Mr. Curry

It doesn't take a long time for Ismaya Group to launch their another new brand restaurant after the Kitchenette @ Plaza Indonesia.. This time they are introducing Mr. Curry (Japanese Curry & Sweet House), a franchise restaurant from Singapore..


The exterior is wise, very attractive with some plastic mock-ups of the different type of dishes were magnificently displayed with bright lighting to attract patrons over.. This reminded me of some restaurant like Pasta de Waraku and Waraku, which I think is still under the same company in Singapore, you can check it out in their site..


And the interior is also had an interesting concept, it designed like a country kitchen decorated with some kitchen utensils..


Dominated with wooden tables and chairs, the place was comfy, neat, and bright..


The menu is all about curry.. But surely not just an ordinary curry dish.. So what's makes this so special? Let's check it out.. Various fusion dishes they serve here.. Japanese curry with ramen, Japanese curry with spaghetti, even some various Indian naan served here..


For the starter, we tried Indian selection Tandoori Chicken Naan (48K), a freshly baked cheese flat bread/naan topped with sliced tandoori chicken.. The bread was soft, a bit fluffy, and chewy..


As a tofu and noodle lover, of course I choosed a fusion Chinese and Japanese dish Mapo Tofu Curry Ramen (58K), a ramen in spicy curry gravy with tofu cubes, minced beef, sliced tofu skin puff, half boiled egg, and be careful with that chili padi hehe..


The noodle might look like an instant noodle, but trust me it didn't taste like it though.. I love their skin tofu puff, nyumzz..


E got Chicken Mushroom Omelette Curry Rice (58K), steamed rice wrapped in an omelette of chicken and mushroom with original curry sauce served separately on the side and a bowl of salad.. For omelette curry rice dish, we can choose from among 4 kinds of curry; original, red sauce, black sauce, and white sauce with different sauce base and also the level of spiciness.. The original one is a recommended one and it was good, but we'll try another sauce next time..

Mr. Curry has wide variety of curry dishes and dessert to choose from, really left us spoilt for choice.. Browse their dessert selections, stick cakes and dorayaki ice cream both are so attractive and really tempting.. We would return again to try it and other curry dishes..


Mr. Curry
Grand Indonesia
West Mall, Level 3A
Jl. M.H. Thamrin No. 1
Central Jakarta

Radja Ketjil

Rambling around Pondok Indah Mall, we were looking something new for us for the dinner, and we stumbled upon this Radja Ketjil, they serve Peranakan cuisine/Nyonya cuisine..

The restaurant was packed when we arrived, the place was pretty small..


There are something antique items found to be used as decoration..


Started from appertizer, we ordered Lumpia Tauke (29.5K), it's a deep fried chicken and shrimp spring roll.. Try this, one bite and you wanna have more of it.. Another kicking factor is its sauce, with a hint of spiciness and sweetness, it added the extra taste..


Next, we had Tahu Hujin Tje Lie Rina (33.5K), a deep fried spinach tofu poured with minced chicken gravy .. The tofu was very good, it had a golden exterior both crisp and delicate with silky smooth centre..


And Chicken Ifumie (22K), a deep fried crispy noodle poured with mixed chicken and veggies gravy..


The crispy noodle was well-accompanied by the tasty chicken gravy and it really made you want to keep digging for more

Not only the unique restaurant name, the food name here is also quite quirky.. And for the taste, I must say the food here is nice and it's quite value for money.. Good to try..


Radja Ketjil
Pondok Indah Mall 2, 3rd floor Restaurant Row
Jl. Metro Pondok Indah
South Jakarta
Tel. (62 21) 75920468

Izzi Pizza

I love pizza.. I love pasta.. Basically I love Italian foods.. This Italian food chains restaurant has opened in Jakarta quite long, but this is my first visit it to try haha.. Izzi Pizza..


The menu here offers pizzas, pastas, and there is an extensive range of Asian foods such as; tom yum soup, fried rice, kway teow, and others .. A glimpse through the menu, we were impressed with their some choice of east meets west dishes..


The restaurant is beautifully decorated with a modern contemporary feel..


The bright colour and comfy seating make it easy to relax a while and enjoy the meals.. Seems like we were early for dinner, the place still empty..


The ambiance is simple accompanied with stylist opened kitchen..


For the appetizer, we ordered Izzi Dough Balls (18K), 6 pieces of small balls of dough served with a dollop of garlic butter.. The dough balls were soft and chewy when they're still warm, and it's getting harder when it cold..


We decided to go with something lite and healthy for the pasta, Fettuccine with Caysim Mushroom (48K), the fettuccine was nicely tossed with olive oil, garlic, fresh caysim, and mushroom.. It looks like a mess, but it tasted not bad tho and it's very good for you who want to keep your diet hehe..


As for the pizza, we opted the Obama Pizza - regular (66K) and this is what we called east meets west menu, it came up with the topping of chicken rendang, mozarella cheese, red capsicum, and sauteed onions on it.. Haha yup the name is picked up from Obama as in US President, because this Izzi Pizza located in Menteng area where President Obama spent his childhood..

I though the food was only alright, but if you a fan of thin crust pizza and love an Asian taste, you can try out this place..


Izzi Pizza
Jl. HOS. Cokroaminoto 122
Menteng
Central Jakarta
Tel. (62 21) 3147220

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

Kembang Goela

Back to Jakarta, so what we have here.. Hmm do you miss an Indonesian dish? Here it is, we have a fine Indonesian cuisine in Kembang Goela.. Actually the dish served here is not purely Indonesian, it's a fusion between Indonesian and Dutch cuisine..


Located in Sudirman area in Plaza Sentral, this restaurant is situated in the back of Plaza Sentral office building..


The restaurant is set up in a collaboration of minimalist colonial of Dutch style and old Java style with some old photographs hung on its wall and several antique wooden furniture set as a dining area components.. The place is very clean, bright, and has a pleasant ambiance to enjoy our meals..


The pianist to serenade the guest with some classical tunes the whole night long..


After we sat down, they served us with this deep fried spaghetti stick as a complimentary..


I found something unusual here with their Ice Tea (15K), it is just an ordinary ice tea but with a stick of fresh pineapple.. I don't know why the put a pineapple on it, but it's nice though.. hehe

Not long after the waiter took our order, our appetizer came up..


Wow looks unique yaa.. This is Sosis Om Yance - Uncle Yance's Sausage (75K), the one metre long boiled chicken sausage in a long wooden plate and served with mustard and tomato sauce.. It's quite a big appetizer for two people yaa hehe..


The sausages was cooked with some spices which you can taste it gently in every bite and it's juicy though.. Nice..


Next is Tahoe Telor Bledek - Bledek Tofu Omelette (27.5K), is an deep fried Indonesian tofu omelette with shredded cabbage, carrot, and bean sprouts served with sweet soy dressing.. It tasted wise, the omelette was nicely crispy on the outside yet still had a soft texture of tofu in the inside and the sweetness of the soy dressing really a good complement to the overall taste.. But I still have no idea why it called bledek hehe..


Mie Goreng Bang Doel - Doel's Fried Noodle (35K), is a Javanese-style fried egg noodle in sweet soy sauce served with shrimp crackers..


I loved they way they cooked this noodle, it was not too dry nor too wet with a simply sweet and savory taste.. This was pretty good, much better than I expected..

All in all, even though it was quite a pricey dinner, but definitely worth it due to the excellent service and great food using quality ingredients.. Worth a try for sure


Kembang Goela
Plaza Sentral
Jl. Jend. Sudirman Kav. 47-48
Central Jakarta
Tel. (62 21) 5205025

Shanghai Blue 1920

Searching for some local 'Baba-Nyonya' (Peranakan) Cuisine in Jakarta? Not only a local taste, Shanghai Blue which owned by Tugu Group also offer a fine cuisine combined with a cozy place..



I was struck by this ambiance, its unique and romantic accompanied with a Jazz music performance every weekend.. The interior is just stunning..


When I stepped into the restaurant, the ambiance was enhanced with the lightly dimmed lighting and the arrangements of the antique & unique furniture really made the exquisite 'Baba and Nyonya' style interior..


There is some old pictures hanged on the red contrast wall, which gave you a feel of nostalgic.. All antique arts here is the owner private collection..


The menu also wrote in old Indonesian spelling, and you'll be surprised with the unique dish names they've created it..


A unique pot of Hot Jasmine Tea (20K), this kind of pot really hard to find here yaa..

Hot Lemon Tea (22K)

Let's go with the foods..


For the appetizer, we ordered Kuotie Tiga Macam - Three Flavors Fried Dumplings (28K), deep fried dumplings with three variants filling; vegetables, chicken, and beef.. But we asked only for the chicken and beef.. It's tasty and delicate, nice starter..



Still with the appetizer, we got Tahu Tabur Teri - Tofu with Anchovies (29K), deep fried battered soft tofu topped with sauteed veggies and anchovies.. The tofu was really soft..


For the next course, we had Burung Dara Goreng - Fried Pigeons (58K).. I didn't taste it coz I don't like pigeons, but others said the pigeon was fried too dry for their liking..


Tjwiemei Tugu - (39K) is a Malangnese style of chicken noodle.. It's a homemade noodle with lettuce topped with minced chicken, fried wonton, and boiled egg.. Its quite similar to ordinary chicken noodle, but tjwiemie (cwie mie) style is drier.. Not bad..


And Tahu Telor Dowager - Dowager Egg Tofu (40K).. I didn't expect this dish came out like ordinary fried tofu, but guess what its turned out to be the best dish that nite.. Everyone loved it..

To sum up my experience I must say that the dinner at Shanghai Blue was just great.. The foods is excellent, the service is fine too, but surely the price here is on the high side.. But the most important thing is that we were happy with the ambiance here.. Definitely a good place to dine in for fine 'Baba-Nyonya' fusion cuisine.. Worth a try for sure!!


Shanghai Blue 1920
Jl. Kebon Sirih Raya No. 77-79
Central Jakarta
Tel. (62 21) 3918690/3920384
www.tuguhotels.com