[Puncak] Nicole's Kitchen and Lounge

It's been a long time since my last visit to Puncak. In my childhood I used to go to Puncak almost every weekend, meet my big family at my grandma's villa, and play with my two favourite cousins there. At that time Puncak was always very crowded in weekend, but I think it's popularity  began to fade when the Cipularang highway built. People would prefer to go to Bandung for there is more choices of food and leisure there, so like every other family, we began to abandon our Puncak weekend routine.

But then lately the name of Puncak often be heard again thanks to Nicole's Kitchen and Lounge. Located at the same area with Brasco Factory Outlet, Nicole's has brought a new concept for people to enjoy the beauty of Puncak. The rooftop lounge is a real beauty, for sure. It's designed all white, and it has glass roof and sliding windows all over the place, allowing the bright sunshine and breezy wind to enter the room. The outside area has a lot of rattan sofas and gazebos, a really nice and cozy place to spend a quiet holiday.

The food they serve was quite various, they have Western, Asian, and Indonesian food selection. The pictures below are what we had that day,

Sate Kambing (IDR 48.000)

Fish and Chips (IDR 42.000)

Beef Black Pepper with Rice (IDR 48.000)

Chicken Cordon Bleu (IDR 55.000)

My dish that day is the Fish and Chips, and I didn't try the other dish other than mine. The Fish and Chips came in generous portion, the fish fillet was thick while the batter was thin and crispy. Too bad the tar tar sauce didn't compliment it well, it tasted just like plain mayo. In the other hand, we were really impressed by the presentation of the Sate Kambing. It's beautiful, and according to my friend, it tasted good too! The Chicken Cordon Bleu was another decent dish, while the Black Pepper Beef with rice was too watery for my friend.

In conclusion, the food were all pretty standard, they're quite good but not the one that leaves you craving for more. But the place itself was more enjoyable than the food. Would love to come again to spent a nice afternoon outside with a cup of tea and snacks, maybe?

Nicole's Kitchen and Lounge
Kampung Brasco Factory Outlet
Jl. Raya Hanjawar no.1
Cimacan, Jawa Barat

Bene Ristorante

Bene Ristorante is an Italian Restaurant located in Living World Alam Sutera. I am actually a regular visitor of the mall, but honestly I've never seen this restaurant before because it's located far at the end of the mall (near Bon Chon Chicken and Kafe Betawi area), and the music stage in front of the place kinda hinder it. But thanks to the food tasting invitation, I've got the chance to get to know more of Bene Ristorante and taste their food, which is actually good!

The food they serve here is mostly Italian, but they also have some interesting fusion menu to try. One of their specialty is the Pizza, which comes in three different sizes: Single Fighter (fit for 1-2 persons), Gossiper (fit for 3-4 persons), and the 1 Metre Pizza (1 metre long pizza with 3 different toppings). The 1 metre pizza really sounds fun to eat with your best buddies, isn't it?

Patate Fritte Alla Bolognese (IDR 37.000)

Thick-cut potato french fries topped with bolognese sauce, melted mozzarella, and yellow cheddar cheese. An awesome starter! I've always loved thick-cut french fries, now even better, it came with generous bolognese sauce and cheese. The beef bolognese sauce is really good, the sweet and sour taste are perfectly balanced. 

Paella Pasta (IDR 55.000)

Inspired by the famous Spanish dish, the pasta is tossed with curry-saffron paste, sauteed seafood, and shredded kafir lime leaves. This was my favorite dish of the night. Pasta was al-dente, while the saffron curry sauce is very rich and fragrant. A new way to eat your pasta, I'm definitely addicted to this.

Bene Classico Pizza, Single Fighter Size (IDR 71.000)

It is the specialty of Bene Ristorante. The Pizza is topped with homemade tomato sauce, grilled chicken breast, jalapeno pepper, pineapple, onion, melted mozzarella cheese, drizzled with mayonnaise and garnished with chopped beef bacon. I really like the pizza dough, it's thick and fluffy, the topping was also nice but it's just not my kind of pizza, since I don't like jalapeno and onion.

Iced Strawberry Caipiroska (IDR 39.000)

My drink that night, a nice iced tea with lime, strawberries, and mint leaves. Lovely presentation, it tasted cold and fresh.

Panetone all 'Aanas (IDR 32.000)

Lastly we were served with the dessert. It is basically a hot pineapple bread pudding, served with cold white cream sauce. It tasted quite decent, but the inside of the pudding was kinda mushy and it would be better if they add more pineapple slices to add the flavor.

After tasting several menu of theirs, I find all the food were nice and decent, and some even very good! That's just a little of them I've tasted, I'd really love to come back and try the other menus. And it's also a nice place if you like live music since it's located near the stage. I came there on Friday night and the band was really nice. Thank you Bene Ristorante for having me.

Bene Ristorante 

Living World Alam Sutera G 71

Jl. Alam Sutera Bulevar Kav. 21

Tangerang

ph. (021) 29239570

fb. Bene Ristorante 

t. Bene Ristorante

Paulaner Bräuhaus

Everyone's favourite German restaurant in Jakarta, Paulaner Brauhaus, has been back to business last November, finally! After being closed for quite a long time, now they are back in the new location, ready to serve all of us.

The new place is still located at East Mall Grand Indonesia, but it's still quite hard to reach, due to the ongoing renovation at the moment. To get here, you have to go to Gramedia Bookstore and go down with the escalator inside the bookstore. Or if you have a driver, you could be dropped at the SOHO Lobby and go up from the escalator there.

The interior is still decorated with the Bavarian Bar concept. The venue is spacious, divided into smoking and no smoking area. In the non smoking area you can enjoy live music at the stage, while in the smoking area you can enjoy the beautiful view of Bundaran HI. That night the place was fully occupied so I didn't take any good pictures, but I managed to take a shot of this bar area, where they served the beer right from the tap.

Iced Lemon Tea (IDR 35.000) and Mango Beer 0.3 L (IDR 84.000)

Beer is definitely Paulaner's specialty. I'm not a fan of beer, but Paulaner's mango beer is quite different, it's not too bitter, and it tasted nice and fresh. And the Iced Lemon Tea came in perfect sour and sweetness, love it.

Paulaner Platter (IDR 275.000)

A portion of Paulaner Platter is meant for two persons, consists poached smoked pork chop, 1 Debrecener sausage, meatloaf, 2 Vienna Sausages, 2 Nuremberg Sausages and crispy pork knuckle served with Sauerkraut and mashed potato. My favourite among the plate would be the Vienna Sausages and of course the Crispy Pork Knuckles! The Vienna Sausages are the ones lying horizontally at the bottom of my picture, it was soft but a little chewy, and tasted really good. While the pork knuckle has perfectly crispy skin with juicy and succulent pork meat inside. The other components were also decent, there's also Sauerkraut, fermented cabbage dish which tasted sour but refreshing.

Emperors Pancake with Apple Compote (IDR 55.000)

Perfect dessert to end our dinner date. Sweet, warm, and fluffy pancake topped with raisins and almonds, served with apple compote, whipped cream, and raspberry sauce. Love love everything on the plate!

FYI, Paulaner also has the Reopening Offers, valid until 31 January 2014:

Casual Monday: discount 25% for lunch and dinner and everything in between (every Monday)

Not a Quickie: Order a main course, free starter or soup or dessert (Lunch - Tuesday to Friday)

Midnight Madness: for every Beer ordered, the next is on the house (Tuesday to Thursday from 10pm onwards)

So grab it fast guys before it's too late :D

Paulaner Bräuhaus Jakarta
Floor 2 East Mall Grand Indonesia
Jl. MH. Thamrin 1
Central Jakarta
Ph. 23583871
Fb. Paulaner Brauhaus Jakarta

Opening hours:
Sunday - Thursday: 11.30am to 00.30am
Friday - Saturday: 11.30am to 01.30am

Bakerzin Plaza Senayan Reopening

Bakerzin has renovated their outlet in Plaza Senayan and came back with a brand new concept: Dessert Bar. Now you can have your favourite dessert in a sophisticated bar, isn't it great?

At the first day of their opening, I got invited to their press and media event. The outlet is quite spacious, separated into two areas, which the inside is for smoking customers and the outside area is for non smoking customers. The ambiance is kinda more casual and warmer than before, love the combination of patterned floor tile, wooden furniture, and the stone on the wall.

image taken from google

image taken from google

The place was quite crowded, lots of media people and other invitations came that day. On the event, everybody is served with choice of main courses, the new dessert creations, and beverages. But before that, we were also served with the overflowing canapes.

Salmon Steak (IDR 90.000)

Grilled salmon served with sauteed baby potatoes and vegetables. Everything is cooked with perfection. Fresh and tender salmon, and perfectly seasoned baby potatoes and vegetables. Love everything about this dish.

Veal with Pesto Linguini (IDR 120.000)

Pan-fried veal with homemade pesto linguini and tomato vinaigrette. Another satisfaction. I'm actually not a big fan of pesto, but this one was actually nice. The veal also tender and beautifully seasoned.

Sliced Beef with Crushed Potato (IDR 160.000)

Tenderloin slice served over mixed vegetables and potato crush. Probably the only drawback we found that day. Actually everything's good, except the rubber-textured meat. It's just too chewy no one could chew it. Too bad since the sauce is delicious.

Classic Oxtail Soup (IDR 90.000)

Bakerzin's signature oxtail soup served with steamed rice and melinjo chips. Didn't expect much from this, but I found it the best main course of the day! Tender meat, rich soup, warm rice, Indonesian food at it's best.

Drinks, clockwise from the left: Iced Tiramisu Caffe Cinno (IDR 35.000), Sweet Peach Sparkling Fruity Tea (IDR 30.000), Iced Honey Lemon (IDR 33.000), Blue Passion Macaron (IDR 35.000)

Red Velvet Lava (IDR 55.000)

If you think chocolate molten lava cake is good, then this dish is a genius! The cake itself looked dry from outside, but actually it was kinda crunchy outside, but moist inside. Take a bite of it with the vanilla ice cream and cream cheese, and you'll find yourself drown in delicacy.

Deconstructed Foret Noir (IDR 55.000)

Another great choice for chocolate lover. Nice warm brownies, served with chocolate mousse, dark cherries, and vanilla ice cream.

Iced Puma (IDR 55.000)

The last dessert of the day. Chocolate mousse served with meringue and berries. Not a fan of chocolate mousse, but love the meringue.

Bakerzin is definitely one of the leading restaurant in Jakarta, especially in the dessert section. I've been a loyal customer of Bakerzin since long ago, and I'm going to visit it more and more now for the new dessert creations. Thank you Bakerzin for having me on your event. 

Bakerzin
Plaza Senayan Level 2

Jl. Asia Afrika No. 8 Senayan - Jakarta 10270 Ph: 021.5790 0408 Fax: 021.5790 0409facebook

[Event] PS4 Press Release Event

Happy new year everyone! Still in the mood of new year, I'm going to share something new with you. But yes, this time it's not food, meet the brand new Sony PlayStation4!

Being an early 90th kid, I grew up playing PlayStation since I was in elementary school. I was just a normal gamer girl who played puzzle bubble and bishi bashi on my PS until I played my first Final Fantasy game: Final Fantasy IX and fell in love deeply with the series. Since then I would consider myself an RPG freak, I have played numbers of RPG games on my PS and PS2. I really would love to get myself a PS3 but my family were against it saying it's such a waste of money and I couldn't play it anyway with my busy college life that time (And they were right because as an architect student, I barely have time to sleep). So as much as I want to, I still haven't own my PS3 until now, and yet the PS4 has arrived. Loving the PlayStation series so much, of course I couldn't say no when BBlog and Sony Indonesia gave me the opportunity to attend the PS4 Launching event at the Ritz Carlton Jakarta.

The event started with Mr. Hiroshi Sakai -- Head of Marketing Division Sony Indonesia and Mr. Hiroyuki Oda -- Vice Pesident of Sony Computer Entertainment Japan giving their opening speeches, explaining the feature and facts about PS4, like that it is now becoming the most popular game console in the world, with 4.2 million units sold by December 28th 2013. Or like their new Dualshock 4 Controller, which has a touchpad, new analog thumb sticks, new shoulder buttons, new larger look and feel, new light bar, new integrated speaker, integrated headphone jack, new Share button. And like the remote play system, which allowing PS Vita to be the second screen. Isn't that great? Anyway, after the speech and product brief, Mr. Hiroyuki Oda and Mr. Hiroshi Sakai officially launched the PS4 in Indonesia! 

After the launching of PS4, Sony is handing over the PS4 for their three fastest pre-order customers, and also give them a PS Vita TV and ten years of PlayStation Plus membership as a bonus for being a loyal customer. What a gift! And after that there's a PS4 demo by the Sony Team Indonesia, and we participants can also try the PS4 and PS Vita TV in the available booths. Unfortunately I didn't try it because the booths were full all the time, but looking at the graphics, it's really d*mn good.

At the end of the day, Sony also handing over three door prizes, two PS Vita TV and a Playstation 4. Unexpectedly, I am the one lucky blogger who won the PS Vita TV! Yay! Well I've never consider myself a lucky girl, I win myself almost nothing when it comes to lucky dip or door prizes, but this beginning of 2014 has proved me wrong. Thanks Sony Indonesia and BBlog! 

picture taken from www.duniaku.net

If you're interested to buy your own PS4, it's now available in Indonesia at the price of IDR 6.999.000. They also have the bundling package with PlayStation Camera for IDR 7.399.000 or the bundling package with Killzone: Shadow Fall oe Battlefield 4 games for IDR 7.499.000.

The new PS Vita and PS Vita TV will also be released on January 16th at the price of IDR 3.299.000 for PS Vita and IDR 1.799.000 for PS Vita TV. 

Lastly, here's an article to let you know why you should buy PS4: Top 10 Most Exciting Features on PS4, and if you can't wait to try, visit the PS4 Roadshow at Gandaria City Jakarta (11-12 Januari 2014) Living World Mall Tangerang (18-19 Januari 2014) and Surabaya (25-26 Januari 2014). 

SONY PS4