Le Quartier

I am sooo two thousand and late !! Everyone has came to this place and yet it is only now that I manage to post about it. Yes yes yes... BOOOOOO me ---____---"". I knew and passed by it a few multiple times, not sure why I didn't urge to try it, but anyways a bunch of friend gathered and they choose Le Quartier for Sunday dinner and here I am writing about it 2 months later hahahahaha...lazy me :p My apologies readers ...

The setting was comfortable and spacious, leaning slightly to romantic (not too romantic though) and also 'posh'? They have all the dim warm lightings and the beautiful chandelier hanging, making the ambiance feels like slightly out of Jakarta. I am gonna give the place a seven for decor I suppose? Nothing out of the extraordinary but definitely fits in the 'Senopati & Gunawarman' pricey district.

The choice of food basically covers a variety, from the "French" steak, to the "Italian" pizza. Their soups were beautiful and not to mention their duck confit was super yummy !! Pricing would be on the heavier side of the scale (We spent Rp 1,900,000 for a crowd of 6) but I mean the location is the CBD area, so what can you expect right? Right price for the right demographic of customers I suppose. Will I come back again? Ohh, yess I might. On some future occasions is a definite! And I sincerely believe, this place is gonna stick around for quite sometime anyways :)

Le Quartier

Jl. Gunawarman No. 34 

Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan

Phone : 021 - 72788001

The Holy Crab

I know it's probably 3 months since my last post? Well I only got the usual classic excuse, too busy for anything, not enough time everything. Sadly my blog became the victim of my 'busy-ness'. Well to put all that aside. I got a connection inside this eatery opened in June 2014 hence, manage to get a super super good reservation. Meaning, I get to cut all the queue and slip myself to a seat !! Blessed thy heart !! Or else, you gotta queue for at least an hour to get some seats, this place is pretty 'hot' in town.

The setting of the place is pretty much catered to family, it's those places that you go with your mom and dad, grandparents and grandchildren. Suitable for a casual dinner with a bunch of friends but definitely not the place you go for a romantic anniversary celebration. Unless it's your 20th or 35th hehehe...

The menu itself is also very straight forward to the point. The Holy Crab basically just sells CRAB, nothing else major but crabs. Well you get to order some fries or fish fingers at the side but all that is not the purpose. The food will definitely bring back memories all those people educated in Seattle. Why?? Cause all the sauce felt like 'Jambalaya' hot spicy with onion punch kind of sauce >> you people get the connection right?

The other special unique the restaurant bring is the style! You're given a table with plastic lined paper on top as table mat. Then, some mallet and shell crusher with your order placed directly on the table. Off you go! Smashing through can be a way to unleash a little bit of your stress built up from your bad working weekdays!! Apart from that, it's a good moral teaching to the kids too; you need to fight and squeeze through all those tricky shells before you get the super good part!

We got myself the 'dungeoness crab & king crab legs'. Love the king crab legs by a hundred mile. Easier to peel in order to get to the beautiful meat. Sauce was great tasting but after halfway there, it taste basically all the same and by the end of the dinner, you promise not to eat crab till the end of year. Hahahaha, the crab itself was the star but too much of crab goodness gives you this unavoidable term called 'cholesterol' hahaha. Bottom line, 'holy crab' is something you definitely must try but may think twice for the second trip.

Oooh! I forget to mention, price is definitely on a high end of the scale. A solid heavy dinner for 3 people would cover Rp 3,000,000 ; 1 dungeoness crab, 1 king crab legs, fries and sweet potato as side dish, refillable sodas for all. Heavy on the pocket and on your cholesterol too :p haha !!

The Holy Crab
Jl. Gunawarman No 55. Kebayoran Baru
Jakarta Selatan 12110
Phone : 021 - 29236155

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

Arang 22

My close friend (SM) had her twin baby boys today. She had a C - section and within 10 minutes her babies were out of her tummy. Brayden and Bradley were the two names! After visiting her in the hospital, I had Korean dinner with DH. I chose Arang 22 as the place. I heard a lot of buzz about this restaurant but only get to try it now. The parking space was a bitch but the food experience was apologetic for all the parking excuse.

 

Menu : Sut Bul Kalbi

Price : Rp 180,000++
Score : 6.5 / 10

» Great tasting meat! I like the saltiness of the marinate sauce they use. Very succulent and juicy. With green lettuce leaf, cucumber, chili and red Korean paste, the whole party on the tongue is just irresistible!

Menu : Kimchi Chigae

Price : Rp 65,000++
Score : 7.0 / 10

» I would have to say this is 2nd best to Gyukaku's kimchi soup. Definitely better tasting than the one Han Gang is serving. It has great seasoning and the balance of sour, salty and the spicy really had me go for 2nd serving.

Menu : Bossam Jongsik

Price : Rp 80,000++
Score : NIL

» I'm sorry to say that I didn't taste this and therefore not able to cast a score. I had the Kimchi served at the side but not the pork. Reason was that it is 100% FATS -_-. Slices of thick and slightly grilled fats was surely not ordered by me. I reckon if I had this, my cholesterol level would have just shoot out of the roof!

Menu : Jap Chae

Price : Rp 95,000++
Score : 7.5 / 10

» Arang's Jap Chae is amazingly delicious! Of all the dish I ordered from the menu, this is really the best tasting one. The potato noodle is more stickier than other Korean restaurant has. I love the noodle, the sauce, the texture and of course; the taste!!!

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Arang 22 : Sut Bul Kalbi Price : Rp 180,000++ Score : 6.5 / 10 » Great tasting meat! I like the saltiness of the marinate sauce they use. Very succulent and juicy. With green lettuce leaf, cucumber, chili and red korean paste, the whole party on the tongue is just irresistible !