Pancious

When I think about pancakes in Jakarta, my mind will immediately go to Pancious. As one of the pioneers of pancake restaurants here, it's hard to forget it. I have always been a fan of pancakes. It's cute, easy and simple to prepare, a good-to-go food that I can eat for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, basically anytime. My first "encounter" with pancakes was when I was in United States back then, when I tried my delightful meal in IHOP (International House of Pancakes), I knew I fell in love to it right away. Sadly, it wasn't so easy -or I should say, almost nothing- to find restaurants or cafes or anywhere that served pancakes here.

The first time I heard that they opened a pancake restaurant in Jakarta, I was ecstatic because the place was right around my house area, so it was all great. I tried dining in there a couple of times, loved the food, loved the place. However, that place (the first branch in Permata Hijau) has been closed down due to unknown reason but I'm still glad that they already have a lot of branches in many other malls. This time, I am writing about my experience with Pancious in Pacific Place.

Pop art theme dominates the interior design, very strong yet warm environment.

Red seems to be the color of their choice, it is brave and trendy. 

 

 Beef & Blue Cheese Pancakes - IDR 56.500++

First of all, they ran out of blue cheese that day. When we ordered this, we were informed right away, but we were okay with that. Just like usual, Pancious' pancakes are really thick but very soft when eaten. I just love their pancakes. When I had my first bite of this, I was amazed of how delicious it is. Like, seriously. The meat is just ground beef, but it's very soft and tender. The melted cheese on the top just complimented the whole taste. Definitely something that I will order again next time.

Coco Baileys Pancakes with Vanilla Ice Cream - IDR 45.000++

Who can resist baileys on pancakes? I definitely can't. As expected, this one came out really, really nice. The almond sprinkles just complimented the unique taste. Heavenly.

 Mocca Waffles with Cookies & Cream Ice Cream - IDR 41.500++

Beside pancakes, their waffles are also exceptional. It's just perfect. Mocca is one of my favorite flavors, and I think it never goes wrong with anything. The ice cream is special item so I had to pay extra IDR 5.000 for this, but it's all worth it.

Orange Suzette with Vanilla Ice Cream - IDR 38.500++

The presentation of this cake was  absolutely breath-taking. When I saw this served on my table, I didn't even want to eat that because I just didn't want to ruin it. The cake is already sweet, added with orange sauce and fresh orange slices, it was just absolutely delicious. 

Pancious Pancake House

Pacific Place Level 5 Unit 39
SCBD (Sudirman Central Business District)
Jalan Jendral Sudirman Kav. 52- 53
Jakarta Pusat

(021) 5797 3360

Opening Hours: Monday – Sunday: 10am – 10 pm

Read more...

Raja Baso Tahu SABOGA

For Indonesian, baso is one of the most favorite food that can be found quite easily. Baso or meatball is indeed a very popular local food, served from street vendors until upscale restaurants. This time, we tried one of the most growing baso places, Saboga. Apparently, it originates from Bandung, as the Saboga itself is the name of an area in Bandung, West Java. I heard about this since long time ago, always saw a chain whenever I walked around some malls but never really had the chance to visit. Based from what I read or heard about this place, mostly it got are nothing but positive comments or reviews.

So that day it was just around 11am when I walked by and decided to eat something there. Just like another fast food chain, we can pick the food that we want and it'll be ready in seconds. I had trouble choosing because I wanted to try each, but finally I settled with Saboga Komplit, which contains of baso bakwan, baso gepeng, fishball, chicken roll, mie gulung, and pangsit isi. It was nice, tasty, everything you might say, but come on, these are just as good as other baso we can get from street vendors. Pardon me, but paying this price for a bowl of these? Hell, no.

Saboga Komplit - IDR 28.000

 In another side, Mr. P saw this attractive promotion banner about Paket A'moi. It contains of baso gepeng, soun, siomay mie, and rice. For just IDR 11.000. I think it is a good deal. And the fact that they attempted to serve the rice in Saboga icon shape? That was cute.

Paket A'moi - IDR 11.000

 

Nestea Teh Tarik - IDR 9.000

 

Nestea Blackcurrant - IDR 8.000

Clean and spacious layout

Raja Baso Tahu SABOGA

The Plaza Semanggi Lt 3-A/20

Jl Jend Sudirman Kav 50 

Jakarta 12930

Phone: 021-97603322

Read more...

d' HOEK Roemah Kuliner

Last time when I was around Bintaro area, I stopped by a place that looks interesting. There was a factory outlet, a burger corner, and a decent eating place that resembles a food court. Without further ado, I decided to have my late dinner there. As the concept is more like a joint food court, there are a lot of options available, basically it's up to you to walk around and order from each merchant or just take a seat and let the waiters/waitresses do it for you. It was Sunday night around 8pm, there were not much people, in fact only 2 tables were occupied. We found out that not all the depots were open, so we took our seats and started browsing through the thick holder of menu.

Lovely interior design with a touch of European garden.

Warm colors and lighting live the mood up.

One thing that I noticed was the Elvis Presley's photos and posters all over the wall. It was nice but I think it's a bit out of the place. I mean, interior design is more into European thingy, but what is Elvis doing there? Maybe the owner of the place has some kind of passion towards him, who knows XD

  

Iced Tea (Pitcher) - IDR 10.000

Sop Konro (including steamed rice) - IDR 22.000

 Sop Konro is beef ribs soup originated from Makassar, Indonesia. The ribs was not too big, not meaty, and tasted a bit bland compared to the usual beef ribs I have.

 

Konro Bakar (including steamed rice) - IDR 24.000

This is also the same as above, just they put the ribs separately with the soup.

Coto Makassar - IDR 16.000

  A stew made from the mixture of nuts and spices with beef parts which include beef brain, tongue and intestine, usually known as coto, is another popular dish from Makassar. This tastes nice, without being too oily, I wish they put more beef inside, though.

Red Fried Rice - IDR 17.000

Served with the star-shaped telor ceplok,  this fried rice was cute and yummy at the same time.

Es Oyen - IDR 8.000

This is what I like from this kind of place, sometimes I can get very delicious stuffs with very cheap prices. This is not an exception. Love the generous amount of jackfruit, avocado and coconut slices, also the black glutinous rice (my favorite!) and the vanilla syrup just made things even better! Bless the person who created this wonderful piece of art :)

d' HOEK Roemah Kuliner

Jl. Taman Bintaro Barat F1/1 

Bintaro Jaya Sektor 1

Jakarta, Indonesia 12320

Read more...

Narah Coffee Shop & Restaurant

This time, we had the opportunity to try some Middle Eastern dishes, something that I quite enjoy but don't get to try so often. Personally, living in Indonesia, where majority of its people are Moslems, a lot of Middle Eastern influences can be found in local food here. However, to taste the real ones, I still think there is not much specialized restaurants that serve the authentic food. What I like about these restaurants is they usually also offer shisha, hookah, waterpipe, whatever you call it. These restaurants always give me the relaxing atmosphere, very laid-back, like I can totally forget my activities for a while, enjoying some light food and shisha-ing with my buddies.

Narah is located at the main street of Warung Buncit. The sign is not too big, sharing the same area with a small terrace cafe and car workshop, make sure you use your eyes properly or you'll miss it. It looks very ordinary from the outside, though.

Looks ordinary from the exterior

 But, wait until you enter that entrance door. The first area is what I think created for coffee shop concept. Comfortable-looking sofa chairs with coffee tables, which I believe would be awesome to enjoy a cup of Arabic tea or coffee, or maybe just some shisha. Heading inside, we entered the main dining area, where some tables are set up. Since we went there to grab some lunch, we picked one of the table.

 

Warm colorful interior brings you to another dimension.

The menu is just a simple laminated board with list of food and pictures. They don't offer much variety, but I guess it is enough. At least their menu covers mostly all the popular dishes that are probably familiar with local people.

 

Chicken Arabic Salad - IDR 20.000++

 What I can recall about this is the bunch of sliced cucumbers with cut grilled chicken breast, served with some kind of mayonnaise and some herbs. Very refreshing.

Arabic Shawarma (Chicken) - IDR 25.000++

Shawarma is Middle Eastern spiced meat sandwich. I always like these kind of breads, and the chicken was nice too. Served with special sauce (not hot/spicy) and some kind of mayonnaise, this would be perfect for a light snack on the evening.

Lamb Mandi - IDR 50.000++

Mandi refers to a set menu contains of basmati rice, meat and mixture of spices. Since I chose lamb, so I got lamb for the meat (duh!). The rice was really, really delicious. They put generous amount of raisins so it made the rice tasted sweet and salty at the same time. The lamb wasn't really meaty, but very tasty. I think they probably kept it marinated for quite a long time so the spices and seasonings really absorbed very well.

In the main dining area, just in the corner, they also have more "private" area for guests who need more privacy, maybe talking about business and enjoying shisha in the same time? I think it's very neat to see this kind of room.

 

The private room

 

 Arabic Tea (Regular) - IDR 13.000++

The Arabic tea is usually presented in a glass only, but if you order 'regular', it will come in some kind of kettle. The glass is actually very small, almost a size of shot glass. The tea also comes with a cup of liquid sugar. The tea tasted so original, I am not even a tea expert, but it tasted different from ordinary tea. Next time if I go there again, it would be a great idea to order this and share.

 

Ice Lemon Tea - IDR 8.000++

Lemon helped digesting the oil and a refreshing way to finish the lunch :)

Narah Coffee Shop & Restaurant

Jl. Warung Buncit Raya No. 207 

Kalibata Pancoran 

Jakarta Selatan

Ph. (021) 7919 6945 
Open at
Daily : 11am - 23pm, weekend : 11am- 24pm

Read more...

Medan Suki & Bakmilicious

Everytime I go to Pluit or Muara Karang area, I won't miss a chance to try the local dishes, mainly Chinese food all along the street. There are so many things to choose, but this time we aimed for some bihun bebek, a Chinese delicacy originated in Medan, North Sumatera.

Like many other stalls in Muara Karang, this place is no exception. A simple depot, yet it always seems to be people-jammed. I thought it would be wiser just to have some take-away rather than eating inside.

Bihun Bebek - IDR 27.000

It looked and smelled so good, thanks to the generous spring onion and fried garlic sprinkles. It also came with a soup, which tasted a bit bitter, most probably because it also contains some Chinese herb medicines. The bihun is different from usual fragile rice noodles, in fact, this one has bigger diameter and more chewy. The duck meat is so nice, very soft and tasty. 

Read more...

Cal-Roll Factory

Cal-Roll Factory, comes from California Roll Factory, is a franchise restaurant originated from Los Angeles, California. The name itself pretty much describes it well, as it serves large variety of sushi, 70++, more of less. It's hard to miss when you happen to walk by, thanks to its eye-catching yellowish interior theme. My first impression about the place would be "fancy". A combination of traditional Japanese wood theme mixed with modern funky American casual bar, creates a beautiful surrounding. I totally love the place, and I also think everything is so cute.

Cal-Roll Factory - welcome to the fancy sushi factory!

 

Funky colors and simple table set totally live up my mood instantly.

 

As I mentioned earlier, they serve many variety of sushi, so I had difficult time choosing from the menu. The menu book itself is presented quite nicely, with the descriptions about each sushi along with some pictures of the recommended ones. 

 

Inari Sushi - IDR 12.000++

There was nothing really special about it, but we love it.

Mr. P ordered Baked Hawaiian Volcano from House Special category, which he said he expected would be something like regular rolls. It turned out to be just like usual volcano menu from other sushi restaurants, just not as nice as the others. Presented in an opened wrap, the volcano was served fresh and hot. Personally, I think it tastes nice, but for that price, I'd prefer some regular rolls.

 Baked Hawaiian Volcano - IDR 49.000++

Chenzo - IDR 52.000++

It's one of the recommended menu, shredded crab, shrimp tempura, avocado and tempura crumbs, served with a special sauce. I couldn't really tell whether I ate any shrimp or crab, though. All I felt was just the crispy crumbs and strong flavor of sweet soy sauce, which was a bit weird. It wasn't that bad but the idea of "special sauce" intrigued me in the beginning, yet I was turned off since my first bite.

 

Fish of Fury - IDR 52.000++

A set menu of a fish (I forgot salmon or gindara), rice, pieces of croquettes, complimented with fresh vegetables salad. The fish was alright, not the best though, a bit overcooked, dry and hard. Rice was served with cut crab sticks and eggs on the top, still doesn't make it taste any better. Well, maybe we better stick with the sushi rolls.

Caterpillar - IDR 52.000++

Fresh-water eel, smelt egg and cucumber, topped with avocado slices and special sauce, it was good. I'd be happier if the eel slices were a bit thicker/bigger, though. Nonetheless, it was the highlight of the dinner that day.

 The cute condiments set

FOOD:
Decent food, some are probably too weird for my taste, otherwise standard.
PRICE:
A bit pricey, can find much better sushi with the same price.
SERVICE:
Fair.
AMBIENCE:
Love it, very young and fancy. Would come back just for a light meal or hanging out with family/friends. 

Cal-Roll Factory

Gandaria City Mall Lt. UG M-U11 

Kebayoran Lama

Jakarta Selatan

(021)-290-53-117

Read more...

Pondok Suryo

After my previous bebek goreng (fried duck) experience with Bebek Kaleyo last time, I decided to try yet another infamous fried duck restaurant around South Jakarta area. It was a cloudy Sunday noon, a good timing to have some spicy and hot fried duck accompanied with a plate of hot steamed white rice. Yum. So we set off and since it is close to my house, it didn't take long to reach that place.

It was during lunch time when we arrived, the place was almost full with guests, mostly families. The interior concept looks very simple, just like an average dining room in a usual house. There is an air-conditioner but I don't think they turned it on, so we could just rely on those ceiling fans. Not that it mattered, though.

Fried duck itself seems to be originated from East Java, Surabaya to be exact. When I visited Surabaya, it was my first experience trying fried duck and it was really, really delicious. As Pondok Suryo claims itself as a fried duck restaurant from Surabaya, I couldn’t help expecting a lot from it.

 

A big board shows the way, definitely won't be missed :)

Homey interior design makes you feel at home.

 

Menu is so simple it won't take long to decide. 

Nasi Cobek Komplit Bebek Dada - IDR 44.000+++

The complete package is a great deal, really. It comes with a very pulen steamed rice served together with the spicy sambal on a cobek (Indonesian traditional mortar). Beware though, the sambal is really hot. We also got the various side dishes like fried tofu, tempe (Indonesian fermented soybeans), and fried dried fishes. Other than that, a bowl of sayur asem (Indonesian tamarind dish) also complimented the whole package. Beside duck, there are also other options such as chicken, catfish, goldfish, bird, even eel.

Tahu Telor/Tek - IDR 25.000+++

As someone who had stayed in Surabaya for about 8 years, Mrs. B has always been trying to find a decent tahu telor/tek in Jakarta. According to her, until now she hasn't really found a good one that can be compared to what she usually had in Surabaya. This one was actually pretty nice, but I think the peanut sauce was dominated by the sweet soy sauce that it destroyed the essence of the peanut. However, it is still worth a try.

Bebek Bakar - IDR 25.000+++/pc

Steamed White Rice - IDR 10.000+++

Without the package, it was served like this, with some kind of yellowish spice paste on the top. It was a bit spicy but very tasty.

Soto Ayam - IDR 22.000+++

Ordered this out of curiosity, not something special and I'll skip next time.

 

Es Kelapa Jeruk - IDR 14.000+++

Sweet way to finish the meal!

Food: 6/10

Price: Average

Service: Fair

Ambience: Casual  

Pondok Suryo

Bebek Goreng Surabaya

Jl. Suryo No. 16 Senopati
Jakarta
Ph. +62(21) 739 3358

Read more...

BUREAU Gastro Pub

Sometime ago, Mrs. B invited me and Mr. P to join her trying a new place that seems promising. Apparently she had the voucher so we excitedly accepted the offer. First of all, Gastro Pub is actually a term that was started back then in London, England, where a place functions as restaurant and pub in the same time. Bureau is a French word for office. Judging from the name, I already expected something unique from this place.

BUREAU Gastro Pub

Located in one of most crowded office areas in Pondok Indah, it wasn't difficult to find the restaurant. 

The Menu

Not much selections but enough. They also have a separated menu book just for drinks.

 

Interior - dominated by black color

 

 

The place is quite spacious, my first impression was "unfinished" rather than "hip". Almost everything is painted with black colors, including the air-conditioners. The unpolished wood chairs made me feel like I was in some kind of warehouse. Personally, with this kind of chair, I wouldn't want to stay longer enjoying my drinks and hanging out with my friends. I would prefer something more comfortable, surely.

There are 2 floors, while the first floor is designed more as restaurant, the second floor is more private, looked more like a pub. Mr. P went upstairs to check it out, and he said mostly all the waiters/waitresses were hanging out there although no guest was seen, funny because I only saw 1 waitress on the first floor, serving 2-3 tables alone. Oh well. Anyway, the restaurant focuses more to European food, I think, judging from their menu, they serve mainly French and Italian food. I kinda like the handwriting on the glass window and the blackboard pasted on the wall, though.

A nice waitress took the voucher and said she would come back to take our orders. While we were waiting, Mrs. B noticed something on an empty chair beside me, it was a cockroache! Whoa, as someone who has phobia of it, I was so disgusted by the fact that a restaurant like this can't keep its sanitary and hygiene to this level. As if it wasn't enough, another moment, I caught a glimpse of another cockroache just under the table next to ours. Geez, way to impress your guests.

Not long after that, the waitress came back to our table giving us a hand-written note, which was apparently written by the cashier or (whoever that was), containing the options of the menu we could order. Before this, let me write again what was inside the voucher promotion. Mrs. B bought 2 types of vouchers, one is IDR 69.000 for 1 Main Course and 1 Pasta, and another one is IDR 105.000 for 2 Main Courses and 2 Desserts. However, they already included the certain items we could choose if we use the vouchers.

13 main courses stated in the promotion were:

- Boeuf Wagyu Panini
- Duck Leg Confit 

- Canapes Escargot
- Wagyu Wellington
- Short Ribs
- Fish and Chips
- Spring 1/2 Chicken
- Patty Burger Steak
- Parcl Wrapped Dory
- Beef Yakiniku with Rice
- Nachos
- Hotdog
- Tofu Asiatic

3 Pastas:

- Fettucini Carbonara
- Spaghetti Aglio Olio Pepperoncino Chicken
- Spaghetti Bolognese  

10 desserts:

- Pancake
- Uncle Ali
- Apple Strudel
- Baklava Cashew Nuts
- Baileys Irish Muse Pie
- Banana Split Macedonia
- Mascarpone French Toast
- Banana Chocolate Mix Pancake
- Melting Double Chocolate Cake
- Crepes with Caramelized Fruits

 

These were what we got

Only 8 of 13 options from main courses, 2 of 3 options of pastas, 4 of 10 options of desserts. Wow, I bet this restaurant still offers a lot of surprises, no? Nothing could describe what I felt that time, because I was seriously pissed. I asked the waitress politely whether there had been a mistake whatsoever, I even showed her the website of the promotion. She seemed confused, but didn't know what to do, just kept saying that it was supposed to be like that, because she just brought the note from the cashier inside. We asked to talk to the manager-in-charge, but she immediately said the person was on sick leave that day. We asked for another person, who might be the other staff replacing the manager on that day, but she was hesitant. We were not happy with this situation, but we had no choice so we ordered from selections written on the note. After we finished ordering, we were talking about how bad this restaurant is, even without trying their food yet. Then a man approached the table and asked what our problem was. We explained to him once again, and he asked what we wanted to order. So we chose from the selections from the promo website, and after that, he apologized for the inconvenience. I totally credited him for doing that, but how good it was if he came up earlier and we didn't have to complain to the confused waitress.

 

Iced Tea - IDR 28.000+++

The iced tea comes in a tall fancy glass that looks like a flower vase. Ridiculous price for an iced tea, especially because they offer no refill for this.

 

Beef Wagyu Panini

Supposedly a panini sandwich with juicy Wagyu beef steak, garlic mushroom and melted cheese, this was something that I expected would be magnificent. Boy, how I was wrong, it was terrible. The panini sandwich were dry, hard and bland. And where was the beef steak? Combined with cheap-looking french fries and not-so-fresh lettuce salad made this supposedly chic dish looked like a trash.

Short Ribs

Black Angus Short Ribs served with pomme frites (french fries) and honey juice, it was yummy. The short ribs were thin and a bit hard, but I liked the sauce. Maybe because of the honey sauce, it tasted sweet but much better than meat with maple syrup sauce.

 

Fettucini Carbonara

I can't say this one was special, but it was delicious. The pasta was perfectly cooked, not hard, not too soft, just perfect. Sauce was rich, without being too creamy or cheesy. 

Duck Leg Confit

Served with French Bean, sauteed potatoes and natural juice, the crispy duck leg was simply irresistible. The duck was crispy and tender inside, tasty until the bone.

Mascarpone French Toast

Who doesn't love French toast? One of the tastiest and easiest food to make, french toast has never failed to satisfy me. Same with this, it was delicious, and the vanilla ice cream and sweet sour strawberry were just the icings on the top! Love this.

 

Baileys Irish Muse Pie

As a fan of Baileys, of course it was on my top list. Only one word, HEAVEN. 

Honestly, it was a bitter sweet experience, really. The place was strategic, but I don't think it was that comfortable, not mentioning the dirtiness (cockroaches, for God sake!). Staffs were nice and friendly, but I'm sure there is still a lot to improve, probably more trainings would help. Oh yes, consistency. Seriously I want to see the manager's face, who was said to be the one who gave the order to the cashier/staffs to give the "cut" selections of the menu for voucher users. I wonder if he/she is also the person who took care of the deal they made with Groupon Disdus. If so, I want to know the reasons of the sudden cut of the selections. I mean, please play fair and be consistent with the deal you made.

In the end, I just think this place is a big turn-off. Eventhough I fancy some of their food (especially desserts), I don't think another visit would be worth it.

BUREAU Gastro Pub

Jl. Metro Pondok Indah

Rukan PI Plaza 2 Blok BA-27

Jakarta Selatan

021-7510412

Read more...