De'Excelso

This is not something new, and I guess all of you familiar with Excelso Cafe or De' Excelso, since they have many branches spread all over malls in Jakarta.. As their name is familiar with a coffee brand, so I think this is only a coffee shop.. Well I was wrong about it, it is not just an ordinary coffee shop..

The first time I visited De' Excelso is in Plaza Indonesia with my fam, we were here just for the drinks and had some snacks..


I had this refreshing Summer Splash (37.5K), blueberry juice with blueberry sorbet.. It's perfectly cold and refreshing..


My bro love something creamy and milky, he ordered Floating Island (37.5K).. This is their signature drink, an avocado juice blended with coffee served with vanilla ice cream and chocolate shavings.. You can ask whether to put coffee or not to blend with it.. Mmm soo nice..


As for the snack, we opted Banana Wrap Cheese & Chocolate (25K), sweet crunchy fried banana topped with a lot of cheese, chocolate and condensed sweet milk..


The next visit, I was back with E.. We went to De' Excelso in Senayan City to had a dinner this time..


The place here is bigger than in Plaza Indonesia, with a separation smoking area behind the glass, nice..


Dominated with dark furniture and open kitchen concept..


E tried D'Amour (57.5K) for the drink, as I remembered it's a blend of coffee and vanilla ice cream topped with whipped cream.. I don't know what makes this drink so expensive, it tasted just OK..


We had the De' Excelso Nachos (42.5K), tortilla chips covered with melted cheese, beef chili sauce, and Mexican jalapenos chili to kickstart our appetite..


I choosed Triple Decker Sandwich (50K), three layer whole wheat breads with quite a lot of smoked beef, grilled chicken, egg, veggies, and french fries on the side.. It's nice that we can choose our bread preference, it's really a filling meal..


E ordered Lemon Butter Dory (50K), pan fried dory fish served with fettuccine drizzled with lemon butter sauce.. It's tasted nice and not fishy at all, but the portion was a bit small for E..


We really had a complete dinner that nite, we finished off with Crispy Cassava with Chocolate Ice Cream (31K), fried cassava spring roll covered with cheese, chocolate, and sweet milk.. I swear I am not exaggerating here, but it was lip-smackingly good! I certainly had not expected it to be that good..

We're really really full, can't finished it all.. Overall we're satisfied enough, the foods meet our expectation and for the price is still a value for money dish.. And fortunately we got 50% disc from Standard Chatered Bank promotion, good deal yaa :).. I've been to this place for couple of times and I don't mind going back again sometimes


De' Excelso
Plaza Indonesia
Basement #61 A
Jl. M.H. Thamrin Kav. 28-30
Central Jakarta
Tel. (62 21) 31927059

Senayan City
Lower Ground Floor #L-20
Jl. Asia Afrika Lot. 19
South Jakarta
Tel. (62 21) 72781187

Foood Kulture

It is not a restaurant and it is not a typical food courts that we used to find in malls.. So what is it? Foood Kulture is a boutique food court concept that have mushroomed all over Jakarta lately, they offering a nice and comfy atmosphere with various dishes to choose..

This boutique food court was set up not only for the patrons to enjoy the meal, but they also arranged a comfy place to hang out.. That's the reason why they designed the place so special..


The place is spacious with an industrial design and dominated by the woody colors and furniture.. So nice..


This is their dining area near the main entrance, but there is also a the lounge and bar area completed with cozy sofa in the back which is an ideal spot to get cozy and lay down...

Back to the food, this place has so many to offer, raging from local Indonesian and Asian to American dishes.. You'll be spoilt for the choices..

Ice Tea Tarik (14K)

So, what we had here.. We're in the mood for Asian cuisine, I ordered Curry Ramen (45K) from Ramen Sanpachi 38.. Yup this is the same Ramen Sanpachi like I used to eat in Pacific Place.. The ramen came in very thick gravy beef curry broth and I asked for level 2 of spiciness..


The whole bowl of noodles was so aromatic rich, so nice and really spicy..


E ordered Javanese Fried Noodle (28K) from Bakmi Aliong stall which serves many kinds of noodles.. It's a wok-tossed noodle with veggies, chicken, and topped with hard boiled egg.. It's spicy with a tint of sweetness..


The noodle texture is like lamian, so it is not an authentic Javanese noodle..


And for the dessert, we had Salted Egg Custard Bun (17.8K) from MayStar, it's a steamed bun filled with sweet egg custard.. A salted egg for a dessert? Trust me at the first I also doubted about its taste, but surprisingly it tasted delicate, sweet, soft, and tasty, it didn't smell like an egg at all..


Look at the filling, it was delicious! You have to eat it warm and be careful of how you bite it, one bite and the hot custard just oozed out.. Yummy..

Foood Kulture is the rite place when you are still don't know what your mood for food and when you come in you will be spoilt for choice that can arouse your appetite.. And for the price is on a high side if you compare with other ordinary food courts.. I can't complaint much about it, as we know the ambiance plays the important part..


Foood Kulture
Plaza Indonesia Extension 5th Floor
Jl. M.H. Thamrin Kav. 28-30
Central Jakarta

Kampus

The dinner was happen to celebrate our Valentine's day this year.. Yaa I know, I'm so late.. E brought me out for Valentine's dinner a week after the actual date, as you know that V-day and CNY fell on the same day this year.. And we celebrated the CNY first with fam on that day..

E set up our Valentine dinner @ Kampus in Menara Imperium.. He knew that I had always wanted to go to this Menara Imperium which is the only one revolving building in Jakarta.. So thanks to E, for this lovely dinner..


Checking out the decor of the place, we were stunned by the amount of care that went into the space and interior design.. It looks elegant..


The restaurant is modest and cozy with a dim lighting, it's giving a warm ambiance.. The seats are arranged to enable patrons to enjoy a panoramic view without leaving their seats.. I love this casual and comfy setting..


Not only the nice ambiance that we enjoyed here, but also this splendid view which accompany our lovely dinner..

As for the food, they serve international dishes even you also can find an Indonesian food here..


Upon the ordering we were served with their fresh baked buns with three kinds of dip.. Never judge the book by it's cover.. The buns might look plain but it's quite soft ad still warm too..


For the drink, E opted Strawberry Mermaid (35K), strawberry milkshake topped with whipped cream.. Sweet and refreshing..


We started off with Roasted Potato with Herbs (35), the potato was perfectly roasted and simply seasoned with fresh rosemary, salt, and some pepper.. The potato cubes was nice, it's crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside and have the slightest hint of rosemary..


I ordered Spaghetti Aglio Olio (75K), a stir-fried spaghetti with olive oil.. I found this aglio olio pasta a bit different than I used to eat, they put a mozzarella cheese on it.. Yes, it's tasty but I still prefer the usual style of aglio olio..


E had this Pan Seared Dory (65K), a pan fried sliced dory, potatoes, and zucchinis in butter lemon sauce.. It's simple yet such a delicious fish, the fish was fresh and tastefully cooked and the sauce was a good paired with the wonderful natural flavours of the fish..

I did feel that the portions here were on the small side, it is quite a pricey dinner.. We can't complaint much since we realized we're paying part of it for the ambiance and splendid view.. But overall, we had a wonderful dinner in Kampus..


Kampus
Menara Imperium 35th Floor
Jl. Rasuna Said Kav. 1, Kuningan
Central Jakarta
Tel. (62 21) 83786008

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

Loewy - revisit

We've been to Loewy before for a dinner, but we never try their brunch.. Yup.. It was a lovely brunch @ Loewy.. We are not always have a time for brunch, but we really enjoy the brunch menu sometime..


The interior of the bistro with its high ceiling and beautiful white brick walls was designed to bring a New York style bistro atmosphere.. Such a nice ambiance to enjoy your meals..


We promptly seated at this gorgeous little terrace by overlooking the building's front yard..


It was really refreshing to start your day with a glass of fresh juice.. This was a Guava Juice (20K), this is the real 100% juice made from guava..


I was prefer something sweets for my brunch, so this Pancake (65K) would be a great choice, I choosed blueberry pancakes which came with maple syrup, sausage and fresh fruits.. There are three choices of pancakes that you can choose; plain, blueberry, or dark chocolate chips.. Not only that, you also can choose either sausage or bacon.. It was simple and such an enjoyable meal..


And E opted a complete 2 Eggs Any Style Breakfast Menu (40K), 2 scrambled organic eggs comes with sausage, hash brown, and whole wheat toast.. Yup, you can choose any style of egg you like; fried sunny side up, hard boiled or soft, scrambled or poached.. And do you like sausage or beef bacon? It's all your choice.. The dish was fulfilling, E said the sausage was great and he enjoyed the rest as well..

Maybe some people would say that the price here is pricey, but we would say, quality comes with a price rite? hehe..I definitely recommend the brunch lovers to check out this place..


LOEWY
Shopping Arcade @ Oakwood
Premier Cozmo Ground Floor North
Jl. Lingkar Mega Kuningan
South Jakarta
Tel. (62 21) 25542378

Hacienda

Yeayy something new here.. This is the first time we try an authentic Mexican cuisine in Jakarta, because it's quite rare to find a Mexican restaurant here..


Hacienda is the most authentic Mexican restaurant I found in Jakarta, located in Plaza Senayan Arcadia..


The ambiance here is really outstanding.. It was dimly lit and the layout was nice.. Once you step into this restaurant, you can really feel the warm Mexican ambiance..


The bar is a good place to enjoy your fave Mexican drink and to wait while waiting for your table..


And small lounge area right in front the bar.. Its decorated with some Mexican paintings hanging on the wall..


Move to their dining area.. The decoration is simple yet elegant, surrounded by glasses all over the dining area with wooden dining tables, comfortable sofas, and romantic dimmed lightnings really make the place suitable for just hanging out with friends or romantic couple dinners too..

Back to the food, so what we had here..


This was a one nice compliment, a big basket of Tortilla Chips that were accompanied by salsa dip to kick start our taste buds.. How can you eat in a Mexican restaurant without trying their salsa rite?


A non-alcoholic Shirley Temple (25K) for the drink.. It's a mix of lemon-lime, soda, grenadine with a touch of touch of cherry.. Tasted sweet and refreshing..


E had a Beef Burritos (79K), it's a huge burrito filled with lots of beef, cheese, rice, bean and salsa, then covered with tomato sauce and melted cheese.. The filling was well seasoned, the rice was subtly flavored, while the salsa and bean was just right.. I must say that this burrito was quite fulfilling dish, packed with flavor and delicious.. The filling was well seasoned..


I went with a much more simpler dish, a Chicken Quesadillas (59K), a grilled flour tortilla filled it up with cheese and grilled chicken breast served with trio of dips, salsa, guacamole, and sour cream.. It grilled until the cheese has melt and glued the tortilla together in a supremely rich taste.. I love the tortilla's texture and the chicken meat was tender and tasty, it's very nice..

I think Hacienda has made us impress, they are success in serving a good authentic Mexican foods with a great taste and a high quality ingredients..We were very satisfied with the foods, services, and of course the ambiance here.. It's not a usual ambiance you can get in every restaurant in Jakarta.. Really a nice place to visit..


Hacienda Mexican Bar and Grill
Plaza Senayan Arcadia Unit X-105
Jl. New Delhi No. 9 Pintu I Senayan
South Jakarta
Tel. (62 21) 57901444