OpenRice Meet the Chef Event with Hog's Breath Cafe and VMAD Vegetarian Restaurant

Got invited to OpenRice event: "Meet the Chef" at Central Park Mall last Sunday. Well who doesn't know OpenRice? I bet you've at least heard of them, as they're the 1st culinary site in Indonesia, providing an online dining guide written by local people, featuring more than 71.000 dining places in Indonesia. This time, collaborating with Central Park Mall and Local Taste ID, they are organizing "Meet the Chef" event, a live cooking demonstration by restaurant's head chefs. Not only the visitors could learn how to cook a restaurant quality dish, they can also taste it on the spot, for free!

The first cooking demo was held by Chef Anto from Hog's Breath Cafe. Hog's Breath cafe is a chain of steak house restaurants which originally came from Australia, and now they've opened their first Indonesian outlet at Central Park Mall. Not only specializing in steak, they're also serving choices of burgers, sandwiches, and pizzas.

Aussie's Burger (IDR 89.000)

Time to judge the book by it's cover, guys, because this burger tastes as good as it looks! Hog's home made all beef patty in BBQ sauce topped with cheddar cheese, crispy beef bacon, lettuce, beetroot, pineapple, tomato, onion, and sunny side up, served with soft bun, salad, and curly fries. What's not to love? Me personally, the thing I love most -- other than that thick juicy patty in BBQ sauce of course -- is the pineapple inside the burger, which is unusual, but gives the burger the fresh and tangy sensation.

Prime Rib Steak Sandwich (IDR 149.000)

Tender prime rib char-grilled steak with cheese, tomato, lettuce, onion, and hickory BBQ sauce on a toasted Vienna loaf, served with salad and curly fries. Another jaw dropper, I just love everything on the plate.

Virgin Mojito (IDR 40.000) and Strawberry Mixed Smoothies (IDR 38.000)

Both of them were so good and fresh, a great companion for the meal in such a hot day. The mojito has the perfect balance between the lemon and mint flavor, while the smoothies is tangy and sweet. Oh please note that this glass is not their actual servings.

The second cooking demo was held by VMAD, a Vegetarian Indian Restaurant located in Sarinah and Sunter. I know some people are being skeptical when they heard the word "vegetarian". They immediately judge the food to be plain and tasteless. Well I was one of them, to be honest, but lately I've tried some vegetarian restaurant, and I even tried the vegan diet for health purpose, and not all vegetarian food is plain and tasteless. I found some of them to be delicious and addictive too. VMAD here is also trying to let people know that vegetarian food can be as good as the non vegetarian food. And they're obviously healthier.

Hakka Bakka Noodle (IDR 49.000)

Fried yellow noodle mixed with sauteed vegetarian chicken and mixed vegetables, and gently mixed with black pepper sauce, vegetarian oyster sauce, and olive oil. Even though it looks like a normal fried noodle, the taste was not just normal. It was BOLD. It's sweet and savoury and peppery in the balanced way. The vegetarian chicken they used here are actually made of soya bean, but it tasted quite similar to chicken.

Murtabak Ceylon (IDR 29.000)

Thin crusted pancake stuffed with spicy minced vegetarian chicken filling, served with Indian curry sauce. As expected from Indian food, this one's also bold and spicy. Nicely done, love the crispy outer layer and also the spicy chicken filling.

Jamaican Cooler (IDR 36.000) and Green Fantasy (IDR 35.000)

Jamaican Cooler is made of mocha syrup, vanilla ice cream, milk, and cashew nuts, while Green Fantasy's ingredients consists green veggie, lime, and pineapple. Both are cold and refreshing, but I love the Jamaican Cooler more as it's sweet and creamy but not heavy.

Thank you OpenRice for inviting me to this event :D 

Oh and for you who loves to capture your food and share it with others, you can now download OpenSnap for free. It's OpenRice's mobile apps which let you share your food experience with lot's of foodies from all across Asia! Download now on your AppleStore or Android PlayStore. Because sharing is caring, rite? ;p

Hog's Breath Cafe
Central Park, Tribeca Park, GF, Unit 15
Jl. Letjen. S. Parman Kav. 28, Slipi
 ph. (021) 29200114 

VMAD Vegetarian Madness
Jl. Danau Sunter Utara Raya Blok R No. 46 - 47 - 48, Sunter 
ph. (021) 6516075
Sarinah Building, Jl. MH Thamrin no. 11
ph. (021) 3903533

Afternoon Tea at Bistronomy

Several days ago, me and my bestie Maya were planning to have an afternoon tea session since we have free time together. Did some internet research on where to have afternoon tea in Jakarta, and when I found out that Bistronomy served it, we decided to have it there (or I persuaded her to have it there :p). I've been wanting to visit this place since forever, but since the place is very popular nowdays, it's always fullbooked on weekend. Luckily it was weekday afternoon, only a few table was occupied when we arrived there.

As expected, the interior was very vintage and elegant, it was such a nice place for girls day out. See the pictures for yourself, how could you not love that floral chairs, and the vintage mirrors and lamps all over the place? Oh, and since there was a halloween party coming up, the place was also decorated with some spooky things.

Their afternoon tea is served everyday from 2PM to 6PM. For the price of IDR 150.000 ++ for two persons, here's what we got.

SWEETS

Fruit Tarts (Kiwi Tarts and Strawberry Tarts)

Muffins (Blueberry Muffins and Strawberry Muffins)

Chocolate Cakes

New York Cheese Cakes

SAVORY

Sandwiches:

- Ham and Cheese Sandwiches

- Egg Sandwiches

- Tuna Sandwiches

Cheese Puffs

Chicken Fingers

TWO COFFEE OR THESE TEA FLAVORS

English Breakfast Tea, Earl Grey Tea, Green Tea & Mint, Jasmine Green Tea, Pure Peppermint, Pure Chamomile, Passionfruit Mango & Orange, Lemon & Ginger, Peach Tea, Blackcurrant Tea

I couldn't help but notice that there's some differences between the menu and our plate. First, it was said in the menu that the muffins are dark chocolate and lemon, but we got strawberry and blueberry muffins. Second, instead of almond cookies (as it written on the menu), we got chicken fingers and one extra sandwich variant. I don't think that this differences is a bad thing since we wasn't drooling for some specific items, but maybe they should told us first.

On the top of that, I found that everything served on the plate was more than satisfying. Well they're not perfect, the muffins and sandwiches was just a little too dry and the tarts crumbling apart when we try to lift them from the plate, but the taste of all elements was delicious. I especially love their fruit tarts, even though they're crumbling apart, but they got perfect sweetness from the custard cream and it blended well with the crunchy tart and fresh fruits.

On my first visit to Bistronomy, I was pleased. Couldn't wait for my next visit!

BISTRONOMY
Jl. Ciniru 1 no.2
Ciranjang, Kebayoran Baru
Jakarta Selatan
ph. +6221 7396655
fb. Bistronomy