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

Trattoria at St. Moritz

Had lunch earlier this week at the newest Italian restaurant around my neighborhood, Trattoria. It's one of my favourite casual Italian dining restaurant! They have pretty similar concept with PePenero, but based on my dining experience, I've always liked Trattoria better. I've been dining in their Kuningan outlet several times before, and everything I ordered was never a let down.

The new St.Moritz outlet was designed with the simple industrial look. It was quite spacious, loving the high ceiling and lots of sun light. The dining area consists two floors, the ground floor and mezzanine floor.

Another reason to love Trattoria is the generous complimentary bread. Upon arrival, we were greeted by a basket of bread and another plate of tomato bruschetta. Couldn't ask for more, the bruschetta was fresh, and the bread was warm, salty, and fluffy.

They have various food selections from Antipasti to Pizza and Pasta, but their menu comes in Italian language, so it may took some time to decide your dish. The food they serve may contain pork, but you can request it to be halal.

Prosciutto Cotto E Funghi (IDR 78.000)

This is what we chose from their Pizza selections. Thin-crusted Italian Pizza topped with pork ham, mushrooms, mozzarella cheese, and tomato sauce. I have no complain about this dish, the pizza was perfectly crusted, the toppings were generous, it was such a nice dish.

Penne Alla Vodka (IDR 86.000)

Penne and salmon cooked with vodka, red onion, olives, and cream. To be honest I couldn't taste the vodka in this dish, but anyway it still tasted so good! Well you know I'm a big fan of cream based pasta, and this one also didn't fail me. It tasted rich and creamy, but not too heavy. Very recommended!

So glad that my favourite Italian Dining Restaurant is coming to my neighborhood. Couldn't wait for my next visit! 

Trattoria Cucina Italiana

St. Moritz Apartment Ground Floor

Jl. Puri Indah Boulevard

West Jakarta

ph. coming soon

Sarang Oci

Hello, it's been more than a week without blogging. Actually I am currently quite busy with work and stuffs that I haven't got much time to try new restaurants and edit the photos. That's why I decided to find something in my drafts, and I found this, my favourite Manadonese Restaurant in Jakarta! It's been in my draft for quite some time (just look at the old watermark), but it doesn't mean that I'm not eager to write about it. Sometimes I just feel kinda lazy to write about Indonesian Restaurant because the menu is written in Indonesian and I have to translate it into English.

Anyway, Sarang Oci is located in Jalan Panjang in Kebon Jeruk area. Finding the place is easy because it has huge red "SARANG OCI" signboard at the front facade. Especially on weekend, it's even easier to notice the place because there's so many cars parking in front of the place that most of the time the parking lot is full and they park the car on the road area and cause traffic jam.

Entering the place, it looks like a two storeyed house decorated in colorful ambiance. At my first visit here years ago, I actually think that the interior kinda more suited for Morrocan restaurant than Manadonese, because of the colorful mozaics and lamps. The dining area itself is separated into several rooms in the first and second floor.

The food they served here is of course Manadonese, mostly cooked in the famous "Rica" and "Woku" style. Rica (literally translated as chilli) is Manadonese style of cooking chilli, while Woku is another tradional dish usually cooked with some spicy herbs and coconut milk. Both could be served with some choices of protein like chicken, fish, or prawns.

Ekor Tenggiri Bakar Rica (IDR 73.000)

Grilled Mackerel Fish with Rica Seasoning

It is one of customer's favourite in Sarang Oci. Despite the not-so-photogenic look, expect a fresh mackerel with thick meat and spicy yet flavorful rica seasoning when you take a bite of this. It comes in two levels of spiciness, Medium and Hot. For me, Medium is just right. But feel free to challenge yourself ;)

Perkedel Jagung (IDR 25.000 for 5 pcs)

Crispy Corn Fritters

Even though I said before that rica and woku is Sarang Oci's specialty, these crispy corn fritters is the true champion amongst all. This is the one thing that keeps the customers craving for more and more. Being a fan of Manadonese (and also all kinds of) corn fritters, I must say that I haven't found any other place that serve corn fritters as crispy, as flavorful, and as good as Sarang Oci's. It taste so d*mn good, you could find the taste of shallots and chives somewhere between the crispiness. See for yourself, not a single table could dine in Sarang Oci without ordering this dish. 

Perkedel Nike (IDR 30.000 for 4 pcs)
Manadonese Anchovy Fritters
Another Manadonese fritters! To be honest it's not as good as the corn fritters. Not that this dish is not delicious. It is delicious, but for me the corn fritters is just too hard to beat. It's not as crispy but also tasted good. Worth trying if you're up to something new.

Kuah Asam Fillet Goropa (IDR 38.000 for Small Size)

Grouper Fillet cooked in Manadonese style Sour Soup

This is my daddy's favourite, but I kinda like it too. It's Manadonese traditional soup, basically it tasted sour but you can also taste a hint of spiciness and other seasonings. It is nice and warm and healthy, because the ingredients are fish and vegetables like tomato and spinach.

Kangkung Tumis Jagung (IDR 23.000)

Sauteed Water Spinach, Corn, and Shallots
Water Spinach is a very common vegetable for Indonesians. But to make it more authentic, Manadonese usually cook their water spinach with corn, or papaya flowers. I like it more with corn, because the papaya flowers tasted a little bitter, but some people like the papaya flowers too.


That's what we had in our visit some times ago, but not only that, Sarang Oci also have great woku and lots of Manadonese traditional snacks and desserts that are worth trying.

And as I said above, Sarang Oci is currently my most favorite Manadonese Restaurant in Jakarta. I actually have two favorites, Sarang Oci and Beautika Restaurant, but Sarang Oci is much more affordable in price and easier to reach from my house. It could even do delivery to Kebon Jeruk area! I don't know if it's because my half Manadonese blood from my mother that I love Manadonese food so much, but a lot of my friends also love this place and the place couldn't be always packed for nothing. So give it a try and I'll be glad to hear your opinion :D

Sarang Oci

Jl. Panjang no.99

Arteri Kelapa Dua

Kebon Jeruk 

Jakarta Barat

ph. (021) 532 9791

fb. Sarang Oci

web. Sarang Oci 

other branches:

Jl. Tebet Raya no.78A

Tebet - Jakarta Selatan

ph. (021) 829 5237

Jl. Bulungan no. 24

Kebayoran Baru - Jakarta Selatan

ph. (021) 722 2403 

(opening February 2014)

Pappa Jack Kopitiam

Yesterday me and David went to Pappa Jack Kopitiam, a new kopitiam joint which just opened recently near my house area. I always saw it's parking lot packed with cars at night. I don't know whether they serve good food or it's just the new place hype, but it does attract my curiosity. 

It turns out that this joint is Pappajack's second branch, while the first one is located at Sunter. The place is spacious, it is a two storeyed building with a large void at the front part. The interior was dominated with bricks and large windows, along with black furnitures. 

As expected of Kopitiam, they served coffees, teas, peranakan cuisines, and light foods such as toast bread and limited choice of dim sum. It was said that their specialty is the steamed bread with chicken curry, but I doubted the taste will match one another, so I'll just skip it for now and ordered these instead.

Iced Coffee Cham Milo (IDR 21.000) and Iced Lemon Honey (IDR 18.000)

The Iced Coffee Cham Milo is a combination of Coffee, Tea, Fresh Milk, and Milo in one glass. For me the coffee taste was too dominant that I can't find the tea flavor in it. Meanwhile, the Iced Lemon Honey was quite satisfying with balanced taste of sweet and sour.

Bakmi Sapi Cincang (IDR 36.000)

Thin and curly noodles, minced beef, fish cakes, and also bean sprouts. David has always loved bean sprouts, no wonder he ordered this dish. I personally quite like it too. Combined all together, there's the sweet and savory taste of the beef, also the crunchiness from the bean sprouts and richness from the broth.

Dry Curry Mee with Chicken Curry (IDR 33.000)

This dish took FOREVER to come out. It has been long after David finished his dish, and mine hasn't come yet. We kept asking the waiter, and they could only say sorry politely and told us it will be served soon. Luckily  the taste was not disappointing. Bold and spicy chicken curry met the thick noodle that cooked into perfection, what more could you expect?

Will I be back? Sure. Well the service still needs some improvements, but what they served to us was a good start to take our heart and satisfy our belly. And plus, it took less than 5 minutes to get there from my house. So 'til we meet again, Pappajack!

Pappa Jack Kopitiam
Terusan Arjuna Utara no.2
(beside Jakarta Eye Center)
Kebon Jeruk
Jakarta Barat

other branch:
Jl. Danau Sunter Barat Blok A3 No.6 
Sunter, 14350
Ph. 081218919119

Pesca -- Homemade Italian Ice Cream Cake

"Tomorrow we can eat broccoli, but today is for Ice Cream"

That quote was written on Pesca's flyer, an ice cream shop I visited a few days ago. Me and David were just having our dinner in Pesanggrahan area, heading to my house, when we passed this ice cream shop and suddenly decided to give it a try. And let me give you a hint, it is worth to try.

When we enter the humble shophouse, our eyes were spoiled with colorful and cute ice creams on the display. Pesca offers various kind of ice cream, starts from the ordinary ice cream in the cup and on a stick, to their creative invention such as cupcake ice cream, mochi ice cream, le petit rocher (round shaped ice cream, looks like the famous ferrero rocher chocolate), rainbow ice cream, and much more variants.

After a long time deciding which ice cream we should try (since all of them looks yummy), we went for Sandwich Ice Cream (IDR 25.000) and Mocca Cupcake Ice Cream (IDR 12.500). I like them both! The mocca cupcake ice cream was crunchy on the outside, and the mocca flavor was delicious, got a hint of coffe, and not too sweet. The sandwich ice cream was actually a strawberry cheesecake ice cream flavored, sandwiched between two cookies. I love the flavor, creamy taste from the cheesecake, and a little sourness from the strawberry. Very refreshing. But the cookies was not crunchy anymore when we ate them.

I am not a big fan of ice cream, but now I'm a fan of Pesca's ice cream. Cute shape, delicious flavor, who could resist such beauty?

Pesca
Jl. Pesanggrahan Raya 6C
Kembangan, Puri Indah
Jakarta Barat
ph. (021) 5801455

Holycow! Steakhouse

Holycow steak is opening their branch at Kebon Jeruk. Yay!

I've been meaning to try this place since a long time ago, but it never happened since I rarely go to Senopati and Kelapa Gading area. But several days ago, David heard from his officemates that holycow steak is now opening their newest branch at Kebon Jeruk, so we wasted no time and tried it immediately.

We arrived there at 6.30 PM, yet the place were already packed with the carnivores that we have to share the table with other guests. We ordered the Australian Rib Eye Big Bites with BBQ sauce (IDR 105.000 for 400gr) and Potato Wedges (IDR 15.000). After fifteen minutes waiting, the waiter came to us and said that they're running out of potato wedges, so we changed it into Wagyu Meatballs with Mushroom Sauce (IDR 45.000).

The service were taking quite long. We waited more than 30 minutes for our rib eye, and the meatballs came long after we've finished our rib eye. But the place has just open for less than a week, so that was forgiven. And plus, the food was satisfying for us. The rib eye were perfectly grilled (we asked for medium well), and the seasoning's great. The meatballs turns out delicious too. 

Each meal were served french fries and sauteed green bean. The sauteed green bean were also meet my tastebud, perfect saltiness and crunchiness. French fries were just okay, needs a little salt. As for the sauce, the mushroom sauce was recommended by the menu, and I love it since it creamy.

One thing I regret is that I was too late for the free misu. You can get free tiramisu from MiSu if you mention @steakholycow on twitter. I planned to have it for dessert, but I was too late. Maybe I should have it for appetizer next time.

Holycow! Steakhouse 
#campBONJER

Jl. Arteri Kelapa Dua (Jl. Panjang)

Kebon Jeruk 

Jakarta Barat

ph. 021 - 53662815

f. Holycow! Steakhouse

t. @steakholycow