pasta time

Anyone fancying affordable Italian food (pasta and pizza) must be familiar with Warung Pasta (Indonesian meaning Pasta Stall). I notice that Warung Pasta outlets in Kemang and Depok are always packed with youngsters (if not teenagers). Couple of days ago, I went to Warung Pasta Depok with my boyfriend. We've been there once. The place is pretty spacious and big, it has two floors. Several tables are placed outdoor, some are on the patio of the first floor, and some are on the balcony of the second floor. 

We chose a table on the second floor near the bar (well, not really a bar, more like a order-serving counter). It was 7.30 pm on weekday, yet still almost all of the tables are occupied. I ordered spicy shrimp pasta with fettuccine and my boyfriend ordered the recommended nasi bakar (grilled rice) with shrimp, and we also ordered cheese calzone.

The grilled rice looks exactly like fried rice. When we saw it, we thought it would taste just like the fried rice, but turned out it did not at all. You can taste the smoke resulting from the grill process in the rice. It has a strong spices flavor, sort of a mix of black pepper, ginger and galangal.

  

Just like its name, the spicy and hot fettuccine is hot and spicy. The fettuccine is soft and yet chewy.

The calzone was so-so. I once tried the calzone served in Ebira, and I remembered that the calzone did not go down when we cut its middle part. Yet, the calzone in Warung Pasta deflated as I cut it into pieces. The cheese was fine too, although it was not so rich or creamy. But, then again, Warung Pasta serves very affordable meals. So, I must say that the calzone is worth its price.

suprised - a hip bar serves perfect rainbow cake

Last Friday night, my friend asked me to hang out in Bluegrass, a bar located in Epicentrum. She said that it is one of the most hip clubs today. Well, I am not really into clubs and stuff, but since I didn't have any plan that night, I decided to just jump in into her idea.

Bluegrass is actually a bar and a wine house. Hence, when we got there, the bar was packed with expatriates enjoying wine or late supper. My friend also said it is usually hard to get a table without prior reservation. Luckily, there was one table readily available for us. But, the funny thing is, when the waitress took us to the table, it was right beside a table which was occupied by three men in suits who turns out to be our bosses. But, luckily again, since the room was dimmed and it seems like they really enjoyed their meal, they didn't recognize us and voila, awkward moment avoided.

Neither my friends nor I wanted to drink any alcohol that night. My friend and I ordered the same mocktails (I forget the name but it is a mix of crushed strawberry and blueberry in soda and lychee syrup), and my other friend ordered green tea latte. Since we already had a dinner, we didn't eat any main course and decided to have the hip rainbow cake. The rainbow cake served in a huge slice. It consists of 6 colorful layers. What makes this rainbow cake tastes so good is the solidness of the cake and the unique flavor of each layer. Unlike most rainbow cakes, this cake has this strong and unique flavor in each layer. The cream separating each layer also taste good, that is neither too creamy nor too sweet. This cute little rainbow cake costs around IDR 70k which is why I recommend you to eat this with at least one of your friends because, trust me, you could never finish it by yourself. 

on tuna sandwich

Mr.Pancake's-not-so-yummy-tuna-sandwich

I have to admit that I am a big fan of sandwich, especially tuna sandwich. I have tried several tuna sandwich in several restaurants, and by far my favorite one is the Raffel's Market Fresh Tuna and Swiss sandwich. As the meal is named after one of the key ingredients, I believe that the key to the perfect tuna sandwich is the taste of the tuna itself. Raffel's tuna sandwich has this perfect creamy taste and juicy state which unfortunately I didn't find in the tuna sandwich I bought in Mr.Pancake. The tuna is neither creamy nor juicy; it was dry. And it was also lack of mayonnaise, making the entire sandwich is so dry. I couldn't really taste the sandwich, I just tasted a pile of white bread, lettuce, tomato, tuna and cheese. I almost didn't taste the mayonnaise which should actually be the element binding and mixing all the taste of the other ingredients. Boo! I would never buy any tuna sandwich in Mr.Pancake anymore.

happy tummy

A happy tummy simply can be measured by the smile of the tummy's owner.

On Friday, 23 November, I met my girls in Pejaten Village. My plan was perfect; go out from the office at around 5.30, take TransJakarta, and arrive at Pejaten Village at 6.30. But, Jakarta with its wonderful surprises always manages to ruin people's plan. When I went down to the lobby, at 5.40, the rain suddenly poured, and it was heavy. I must wait for like 10 minutes before the rain (and not to mention the wind which pretty much is almost like a mini-scale gale) started to go. Then, I went to the TransJakarta shelter and got in the line which actually seems normal during such rush hour. I waited patiently, and then suddenly, the rain came down all over again. And this one was even heavier than before. Hence, I should bear to wait the bus longer since every person who has been living long enough in Jakarta knows that rain during rush hour means more horrible traffic. After an hour, finally I could get into the bus. And it was raining more heavily. At 7, I was actually about to arrive at my destination as I saw the Pejaten Village building, but then I realized "Damn, I missed the shelter." Okay, this one was completely my fault. Because I was busy enjoying the game I was playing on my mobile, I forgot that the shelter to Pejaten Village comes before the Pejaten Village. Thus, I should get off the bus at the next shelter. My next plan was getting a cab so it would be much easier for me to get into the mall because I don't need to cross the road, and the cab could get into the lobby. But, another commonly popular circumstance in Jakarta: getting a cab during rainy rush hour is as hard as looking for your life-time soul mate. And, so I had to take mini-bus (known as angkot) to the mall and got wet when crossing the road without using any umbrella (by the way, I hate umbrella so much, and I never carry umbrella). And there we have it, a girl looking wet from head to toe and almost freezing and starving to death, entered the current spacious, clean, bright and modern playground and meeting point for urban people. She felt sad and a bit insecure, and most of all, hungry.

Okay, that is the sad part of the story. The girl, or should I say me, later on met her friends. And they ate happily ever after.  Well, we need the details, don't we?

My friend told me to have a dinner at Mr. Pancake, which I straight away agree with, because I was so hungry and the menu displayed on the reading stand looks appealing. We then ordered a table, which is wooden, but I did not eat it, believe me I was not that hungry. I ordered Atlantic Salad with neither beef nor chicken and a plateful Tom Yum Fried Rice. My friends ordered Tuna Mania pancake, Crasy Potato and french fries. And had I known that the serving is large, I would definitely resist myself from ordering more than just one meal. So, when the salad, which basically is a plate full of chopped lettuce, tomato, paprika and onion ring topped with shredded cheese and mayonnaise, was served, I straightly wanted to finish them all because I was so hungry. There is nothing really special from the salad except the extra large onion ring. But, because I was so hungry, I managed to eat them all like only within 15 minutes. Hence, by the time the fried rice was served, I was full already. I only ate a tiny portion of the fried rice, which I so badly regretted because it tasted so yummy. The rice is sticky, and the seasoning is strong but in a good way. I didn't eat the fish fingers because I was so full, but my friend said it tasted good. The Crasy Potato was also good especially the tiny small potatoes which better eaten together with the skins. I also didn't try the Tuna Mania pancake, but my friend said it was good, and she seemed so happy with the huge serving of the pancake.

And, voila a happy tummy leads to a happy face, indeed :) 

japanese food fiesta

I was having a Japanese food fiesta with my boyfriend the other day when suddenly I realized that I has fallen for sushi. The first time I tried sushi, there was nothing special. I just thought "Well, I could handle this hip meal." It was all due to Sushi Tei that I started to admire this delicate Japanese cuisine. My favorite sushi is and has always been maki (sushi simply consists of only rice, nori or dried seaweed and filling). I really love the maki served in Sushi Tei. Although I enjoy fusion sushi, it's not really the kind of menu I usually order except if I'm going to share it with friends. I always thought that fusion sushi offers too much flavors and deliciousness which actually better served and enjoyed individually. Moreover, based on my experiences, not every sushi restaurant really serves a tasty fusion roll. It seems like most of them just mix everything to make the fusion sushi looks fascinating and sophisticated. Yet, when it comes to taste, I believe there are only several restaurants that really put some efforts to make their fusion sushi enjoyable both for the customers eyes and most importantly mouths. Such restaurants would be Sushi Tei, Sushi Groove and Takigawa. And I do enjoy the fusion roll served in Takigawa.

As I said earlier, I had a Japanese dinner at Takigawa restaurant with my boyfriend. This time, he ordered tempura udon, and I ordered wakame salad, hot and sexy roll, and okonomiyaki which I has always been eager to try. The tempura udon was served just like the way tempura udon served in most sushi restaurants, but the shrimp tempura is a real catch for the eyes because the size is huge, I believe they use king prawn. The gravy is tasty and it's a bit creamy because it is added with a half-cooked bitten white egg which at first looks like melted mozzarella. The udon is also cooked with wakame, kamaboko (processed seafood cut in round shape), mushroom and vegetable. And finally, at the bottom of the udon, a perfectly cooked yolk is ready to be enjoyed. The wakame salad is, as always, fresh. I love the sour dressing. The highlight of the night is actually the hot and sexy roll (crab stick, avocado, cucumber and green chili in mayonnaise rolled with tobiko sushi rice) and the okonomiyaki. The hot and sexy roll was just like its name. Well, I can't really describe what sexy tastes like, but the sushi was definitely hot. I am a big fan of hot and spicy food. So, the hot and spicy flavor contained in this roll just fits my tongue. The combination of the buttery avocado, sweet crab stick and hot chili mixes perfectly with the creamy mayonnaise and the tobiko rice. Well, I think this may define the name "hot and sexy" for the dish. As for the okonomiyaki, I have to say that it did not come as I expected it to be. It tasted just plain, and the dough contained too much flour. Although the seafood is rich, they all just tasted as plain as the whole dish. And what makes me disappointed even more is the fact that it costs pretty expensive, namely IDR55k, whereas the okonomiyaki served in Senju which tastes way much better costs me less money. However, for me, eating at Takigawa is never really disappointing.

thai & i

Couple of weeks ago, I met up with my girls! We met up on Friday night, after working-hours, which pretty much made us left with only few choices on the meeting point. And so we decided to meet in The Plaza Semanggi, which is the mid point of our offices. In my opinion, The Plaza Semanggi actually does not offer many good places for eating and hanging out, except for the Sky Dining. But, I notice there is one Thailand restaurant with pretty unique decoration, Thai & I. It was already almost 8 pm when we decided to eat there. The decoration of the restaurant is nice and unique, with slight Thailand nuance. For the dinner, we ordered tom yum soup, fried rice, beef salad and green curry which is served in a coconut! I bet expats will be tempted by this exotic way of food-serving. The food tasted good, especially the green curry because it did not taste as milky as it looks. The tom yum soup tasted good, but still I think the one served in Thai Express is better. As for the salad, the dressing is sourly fresh. And last but not least,  I did  enjoy the fried rice that I ordered because it was served with generous amount of vegetables. 

ramen

When boyfriend and I went out last Saturday night to Kelapa Gading, we are amazed by the abundant restaurants along Gading Boulevard. Since Kelapa Gading is not a place that we will often visit, we decided to eat in the most popular restaurant there. After riding around the Boulevard, we finally chose to eat in a ramen restaurant where several people lined up to get into. The restaurant, claiming that its outlet in Gading is the second outlet after its first one located in Japan, is called Hakata Ikkousha. The restaurant was packed with families and youngsters. We had to wait for around 15 minutes before we eventually get a table for two.

Unfortunately, the menus offered are not non-carnivore-friendly. I know that it is a ramen restaurant, but I didn't think that there will be literally nothing for me to eat. Their specialties are pork ramen and chicken ramen with the most favorite one is the pork ramen, and their side dishes contain chicken or pork such as chicken satay or chicken karaage. They do offer tuna steak though, but I was not in the mood for steak. Anyway, since boyfriend does not eat bacon, he ordered spicy chicken ramen. And boy, it was delicious! (in my very personal opinion, and I only tried a bit of its gravy). But boyfriend, who finished the dish with no hesitation, says that it is worth every rupiah, and it is even way better than Sanpachi's ramen. Now, we definitely understand why the queue is so long. Come on, give it a try, people!

surabi atau serabi

"What's in a name?" - Shakespeare

Si Pacar bilang nama yang benar adalah serabi. Sementara menurut saya, sesuai juga dengan nama tempat makan yang kami datangi, Soerabi Enhaii, nama yang benar adalah surabi. Tapi, sesuai dengan kutipan Shakespeare di atas, apalah arti sebuah nama kan? Tempat makan Soerabi Enhaii yang belum lama dibuka dan terletak di Jalan Margonda Raya ini selalu ramai. Begitu juga ketika saya dan Pacar mampir ke sana hari Sabtu sore minggu lalu. Karena belum makan siang, saya memesan fillet ikan asam manis, sementara Pacar memesan surabi cokelat keju spesial. Menu fillet ikan asam manisnya disajikan dengan capcay goreng dan seporsi nasi. Untuk ukuran tempat makan dengan spesialisasi surabi, fillet ikannya dan bumbu asam manisnya cukup enak. Sementara itu, porsi surabi yang disajikan cukup besar. Taburan cokelat dan kejunya juga sangat kaya. Karena menu yang kami pilih adalah surabi cokelat keju spesial, surabinya disajikan dengan saus manis (semacam selai tapi lebih cair) yang melimpah. Jika dilihat-lihat, sekilas sajian surabi ini mirip sekali dengan pancake. Saya bahkan sempat kaget ketika menggigit surabi dan menyadari bahwa yang saya makan adalah surabi dan bukan pancake. 

cute and currently popular cake

I don't really understand what makes this rainbow cake so popular right now. My best guess is that it is strongly related to the spreading "come-out-of-the-closet" movement in the United States as rainbow colors highly relate to gay. Well, doesn't matter. Anyway, I have some pictures of rainbow cake which I received couple of days ago.