaza Senayan as I arrived 40 minutes early for my appointment. So I head for Starbucks and I placed an order and had my afternoon coffee plus snack there. Neither both of my all time favourite Bolognaise Sandwich or Chicken Rustica were on the display and thus I had a gamble on this beef sandwich instead.

The beef fillings with the complete cheese and mayo were all there but it was just too ordinary for me. It was decent but wouldn't choose this over my old favourites. Definitely missing on taste and seasonings. The bread was the same with the rest of the sandwich on display but probably the meat was dry and tasted bland. The packet chili sauce didn't do any much justice in addition to the taste.

Starbucks

Plaza Senayan

Starbucks

Menu : Bolognaise Chicken Sandwich

Price : Rp 29,000
Score : 8.5 / 10

>> Who likes cafeteria sandwiches? Well, I don't! But I usually have my 'Rustica Chicken Sandwich' on my way to 'Tangerang'. I'll usually stop by the gas station and have a quick breakfast. And I stick to that menu until yesterday I had my first 'Bolognaise Chicken Sandwich' and I was truly taken by surprise! 

A super duper tasty Bolognaise gravy, good amount of minced meat, compatible tasting cheddar cheese. The only downside was the white bun was too thick. The gravy is really good and with that, actually made me wanna have it with a good bowl of spaghetti.

So...to you all Starbucks' drinkers, the next time you queuing up for your lattes, cappuccinos and frappucinos, do remember to peek at their display counter. If you see this, hopefully it'll remind you of my post. Grab and try it for yourself. Hopefully you'll enjoy it as much as I did !

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