Congratulations for Doré by LeTao 4th store in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Located on PIK Avenue, the biggest mal in Pantai Indah Kapuk, North Jakarta, I believe it’s smaller than their Plaza Indonesia’s store. At the opening event when I attended, there were no seats like the one in Plaza Indonesia. So I guess, this store is just for take-away only.
FYI, Doré is a subsidiary brand of LeTAO, one of the best-selling cheesecake brands in the world. Founded in 1996 and based in Hokkaido, Japan, LeTAO is celebrated around the globe for their delicate and velvety cheesecakes. To produce such, they work meticulously with Japanese pastry chefs which use specific oven imported from Japan.
In the PIK Avenue store, they showcase their finest ingredients.
Yes, lots of cheese! But for those who are more adventurous, there are more exciting flavors such as, strawberry, coffee and chocolate.
Since it’s almost Christmas, there are pretty gift boxes and hampers to choose here.
And…if you’re not a cake person, no worries, there are lots of cookies to choose too. Like this Golden Honey Palmier.
These days, you don’t even have to come to the store to purchase them. Go to their website here, order via Whatsapp and they’ll deliver to your doorstep.
Went to this fancy Italian-American steakhouse
and martini bar by the Union Group. I was surprised when I entered BISTECCA for the
first time. Actually, it wasn’t as spacious as I thought it’d be. But, it
turned out to feel homey with very dim light.
For appetizer, I tried BISTECCA CAESAR SALAD.
It was fun to see the server scraped the 24-months old Parmigiano Reggiano
Cheese. Served with Crispy Anchovies and Garlic Croutons, I love how the cheese
sort of melted in my mouth. Very tasty salad.
Another appetizer: JUMBO SHRIMP COCKTAIL.
Literally, three jumbo shrimps served with their homemade cocktail sauce, lemon
and super crispy iceberg lettuce. Recommended.
Off to their pasta. GOOSE LIVER RAVIOLI. With a
mix of Parmigiano cream sauce and white truffle oil, these are kind of salty
but definitely tasty.
Main: BURGER IL PRIMO. Properly marinated
ground beef with layers of tomatoes, truffle and eggs. Served with French
Fries, it’s definitely an alternative if you don’t feel like eating steaks.
Being a sweet tooth that I am, I wouldn’t skip
their mouth-watering desserts. Just check out their instagramable BAKED ALASKA.
It’s literally on fire as the server fired the rum and poured them around,
giving those baked aroma and color to the meringue coating. The sweet taste
from three layers of ice cream (chocolate, vanilla and strawberry) with
chocolate cake on the very bottom, are balanced with almost bitter baked meringue A must try!
Another must try dessert: ESKIMO BAR with
Butterscotch Sauce. Vanilla ice cream coated with thin chocolate, with sprinkles of crispy butterscotch. Yummy!
Me and Aziz from the Union Group. Thanks for
having me, Bistecca.
Yes, it’s already December, my favorite month ever.
Time to spread some joy and gifts, people. While personalized gift is nice, cake and cookies are a showstopping for everyone.
Browse here for festive cakes & cookies from Huize Van Wely, specially shaped & decorated into holiday essentials for Christmas. Warning: all of them are so instagramable!
Christmas won’t be complete without Santa Claus. This made with marzipan & chocolate, kids will love it.
Chef Alexis Gudimard from Huize Van Wely explained to me that it only took him 15 minutes to decorate the most difficult cake.
Christmas Angel Cake
Choices…choices…. If you want to try them on spot, opt for smaller pastries.
Exclusively available at Huize Van Wely for Christmas, you can get this at The Papilion, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Last week I had a very short trip to Yogyakarta with my colleagues at work. It was fun, considering the last time I went to Yogyakarta was about 10 years ago. It wasn’t even Yogyakarta, I went to Magelang for Thierry Mugler’s event, back then in my editors’ days.
I had no expectations at all, so I might say..I was quite surprised with this super short trip. Me and my colleagues decided to do culinary stuff and just chill with no ambitious itinerary. We stayed at Greenhost Boutique Hotel, a small hotel with a seriously instagramable lobby. Even when we arrived at night, it looks cool. This is an eco-friendly hotel, so expect no hand towels, and no hair dryer. If you tried to dry your hair with your own hair dryer, the electricity in your room will go down. And never mind the air conditioner, it wasn’t a cold chilly room. Expect: ‘room temperature’ temperature.
But, at least the room is clean, and the pillows are not smelly.
Since the breakfast is so-so at the hotel, we decided to try ViaVia. Within walking distance from the hotel, it was a small local bakery with decent brunch.
I’ve had better brunch, but I love the ambience in this bakery.
For lunch, we went to Gudeg Sagan. ‘Wet type’ gudeg which I love so much, with gravy and no msg. And their Beras Kencur is ‘da bomb’. These meals reminded me of my childhood, eating gudeg with my mom in Pasar Cikini, Jakarta.
While in Yogyakarta, we didn’t want to miss visiting Lulu Lutfi Labibi’s workshop in Kampung Pekaten. Even though we got lost on our first attempt, it was literally a beautiful kind of lost, as we went through this beautiful village with vintage houses.
Lulu is famous for his drapping lurik’s creation, so it was truly a sight for sore eyes visiting his boutique/workshop. And of course, his place is so instagramable!
To more affordable shopping place, we went to Lemari Lila. In this super tiny but cute boutique, I found a lurik outer for IDR400K only. And good to know, that they only created not more than 12 pieces for one design. So, bumping into others who wore the same thing is less likely.
Now, off for some coffee.
We went to Ruang Seduh for some decent coffee. They actually have the same coffee shop in Jakarta, which I like better, because they have more snacks and bigger/nicer space.
For dinner, we decided to go to this nice restaurant that we found accidentally when we strolled down the street back to the hotel. Mediterranea Restaurant, owned by French chef, Camille Massard Combe or well known as Chef Kamil. When we googled it, this restaurant turned out to be number one restaurant in Yogyakarta in trip advisor.
We were surprised because their prices are just super affordable for such a nice restaurant. They have this small shop which sells jam, bread etc, inside the restaurant, which reminds me a lot of Dean & Deluca. Must try if you’re visiting Yogyakarta.
For something to bring home, we bought Monggo Chocolate. They do have this brand in Jakarta, but in Yogyakarta, they are cheaper. I love their strawberry chocolate, but for those who are more adventurous, try their rendang or red chili chocolate!
One tip if you want to visit Yogyakarta: rent a car, so it’s easier to drive here and there.
Hi All, sharing you my family trip last December 15 – January 16.
It was an unplanned trip, really. As I never got the thrill of being swamped inside sea of humans in the mission of watching firework on NYE. Seriously guys, firework look better on TV!
But, being with family and dear friends on welcoming the new year was the whole point of this short trip.
We had our NYE’s dinner at Jamie’s Italian.
So, of course, it was lots of food journey and OOTD moments. This post is specifically for food which I had in Hong Kong.
Jamie’s Italian. Their desserts were awesome. Panacotta with berries was such a flavourful closing with burst of sourness from the black berries. Love it!
Spaghetti House Pasta. They used to have this restaurant in Jakarta, but no more. So, as pasta lover, I wouldn’t missed it.
Tsui Wah for breakfast style a la Hong Kong. Didn’t like their macaroni soup, but the bun and their milk tea are the winner!
BLT Burger. Enjoying New York style burger in Hong Kong. Not a fan of burger, so can’t say much. But their milkshakes is super tasty!
Greyhound Cafe. Pad Thai, which I love dearly. Very yummy.
PRET. Wouldn’t missed this oven toasted sandwich. What can I say, I prefer hot meal.
Ideal meal for this gloomy weather at Crystal Jade Restaurant & Steamboat.
I have to admit that I do enjoy warm meal on any days. What can I say, I am not a salad or sushi kind of gal. That’s why hot pot, also known as steamboat (in countries such as Singapore and Thailand) is one of my favorite. Yesterday, I was invited to try the first ever steamboat restaurant by Crystal Jade in Jakarta. What’s more: they also served dim sum till 5pm.
Crystal Jade offers different sets of steamboats, but I decided to try Set G, which is their Set Steamboat Seafood. For the soup base (yes, you can self-select), I was recommended to try their chicken congee soup base. Not your typical congee, as you won’t see the actual one. The consistency of the congee was not that thick, easy to slurp as it’s lightly salted and smooth. Not to mention, very tasty too! So tasty, I could eat the soup base alone and feel full. But, I don’t want to miss three pieces of live prawns which are a part of the set. When I said live prawn, they’re still alive when served. So they’re really really fresh. The others are cuttlefish, vegetables (napa cabbage & hon-shimeji mushrooms), vermicelli, garoupa fillet, homemade (yes, Crystal Jade takes effort to make their own) cuttlefish ball, bean curd, sweet corn and egg. Even though they’re seafood, but they definitely didn’t taste fishy at all. All these fresh additions made a very flavourful steamboat, indeed! Cooked on a special imported table (named: induction), without fire at sight, I truly believe that steamboat is all about the freshness of the ingredients and the mix of sauces (they have 17 sauces to mix and match).
As I mentioned earlier, other than steamboat, the restaurant also offer a selection of Dim Sum favorites, made by a Hong Kong chef. I ordered the old-time favorite Siew Mai and Steamed Salted Egg Yolk Custard Bun. I’m not surprised why there are queues for Crystal Jade’s dim sum, especially on the weekends. They are delicious. Make sure they’re served hot, especially for the custard bun as I can feel the warm golden colored sauce melt inside my mouth. I love how fluffy the dough is, and I consider this dish as a memorable dim sum dessert at Crystal Jade. Another must try for the closing, are their ice blended drinks (I tried Rosemary: a blend of strawberry, banana & milk) and well loved mango pudding.
Except the yeay factor for the weekday dim sum, as Chinese New Year nearly approaching next month, this is a good spot to have your reunion dinner. Best to have a company of friends and families, judging from their spacious Chinese’ style interior for a more pleasant dining experience.
Crystal Jade Restaurant & Steam Boat Pondok Indah Mall Street Gallery 2nd Floor Jakarta, Indonesia
Bruschetta Rustica & Fritto Del Marinaio
Picante Pizza
Vongole in Casseruola
Trio Pastas: Linguine alla Ligure, Penne Amalfi & Ravioloni Con Spinaci E Ricotta
Petto di Pollo alla Parmigiana
Sogliola alla Mugnaia
Tiramisu & Panna Cotta con Fragole
Sylvia Gunawan, owner Tredici Ristorante
HOME COOKING ALLA ITALIANO
Newly opened TREDICI RISTORANTE fulfilled my latest craving for delicious Italian cuisine.
People go through culinary phases. Lately, mine is Italian. I’m not a big fan of any food retail chain where you can eat Pizza and Pasta inside a mall. I prefer a homey restaurant with Italian feel, like you’re eating in Tuscany. Yes, atmosphere and ambience count. It’s a great bonus if the head chef was Italian too. Perfetto!
I was invited to Tredici Ristorante’s opening this week and all of those factors I mentioned above were there. Tredici means thirteen in Italian and Sylvia Gunawan (owner & founder of Tredici Ristorante) mentioned that she was also preparing to open a lounge/bar on the second floor which will be named “13 Monkeys”. Of course, Tredici is on the first floor, located at a (very) busy street, Jl. Suryo 42, Senopati, Jakarta.
The head chef, Mario, is Italian who have worked in Indonesia for more than 20 years. And that day (boy, was I glad I came with an empty stomach) he and his team was preparing lots (and I mean it) of Italian home made cooking for me and fellow press. Overall, I did try 3 appetizers, 3 different pastas, 2 main courses, 4 slices of pizzas and 2 desserts. And they served everything fresh. The red of cherry tomatoes, the green from spinach for their Ravioloni and the pink of salamis. I could go on and on.
When I chat with Sylvia, she said that everything was local, except the cold cuts. And right down through the beverages, they infused by themselves. So fresh, they also used fresh pastas, not the dry ones. I can tell from how chewy and soft the pastas are. “They’re not just delicious, they’re healthy too because we’re not using MSG at all,” said Sylvia. Great, I’m thinking to bring my boys here soon.
Anyway, if I have to break it down to my own favorite meals, it would be: Pizza: I love the crispy dough, the scent of freshly baked from the oven and the saltiness of their pepperoni & salami. Piccante is my favorite, but if you love seafood, try their Mare Pizza (it’s so unique, they served the mussels with their shells as a pizza topping). Pasta: My favorite will be the Linguine. Served with Baby Squids and Toasted bread crumb topping, it’s delicious and a bit spicy. And the pasta is not al dente, perfetto! Dessert: Being a sweet tooth that I am, I had my choice at their Panna Cotta. Soft but not watery Cream Pudding, the right amount of sweetness mixed really well with the sourness from their fresh strawberry sauce. And it looks beautiful on their white plate, don’t you think?
ANOTHER ‘OUT FOR LUNCH’ TIME
Have you visited Bluegrass Bar and Grill yet since I’ve blogged about it the last time?
You should by now, as I believe they serve great food and for me, it’s very important that they serve good coffee too. Lately, (don’t know why) I’ve been craving for pasta and other Italian dishes. So at my (I lost count) last visit to Bluegrass Bar and Grill, I decided to try pasta. Browsed through their menu, I chose Angel Hair Pasta with Jumbo Prawn for the main course and shared Bluegrass Nasi Campur with my lunch buddy, Miranda.
If you love spicy food like me, you’ll die for the Angel Hair Pasta. It was well seasoned (as in enough salt and chili flakes) and the jumbo prawn was fresh and huge. Too bad they served only one prawn (LOL). The pasta was al dente, perfect! The Nasi Campur was very Bali in style. Fish Balado was not as spicy as I thought and it didn’t smell fishy at all. I hate it when fish smell like fish. With Teri fish on top and sambal matah on the side, I can’t complain more. Check out that delicious looking grill oxtail too!
Lavender Blueberry Squash and Pink Lemonade were the choices of refreshing drinks. I love the crushed blueberries inside the pomegranate juice and soda water inside Lavender Blueberry Squash. Pink Lemonade was a bit sour to my liking, but other it was refreshing on such a hot day.
Boy…am I such a loyal fan of their Banana Cake. I always have this banana cake here. It wasn’t too sweet even though they put white chocolate on top it. They served it warm and I suggest you eat it while it’s still warm. Very heavenly taste with a sip of their original latte. Check out how they served their latte on. Cute, right?
Well, don’t judge the place by its’ name. Even though Bluegrass named as a bar and grill, they do serve more for you who don’t drink alcohol and not a big fan of grill dishes. Personally, I love the ambience (they look great at night time too!) and the nice people there.
Bluegrass Bar and Grill Komplek Rasuna Epicentrum, Bakrie Tower lantai GF, JL. HR Rasuna Said, Kuningan, Jakarta Pusat, DKI Jakarta 12710, Indonesia +62 21 29941660
NOT YOUR TYPICAL KIND OF BRUNCH
If you love ribs as much as I do, you’ll love this brunch.
Beef, lamb, and pork. Choose your selection of ribs or just have them all at Blue Grass Bar & Grill. Located at Komplek Rasuna Epicentrum, Bakrie Tower Ground Floor, Jakarta, Indonesia, you’ll have the brunch of your life.
Like me, I started with two choices of eggs, cheese omelette and poached eggs with pork bacon. Yum! Then go to the salad bar and spoiled yourself. Off to the main menu, ribs. Personally I love the taste of pork ribs, for their softness and texture rather than the beef & lamb. I believe they were marinated not only with imported barbecue sauce, but with Indonesians’ herbs as well. Just look, they served the ribs with sweet soya sauce with cuts of shallots and chilis.
Complete the food feast with a glass of Sangria Tinta. Red wine with cuts of strawberries & apples. It was stronger than I think, but perfect to wash down the ribs I just had.
Last but not least, desserts! For the sweet teeth like me, enjoy banana stick dipped in chocolate or waffles. The waffles texture is really fluffy because they made it from the solid (not liquid) dough. Add with chocolate sauce or maple syrup and vanilla ice cream. That should complete your Sunday Brunch. I remember I was so full that day, I skipped dinner altogether.
Plastic Fantastic Food Display at the entrance
Atuyagi Tamago
Miso Soup
Best Rice..ever
Tonkatsu Sauce
The delicious Chicken & Shrimp Fry
Beef Katsu-nabe
Coffee Panna Cotta
New menu and Old menu
THE CRISPIEST KATSU EVER
Don’t call yourself one of the Japanese foods’ fans if you never tried Katsu at Katsusei.
Located at two of prestigious malls in Jakarta, Indonesia, Plaza Indonesia and Grand Indonesia, Katsusei just opened their third outlets in Gedung Sentral Senayan 1. And to introduced their latest menus and Special Lunch Set, fellow medias and bloggers were invited to their outlet in Plaza Indonesia, to have lunch with the owner, Sylvia Gunawan (she’s also the founder of MIKA Japanese Bistro which I’ve previously featured here).
Known for their delicious and crunchiest cutlets, Katsusei is a franchise Japanese restaurant from Utsunomiya, Japan and the first and only katsu-specialized Japanese restaurant in Indonesia. “We made our own fresh panko (that’s bread crumbs, btw) at least twice a week to keep the crunchiness of our katsu. Even the vegetables were cut one hour before lunch time to keep them fresh when served. And try our rice, it’s the best quality of Japanese rice,” said Sylvia during the press event last Wednesday.
First, we were served with the side dish, Atuyagi Tamago. Steamed egg rolls come in layers, served cold with shoyu and horse radish. The unique flavors of sweetness from the eggs and saltiness of shoyu made this side dish a good starter before the main course. Then came the hot soup, Miso. No fishy taste and smell, nice soft seaweeds and fluffy tofu made this soup a warm welcome for the long awaited crispy cutlets. What I love about Japanese culinary is their tradition. And Katsusei offers the authentic recipes right down to the DIY making of their secret recipe sauce, Tonkatsu. Small bowl and crushed stick from wood was provided to grind our own Tonkatsu sauce. First, get some sesame seeds, grind with circling motion then add the sauce just the way you like it. I enjoy doing it and hearing the crunchy sound of sesame seeds being grind. And the crunchiness didn’t stop there, as the main course arrived. Mixed Chicken and Shrimp Fry served with lemon slices arrived at our table, looking delicious and so golden, just like those food plastics I’ve seen when I entered the restaurant. Served with the DIY Tonkatsu Sauce, I can feel the crunch (thanks to the fresh Panko) as I bite and the softness of the chicken and shrimp inside. It was like a blast of flavors, a combination of sour, sweet and savory in a bite. And even though I’m not a big fan of white rice, I really love Katsusei’s rice. It wasn’t as sticky as other Japanese restaurants I’ve tried, just a great taste of white rice. I believe because the Japanese people are so picky when it comes to their rice. “All the authenticity of Katsusei’s menu are supervised by our Japanese Head Chef, Mr. Takeshi Kato, so the quality was unquestionable,” add Sylvia.
Another Japanese tradition, after the rich meals, we were served with a complimentary glass of hot Hojicha Tea. They said, it was good to dissolve all the fats from fried food. Even though all the cutlets were fried with Canola Oil (100% fat free), we still want more fat free, right? After sipping the rather bitter but very nice tea, desserts are coming. I picked the Coffee panna cotta, simply because I love coffee after meals. It was a really delightful food adventure day for me.
shintarosvita 
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