The Immigrant Dining Room

Finally a post after almost two months!  Been very busy with work and life stuffs, I literally don't have time to write a single post or two. I have tons of pictures waiting to be edited and reviewed, but for now let's start with the one I love the most, the new hippest place in town: The Immigrant Dining Room.

 Everybody probably knows Immigrant as their favourite nightlife destinations, but not everybody knows that after renovating for months, Immigrant is reopening with a new concept. The Immigrant Dining room is the restaurant, and as their tagline said, it is the place "where deals get signed and the rumors begin". And don't worry, the club area will be reopening soon! ;p

 Interior wise, I love love how they designed the place. They combined exquisite and earthy materials to amplify the cool yet cozy mood and encourage the guests to relax and chill. I could picture myself sitting all day at that leather sofa, just chilling and having light conversations with my best girls.

But as a dining room, of course food is the most important. So here they are:

 Caesar Salad (IDR 75.000)

You know I'm not a big fan of salad. But this salad has probably changed me. Romaine lettuce, anchovy, crispy beef bacon, poached egg, parmesan & croutons, love every bite of it! Haha I might love it because the grilled chicken is big and thick and good, but all the other ingredients also blended well together. I couldn't believe I almost finish this huge bowl of salad by myself.

 Forest Mushrooms (IDR 45.000)

Portobello, porcini, button,black truffle mushrooms with parmesan and thyme foam. Soft, creamy, and it has quite strong taste of mushrooms. Nice appetizer to start your meal.

 Tea-Smoked Salmon Omelete (IDR 90.000)

Tea-smoked salmon, garlic sautéed mushrooms, roasted baby tomatoes and lemon fraîche over the boat-shaped omelete. Such a unique presentation! The omelete itself was not as fluffy as the usual omelette. It's more like soft and dense, but in a good way. The topping came in big fat chunks, as you can see in the picture, and all taste nice.

 Grandma's Cannelloni (IDR 80.000)

Might not be the most photogenic dish of the day, but I find this to be one of my favorite. If you love creamy and cheesy dish as much as I do (which is so damn much), then this one is the right dish for you. Oven-baked cannelloni pasta with chicken, mushroom, garlic, spinach, and mozzarella served with wood-smoked tomato puree and bechamel gratin.

 Wagyu Beef Burger (IDR 140.000)

Grilled patty of Australian wagyu beef, tomato chutney, jalapenos, cornichon and mozzarella gratin served with leaf salad and chunky potato fries. I think the picture said enough. Just look at that thick and juicy beef patty! One of the best burgers I've ever had, I must say.

 

GTO (IDR 98.000)

 Gin, triple sec, orange, grape, lemon, lime, and grape fruit. This cocktail looks milky and creamy, but it's not actually. You could taste hint of sourness when you take a sip. I think this one is perfect for a lady.

Sangria Blanca (IDR 98.000)

Well because I'm not too lady-like, I prefer this one: Sangria Blanca. I've always had a thing for sangria, the combination of white wine and fresh fruits tasted so refreshing!

 

 Varlhona Dark Chocolate (IDR 65.000)

Desserts are what we always looking for after having a nice meal. And choco lava cake could never fail me, especially when it's made of varlhona bar! Perfect dessert to end our lunch that day.

Bread and Butter Pudding (IDR 65.000)

Well another well-made dessert from Immigrant. Soft textured oven baked bread pudding served with vanilla ice cream. I'd still prefer the choco lava though, but my sister loved this so much.

If what I wrote above hasn't give you enough hint, let me say it out loud: Well done Immigrant! Great place, great food, great service. Loving my dining experience here so much. Would definitely be back in no time. And thanks Cynthia for having me here :D

The Immigrant Dining Room
Plaza Indonesia, 6th Floor (next to Plaza Indonesia XXI)
JL. MH. Thamrin Kav. 28 - 30
Ph: +6221 2992 4125 / +62 812 9930 0099

Bacchus Bar at InterContinental MidPlaza Hotel

Bacchus Bar is one of the restaurant at InterContinental MidPlaza Hotel that specializes at Asian Food. Last Thursday, I was honoured to get the opportunity to enjoy Lunch at Bacchus Bar.

Located at the Lower Ground Floor of the building, the venue itself wasn't too spacious yet it gave you the warm and private ambiance. Most of the seats are bar stools, but they also have nice comfortable sofas at the back. And they got their own wine storage room with lots and lots of wine selection. 

For the appetizer that day, we tasted two favourite menus from their Pan Flair Asian selections, Thai Beef Salad with Mango and Chilli Vinaigrette (IDR 98.000) and BBQ Chicken Wings with Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce (IDR 98.000). Their Beef Salad's presentation was such a feast for the eye, isn't it? Really love the bright colors. Taste wise, it was tangy and fresh, it also got a nice dressing, but for me the aroma of Basil was too strong. In the other hand, the BBQ Chicken Wings came in a generous portion, thickly marinated in a nice sweet BBQ Sauce. 

For the main course, Bacchus Bar have two options, you can either order the main course from the Pan Flair Asian selections, or order it from the live cooking stands. The live cooking stands is a collaboration between Bacchus Bar and Deli Restaurants, every weekdays during lunchtime, they served Pasta and Nasi Bakar (Indonesian style grilled rice wrapped in banana leafs). We ended up trying both of them, for they were both really tempting, especially when you see them cooked right before your eyes and you can smell the aroma.

Pasta Set (IDR 90.000 including bread and choice of Iced Tea or Iced Lemon Tea)

Here at the pasta stand, you can build your own pasta! Here's what you need to do:

1. Pick your pasta. The pasta selections varies everyday, that day they got penne and green linguine

2. Pick the sauce. There are tomato based sauce, carbonara sauce, pesto sauce, or simply aglio olio

3. Pick the meat, veggies, and cheese. You can choose up to three meat and veggies available. For the meat they have chicken, prawns, squid, beef bacon, pork bacon, sausages, etc. And for the veggie selections they have broccoli, tomatoes, onions, asparagus, mushrooms, etc. 

Easy right? And only for IDR 90.000 nett, you get your pasta served with bread and butter and also a glass of drink, which is a very nice deal, for having lunch in Sudirman area. That day I decided to have Penne Carbonara, but I was confused on which meat and veggies to choose, so I'll let the chef decide it, and it came with Prawns, Beef Bacon, Sausage, broccoli, mushrooms, and tomatoes! Phew that was a lot of toppings. But the taste was really great. The penne was al dente, the carbonara sauce was amazingly balanced between the creamy and savory taste, and for the toppings, I especially love the generous amount of fresh prawns. Oh I'll deal with you later, cholestrol, for now please just let me enjoy the fresh and crunchy prawns.

Nasi Bakar Set (IDR 82.000 + including a choice of Iced Tea or Iced Lemon Tea)

For the Nasi Bakar, you only have to pick your rice flavor (it also varies everyday), and it will be served with Balado Eggs, Sauteed String Beans, Shredded Chicken and Duck Meat, and Fried Tempe. That day they only have two flavor of rice, Oncom (fermented products of soy beans) and Ikan Peda (Indonesian salty fish). I'm not familiar with oncom, so I play safe and choose the Ikan Peda flavor. And that was a decision I wouldn't regret. The rice was very very fragrant and tasty, and all the side dishes were great and compliment it well. It was spicy but still tolerable for me. Well I'm not a big fan of Nasi Bakar before, but I am now. This dish was really satisfying for me, even better than the pasta! The best Nasi Bakar I've tasted so far!

I'm really impressed that their simple yet humble live cooking stands could create such an awesome food. Thank you InterContinental and  Catrina (Social Media Officer of InterContinental MidPlaza) for inviting me and being a really nice lunch companion! I definitely will come back to this place :D

Bacchus Bar

InterContinental at Jakarta MidPlaza Hotel

Lower Ground Floor

Jl. Sudirman Kav 10-11

Jakarta - 10220

ph. (021) 2510888 (front desk)

[Bali] Rock Bar at Ayana Resort

I got some spare time today but I haven't got anything new to post since I've been busy lately, so I'm diggin' up my old photos and find this beautiful place that I've been wanted to post since forever! And I'm kinda missing Bali right now, so here goes.

Rock Bar at Ayana Resort has been known for ages as one of the best spot to watch sunset in Bali. Hanging at the edge of the cliff at around 14 metres above the Indian Ocean, Rock Bar is definitely offering a different experience to enjoy sunset. And not only the sunset, you can also enjoy the sunny weather, the sound of the waves, and the mesmerizing view of the surrounding cliffs and the sparkling ocean.

The place opens at 4PM everyday, but usually people have started lining up since 3.30, so if you wish to get a good spot, you better come early. On my first visit about two years ago, I arrived here at 5PM and ended up missing the sunset, because the place was already full and people usually not leaving their table until the sun is set. So in my second visit last year, I came earlier.

Rock Bar is serving various cocktails and mocktails, and also light snacks and desserts. There are no minimum purchase per table here, but every person has to purchase at least a glass of drinks. Well since this is an old photos, I've lost the bill and can't remember the name nor the taste of these cocktails that we ordered that day, so I'll just share the photos :)

Potato Wedges, Curly Fries, and Pita Chips (IDR 50.000)

It came with three kinds of condiment: Ketchup, Hummus, and Curry Mayonaise. I was quite satisfied with Rock Bar's light snacks so far, they served it hot and fresh, and all of them tasted really nice.

Chicken Pop Corn served with Herbed Olive Oil and Spiced Dukkah (IDR 85.000)

This chicken pop corn is also a nice dish. The chicken are thick and tender, and the seasoning was really good that we didn't need to dip it to the condiment at all. 

In the end I realize why people keep coming to Rock Bar. Because not only great place and mesmerizing views, the food and beverages they served here are also nicely done that people could really enjoy the views with nice enjoyable food and drinks. Anyway, enjoy the sunset!

Rock Bar
AYANA Resort and Spa Bali
Jl Karang Mas Sejahtera, Jimbaran
Ph. +62 361 702222
Web. Rock Bar
Opening hours: 4pm – 1am