Tokyo Belly

Ismaya's outlet is always a must-try. I've always adored their creativity in creating unique restaurant concepts and serving delicious food, no matter what kind of food it is. Western, Japanese, Chinese, say it, they've got it all. Now they even reach coffee and soon the cake bussiness too. I wonder will they open an Indonesian food restaurant too someday?

Anyway, this is a late post about my dinner with high school besties at one of Ismaya's restaurant, Tokyo Belly. The outlet is replacing Mr. Curry's place at Grand Indonesia, but looks more open and more Japanese, because they've got lots of japanese murals on the wall.

A friend of mine brought us a box of chocolate truffles from shangri-la. How kind of her :D 

I ordered Hot Ocha (IDR 13.000, Refillable), and it came in such a cute mug. Every property of Tokyo Belly got this red man printed on it.

My Salmon Ikura Horenso Omurice (IDR 58.000) didn't look as appetizing as the picture in the menu. The sauce was almost dried up, I think they took too long before serving it to the table. Taste was fine. I chose the buttered rice, but it was more like chicken fried rice.

One of my friend ordered Chicken Katsu Curry Rice (IDR 58.000). Tasted just like Mr. Curry's.

Another friend of mine ordered a plate of Kiss of Fire Sushi (IDR 45.000), salmon rolled sushi fried with tempura batter, served hot. This one is delicious! I would love to order a second plate if we weren't too full that night.

Great food and great companion, what a night!

Tokyo Belly

Grand Indonesia Shopping Town

 West Mall level 3A 

Jakarta, Indonesia

ph. (021) 23581090

f. Tokyo Belly

Luciole Bistro

 “We should look for someone to eat and drink with before looking for something to eat and drink."

-Epicurus

Imagine you're sitting with your best friend in a terrace, looking at the peaceful garden. While you're exchanging stories excitedly, you could still hear the sound of the running water, or feel the breeze wind slowly whiffling through you. Can you find such a place in a crowded city like Jakarta? Most people will say no. But no worries, luciole is now open for bussiness.

Located at the Tribeca Park, Luciole Bistro offers a cozy place to dine with almost 360 degrees of garden view. The tall black-listed window is circling all over the dining area, working together with the transparent canopies to maximize the sunlight. The interior is also monochrome, furnitures are all in black and white, so the random colorful floor tiles could stand out. Numbers of black lamps are hanging elegantly, I could imagine how it will light warmly at the night, representing the 'luciole' name itself, which means fireflies.

Friday afternoon, lunch time. I came here with my bestie. Only a few table occupied when we arrived, but soon enough, it's getting packed with curious customer like us. Accompanying our chit chat is the Hot Tea (IDR 20.000), presented in a beautiful transparent teacup and plate.

Hungry us decided to skip appetizer and went straight  to the main course. I chose one of their specialty dish, Pan Roasted Chicken with Potato Lasagna (IDR 55.000), also served with cherry tomatoes, sauteed green beans, tomato sauce, and olive oil sauce. Overall it was good, the chicken was well seasoned, although a little more seasoning could make it better I think. But for me, the hero of the dish is the potato lasagna. Oh pardon me and my love for creamy food. I enjoyed the potato lasagna more than other things served on the plate. I love how they only used the white sauce for the lasagna, and filled it with a little cauliflower.

Not only serving western food, Luciole also offers a few Indonesian food selections. My bestie went for Nasi Greget (IDR 47.000). Cone-shaped white rice, served with boneless chicken with green chilli seasoning, balado potatoes, fried anchovies, corn fritter, and not to forget a shrimp cracker. I only tried the chicken, and it was good. The seasoning's no too hot, but still spicy.

I can't find the dessert selections in the menu book, I don't know whether I didn't search well or it's still not available for now. Oh a little tips, if you came here at noon, find a seat at the right side of the entrance. I went for the left side, which looks more beautiful and bright, but the room is a little hot, maybe because the transparent canopies above.

Luciole Bistro

TRIBECA PARK #PAV-01
CENTRAL PARK MALL
JL. LET. JEND. S. PARMAN KAV.28
JAKARTA BARAT 11470
INDONESIA
ph. 021 - 2920 0333

f. Luciole Bistro

Opening hours:
Sunday - Thursday    10.00 am - 24.00 am
Friday - Saturday      10.00 am - 02.00 am

Basilico

In the mid 2011, me and David were having an architecture internship at 1Park Residences, an apartment built by Intiland Development near Gandaria City. Back at that time, we almost always looking for lunch in Gandaria City, and this fancy Italian restaurant located right at the main lobby has always attracted me to come and try. But that time, being an unpaid intern employee, we always ended up eating something more budget-friendly.

Almost two years passed by, and last week we finally give it a try. The venue was packed with customers that lunch time (later I realized that most of them are expatriates), only a few table were empty. The interior was basically dominated by the warm wood texture combined with black color. At the center is the bar area,   with attractive hanging wine display at the ceiling, then surrounded by the sofa seats.

Upon arrival we were greeted by the welcome bread, the deep fried bread served with fresh tomato sauce. The bread's still warm and soft, and the tomato sauce was freshly made from real tomato puree. 

To company our lunch in such a hot day, I ordered Lychee Ice Tea (IDR 23.000), and David went with Lemon Juice (IDR 25.000). Both of them were very refreshing.

Basilico offers a wide variation of Pizza and Pasta, so we decided to share one pizza and one pasta dish. The problem about me and David sharing dish in Italian restaurant is, our taste don't match at all. David has always loved sour tomato-based sauce, while I preferred rich and creamy sauce. After long discussion (which almost ended up as a quarrel), David chose the pasta, Chicken Parmigiana (IDR 85.000), and I chose the Pizza, Ghiottona Pizza (IDR 75.000). 

The Chicken Parmigiana -- breadcrumbs-coated chicken breast baked with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese, served with spaghetti -- was quite good, but I barely touched it because I was too busy with the pizza. Two layers of thin crusted pizza filled with chicken, spinach, mushroom, and mozzarella cheese, I am currently still drooling while writing this post. 

The pizza didn't really meet David's liking (too creamy he said), so I ended up finishing most of it (with no regret), and David finished the pasta. One little drawback for the pizza is the amount of filling. It was concentrated in the center, but when you reach the outer side, it's almost empty. 

Being satisfied with my lunch that day, I kinda regretted why I didn't try it earlier when I got everyday to spent there. But I'm glad we did try it.

Basilico

Gandaria City Mall

Ground Floor Unit #m-g01 

Jl. KH Syafii Hadzami No.8 

Kebayoran Lama Jakarta Selatan, 

Jakarta, Indonesia 12240

ph. (021) 29053333

f. Basilico