Hot Stone Steak Experience at Street Steak

Get ready guys, the culinary area in Pantai Indah Kapuk will be expanding soon, because the shophouses at the front area (across Burger King and Fresh Mart area) are now completely built! Meanwhile there are already two shophouses open for bussiness: Eng's Resto -- which is famous for their Asinan Bandung (Bandung's traditional pickle), and Street Steak.

As I'm not a big fan of asinan, that evening me and my highschool girls tried the newly opened Street Steak. The PIK outlet is their second branch. The first one is located in Kelapa Gading, and they're famous for the hot stone steak.

The name's not a bluff, because when we dine here, we are literary having our meal on the street! The place is decorated as a real street, complete with the pavings and road signs. Very cute and unique.

The other unique thing here is their food presentation. Your steak will be presented on a hot stone to maintain the quality of the steak. The concept of hot stone is actually quite similar to hot plate, the stone they're using is thicker, so it can keep your steak hot for longer time.

One portion of their steak consists your choice of meat, freshly-cut onions, thick-cut fries, sauteed vegetables, and one of their three choices of sauce (mushroom, BBQ, and blackpepper). The side dishes and sauces were fine, the only minor turn down was their sauteed vegetables, which for me, seasoned too strong.

Baker Street Steak (IDR 89.000)

This is my choice of steak that night, 200 gr of Australian Prime Tenderloin served on the hot stone. Well to be honest, I wasn't expect much from this dish. I mean, if I am craving for a big chunk of super juicy meat, I would order their choices of wagyu instead. But that night, I was just looking for something ordinary and affordable, so I ordered this. But what I tasted was totally not what I expected. The meat was grilled perfectly, it was very very juicy and flavorful, I would say that it was even better than some wagyu steak I've tasted in the other affordable steakhouses (no need to mention the name). Oh, and the seasoning was so good, that I could enjoy my steak even without the sauce.

Tomahawk Steak (IDR 345.000)

500 grams of enormous wagyu sirloin steak. Look at that huge steak! My friend ordered this to be shared for the two of them, as Street Steak are having promotion for this steak. It's only IDR 280.000 during their soft opening period. I usually avoid sirloin, as I hate that chewy fatty part of it, but I took a bite of this steak, and it wasn't chewy at all. All hail the power of wagyu!

Stone Grilled Chicken (IDR 50.000)

A friend of mine didn't eat red meat, so she ordered this grilled chicken instead. It was decent, though I'm not a fan of chicken breast. I love the fatty thigh more, lol.

Another worth visited restaurant in the neighborhood, for sure. Other than the special price on the Tomahawk Steak, they also got the 50% discount on the Hokubee Premium Beef during the soft opening period. Be sure not to miss it!

Street Steak

Jl. Pantai Indah Utara

Rukan Metro Broadway Blok 9BE

Pantai Indah Kapuk

Heavenue Churros and Desserts

Heavenue Churros and Desserts is another newbie at Pantai Indah Kapuk area. After enjoying our lunch at Locale 24 earlier, me and David were kinda full but we're not willing to go home yet. Therefore we decided to try this new churros place, which location is aligned with Locale 24 and also other well known joints at PIK such as Hakata Ikkousha and Hong Tang.

As the name said, the food they're offering is Churros and Desserts, varies from the old fashioned churros with dipping and icing to the Churros Parfait and their signature desserts like Panna Cotta and Apple Pie. Since we were still quite full, we only ordered their Churros de Amor (4 Churros and 1 Dipping) (IDR 25.000) and Orange Mojito (IDR 30.000).

Our Churros de Amor tasted good and crunchy at the outside, while the milk chocolate dipping was slightly too watery but I like it that it's not too sweet for my liking. One little disappointment was that we ordered cinnamon icing for our churros but it came with no cinnamon icing, only cocoa powder. In the other side, the Orange Mojito was tangy and refreshing, but I was hoping that they used fresh orange though.

Well my short visit still cannot do the judge. Even though what they served wasn't mindblowing, but it was quite nice and heartwarming. I won't mind visiting it again next time to have another round of churros (but I hope they get my order right) and try their desserts.

Heavenue Churros & Desserts

Ruko Garden House Blok A no. 8

Jl. Raya Pantai Indah Kapuk

Jakarta Utara

ph. (021) 290 33398

fb. Heavenue Churros

opening hours : 10.00 AM - 11.00 PM

Locale 24

Locale 24 is a new restaurant joint which just opened recently in Pantai Indah Kapuk. Being a regular at Pantai Indah Kapuk area, I've already attracted to this mysterious green bus even when it was still under construction. Now that it is on business, I was beyond excited to visit it yesterday for a late lunch.

Having the green bus as their facade is a brilliant idea to attract customers and make it stood out among the other restaurants around. Well at least for me, seeing a cute restaurant like this, I have that urge to pay it a visit and have a nice lunch inside at a table by the window (pardon me and my weird urgency). Too bad that time all the table by the window was occupied, so I have to stick with the accustomed restaurant interior. The interior was more simple, the green and white colors still dominating the ambience.

The choices of food was not too much and to be honest it was not tempting for me. No pictures, no description for most of the food, and some of the selections was too ordinary. Well but that was just my opinion, who knows if they could pull out something special out of ordinary dishes? So here's what we had there.

Appetizer Platter (IDR 46.000)

It was one of a few dishes that comes with description, so we decided to have it. The platter consists Potato Wedges, Fish Fingers, Chicken Wings, and Nachos, also comes with BBQ Sauce for the chicken wings and Tartar Sauce for the fish fingers. Overall it was a decent plate, I really love the seasoning on the potato wedges and the sauces. Portion was also satisfying. But the nachos comes with grated cheddar cheese topping, and I think I still prefer Mozzarella on my nachos.

Country Fried Steak and Milk Gravy (IDR 42.000)

You can choose the steak between chicken and beef, and I went for beef, simply because they came in the same price (HAHA). Again, portion was generous. The seasoning on the steak was nice, but the milk gravy tasted kinda too milky that it's getting overwhelming at some point. And they need to work on something for the sides, pretty sure that were just lazy frozen french fries and frozen vegetables with mayo. I don't mind smaller portion if the sides compliment it better.

Overall I think this restaurant has potential, looking at it's creative concept and the affordable pricing. But a slight improvement on the menu and dishes could do them much better. Oh and have I mentioned that they open 24/7?

Locale 24 Diner & Bar 

Rukan Garden House Blok B 10-11

Pantai Indah Kapuk

North Jakarta

Ph. +6221 29033162

Seorae

Korean culture is very happening in Indonesia. I myself am not a big fan of K-Pop and K-Drama, but I love Korean Food, especially Korean BBQ. And that's why I was so happy to be invited to the grand opening of Seorae, a new Korean BBQ Restaurant at Pantai Indah Kapuk. 

Upon entering the place, I can feel the traditional and modern ambience at the same time. As usual, Korean BBQ restaurant is dominated with light wooden materials, but they did a nice job combining it with bold red color to give modern touch to it.

The event started with an opening speech from Mr. Park, the CEO of Seorae. He explained that the first Seorae Restaurant was opened in Seoul on 2007, and he's very glad that now Seorae has already had 257 branch in Korea, and the Jakarta Branch is their 258th branch and 1st branch outside Korea! Quite an accomplishment, isn't it?

In Indonesia itself, Seorae is brought by three best friends: Astrid Wiliandry, Susanna Anggraini, and Augie Fantinus (yes, the actor and presenter). Carrying the "affordable luxury" concept, they are trying to change the 'expensive' image of Korean restaurant and hoping that everybody could enjoy Korean food in affordable price.

 

In this occasion, Mr. Park also did a demonstration on grilling two of their specialty, the Galmaegisal (Pork Skirt Meat) and Woosamgyeob (Beef Belly). You may noticed that the two pictures above were using different grilling plate. Mr. Park explained to us that Seorae is using two different grilling plate to maximize the taste of each meat. And they also change the grill plate immediately if they are about to grill another type of meat to maintain their quality. 

After the grilling demo, Mr. Park was so humble to fed some of us. I was one of the lucky person to try a mouthful of Woosamgyeob, and it was really tender, juicy, and well marinated.  

And finally, Seorae Restaurant is officially open for business!

After the grand opening event, we were getting ready for the food tasting. First, meet the sauce. There were three kinds of condiments served here, from the left is the Sesame Oil with Salt, the Spicy Sauce, and Seorae's Special Sauce. We are free to dip the meat to the choice of sauces, but later I'll tell you my favorite combinations.

As usual Korean Restaurant, first we were served with Ban Chan. Here there were Lettuce Salad with Korean Dressing, Goguma Mattang (Crispy Sweet Potato in Caramelised Sauce), and Red Bean Rice Cakes. My favorite was the red bean rice cakes, but I also love the Salad's dressing.

After that, comes the meat:

Galmaegisal (IDR 79.800)

Seo Rae's signature dish. Pork skirt meat, marinated with their authentic secret korean spices, and grilled to perfection.

Samgyeopsal (IDR 69.800)

Grilled pork belly marinated with the secret sauce. Juicy and tender.

Maeun Dakgalbi (IDR 54.800)

Tender chicken thigh, glazed with the special spicy sauce, then grilled to perfection.

Seoul Bulgogi (IDR 124.800)

Grass-fed beef brisket cooked in their special soup. The portion on the picture above is a sample portion.

All of them were great! I couldn't say which one is my favorite, since all of them is unique in their own way. The Galmaegisal was tender and well marinated, and I like it best with the Seo Rae special sauce. The Samgyeopsal, in my opinion, is best combined with the spicy sauce, but it could be better if grilled until crispier. In the other hand, the Maeun Dakgalbi and Seoul Bulgogi were already great without any condiment. 

Other than the meat, there were also some side dishes:

Tteokbokki (IDR 34.800)

Rolled rice-flour cooked overnight in hot sauce and served with fried fish cakes. The seasoning was delicious, but it got more and more spicy after a few bites. Well I'm not very good at eating spicy food, so maybe it could be great option for spicy food lovers.

Japchae (IDR 69.800)

Traditional Korean rice-noodle stir fried with pork and fresh vegetables. This one contains no pork, considering the fellow moslem guests. I think it could be better if they reduce the pepper, since the pepper was quite overpowering the dish.

Not stopping there, I also got a box of Seorae's merchandise and a discount voucher. Yay! Thank you Seorae for having me in the event, I will definitely come back :D

Seorae
Rukan Garden House 
Blok B no. 19
Pantai Indah Kapuk
Jakarta Utara
ph. 021 29033389
fb. Seorae Indonesia

Hawaiian Bistro

Hawaiian Bistro is one of the newest addition in Pantai Indah Kapuk area, located a few units away from the famous Hakata Ikkousha. The place is bringing a new color for Jakarta foodie to try, and yes, it is Hawaiian food!

Without any hesitation, I dragged David (as usual) to accompany me for lunch last Saturday. The place occupied one shophouse, so it's kinda narrow on the first floor. But the second floor was a lot wider and brighter, and decorated with Hawaiian details like Lei (Hawaiian flower necklace), the orange lifesaving tubes, and Hawaiian paintings on the wall.

Bistro Bento (IDR 72.000)

I was confused between Bistro Bento and Loco Moco, but I think I made the right decision. Basically it was Fish Katsu, BBQ Beef, Spam (pork), and Fried Chicken on the top of the rice, served with a choice of Fresh Vegetable Salad or Macaroni Salad. My favorite was the beef and chicken, they just got seasoned right. And the macaroni salad was a very nice option for people like me, who can't eat raw vegetables, so the salad doesn't ended up left on the plate. 

Paniolo BBQ Mix (IDR 69.000)

Their famous trio BBQ (Chicken, Beef, and Short Ribs) served with two scoops of rice (as how they always served it in Hawaii), and choice of salads. The same BBQ as I had in my plate, but with 3 kind of meat. Heaven indeed.

Chocolate Ice Cream (IDR 15.000)

They were giving free Ice Cream (Chocolate/Matcha/Ogura) if you like their Facebook and follow their Twitter. So how could we resist freebies?

Hawaiian Bistro 

Rukan Cluster Garden House Blok A No 25 

Pantai Indah Kapuk

Jakarta 

ph. (021) 29033185 

fb. Hawaiian Bistro 

t. @hawaiianbistro

A Gantea

Whenever we go to Pantai Indah Kapuk area, we always have two rounds of meal. The first is our lunch/dinner, and the second is bubble tea. This time, after having our late taiwanese lunch at Ilha Formosa, we decided to try A Gantea, which is only a block away.

A Gantea is located under the same roof as Brooaster Chicken, and it's serving chicken menu too other than bubble tea. I wonder if it's the same chicken or not. But our tummy was full, so we only tried their recommended beverages, Signature Milk Tea (L) (IDR 23.000).

Signature milk tea is using green tea as the mixture, and two kinds of pearl (big and small) as the topping. What I found delicious is their big pearl. Unlike other pearls, the color of the big pearl is not black, its more like yellowish brown. And it's bursting with sweetness when we took a bite. The small pearl tasted just like another pearl, and so the milk tea.

Bottom line, it tasted good, and the place was also nice and comfortable. It could be another choice to hang out with friends sometimes.

A-Gantea

Rukan Cordoba blok E no 11

Pantai Indah Kapuk

Jakarta

f. A-Gantea Indo

Ilha Formosa

Last saturday, me and David were wandering around Pantai Indah Kapuk area (again), looking for a late lunch. This time David said that he's looking for something chinese, and so we ended up coming in to Ilha Formosa. 

A little trivia, Ilha Formosa is the former name of the Taiwan island, created by the Portuguese when they first came in 1544, which means "beautiful island". So as the name said, this restaurant is serving Taiwanese food, which is tempted for us. But later after we got seated, we found out that the kind of Taiwanese food they served is the authentic one. As far as I remember, the a la carte menu is mostly serving various kind of food cooked with wine, arak, and other medicinal herbs. 

We never tried that kind of food, and not tempted to, so we went for their rice menu. I chose Braised Pork Rice with Egg (IDR 40.000), which is recommended by the waiter, and David chose Taiwanese Braised Chicken Rice (IDR 40.000).

The waiter told me that I should mix the rice and the braised pork together to get maximum delicacy, and I did it. And my braised pork rice turned out unexpectedly delicious! David said that the spice tasted like medicine, but somehow I like it. In the other hand, David's braised chicken tasted kinda dense for me but he said he's quite like it.

The service was also quite nice here, the waiters were friendly, and they came to asked how the food tasted, so I said it's good. So if you're looking for authentic taiwanese food, there you go. 

Ilha Formosa

Rukan Cordoba G no.1

(Seberang Waterboom)

Pantai Indah Kapuk

Jakarta

ph. 021 56983535

Momento

Here's another random dinner at Pantai Indah Kapuk area. David was having some bussiness in Pluit, so after that we decided to have our dinner at Momento PIK. 

Upon arrival, we were greeted by the bright white colours of the interior. On the exposed brick walls, the furniture, the ceilings, to the white marble table. There's a huge void on the entrance hall that the place felt big and spacious. And there's super comfy-look sofas in one corner, right next to an artifical fireplace. Too bad the sofas were all occupied that night.

The choice of food was quite limited. My main course was a Barbecue Oven Roasted Chicken, served with potato wedges and veggies. It was originally served with mashed potatoes, but I changed it into wedges. The portion was quite much, they served half chicken, and I'm not into chicken breast, so I gave it to David. But the barbecue seasoning was fine. The wedges was crunchy but I prefer it a little saltier.

As usual, David went with Beef Black Pepper Rice. The beef texture was good and not chewy, but the seasoning is kinda sweet and not spicy. We agreed that Detention Room's black pepper beef was better.

Anyway, the food was okay, but not yet outstanding. I think Momento still need some improvement from the menu selection to the taste of food, but I wish the best for them, since I love the interior and I still want to sit in their sofa-next-to-fireplace someday :)

Momento Restaurant & Bar

Ruko Crown Golf Blok D No. 33 - 35 

Pantai Indah Kapuk 

North Jakarta

The Lab

After having a satisfying dinner at Detention Room, we decided to try the bubble tea place next door, The Lab. The place looks very attractive, both the exterior and interior, but too bad I didn't get any good shot for the exterior, since it was already dark :(

In my opinion, amongst all bubble tea store I've tried, The Lab has the cutest and most unique concept. Loves their consistency between the store name, the interior (starts from the table to the sink!), and the custom designed bubble tea glass that really looked like a lab cylinder. Attention to the details!

Yes, I did say that The Lab is the cutest, but it's also the most expensive bubble tea I've ever bought. We shared a glass of Macadamia Milk Tea (IDR 24.000), topped with Mini Boba (IDR. 3.000). The price was IDR 28.350 after tax & service, and the size was smaller than the usual bubble tea glass (It only came in one size). 

So is it worth it to pay almost IDR 30.000 for a small size bubble tea? Or do we only pay more for the cute glass and ambience? For me, the price is worth the taste. The taste of the macadamia and the tea came strong at first, but they blended nicely in my mouth, making me couldn't wait to take another sip, and another sip, until the glass is empty.

The Lab
Ruko Crown Golf Block D No. 29
Pantai Indah Kapuk
Jakarta
Ph. +628118772837