Bandar Djakarta

Let's see, yes finally i have gotten a laptop that could last more than 5 minutes, and also everything that goes with it. I'm happy, and after a long hard walk in Mangga dua, we went to Bandar Djakarta in Ancol to have dinner. The place is a seafood located by the beach where the view at night is really sceneric and gorgeous. The building is an outdoor, obviously. The building is built out of wood which gives me a sense of at the beach atmosphere. There was also designs of an open stage, with decorations of waves which i think was over the top and should not have been there. Anyways we ordered the Tiram goreng telur, Ikan Kuwe, Kepiting King Jantan, Kerang Gajah Hidup, Udang Gajah hidup, and Kelapa Batok. The highlight of tonight's menu for me is the Kerang Gajah Hidup and the Tiram goreng telur. The Kerang Gajah basically is a huge clam with spices that was to me better than i thought. The taste was sweet, and really juicy, the quality of the clam was good. What i like about the Tiram Goreng Telur which is like if you translate it is a kind of a omelette is the presentation i suppose, the shape was like a cake and i thought it was really cute. The taste was good, i like that it was a combination of oysters inside which makes it better and it reminds me of the omelet in Singapore. For the drinks i had the Es Kelapa which is Ice coconut and it was sweet so it was good. Overall it was a good seafood restaurant which seafood lovers should try! The price isn't that bad too:)

 Tiram Goreng Telor

 Ikan Kuwe

 Kepiting Ikan Jantan

 Kerang Gajah Hidup

 Udang Galah

 Es Kelapa Batok

Good Life

Sometimes you need to know that the errors in life is what makes you truly alive

Farewell

Farewell is a hard thing, you know that because it will be the last moment you spend with your loved one. Can there be any words need to be spoken of? The best goodbye does not need words, only a hug and silence is needed. 

Kembang Goela

My friend recommended this dutch Indonesian restaurant. When i first went in, and i am the type of person who have a meticulous eye for decoration and space in a restaurant, i noticed that the restaurant brings a strong vibe of Dutch colonial era in Indonesia. Starting from the portraits that is hanged around the walls, the fabrics of the linen cloth used for the tables, the door to door glass, the utensils and the food. I really like the atmosphere at this place, maybe because i went here for dinner and it was a whist evening. The place is really good for a joyous long lunch or dinner with friends or family. My mom and i ordered the Asinan Sayur Nyai Dasima, Risjt Koening Kemabang Goela, Sosis Om Yance and teh tarik. The food was good, can't really complain much, it wasn't great just good. I like the Asinan Sayur, the mixture of the vegetables with the peanut sauce was superb, plus there was a kerupuk that goes it with which i really am a fond of. The Risjt Koening Kemabang Goela is basically a nasi kuning with various spices and meat of beef with a part of chicken, which i chose is the breast. What was unique in this place was the Sosis Om Yance, it was a meter long! And i was able to finished it! Damn i had meat sweat and i really should deserve a medal for finishing it. Overall i like the place and you should try it too. The location is in Jl. Jend. Sudirman Kav 47 - 48 Jakarta Pusat, 12930, in Plaza Central. Enjoy:) 

Asinan Sayur Nyai Dasima

 

 Complimentary food

 

Sosis Om Yance(1 Meter Long)

 Risjt Koening Kemabang Goela

Change

 Artwork by matthewisme

Change is an inevitable, you never know when is the time for change in your life, all we can do now is be prepared for it, cause sooner or later, people change, you change.

Stonegrill

Let me tell you how much i hate Jakarta Traffic. I wanted to eat in this restaurant that my friend recommended me, which supposedly is only 15 minutes away from where i lived but then the traffic was crazy. I am strongly recommending that on Saturday nights make you plan an hour faster if you want to arrive to your place on time. Yes, and whats worse when i got to the place, it was so full and crowded that i decided to eat at another steak house that is in my opinion much better in terms of atmosphere. So i went to Stonegrill in Arteri. People should really go here, i don't understand why whenever i go to this place, its always...empty. What is not to like? The steak is good, they have a decent decoration which provides a good atmosphere for a candlelight dinner. Not to mention the price is cheap and the service are great. I really love Jakarta's service when it comes on Fine dining, the people are so nice and helpful that they are the one who offers the service, not us calling them. I ordered the Portobello On Stone, Aussie Sirloin Steak, Brownies Ala Mode and Crepes Suzette. Did i forgot to mention one of the uniqueness of this restaurant is that the food is served on this heated stone at your table? The presentation was certainly unique, i can tell you that. The stone is at the temperature of 400° Celsius, sears in all the natural juices and nutrients, the taste obviously was fresh and really good. The Portobebello on Stone is their favorite, basically it serves the large mushroom on the stone and we cooked it by our selves. The mushroom was really good, the sweet sauce makes it one of my favorite taste in the restauramt. The Steak was good, my favorite in this dish is actually the side dishes, the dish is served with three choices of sauce and potatoes, i chose mushroom sauce and mashed potatoes. The mash potatoes was really good, no kidding. I like the dessert too, my favorite is the Crepes Suzette, its basically a Sweet orange custard topped with caramelized sugar. The taste is very sweet so for every sweet lovers out there, this is a must try food. The brownies ala mode was good too, the usual type of brownies that i have eaten, nothing particularly special. For steak lovers, but in short of cash, check this place out!

Portobello on Stone

Aussie Sirloin Steak

Brownies Ala Mode

 

Crepes Suzette

Equality

 

Any two people who are in love and ready for commitment should have that opportunity, its not about marriage per se, its about equality.

Dapur Babah Elite

Seriously i can say that to get to this place was damn, hard. It was not because the place was hidden amidst the road of Central Jakarta, it was because of the debate i had with friends and my mom about the right of using the driver and such, finally after going through the insane traffic, i managed to arrive here at around 9 pm, so it was a very late dinner. I did not expect the place to be so well decorated, just like the other place i went to, Samarra. Turns out the owner is the same! No wonder the place has this similar atmosphere, dark yet cozy. I ordered the Bebek Goreng Lengkoes, Sate Ayam and Botok Tawon. The bebek goreng is served with abon and kecap manis, it was good, the meat of the duck tasted very juicy, the bebek goreng was also served with various vegetables which i think served as a purpose to freshen up my mouth. The sate ayam was great! The taste of the chicken was exquiste, with a taste of sweetness which is really the cherry on top. What I like most though is the Botok Tawon! Its the first time tasting a "bee hive" food, and it was pretty exciting. The taste was unique, what can i say it was really strong taste like a sea urchin but the spices used makes it really good, I love this food, i should try it again when i come here. Overall, it was a pleasant evening.

Bebek Goreng Lengkoes

 Sate Ayam

Botok Tawon

Starbucks

My all time breakfast food is definitely Starbucks. I can have coffee as well as many snacks here. I am just one of those people who enjoys breakfast outdoor enjoying the breeze of the sun, sipping some coffee with cigarettes, that is a definition of what a genial day should begin like. Anyways my favorite here is the cinnamon roll, its so good, the sweetness of the cinnamon is just perfect, the outer layer has this sugar powder that sweetens it just at the right amount. Around the inside, there is bits of raisin which is sweet sour taste which helps give deepens the taste of the cinnamon even better. I really like the cinnamon rolls here, its one of my favorite food, plus the price is really cheap.

Relationships

 Artwork by ~juliaawesomerichey

A great relationship is not based from how many common things you have with your loved one, it is when even in silence, you feel comfortable, you feel safe, you feel comfort, that is the definition of a "great" relationship

Samarra

If anyone is a fan of a middle eastern atmosphere and wants to enjoy good food, you should definitely check out Samarra Restaurant. The decorations of the place is simply to say top notch. Its one of the best one i saw so far in Jakarta. This restaurant was built to commemorate of the ancient city Samarra, by the River of Tigris, approximately 125kms from Baghdad. If you went to this restaurant, it would as feel like you were brought back to the ancient times to see the beauty and glory of the ancient city of Samarra during the times of Mesopotamia, Babylon, Syriana, and Persia. Basically my friends and i ordered all the specials at this restaurant, and what we ordered all contains LAMB, we ordered the Satay,  the whole meat, the lamb curry and the traditional rice. All of them are good, hands down. The whole meat was my favorite, you can so taste the lamb, the tenderness with the fatty part was so good. Another unique thing was that they placed the meat on a hot charcoal so the food will always stay warm, that is so genius. I also love their utensils, its so vintage! Even though it was fattening , i really don't care, it was really good. Middle eastern lovers should definitely check this place out!

By The Beach

For lunch today, i went to see a friend of mine who may by a chance i will not see her ever again because i am going abroad in a month, so we went just the two of us just to spend a full day together. We went to the mall EX and watched this new movie, Knight and Day. Before we went to watch, i was so hungry because i didn't eat breakfast so we went to this restaurant that i have been curious at for quite a while, its located at the bridge between EX and Plaza Indonesia called "By the beach". By the name it self i can tell that the food here mainly is seafood but i didn't know what kind of food it served, turns out the food is from my home town, Indonesia. We ordered the "Tahu Telor Merapi", "Cumi goreng spesial" and "Dori dengan Jimbaran sauce". The tahu telor was really fucking huge, the reason why i ordered it was because of the name, "merapi" is literally "eruption of a volcano" i did not thought that they would actually relate the name of the food literally cause the shape was really tall and big! It was really and effort to eat it, the taste is good though i guarantee it, the combination of the tahu(tofu) with the fried egg with Kecap Manis (sweet soysauce) was refreshing. It was like a food menu for breakfast but much better. The cumi goreng spesial was also good, i mean i love cumi(squid) from the beginning and when you deep fried it, the taste of the crisp from the flour makes the taste of the squid more tasty. You can taste the squid so much more better. The dory was good, for me dory is like my 4th favorite fish so obviously for me any kind of Dory served food will be good, the Jimbaran sauce was also good. It was spicy but somehow when i eat it, it wasn't spicy at all, you can only taste pepper and had this sweet salty taste which i really like too. For Indonesians, we are all a big fan of rice so i ordered a red rice to go with it. I also had iced tea, the taste was well just like any normal iced tea but i recommend you to just buy water because the tea here is very expensive and so not worth it! The taste of the rice makes my lunch just perfect, i just wished that i finished the Tahu telor, but overall i had a great time here.

Tahu Telor Merapi

Cumi Goreng Spesial

Dori with Jimbaran Sauce

Red Rice

Iced Tea

Pisa Cafe

After i got my piercing, i also decided to go with my friend to an ice cream restaurant, well specifically it is another italian ice cream called the "Pisa Cafe". I have been a fan of this place since i was a kid, the place gives you shots of what a French Cafe would look like, it gives a gallery or posters of what the French people would see from their view point. From what i gathered the ice cream is home made, the recipe is provided by an Italian gentelman, Matteo Guerinoni. The cafe itself has 50 flavours in store but only 12 flavors are made and served everyday. So this place shows a variety of flavors of ice cream which is really great, but the ones that are always available are vanilla, chocolate and strawberry. I ordered the Vanilla with oreo cookies, while my friend ordered the Vanilla ice cream. What can i say about the taste? Well it certainly has a similiar flavor with Gelato Ice cream, but this one was more sweeter and the combination with the oreos makes it much better. This ice cream was a life saver in an outdoor environment because that day Citos was really hot. For all ice cream lovers, this place must be checked out:)

Vanilla Ice Cream

 Cookies and Cream (Vanilla with Oreos)

Mother's Cook

I got my piercing, the oh so long piercing that i postponed for such a long time but now i have finally gotten it. Anyways i took this friend of mine who was my "moral" support to my favorite home made burger restaurant in Citos, The restaurant is called Mother's cook, the place is small like a diner but comfy enough for a nice hang out with a little rinse of the sun light that is good for our health. Whoever said that eating too many burger can make you feel? Mother's cook certainly changed that perception. I really like the place because they really value the concept of cooking the burger traditionally. Originally, its trying to give a classic American atmosphere with home cooked burger meal. From what i have heard, the place is from New Orleans and i quite actually like it as a place to hang out, plus the price ain't bad. I ordered a large size "50's diner burger", its 200g! Wow and i cannot believe i finished the whole thing, well my friend helped me out a little bit. The burger contains a beef meat with a topping of mushroom, onion ring, cheddar sauce and veggies. To simply say, it was good, the combination of all of them makes a perfect home cooked meal burger, the beef was juicy and tender, the bites that i take was extremely soft which makes it easy to digest. Overall i had a good time here. I am so not ready to move abroad!

50's diner burger 200g!

Pancious "Pancake House"

I was craving to eat pancakes the other day and i went to Pancious to get some decent pancake with my friend. Pancious is a pancake house created with the concept of "getting your day started with with a good meal". It provides a taste of pancake from all over the world, the place i like best is the one in Permata Hijau but since i was accompanying my friend to watch Toys Story 3 i went to the branch in the bridge between Ex and Plaza Indonesia mall. I didn't really like the place because i am a type of person who enjoys a fine dining in a place that is solely built for dining and since it was in a mall, the place was really crowded but the service was still really good. I ordered the Pancake special, which basically is served with a pancake or a waffle, one scoop homemade ice cream and butter. It was delicious, the pancake diameter was 12 cm, which i think i was an okay size, should have been a bit bigger, cause i was so not full eating it, maybe i should have ordered 2 pancakes. The combination of maple syrup and butter was exquisite and the ice cream was the cherry on top in the pancake. I also ordered a Carbonara which is my favorite type of pasta aside from ravioli. Overall, it was good because the price was pretty cheap and the pancake was really delicious. If any of you are in Jakarta, a pancake house like this should definitely be visited.

Sushi Sei

Okay here goes, for us Jakarta people, we know that the fast food for a good affordable Japanese food is the branch of "Sushi Tei" Restaurant that originated from Singapore. Who would complain, even i say its a good restaurant, it has a Japanese atmosphere that makes you feel like you are in an actual Japanese restaurant, the food are simply delicious for a very good price and the service is also really great. But then again, this is the main place people would go to for a Japanese food, but then again we should see in a larger perspective because there are other places with even a better Japanese food than Sushi Tei. The place that i went has always been my favorite Japanese restaurant since i was a kid living here. The place is in Plaza Senayan 4th floor across the most famous club in Jakarta, X2. The restaurant is called "Sushi Sei", i am not sure about the similarities of the names but this restaurant has been here way before the branch of Sushi tei has been in Jakarta. Decoration wise, definitely this place is better, the place has a very traditional concept of a Japanese restaurant so they even have the semi private room decorated like a real Japanese restaurant where you have to kneel down to sit and eat like Japanese people. I have been craving for a Salmon Teriyaki so i ordered the menu set, they have everything starting from the 2 piece of salmon teriyaki with this amazingly sweet soy sauce, radish and vegetables, chawan mushi, rice, and miso soup. My dad was very nice that he gave the head of Hamachi(Yellow Tail), i love the head of the fish, especially yellow tail because the best part of a fish is the head, stomach and the fin. The eye is extremely good too, its so juicy and tender. I also have a uni nigiri sushi, its literally translated as "sea urchin". Oddly i think its good, even though i do not know anybody in Jakarta except my sister who likes this food too. The taste, well how could i describe it, its soft, sweet but salty but has this new taste that i have never found in other Japanese foods which is why i like it. But then this nigiri sushi is the most expensive sushi i have ever ordered, but then it was so worth it! Overall i think this place is much better than sushi tei but the price is much more pricey than Sushi Tei, i would recommend going to this place with your family than your friends because then you don't have to pay for it.

From up (Salmon Teriyaki, Hamachi Head, Uni nigiri Sushi, Chawan Mushi, Whole dinner set)

Canteen Plaza Indonesia

Im sure you all have heard one of the most visited bookstores in our city called Aksara. The bookstore sells unique merchandises and books that is worth to be visited. Anyways the food that i tried this time is the restaurant connected to it in Plaza Indonesia called "canteen". The Canteen in Plaza Indonesia offeres a mixture of classy gourmet style of European and Asian food along with a wide selection of cocktails, wine and spirits.Or at least that is what the waiters told me about the place. I ordered the menu set which consists of this European food that consists of this creamy sauce filled with pasta and spinach that was blend together. Now, i really do love a creamy pasta but this one is really good, the cream was light which doesn't really make you nauseous and the combination of the cream with spinach was divine, one might say. I ate it with a red wine which makes it good somehow because i enjoy food with wine, it makes you feel warm and has this sweet after taste which shows that the wine is high quality. Then i also tried my friends food, he is a big fan of Nasi goreng (fried rice), his food wasn't bad either, the chicken that goes with the fresh taste of the nasi goreng proves a good combination. For the dessert we have a chocolate melt, now him and i are a fan of sweet things and as usual the chocolate cake with chocolate sauce wrapped inside it makes it warm with the outer layer combined, words cannot describe it, its just pure good and to top off combined with the vanilla ice cream just makes everything perfect about a dessert.