Semarang Trip -- Cafe and Restaurant Hopping

 First post in 2015! Hi everyone, if you're following me on instagram, you would know that I just got home from a culinary trip in Semarang recently. The trip was fully sponsored by OpenSnap, a new mobile app for foodie developed by the well known food website, OpenRice. They're holding lots of exciting competitions and promotions every month, and this time me and my friends happened to be the winner of their Semarang trip competition.

The prize consists a 2D1N trip to Semarang, with the accommodation and transportation fees fully sponsored by OpenSnap. This is my first time being to the city of Lunpia, and I was so excited to try as many food as my stomach could bear. This is the first part of the story, in this post I will share about the Restaurants and Cafes we visited in Semarang. But don't worry, more excitement (read : STREET FOOD) will be coming up next.

TOKO OEN

Address: Jl. Pemuda, No.52, 50138, 50139, Indonesia

Phone:+62 24 3541683

One of the icon of the city! This colonial style restaurant has easily won my heart with their old style Dutch influenced bakery and homemade ice cream. Looking at their display was such a temptation, I want to try all the bread and cookies they have. We tried one of their old style bread from their display called "Roti Telur / Egg Bread", Poffertjes, and also Rum and Raisin and Tutti Frutti Ice Cream. Everything was incredibly good! Must must must try when you're in Semarang.

PARIJS VAN JAVA

Address: Jalan Singosari Raya, Semarang, Kota Semarang, Jawa Tengah 50242, Indonesia

Phone:+62 24 8311938

This place is such a feast for the eyes. It is decorated to look like a vintage European house, with lots of vintage furniture, floral pattern, and uber cute ornaments. Every corner is photogenic! Even better, they serve various good food here. My favorite is their Nasi Bakar Parijs Van Java. The rice is so fragrant and rich, and it is served with crispy and juicy fried chicken. Totally one of the best Nasi Bakar I've ever had.

KOENOKOENI CAFE GALLERY

Address: JL.Tabanan, No.4, Candi Baru, Jawa Tengah 50231, Indonesia

Phone:+62 24 8415454

This is just the place if you want to enjoy the true essence of Semarang. Not only because the cafe is taking form of the traditional semi outdoor Joglo House, it is also strategically located at the peak of Semarang city. You know, I always love to see the skyline of the city or the city lights at night whenever I travel. If it's a modern city, I'll find their best rooftop bar. But coming to a traditional city like Semarang, I think Koenokoeni is just the perfect place. Too bad their food wasn't really outstanding, though, but the view and the ambiance are worth it.

KABUKI JAPANESE RESTAURANT

Address : Jl. S Parman no. 56, Gajah Mungkur

Phone : (024) 8509866

When you're craving for Japanese food in Semarang, Kabuki will come to the rescue! They're serving pretty much all kind of Japanese food, from sushi to ramen and Japadog, but they are specializing in Teppanyaki. And I must say that their Teppanyaki taste could even compete in Jakarta. Tried their Dynamite Teppanyaki, which consists shrimps and squids with their signature dynamite sauce, and it was awesome!

FLORIAN ICE CREAM

Address: JL Letnan Jenderal MT Haryono No. 571-A, Karangkidul, Semarang, 50241, Indonesia

Phone:+62 24 8412070

I'm glad we did make it to Florian before our flight back to Jakarta. Love love the place, it was decorated in pastel colors, and lots of cozy sofas. I could imagine spending hours here if only we had more time in Semarang. Their ice cream was quite pleasing too. Some of the fruit flavors were too sweet for me, and kinda taste like syrup, not real fruits, but the chocolate and mocca flavor were rich and yummy. And the waffle, it was da bomb! Probably one of the best waffle I've tasted, it was buttery fragrant and moist.

So that's all the cafe and restaurant I visited during my Semarang trip. Some of them was scheduled by the OpenSnap team, while the others are found by googling and asking some of my fellow bloggers (huge thanks to them). Anyway, the street food post will be coming up next. See you!

New Menu Launching at Blackball

Good news from Blackball! The largest Taiwanese Dessert chain restaurant in Jakarta is now bringing you something new to their outlets. And not only new Taiwanese drinks and desserts, now they're also serving food! Blackball has always been my favourite place when looking for Taiwanese dessert, as they currently have 22 outlets in Jakarta and other big cities in Indonesia, it's very convenience because I could find them almost everywhere. And they have the BEST red bean for me, just ask for their honey bean topping.

Not going to babbling much about them, I believe everyone has already know this famous brands. Here are their new menus.

Grilled Shredded Cuttlefish with Mayo Dip (IDR 40.000)

Yes I know it sounds simple and looks simple, but once you take a bite, you'll definitely craving for more. It's so simple yet so good, the texture's crunchy and chewy at the same time, and the mayo dipping compliments it very well. It's love at the first bite!

Taiwan Cold Noodle (IDR 40.000)

I'm not very familiar with cold noodle, but this one's quite okay. I like the texture of the noodle which is perfect for me. The seasoning taste like peanut sauce, not something you usually find together with noodles. It tasted quite funny for me, but well I'm a first timer.

Sticky Rice Yutiao with Beef Floss (IDR 30.000)

Another anti-mainstream menu from Blackball. It looks like sushi, but it's made of sticky rice with fried dough (cakwe) inside, and topped with beef floss and mayo. The taste kinda reminds me of lemper (Indonesian traditional snack made of sticky rica and shredded chicken), actually, but it's nice and worth trying.

Taiwanese Tea Egg (IDR 20.000)

It's one of the popular Taiwanese street food, and now you can have it here at Blackball.

Qffle with Beef / Chicken Floss and Mayo Dip (IDR 30.000)
Qffle is their new hero! You could have it sweet or savory, it's so good either way! The savory Qffle comes with choices of beef or chicken topping and mayo, while the sweet qffle comes with more choices of fruit and sweet toppings. What I love is the Qffle itself, the texture is crunchy at the ouside but soft and a little bit chewy at the inside, with perfect balance of sweetness. It's not too sweet, so it could match both the sweet and savory toppings.

Qvomaltine (IDR 50.000)

Banana, chocolate, vanilla ice cream, and Ovomaltine! Couldn't get wrong with this choice.

Very Berry Qffle (IDR 35.000)
I always have a thing with berries, so yes, this one's my favourite. Taste fresh with great balnce of sweetness and acidity. Definitely what I'll order on my next visit.

Matcha Snow Ice + Red Bean + QQ Gems + Boba + Vanilla/Matcha Ice Cream (IDR 38.000)

Not only food, Blackball also comes with new choices of dessert. This one is such a cutie, with that oreo panda ears :3 Perfect option for matcha lovers.

Black Sesame Snow Ice + Red Bean + Mini Ball + Caramel Pudding (IDR 33.000)

Milk Snow Ice + Strawberry + Kiwi + Mango + QQ Gems + Vanilla Ice Cream (IDR 40.000)

Milk Snow Ice + Honeydew + Watermelon + Honey + Vanilla Ice Cream (IDR 33.000)

Honey Lemon Mint Tea (R IDR 23.000/L IDR 28.000), Matcha Fresh Milk (R IDR 25.000/L IDR 30.000) 
 And also new drinks! my favourite was their matcha green tea. Love the strong green tea taste.


I was very full that night, it was such a feast! Thank you BlackBall for inviting me :D

Blackball 

Central Park shop 132
Level 1, Opposite Tous Les Jours
Central Park Mall, Jakarta Barat
T. 021 2920 0213

Comfort Chinese Cuisine at Paradise Inn

Paradise Inn is one of my family's favourite Chinese Restaurant.Especially here in their Puri Indah Mall branch, it's near my house so we've dined here for God knows how many times. The ambiance of the restaurant is very casual, yet you still can feel the Chinese atmosphere inside. It's dominated by the greyish concrete color, combined with the contrast pastel blue color. Not the combination you usually see, but that's why it's unique.

One of the reason why I love to dine here is because they serve non halal food. Oh you know how much I love pork :p Lately Paradise Inn is having new dishes published on their menu, and we tried some of them.

Crisp-fried Eggplant Tossed (IDR 28.000)

Deep fried battered eggplant topped with chicken floss. It's one of their new menu. It was crispy and flossy, but you can barely taste the eggplant. Well I'm not really a big fan of eggplant though, so I found this dish to be quite nice. You can eat it with rice or without rice, it's still good either way.

Hot Plate Tofu with Preserved “Cai Xin” and Minced Pork (IDR 48.000)

This one's not a newcomer. It's one of my must-order dish. Their tofu is so smooth and silky, and the minced porkk and mushroom sauce was just as good. It's served on a hot plate, and the bottom of the hot plate is coated with egg, so dont forget to dig it up.

Crisp Pork Ribs with Marmite Sauce (IDR 88.000)

A new signature dish from Paradise Inn. You better enjoy it while it's still hot, so you could taste the maximum juiciness of the ribs, and the good sweet yet savory marmite sauce. But I still prefer their old signature, the Imperial Pork Ribs, as it is not as sweet as this one, and it comes with no bones. But this one's still worth trying if you're looking for something new.

Prawn Mayonnaise with Katsuobushi (S IDR 88.000 / M IDR 108.000)

My favorite dish of the night! It's basically the everyone's favorite mayonnaise prawn, but topped with Katsuoboshi, the fermented fish you usually found on your takoyaki. It's a brilliant idea to add katsuoboshi on the top, as they work really well together. The crispy and crunchy battered fresh prawn, together with mayo and the fishy (in a good way) katsuoboshi, that was heaven in my mouth.

Poached Chinese Spinach with Egg Trio and Minced Pork in Superior Stock (IDR 58.000)

 The Chinese spinach with three eggs is my favorite vegetable dish to order in Chinese restaurants, and believe me, Paradise Inn served one of the best of this dish. Loving every spoonfull of the fresh spinach, warm and savory soup, and of course the eggs.

Keep up the good work, Paradise Inn! Oh and loving their creative Christmas tree made of dimsum pot lid. Uber cute! Merry early Christmas, everyone :D

Paradise Inn

Puri Indah Mall, Lt.1
Unit #102, Jl. Puri Agung Puri Indah,
Jakarta 11610
Tel: 021-5822-459
Fax: 021-5822-895

WakuWaku Japan Cafe at Kaffein

 

New place to hangout in Jakarta, it's WAKUWAKU CAFE! If the name WakuWaku reminds you of the popular Japanese TV channel you watch on your cable TV at home, then you're guessing it right. WakuWaku Cafe is presented by WakuWaku Japan, an entertainment channel which brings you popular Japanese programs, such as Japanese dramas, movies, animations, culture programs, etc. Not only bringing Japanese culture on the screen, now WakuWaku Japan is also letting people to taste the real Japanese food here at WakuWaku Cafe.

Taking place at Kaffein Cafe at Gandaria City, WakuWaku did an amazing job transforming the place so you can feel the traditional Japanese ambiance inside the Cafe. The dining area is separated into the indoor and outdoor area. The indoor area is beautifully decorated as a sakura garden with a small tatami area. Having your meal here feels like having the real hanami (sakura party) in Japan.

 

The interior at their outside dining area is lighter and brighter than the inside. It's simply designed with light wooden colour combined with paste pink and green colors with Japanese texture. And there's also a wall mounted cabinet which displays lots of cute Japanese ornaments at one side of the outdoor area. So simple yet comfortable!

 

The food they serve here are the authentic Ochazuke series. Ochazuke is the type of Japanese dish which is made by pouring Ocha (Japanese green tea ) and Dashi (fish stock) over rice and some savoury toppings.

Tempura Chazuke (IDR 120.000)
 The first Ochazuke series comes with assorted tempura as the savoury toppings. It has Ebi Tempuras, Fish Tempura, Squid Tempura, Mushroom Tempura, and Spinach Tempura as the toppings. After the ochazuke soup poured into the bowl, the taste of the tempura became crispy and soggy at the same time, yet so good. And of course I love the rich and unique taste of the ochazuke soup, the combination of ocha and dashi is not something you could easily found in Jakarta. Must try!

Tai Chazuke (IDR 120.000)
 If you love to have your fish raw, this might be the right dish for you. Tai Chazuke is one of their best sellers, using only the freshest snapper fish as their topping. Well for me, I'm not a big fan of raw fish, usually I would avoid eating any dish which contains raw fish such as nigiri sushi or sashimi, but I tried this dish and I must say that it was pretty good. It has that chewy texture, but it's not smelly at all. Combined with the ochazuke soup, well, ochazuke soup makes everything better! Lol.

Sake Chazuke (IDR 120.000)

The last dish of the ochazuke series, it comes with shredded grilled salmon as the topping. Well now this is something I love! The combination of the salmon, rice, and soup was so warm and comforting. The kind of comfort food that I would love to have over and over again.

Chirashi Sushi (IDR 150.000)

The last dish was not a part of the ochazuke series, but don't worry, it's just as good as the others -- if not better. Colorful seafood and vegetables over vinegar rice, it feels like you're eating sushi, in a bowl! It's pretty and tasty, highly recommended.

Last month on November 28-30th, WakuWaku Japan was also holding a grand opening event for WakuWaku Cafe. The event was held at the Piazza at Gandaria City, and you can enjoy Japanese games and culture there. You can also take picture with Ultraman Mebius (it's one of my childhood superhero!) or wear your own yukata. It was so much fun! Here are some pictures.

FYI, WakuWaku Japan Cafe will only be here for a very short time, only until January 28th 2015, so you better be on your way now before it's too late! Thanks BBlog and WakuWaku Cafe for the authentic Japanese experience :D

WAKUWAKU JAPAN CAFE

Gandaria City

Mainstreet Dining UG

Unit #MUC33

Jl. Sultan Iskandar Muda No, 8
Jakarta Selatan 12240

WAKUWAKU CAFE