Tokio Joe

I had always wanted to try this place out but didn't have the chance as I had always dine somewhere else at the end of the day.. Located in Nikko Hotel, Tokio Joe serves a various of Japanese food..


Dominated by the wood, it has a modern Japanese style dining area..


I like the decoration here, they use lots of sake bottles on the rack as a decoration..

Let's into the food part..


We had a fusion sushi Handsome Joe (80K) for our entree, which consisted of tempura shrimp in the middle and the rice wrap topped with a generous crunchy tobiko.. It was fresh, delicious, and satisfying..


I am so into udon recently that I get craving for it now, I ordered a Beef Curry Udon (120K), thinly sliced beef simmered with potatoes and veggies in curry gravy poured over udon.. The sliced beef was so soft and generous.. The portion was too big for me, so I shared it with E..


The udon had a nice chewy texture.. It's such a hearty, comforting, and delicious hot meal in a bowl.. I just love this thick, flavoursome curry gravy..

And yup I know the price here is pricey, I would say quality comes with a price.. But, back at that time when we came here, we were lucky to get 50% off from RBS promotion, such a good deal yaa hehe.. Overall, Tokio Joe is a good place to dine for a fine Japanese cuisine..


Tokio Joe
Nikko Hotel
Lobby Mezzanine 2nd floor
Jl. M. H. Thamrin 59
Central Jakarta
Tel. (62 21) 3918993

Kiyadon Central Park - revisit

Well, this time our sushi craze was kicks in again while we were wandering around in Central Park, a newly opened mall in Jakarta.. The mall is really nice, different from other malls we ever visited in Jakarta.. The mall has a great outdoor park and also designed in a unique way. That nite we decide to had a dinner in Kiyadon.. Seems like we visit Kiyadon quite often yaa, we've tried in different branch in FX and Grand Indonesia.. But, this Central Park branch caught my attention for sure..

I really like this place, it was decorated differently from others usual Japanese restaurant..


The entrance.. Greeted by two big elephants hehe..


Checking out the decor of the restaurant, we were stunned by their interior concept.. The restaurant is sooo spacious, maybe it's the biggest Kiyadon branched in Jakarta with a very different concept from other branches.. The place was especially designed in natural style like a tropical forest to create a serene atmosphere to give the patrons a relaxing and enjoyable ambiance..


You also can choose to seat in gazebos.. Decorated with white drapes these gazebos offer a very peaceful spot for you to relax and had a great companion..


Being seated near to sushi bar is the most fun part here, we can directly choose varieties of sushi in the unique sushi conveyor..


Instead of using a machine sushi conveyor, they use a streaming water and little boats to carry a sushi on it..

Back to the food.. We're here for sushi..


To started with, we picked the small DIG Rolls (35K), kani/crab stick rolled in sushi rice and topped with torched salmon, floss, and tobiko.. It's fresh, delicious, and satisfying..


And this Chicken Katsu Sushi (25K). I didn't know the exact name of it, but it's a sushi rice topped with fried chicken kastu.. Simple yet tasty..


Next, Tuna Salad Inari Maki (45K), sushi rolls stuffed with tuna salad and covered with inari/sweet tofu skin.. Mmm the sweet of tofu skin and tasty tuna really melt into your mouth..


A Fried Spicy Salmon (25K), spicy salmon maki fried with tempura batter and drizzled with its special sauce.. I Like its crunchy batter..


Lastly, something special and recommended by the waitress there, Spider Cheese Roll (45K), huge sushi balls filled with soft shell crab, melted cheese, cucumber, and capsicum/paprika fried in tempura batter, drizzled with teriyaki sauce and mayonnaise.. Strawberry on sushi? soo nice.. Tasted soo cheesy, a good choice for cheese lover..

And we ended with this free compliment dessert, fresh fruits cut..

My brother said that they have opened their latest branch in Emporium Pluit, and I haven't check it out.. Is that latest branch's interior more sophisticated than this one? We should find out later hehe.. Well, we really had a good time here.. We enjoyed the food and also the ambiance.. Give it a chance, and you maybe surprised as I was..


Kiyadon
Central Park
UG Floor #120-125
Jl. Let. Jend. S. Parman Kav. 28
West Jakarta
Tel. (62 21) 56985268

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

Sushi Groove

Looking for something groovy? You can't be wrong to visit Sushi Groove.. Well, we have been to Sushi Groove several times, but we haven't taken a camera there before.. Surely, there are some classic Japanese dishes but there are also some groovy and unique dishes that you won't find in other Japanese restaurants..


The place is very stylish, modern & funky.. It's beautified with dimmed green lights and this greenish theme creates a restful and comfy environment while enjoying the meals.. We totally enjoyed the ambiance..

So, sushi for dinner?.. Yeahh.. Let's go get sushi!!


For the starter, we ordered Tokyo Crispy Mushroom Omelette (20K), a deep fried omelette filled with mushroom.. It's an omelette but crispy, unique and tasty.. Loved it..


This is TNT (25K), a spicy mayo dish filled with assorted seafood baked in a seashell.. I'm not fancy this dish, but E loved it very much.. He said it's creamy, light, and tasty, he cleaned both seashell very well.. hehe..


I love mushroom, so I'm tempted to try this Angry Mushroom Roll (25K), a sauteed mushroom rolled in togarashi.. Be careful with this one, this really spicy..


Krakatau Roll (29K), a deep fried sushi filled with gindara and asparagus drenched with their special mayo sauce.. Nice food appearance, it was stacked up to resemble a volcano with its lava sauce flowing down.. Nice look with a great taste..


I just fell in love with this Firecracker Roll (35K) straight away.. It's a deep fried roll stuffed with salmon marinated with their special sauce.. It's crunchy, tasty, and juicy inside..


Last but not least, the Flying Geisha (38K) also caught my taste bud's attention.. Not only its funky name, but the taste is also unique and groovy.. It's a deep fried inari stuffed wit spicy tuna and cream cheese..

Most of our sushi that nite was a fried sushi.. Yup, I like it coz it has a unique taste and crunchy bite hehe.. they really have the groove sushi which is unique in presentation and flavor.. Are you confuse in ordering the dish her? Don't worry.. They put a flayer recommending the top 10 selling dishes of the month on each table, it's very helpful though..

Sushi Groove is definitely a nice and relaxing place for enjoying fusion sushi.. Will always back to Sushi Groove again for sure when my sushi craze kicks in again..


Sushi Groove
Grand Indonesia - West Mall 3A Fl. ED 1 - #02
Jl. M.H. Thamrin No. 1
Central Jakarta
Tel. (62 21) 23580687

Another Branches;
Pondok Indah Mall 2
Mall Taman Anggrek
Setiabudi One
Citiwalk Sudirman
Mall Kelapa Gading 3

Ichiban Sushi

Thinking of what to eat in Mall Kelapa Gading (MKG) has always been a headache with the overwhelming choices of restaurants.. Wandered around in MKG and finally we find this new restaurant that we have not explored, Ichiban Sushi..


From their name, I assume that they are good in sushi dish.. They served not only a fusion sushi but there also some Japanese dishes.. The menu here is quite various and attractive, it takes some time for us to decide what to order..


The interior is modern with an open kitchen concept and dominated by red color, but it still has a Japanese style and you also can choose to seat in their tatami tables..


Here we go, we started with this fried sushi Cosmoplotitan (25K), a fried sushi filled with beef teriyaki and mozzarella cheese.. This is not a usual sushi I've eaten, but it turn out to be good.. It's crispy outside and the melted cheese goes well with the chewy rice..


And another one is Tiger Fire (32K), a sushi filled with prawn tempura and coated with tuna floss.. The prawn tempura was fresh and crisp, the rice roll was quite thick, and the fish floss was added the sweetish taste.. Such a pretty decent roll..


Not only the sushi we also tried Katsu Yakiudon (27K), fried udon served with deep fried chicken cutlet.. The fried udon was good and the chicken cutlet also crispy, but I think that the portion was on the small side..

Actually we also ordered the Chicken Teppanyaki (30K) but I forgot to take the picture, E finished it so fast haha.. The chicken teppanyaki tasted so so only..

I can say that their Japanese dishes was just ok, their sushi was great, they really creative in their fusion style sushi.. The sushi was various, fresh, and tasty.. And for the price, I think it's still a value for money dish (tax include already in the price).. I will return for their other sushi variations...


Ichiban Sushi
Mall Kelapa Gading II, 2nd floor #314
Jl. Boulevard Kelapa Gading Blok M
Sentra Kelapa Gading
North Jakarta
Tel. (62 21) 45842708

Gourmet Garage

When we were craving for sandwich, the one place we remembered is Gourmet Garage.. Their sandwich really suit to our liking, and they also have our fave quesadillas.. That nite we planned to have a dinner @ Gourmet Garage in Kemang area..


As the name goes, they are selling gourmet foods.. Gourmet Garage is a marketplace which offer a great selections of quality gourmet foods, they come with two restaurants with different food concept, Saba with international foods and Hiro with Japanese foods..



It's been so long since our last visit, and that time they were under renovation.. You can notice the renovation area behind the big screen.. Although the place became a bit smaller, but patrons can still feel homey when hanging out here..


We asked for non-smoking area, the ambiance is cozy and very casual..

Our main agenda here was to order our fave sandwich and quesadillas, but unfortunately because of their renovation, they must limit their food range temporarily.. So we were looking for the others menu that nite..


For an appetizer, we ordered their Japanese dish, Crispy Gindara Maki (80K), deep friend gindara rolled in sushi rice and topped with mayo and tobiko.. It's nice but nothing outstanding, and we thought its too pricey..


E ordered Fish & Chips (78K), deep fried fish with french fries underneath.. The fish meat was extremely tender and fresh, nicely crispy though.. And their fries are really awesome, the straight cut fries with the right amount of seasoning, crispy, and freshly fried on order..


And I ordered this Linguine Passion Lovers (55K) with an extra Grilled Chicken (17K), it's a linguine pasta with grilled chicken strips in pesto sauce.. It's good..

Even though we didn't get what we want that nite, but we still had a great dinner.. And yup we still crave for their sandwich and quesadillas, so after a few months later we went back to Gourmet Garage.. But this time we made a call first to make sure that their menu already back to normal..

Finally, they're done with the renovation.. The Ranch Market opened already in the first floor and surely their menu already back to normal..


And this is their new area.. Much bigger than before.. The place is wonderful mix of deli and easy casual dining..



The dining area has a very relaxed and clean look ambiance.. Tables are spaced out a distance away, so you can have your own privacy..


Here's the Tuna Melt Sandwich (60K), tuna salad and cheese stuffed within farmers bread.. I particularly like the way they blended the tuna so well, it won't be too fishy nor merely creamy.. The best part was that it is served with fries on the side.. Truly a mouth watering dish to eat..


Next, Chicken Quesadillas (65K), it's a grilled tortilla stuffed with shredded chicken, salsa, and melted cheese topped with salads and guacamole.. Yum! My mouth waters now just thinking about it! Even though its not an authentic Mexican quesadillas, but its suit our taste buds perfectly..

Overall, although it is quite a pricey dinner, but definitely worth it coz the great food using quality ingredients.. And we really satisfied, we got what we craved hehe..


Gourmet Garage (Gourmet World)
Jl. Kemang Raya No. 66
South Jakarta
Tel. (62 21) 7190875