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

Slice of Heaven

Hello!

It's been exactly four months since my last post. How time flies! Got stuck with work and real life that I got no time to play here :)

Anyway, last week I suddenly just miss blogging so much, and that's when I spotted the Slice of Heaven. I was hanging out with my girls at Grand Indonesia, looking for something to eat. And this place was just too cute to be ignored. Decorated with warm wooden texture combined with pastel blue color, it was just the right place to have your meal with your girls.

Actually, the first time I saw their name, "Slice of Heaven", my mind suddenly brought me to a heavenly and sinful slice of cake with cream and fresh fruits all over it. But when we ask for the menu, Slice of Heaven is actually an eatery, serving full course meal from appetizer to desserts. Bad news, they don't have any cakes selection.

But they do have quite appetizing menu selections, from Western to Japanese. Oh and they serve Pork here, lot's of it. Yay or nay? For me, absolut yay!

Bacon Wrap (IDR 95.000)

Choices of grilled chicken or pork wrapped with bacon. Well we chose the grilled pork. Could you imagine the juicy and fatty grilled pork wrapped in bacon and dipped into chilli mayo? Absolutely sinfully delicious! Just don't count the cholestrol, lol.

Tofu Beef Cheese (IDR 85.000)

Oven-baked Japanese Tofu and Minced Beef served with Baked Potato on a hotplate. This is everybody's comfort food, isn't it? Something cooked with bolognese sauce and melted cheese, who could resist? This time it's tofu. But I still prefer pasta though, tofu was too soft to be the hero.

Brownies S'mores (IDR 85.000)

Warm baked brownies with chewy and crispy marshmallow on top. Well I'm a huge brownies fan, I love any brownies! And this one is no exception, love love the texture of the freshly baked brownies which was crispy on the outside but soft and moist at the inside. Taste was a little too sweet for me, but still acceptable.

True Lies (IDR 125.000)

For the drinks selections, they have limited variants of mocktails which is served in a jug, and available to be shared for up to 4 persons. This one was a combination of orange and peach with fresh diced strawberries, which tasted tangy and fresh!

We were quite satisfied with what we had that day. Would love to be back to try their pork pizzas! 

Oh and while the girls are having a nice long chat here, the boys could enjoy playing billiard at Q Billiard next door, which is ran under the same company. 

Slice of Heaven

Grand Indonesia West Mall 5th floor

(across The People's Cafe)

Central Jakarta

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