Tesate

Last Sunday I forced myself to get out of my bed to go to Plaza Senayan with a couple of my Melbourne friends. I was actually very very sick, I was having bad fever, body was shivering, entire body was listless. But one thing that was still working alright; my taste buds and sense of smell was still working fine. We had "Tesate" for dinner, Indonesian cuisine that is cooked onto a higher level.

Menu : Nasi Lemak Ijo Royo - Royo
Price : Rp 74,000++
Score : 6.5 / 10

» Savory coconut rice, intensely flavored with green herbs, served with minced duck wrapped onto lemon grass. Salad and crackers were served at the side too.

Menu : Nasi Goreng Kambing
Price : Rp 59,000++ Score : 6.0 / 10

» Aromatic lamb fried rice, infused with curry flavor served with salad and crackers. This dish would have obtain a score of 6.5 but unfortunately the lamb was too pungent; in a way "stinks"! The salad on the other hand was brilliant, the photo may look 'ugly' but the taste speaks otherwise.

Nanny's Pavillon

The first Nanny's Pavillon was opened in Bandung and their first out of state branch was in Jakarta's Pacific Place Mall. I was sick of work and escape myself during lunch time to meet up with my friend (RP) who worked in that area. I choose this eatery because I haven't tried it before and the decor was just too cute to miss out. 

The setting of the place was like an European Barn, the tone of the color was white and green; very soothing and comfy. The waitresses was dressed into a milkmaid costume, the tables, chairs, hanging items and even the menu was in line with the theme of the restaurant. Overall, my lunch experience here was a pleasant one, I wouldn't say extremely great but definitely something I haven't had before. And with the addition of the decor, I was not surprise that the place was busy with young and elderly eaters.

Menu : Sausage Cheesy Waffle
Price : Rp 24,000++
Score : 5.5 / 10

>> The downside to this dish was that the waffle was soggy when it reaches my table. It would have been much better if it was still crispy. To add on, definitely need more seasoning to the sausage and cheese toppings.

Menu : Chicken Baked Rice
Price : Rp 31,000++
Score : 5.5 / 10

>> Not sure what type of sauce they have on this plate, but it was actually good. The rice was the problem here! Not cooked fully, I can still feel the grit of raw rice feeling. They should have leave it in the oven 15 minutes more.

Menu : Beef Baked Rice
Price : Rp 34,000++
Score : 5.5 / 10

>> Same situation with the chicken baked rice. The mysterious sauce over the rice was good but the downfall was to be blame on the rice. Not cooked fully, I can still feel the grit of raw rice feeling. They should have leave it in the oven for more time.

Menu : Arlene's Stuffed Mushroom
Price : Rp 29,000++
Score : 6.25 / 10

>> My friend Ratna loves this (she even clicked the like button on facebook). The cream cheese sauce at the bottom definitely made the difference to the entire dish. The stuffed meat was alright but the mushroom was slightly too soggy or else it'll get a 6.5 for sure.

Menu : Heavy Alvin's Potato
Price : Rp 29,000++
Score : 6.75 / 10

>> I like this very much. This dish might have salvage my trip experience to this restaurant. The potato was thinly cut and crispy. The minced meat with baked beans and generous melted cheese on top made me forget that I was on a diet:p

Menu : Nanny's Cocktail (Blueberry)
Price : Rp 40,000 ++
Score : 7.0 / 10

>> Not too sweet thus I assume it has no serious amount of added sugar. The bottle has mountains of fruits, blueberries, apples and all the goodness of vitamin C.

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Sanpachi : Jigoku Ramen (level 5) Price : Rp 36,000 ++ (small)

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Sanpachi : Jigoku Ramen (level 5) Price : Rp 36,000 ++ (small)

Ramen 38 - Sanpachi

As I had mentioned over and over again that I'm a sucker for spicy food and so this seems like a suitable restaurant for me to try out. I've heard of this place a lot of times before but don't know why I didn't get to try it before. Thus on my visit to Pacific Place Mall I made sure I had my chance of eating here. The place was decently decorated, nothing fancy, nothing luxurious it's more of an 'eat and go' type of restaurant. I came during the dinner time and had my taste buds dancing upon looking at the menu. 

You can have level 1 till 10 of spicy experience. As this is my first encounter, I ordered  a level 5 of the 'Jigoku Ramen'. My verdict was that; I can still handle it and I might order a level 7 or 8 next visit. Of course for those chili haters, you can still enjoy ramen that is non-spicy at all. They have the 'Shio Ramen' which tend to be more salty and no hint of chili whatsoever.  When you're finished, they'll serve you a complimentary lychee jelly which I felt was a sweet way to wash off the heat from the tongue. By the way, "Sanpachi" has several branch all over Jakarta, make sure to locate them!

Menu : Pork Chasu Tsumami
Price : Rp 32,000++
Score : 7.0 / 10

>> I like this a lot! The meat was different, it is served cold, not too fatty; the cut was right amount of meat to the fat found inside. The had spring onion at the bottom of the meat and when eaten with soy sauce, it gave your taste buds a disco session.

Menu : Jigoku Ramen (level 5)

Price : Rp 36,000 ++ (small)
Score : 7.0 / 10

>> I had a level 5 chili and reckon that I can still handle this. My next visit here will be a level 8 for sure. Not only that I like the chili, I love the texture of the ramen. I think they might made it themselves in the kitchen. The ramen wasn't too thick or coarse, just the right size for you to have a big slurp of mouthful into your mouth.

Menu : Shio Ramen
Price : Rp 30,000++ (small)
Score : 6.0 / 10

>> This is actually similar to Jigoku Ramen except that this has no chili at all. But being a chili freak I am, I wanted more heat for sure! This has a salty and calm soup.

Yummy Sydney Part 4

Alright this is the fourth part of the mini series, hahaha and yes I know it's getting a little bit too long? I'll try to speed this one up alright!

LINDT CAFE

Glorious sweet treats! I love this cafe! Melbourne doesn't have this cafe and thus when I was in Sydney, I made sure I pop myself here. I had 70% dark chocolate ice cream and a piece of hazelnut cake. Both were really really yummy. I wanted to eat more but the timing was not right. It was close to dinner time and have to save some room for my tummy.

KENTUCKY FRIED CHICKEN (KFC)

KFC wicked wings brings back a great deal of memories in my Melbourne days. My friends and I ate a lot of wicked wings back then, we can order something like 100 piece to share among 6 - 8 people at any one time. KFC in Jakarta doesn't offer this menu and thus when I was in Sydney I grabbed the opportunity to have 10 piece of wicked wings!!!

KOREE BBQ

I lost track of how many times I ate Korean in Sydney but this serves one of the best Ramen I had ever eaten. I love the Ramen Soup a lot !!! I'm not too sure about the Beef Galbi, because I felt the meat was too chewy and salty.

STREET FOOD

Snacks, snacks, snacks! I love to snack big time and so here some of the food I ate during my 'free time' hahaha! Let me tell you, I think I gained some weight upon my last day in Sydney!

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.