Genji Shoppe Pop Up Store by Genji Pie

Let me tell you a great news, everyone! Genji Pie, everybody's favourite pie biscuit from Monde Biscuit, has recently launched Genji Shoppe, a cute and artsy pop up store which offers dessert creations made of Genji Pie as their main ingredients. The store is located at the Ground Floor of Street Gallery at Pondok Indah Mall 3, and will be serving you numbers of delicate desserts for a month only, starting at April 12th 2014.

As one of the favourite biscuit of the youth generation, Genji Pie launched Genji Shoppe not only to let people try their mouthwatering desserts, but they also aim to inspire the youth to gather, share the love, and inspire others to follow their passion and achieve their dream. For that purpose, five young and talented artists collaborated together to decorate the interior and exterior of Genji Shoppe. They are Rukmunal Hakim, Lala Bohang, Ykha Amelz, Muhamad Taufiq, and Monica Hapsari. Keep scrolling to see their unique and original artworks!

Left: Mr. Kelwin Darmono, General Manager of Monde Biscuit Indonesia

The five talented young artists

Moving on to the star of Genji Shoppe: The Genji Pie Dessert Creations! The desserts they offer here was quite various, but even better, you can also create your own Genji Pie desserts! Another Genji Pie's way to let the youth be creative and artsy.

Jar of Hearts (IDR 25.000/100gr)

Let's start with the simplest one. Two Mini Genji Pies stacked together with chocolate spread in between. Simple yet addictive. Get one and your mouth couldn't resist not to get another one, and another one until the plate is empty.

Sweet Sweet Love (IDR 35.000)

Melted chocolate brownies and raspberries between Genji Pies. Love the combination of the crunchy Genji Pie with the soft chocolate brownies and tangy raspberry. Such a beauty in both presentation and taste.

Sleeping Beauty (IDR 25.000)

Mini Genji Pies hidden inside strawberry and vanilla sponge cake. Another lovely creations! Dig deep and get a mouthful of this to taste the combination of crunchy genji pies and spongy and moist strawberry and vanilla cake. One of my favorite dessert here! 

This is Not a Martini (IDR 25.000)

Mini Genji Pies served with white and milk chocolate mousse. To enjoy this, get the mini genji pies and dig deep into the mousse with the pie. Eat it right away after you get your mini genji pies covered with the silky white and milk chocolate mousse.

When Sour Meets Choco (IDR 32.000)

Genji Pies, chocolate malt, and hazelnut covered with chocolate ganache and served with spring fruit salad. The presentation itself is so colorful and tempting, and I must say that it tasted even better than it looks! Crunchy, sweet, and tangy at the same time. It is my own personal favorite here, definitely a must must try!

Magic Cinnamon Pie (IDR 28.000)

Crispy and flaky Genji Pastry served with assorted spiced fruit. Well I'm always up to something fruity and cinnamon-ey when it comes to desserts, so I have no complaints for this one. Sweet and fruity!

Ratatouille Goes Berries (IDR 25.000) 

Last but not least, Genji Pie crumbles served with cream cheese, strawberry, and blueberry on top. The sweet, tangy, and cheesy sensation that will melt in your mouth. 

Wow I'm still amazed right now that Genji Pie could be combined with so many kind of ingredients, and yet they all tasted so good! I must tell you not to miss their dessert creations, especially when they're only available for a month. Go grab them fast! 

Genji Shoppe Pop Up Store 

North Entrance Lobby

Street Gallery Pondok Indah Mall III

Jakarta Selatan

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New Dessert Creations at Mandarin Oriental Cake Shop

For me, the name of Mandarin Oriental Cake Shop began to be heard often since last July, when they became the first cake shop in Jakarta who serves the famous CRONUTS! From back then until now, the Mandarin Oriental's cronuts still remains as one of the best cronuts in Jakarta, and now they also create more variants of cronuts.

And not only cronuts. Now that their pastry chef, Chef Wita Girawati, has completed an intensive training at LeNotre Culinary Institutes in Paris, she and her team has created the hotel's new dessert menu that will be offered at the famous Mandarin Oriental Cake Shop. And last week, I happened to be so lucky to be one of the first people to taste her new dessert creations.

The food tasting session was held in Cinnamon, Mandarin Oriental's buffet restaurant which is also connected with the Mandarin Oriental Cake Shop. The restaurant was facing the garden, it was warmly light and quite cozy. At the center of the restaurant, there's this huge dessert table, offering us not only the new dessert creations, but also their favourite and best sellers too.

The new dessert menu itself is ranging from the high end desserts to some innovative eclairs and handmade chocolates. Most of them are served in the Individual Portion at the price at IDR 50.000 and Whole Cake which starts from IDR 340.000. The portion they served us that day was actually the bite-sized portion, it's smaller than the Individual Portion. They made it special for this occasion, because there were so many desserts to taste.

Caramel and Apple Tart

Caramel chiboust cream with caramelized apple on the top of almond crust tart. Creamy, crunchy, and sweet. It was such a lovely dessert. Love the texture play and it has the perfect sweetness that match my tastebud.

Piemonte Hazelnut Cake 

Chocolate caramel mousse cake with hazelnut bavaroise on hazelnut biscuit. Presentation wise it was such a beauty. Got tempted immediately by the look of it, both the bite sized and the whole cake. But too bad I'm can't handle too much chocolate mousse. It was so good at the first bite, but at the end I'm getting overwhelmed by the creaminess and sweetness. It might be a good choice if you are a chocolate person though.

Alliance Apricot

Apricot and mascarpone mousse with sable breton biscuit. Now this is more suitable for me. Even though it's a mousse, it has the tangy taste from the apricot so it's not overwhelming for me. I was expecting hard and crunchy biscuit at the bottom and found out that the sable breton biscuit was actually kinda soft, but it actually tasted good together with the mousse at it's top.

Matcha Goma Cake 

Layers of white chocolate mousse, green tea biscuit, and sesame seed jelly. Another decent cake with strong green tea taste. 

Other than the whole cakes, there are also eclairs, lime and raspberry macaroon, cassava cake, and of course their famous cronuts. All of them were so lovely that I'm getting sugar high! Never eaten that many desserts at one time before in my life.

Anyway, to enjoy their lovely dessert, you can simply drop by to the Mandarin Oriental Cake Shop, or enjoy the Afternoon Tea Package at Cinnamon. For IDR 130.000+, you can enjoy one of this high tea package.

Classic High Tea

Assortment of finger sandwiches (egg, smoked salmon with cream cheese, cucumber)

Home baked scones served with strawberry jam and clotted cream

American chocolate cake, tiramisu cake, and strawberry tart

Oriental High Tea

Basket of dim sum with char siew chicken bun

Prawn and siew mai dumplings with chilli sauce

Indonesian kue klepon, lapis legit, and banana cakes

Wait no more and get your sugar fix at Mandarin Oriental Cake Shop now! 

Mandarin Oriental Cake Shop

Jl. MH Thamrin 

Jakarta 10310

ph. (021) 2993 8889

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Afternoon Tea for Two and Carvery at CANTEEN

CANTEEN is now serving Afternoon Tea for Two! 

Well I don't think I need to write a long introduction for CANTEEN. Has been serving you since 2008 under the same group as Loewy, Union, Cork&Screw, Casa, and E&O, CANTEEN has now becoming one of the well known and reputable restaurant in Jakarta.

Last Friday I was invited to a private tasting event to try their new Afternoon Tea for Two. Later that day, I happened to be very fortunate to meet Head Chef Chris Moes himself in person, and also tasted his signature Carvery.

CANTEEN's Afternoon Tea for Two

SWEETS
Dark Chocolate Rum Truffle
Dutch Butter Lemon Cake
Olive Oil Madeleine with Blueberries
Dark Chocolate Tart with Raspberry and Italian Meringue
Coconut Cookie
Dutch "Olie Bollen"

SAVORY
Crostino Smoked Salmon with Crème Fraîche and Dill
Crostino with Tomato Jam, Feta Cheese, and Basil
Dutch Bitterballen
Dutch Edam Cheese Croquette

and two choices of CANTEEN's gourmet tea selection:
Earl Grey, Camomile, English Breakfast, Peppermint, Ginger, or Japanese Green Tea

(IDR 165.000 ++)
Available everyday at 3-6 PM


What made CANTEEN's afternoon tea special is the taste of Dutch on the plate, which is brought directly by Chef Chris Moes from his hometown. I personally really like the Olie Bollen, a traditional Dutch food which recipe comes directly from Chef Chris' mother. His mother always made it every year only during the New Year's eve. Literally translated as "Oil Balls", it is the Dutch style Doughnut topped with white sugar, but without the hole, which was crunchy at the outside but the inside was moist and it got a glimpse taste of cinnamon.

From the Savory selections, their Crostino with Tomato Jam, Feta Cheese, and Basil 

is to die for! I've never thought that tomato could taste that heavenly. The tomato jam got melted 

as soon as it enters your mouth, and it tasted sweet. 

Well even though I'm just praising that two items, it doesn't mean that the other's not good enough.

 Every little thing on that plate was more than just satisfying, but I'm leaving it to you to try and decide

your favorite ;p

CANTEEN's Friday Special: Carvery

Carvery is held every Friday night at CANTEEN. It means that Chef Chris Moes himself will be out of the kitchen, slicing the meat for customers based on order. The meat changes every week so the customer can always taste something new. Well that night's meat was Pork Knuckle, so he didn't literally slice it, but he was preparing it for me, how lucky I am :D

Not going to hold you any longer, here's Friday Carvery menu that night: Pork Knuckle Served with Hutspot (another traditional Dutch cuisine, which is a combination of mashed potatoes, carrots, and onions), Brussel Sprouts, and Gravy (IDR 165.000). First impression, the portion was so generous that I think it could fed 2-3 girls. But then I took a bite of that crispy golden pork skin, combined with the succulent and juicy pork meat, and I just can't stop munching. In the end the portion was really too big for me to handle, but it was indeed a delightful dinner.

One last thing, I also tried one of their signature cocktail Sakura Spring (IDR 110.000) which is a mixture of Japanese Sake, Strawberry Liqueur, and Fresh Strawberries. Presentation was lovely and it tasted fresh and light. It could be a great choice to accompany your girls night out.


Well my day couldn't get any better. Thank you Febrina, Nina, Ing, and Chef Chris Moes for your kind invitation and warm companion. Till we meet again!

CANTEEN

Plaza Indonesia 

5th Floor # E02,E10, 

JL MH Thamrin, Kav 28-30, 

Jakarta, 10350  , 

Indonesia

ph. +62 21 3156537

fb. Canteen Jakarta

also available at:

Pacific Place 4th Floor SCBD

Jl. Jend. Sudirman Kav. 52-53

Jakarta 12190

ph. +62 21 57973742

TWG Tea Salon and Boutique

TWG tea is finally opening their Jakarta branch. Originally comes from Singapore, I've only tasted their famous tea-infused macarons brought by a friend once, and fell in love instantly with their Napoleon Tea and Caramel Macaron. But now I could taste everything they got. Yay!

image taken from TWG facebook page

The outlet is divided into two sections, the left side is for the tea display, while the right side is the dining area. Well I have to say that the dining space was not too comfortable. The table and chairs were fine, but the space between table was too narrow, especially when that we got seated at the corner, sharing our table with another customers. But in the end it goes down to the food, right? So here's what we had that day.

Eggs Benedict (IDR 80.000)

Eggs Benedict is a dish that I couldn't not order during any time of meal. And TWG did well on this one. There's choice between Salmon and Turkey Ham, so I went with Turkey. As you can see, the presentation was stunning, the eggs were beautifully poached, and the sauce had that perfect creamy, buttery and acidity taste in it.

Singapore Surprise (IDR 45.000)

It's like love at first sight. I took a single look at their cake display area, and instantly knew that I want it. Plus, the waiter also said that this cake was their best seller. Presentation wise, it's not beautiful, but definitely tantalizing. It has the creamy dreamy texture that comes from the vanilla cream, but the fresh and tangy taste of raspberry was balancing it well.

Chocolate Chocolate (IDR 45.000)

This is another best seller. It is beautifully presented, but let's just say, not my cup of tea? The upper part was the soft chocolate mousse, while the bottom was crunchy pistachio. First bite was good, but for me it got too overwhelming after several bites.

Napoleon Tea and Caramel (black) and Bain de Rose Tea (pink) Macarons 

(IDR 15.000 each)

We only tasted two macarons, since we've had cakes before. I still love the Napoleon Tea and Caramel more, but the Bain de Rose Tea flavor was also good. TWG's macaron has always got the light crisp outer skin while the filling was soft and slightly chewy.

White Silk Tea (IDR 42.000)

This tea is the waiter's recommendation. He said that it is a combination of Green Tea, Blue Tea, and Almond. And yes, you can smell a hint of sweet almond aroma when you drink it.

As I mentioned earlier, they also have the tea display section, which comes in attractive packaging, so it is definitely a good option for a gift to the special ones. TWG claims that they got more than 800 variants of tea from around the world, so the journey wouldn't end here. There's still much more to taste.

TWG Tea Salon & Boutique

Plaza Senayan, Shop Unit No. 103A, 107A, 109A and 111A 

Level 1, Senayan Square Complex,
Jalan Asia Afrika No. 8, Kelurahan Gelora,
Kecamatan Tanah Abang, Jakarta Pusat

fb. TWG Tea Official Page

web. TWG Tea