Penang Place

I passed by this restaurant several times in Plaza Indonesia, and never had a chance to try it yet.. One nite, we decided to pay this restaurant a visit.. Surely like its name, Penang Place they're introducing a Penang Nyonya style cuisine..


The place is nicely decorated with somewhat modern and simplistic furniture..


The interior of the place exudes a soothing, classy, and modern ambiance, complete with dim lighting..


The menu is quite extensive with an excellent selections of Penang/Malaysia dishes.. They also try to expand their menu to some Indonesian foods..

First up was Tempe & Teri Orek (8.8K), a stir-fried tempe and anchovies with sambal belacan/spicy prawn paste and peanuts.. This is one of their Indonesian dishes, the sambal wasn't to spicy but it went well with the crunchy anchovies..


Next came the Fried Fish Lemon Sauce (29.8K), a deep fried fish fillet sauteed with lemon sauce.. It's nice, the fish was fresh and not fishy..


I was craved for something gravy, so I ordered a Kway Teow in Fish Gravy - Kway Teow Siram Ikan (20.8K), a stir-fried rice noodle topped with mixed fish and veggies gravy.. The gravy was yummy, generous with ingredients, and very flavourful..


Last but not least, E ordered Indian-style Fried Noodle (26.8K), haha looks nice yaa with fried wonton crackers on it.. It's a fried yellow egg noodle with beansprouts, tofu, potato, tomato, egg, and seafood. And the best part was their slightly pungent sambal/chili makes great condiment to the already tasty ensemble.. It's sour, spicy, sweet, and tangy come through in this dish.. The meal was satisfactory

The food was pretty good here, and the serves are decent for the price.. Nice to try tho..


Penang Place
Plaza Indonesia 3rd Fl. F-12
Jl. M.H. Thamrin Kav. 28-30
Central Jakarta
Tel. (62 21) 3107620/651

Kafe Victoria

Here just a quick review from our simple dinner @ Kafe Victoria in Plaza Senayan..


Located in the corner of the mall, the design of the cafe tries to replicate that of a bistro in Paris, I think they quite successfully recreated that ambiance and get us attracted to visit..


Like its name, the place has a Victorian style.. The deco style included a touch of Victorian wallpaper and sofa, is an atmosphere enhancer..




Decorated with some beautiful chandeliers make this place quite fancy and a bit quite romantic for a dinner..

About the food here is nothing different like others cafe, international dish is on menu.. We opted pasta for the dinner..


I loved tuna so I ordered Tuna Chili Spaghetti (51.5K), just an ordinary aglio olio spaghetti stirred with tuna chunks and cut chili padi served with two pieces garlic breads.. Tasted OK not too oily, but the pasta was a bit soggy for me.. And please be careful with the chili hehe..


And E was craved something creamy, he had Fettucinne Alfredo (49.5K).. I'm sorry for the awful picture, the light kinda ruined it.. It's a fettuccine tossed with parmesan cheese, smoked beef, and butter, it also came with garlic breads.. Classic but it's delicate, the cheese coated in every strand pasta, E liked it..

Well, if you're looking for nice place to relax while shopping in Plaza Senayan, you should probably think of checking out this place.. Kafe Victoria offers a decent foods with a comfy ambiance to enjoy..


Kafe Victoria
Plaza Senayan 1st Fl. No. 168C, 170C, 172C
Jl. Asia Afrika No. 8
South Jakarta
Tel. (62 21) 5725108

Bebek Bengil

This time I would be introducing the Balinese-style local foods.. We decided to try Bebek Bengil restaurant which is very famous in Bali.. Yup, almost everyone who has been to Bali knew this restaurant, and now they are here in Jakarta situated in The Ubud building in Menteng area..


It's a semi open air dining area with several gazebos in outdoor dining area, nice and really enjoyable..


The place is spacious decorated with wooden furnitures to bring up the Balinese ambiance and I think they have successfully recreated that feeling.. It's a very much welcoming atmosphere here..

This was the first time we had a Balinese food, we didn't have any idea what to order.. The menu is quite various, you also can find some Western influenced dishes here like sandwiches, pastas, and more, but that's not what we looking for..


We started with Sate Lilit Palette (53K), fish, chicken, and beef minced meat on skewers with a strong hint of lemongrass and spices.. Delicious with a taste of smokiness that was delightfully pleasing to the palate.. I did feel that the portion was on the small side, making the price of this dish seem high in comparison, but it tasted good though..



E ordered off their regular menu Nasi Campur Bali - Balinese Mixed Rice (35K), he thought it's the most complete Balinese meal, has every Balinese dishes on it.. Yes he right, it's a steamed white rice with an assortment of Balinese dishes such as slices of marinated shredded chicken, half an egg with chili, fish sate lilit, fried shrimps, peanuts, and shrimp crackers.. Such a filling meal, all dishes tasted great and goes well with steamed rice..


And I ordered Gado-Gado (31K), a mixed vegetables, tofu, and potato with peanut sauce dressing.. The serving was quite a let-down, the peanut sauce is a bit diluted and not tasty enough to my liking.. And I think carrots on gado-gado is a bit weird.. Maybe this is a Balinese style gado-gado, but i still prefer the usual or Betawi style gado-gado hehe..


And this is that you shouldn't miss it, their signature chili Sambal Matah (left) which is the traditional sambal/chili from Bali and made with finely chopped raw shallots, cut chili padi and lemongrass it's really good to eat with all Balinese dishes.. It was fresh and has a spicy bite..

I'm not a fan of duck, so I didn't order their signature dishes which is Bebek Bengil.. But I'm sure this dishes is all customers favorite, since I saw almost every table ordered this bebek bengil.. Bebek bengil is a duck marinated in their special authentic spices and deep fried to crispy perfection.. This is a must order dish here..

Although we didn't try the bebek bengil, but we had a decent experience with Balinese cuisine here.. Definitely a good place where you can taste the authenticity of Balinese cuisine..


Bebek Bengil
The Ubud Building
Jl. H. Agus Salim No. 132
Menteng, Central Jakarta
Tel. (62 21) 3918016/3918091

Takigawa Resto

Wandering around Panglima Polim area we found this Japanese restaurant on the corner of the street, Takigawa.. Yup, it is the same Takigawa that you can find in some malls.. But I had always wanted to try this Takigawa in Panglima Polim (their 1st branch), coz from the outside their place looks quite unique and attractive for me (sorry I forgot to take the picture)..


Checking out the decor here, they set up the place in minimalist modern style.. The first floor is not spacious enough, but they had three floors here..


They have small sushi bar where you can see the chef prepared it..

The food here is a fusion Japanese cuisine.. Let's give it a try..


Upon the ordering we're served with this compliment, Mashed Potato Salad.. It's quite appetizing for the starter..


We ordered a small portion of Crunch Crunch Roll (39K), sushi rolls stuffed with fried crunch tempura and cucumber topped with grilled unagi/eel.. Like its name "crunch crunch", the crunchy was great, it's so crunchy that you can hear the crackly bite..


I love the fusion sushi combined with a floss, it's a fabulous combination like this Fufu Fafa Rolls (47K), kani sushi roll topped with grilled salmon, floss and tobiko.. We also ordered the small portion, it's simple and that's a generous floss on it.. I loved it.. I think the sushi name here is quite funny yaa..


For those who like spicy as I much as I do, you can have a try at this Tan-Tan Men (55K), Japanese noodle/ramen with sliced chicken and veggies in spicy broth..


The broth was rich and divine, and the ramen was cooked to perfection.. Another kicking factor is the sesame oil, it just added the extra fragrance to the piping hot soup..


Finish? Not yet, we still had this Chicken Okonomiyaki (49K), a savoury Japanese style pancake that is made with a batter, shredded cabbage, other grated veggies, and minced chicken on it.. It's served with a generous dollop of okonomiyaki sauce, bonito flakes, seaweed, and mayonnaise is drizzled above.. Yummyy..


For the dessert, they give us this fruits and vanilla ice cream as a compliment.. How nice yaa, they served the customer with two compliments..

If you are a Japanese food lover, I think Takigawa is worth to try.. The food is good, the price is still affordable, the place and the service is also pleased..


Takigawa Resto
Jl. Panglima Polim X No. 10
Melawai - Kebayoran Baru
South Jakarta
Tel. (62 21) 7265010

Cork&Screw

Looking for a place where you can enjoy the view of the heart of Jakarta city? Cork&Screw will be a great choice, situated in the Plaza Indonesia facing the Bundaran HI.. Actually we've been to this place several times, but I haven't posted it on my blog yet..


The view that you can enjoy it..


The place is not really spacious, they had the elongated dining room.. It is always crowd especially in the weekend, so I suggest you to make a reservation first..


It's a simple and minimalist decor with some wine racks as a partition..


Their refreshing Lychee Ice Tea (30K), tasted just right not too sweet tho..

The food here is quite various, they had International and Asian selections..


E opted the Asian selection, Special Fried Rice (45K), a seafood fried rice laced with vegetables and topped with shrimp cracker.. Simple but it delicious with its moist, flavorful,well seasoned, and good sized portion..


And I ordered Spaghetti Tuna (60K), spaghetti with tuna chunks cooked in aglio olio style and sprinkled with fresh parsley.. It's so yummy, it had a generous tuna chunks and the pasta was cooked in a perfect texture.. For those who like tuna, this is your definitely choice..


We also tried their Phad Thai (40K) from our previous visit.. It's a Thai style stir-fried rice noodle with seafood, but for the rice noodle seems like they used usual kway teow.. But the taste hit a perfect balance between sweet and sour, the shrimp were fresh and tasty..


And last but not least here is their signature dessert and we never miss it every time we visit, a 3 Flavor Chocolate Melted Cake (35K).. It's a three flavors (dark, milk, and white) warm melted cake.. It's warm with a molten custard lava melted in our mouths, hmm such a scrumptious dessert..

Great place, good food, and nice view.. So what else? Surely you need a wine to complete your lovely dinner.. And this is it guys, the place where you can enjoy all of it.. With a great spot, Cork&Screw is really a good place to escape from the busy traffic of life and enjoying a quite dinner with friends and loved one.. And for the price for me its worth it given the quality of food and the nice ambiance they offered.. We enjoyed the dinner and the view very well here..


Cork&Screw
Plaza Indonesia 1st Fl. Unit 127A-D
Jl. M.H. Thamrin Kav. 28-30
Central Jakarta
Tel. (62 21) 31996659

Jade Imperial Sichuan

I've posted Italian, Japanese, Indonesian, and Thai cuisine lately.. Do you guys miss a Chinese food now? Here it is, I found a recently opened a Chinese restaurant.. Jade Imperial Sichuan which serves one type of authentic Chinese cuisine that most of people branded it as one of the spiciest Chinese food around, Sichuan style food..


Yup, Sichuan cuisine is well-known for pungency and spiciness flavor.. See they decorate the whole wall with chili picture..


The dining area is just like an ordinary Chinese restaurant and quite spacious.. Do you need a more private area for your own occasion, easy they also have some private dining rooms..


Boiled peanut.. Is it a compliment? No, it's not free.. I checked the bill it costs 5K..


We can ordered the dim sum here for lunch and dinner.. We tried Xiao Long Bao (18K), a porky filled steamed xiao long bao.. It's just OK..


I almost always order a tofu dish when I eat Chinese food, coz I think it's one of the most versatile dishes to prepare.. So this time I ordered a Mapo Beancurd with Beef (38K), stir-fried tofu and minced beef cooked in Sichuan spicy bean paste..


E ordered this Sichuan Tan Tan Noodle (32K), a bowl of noodle in the rich and spicy stock which enhanced by the fragrance of sesame..


Hearty, robust, with really good noodle.. The noodle texture is smooth and this is a must-try especially for those who love spicy food..


Fancy something soupy and not spicy? I opted this Braised Noodle Soup with Chicken (35K).. This may look simple, but the broth was really comforting.. The noodle is different from what E had, this noodle is cut into short strands..

Apparently we are not fond of Sichuan style food very well, but overall the food here is OK.. If you are ever wandering in Plaza Indonesia and you adore a spicy Sichuan cuisine, you can give this place a shot..


Jade Imperial Sichuan
Plaza Indonesia Extension
3rd Floor, Unit E03A-E
Jl. M.H. Thamrin Kav. 28-30
Central Jakarta
Tel. (62 21) 29923515

Rempah Rempah

We went to this place called Rempah Rempah in Plaza Senayan.. Well, from its name maybe you can guess what cuisine they served.. Yup, they serve a local Indonesian foods..


The place is decorated with some ornaments made of several spices.. Creative yaa..


Entering the dining area, you will find the decor that is subtle.. It's simple but quite elegant too..


This is a very cozy and cooling place to have business talk, discussion, or chit-chatting.. I love the sofas hidden inside, that seems really comfy..


For the starters, we had the Fried Spring Roll (23K), it filled with minced chicken, mushroom, shredded carrot, and vermicelli.. Dipped into their sweet chili, Mmm it's crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside, but it's a bit oily thou..


Next, I had Mie Kangkung - Water Spinach Noodle Soup (35K), yellow egg noodle stewed with water spinach, bean sprout, sheered chicken in sweet tasty broth.. The broth was full of spices, it had a kind of sweetish, tangy (from the lime juice), and spicy.. Tasted so flavourful..


The noodle was not too soggy and not too hard, it's cooked very well..


And Betawi Laksa (33K) for E, a vermicelli with shredded chicken in a thick yellowish coconut milk based soup.. It tasted just right and also fragrant..

The food is wise, nothing to shout about.. The price is a little on the high side, coz I think we're paying part of it for the ambiance too hehe.. But still nice to try..


Rempah Rempah
Plaza Senayan, level P4
Jl. Asia Afrika No. 8
South Jakarta
Tel. (62 21) 5725813/31