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!

Comfort Chinese Cuisine at Paradise Inn

Paradise Inn is one of my family's favourite Chinese Restaurant.Especially here in their Puri Indah Mall branch, it's near my house so we've dined here for God knows how many times. The ambiance of the restaurant is very casual, yet you still can feel the Chinese atmosphere inside. It's dominated by the greyish concrete color, combined with the contrast pastel blue color. Not the combination you usually see, but that's why it's unique.

One of the reason why I love to dine here is because they serve non halal food. Oh you know how much I love pork :p Lately Paradise Inn is having new dishes published on their menu, and we tried some of them.

Crisp-fried Eggplant Tossed (IDR 28.000)

Deep fried battered eggplant topped with chicken floss. It's one of their new menu. It was crispy and flossy, but you can barely taste the eggplant. Well I'm not really a big fan of eggplant though, so I found this dish to be quite nice. You can eat it with rice or without rice, it's still good either way.

Hot Plate Tofu with Preserved “Cai Xin” and Minced Pork (IDR 48.000)

This one's not a newcomer. It's one of my must-order dish. Their tofu is so smooth and silky, and the minced porkk and mushroom sauce was just as good. It's served on a hot plate, and the bottom of the hot plate is coated with egg, so dont forget to dig it up.

Crisp Pork Ribs with Marmite Sauce (IDR 88.000)

A new signature dish from Paradise Inn. You better enjoy it while it's still hot, so you could taste the maximum juiciness of the ribs, and the good sweet yet savory marmite sauce. But I still prefer their old signature, the Imperial Pork Ribs, as it is not as sweet as this one, and it comes with no bones. But this one's still worth trying if you're looking for something new.

Prawn Mayonnaise with Katsuobushi (S IDR 88.000 / M IDR 108.000)

My favorite dish of the night! It's basically the everyone's favorite mayonnaise prawn, but topped with Katsuoboshi, the fermented fish you usually found on your takoyaki. It's a brilliant idea to add katsuoboshi on the top, as they work really well together. The crispy and crunchy battered fresh prawn, together with mayo and the fishy (in a good way) katsuoboshi, that was heaven in my mouth.

Poached Chinese Spinach with Egg Trio and Minced Pork in Superior Stock (IDR 58.000)

 The Chinese spinach with three eggs is my favorite vegetable dish to order in Chinese restaurants, and believe me, Paradise Inn served one of the best of this dish. Loving every spoonfull of the fresh spinach, warm and savory soup, and of course the eggs.

Keep up the good work, Paradise Inn! Oh and loving their creative Christmas tree made of dimsum pot lid. Uber cute! Merry early Christmas, everyone :D

Paradise Inn

Puri Indah Mall, Lt.1
Unit #102, Jl. Puri Agung Puri Indah,
Jakarta 11610
Tel: 021-5822-459
Fax: 021-5822-895

Marugame Udon

Marugame Udon is expanding their business, opening their second branch in Gandaria City. Just a few days after the opening, I got an invitation to a blogger meet up and break fasting here at Marugame Udon Gandaria City. The place is occupying quite a large area. Still using the same system as the Taman Anggrek outlet, they have a big counter where you can choose your dish, as well as seeing it freshly made in the open kitchen. After that you pay at the cashier at the end of the counter, and eat your meal at the dining area.

 

As the name said, Marugame Udon's specialty is their Udon, which comes in eight different choices to try. Other than that, they also have assorted tempura and also rice dish.

Kake Udon (IDR 33.000)

Kake Udon is served with kake dashi soup (Japanese stock with soy sauce and mirin), which taste very simple and light. The udon itself already has the perfect thickness and chewiness, that it is yummy enough just to eat the udon with the light kake dashi soup.

Niku Udon (IDR 45.000)

Niku Udon is served with Kake Dashi Soup and Sukiyaki Beef. I personally like this more than the Kake Udon, since the beef was very tender, and it also gave a hint of sweetness to the soup. Just look at that gorgeous shiny soup, isn't it tempting?

Mentai Kamatama Udon (IDR 50.000)

It's another way to eat udon, it is served with no soup, but you'll got soft boiled egg, mentai (chilli cod roe), and shredded nori instead. Not my favourite way to have my udon, but it's worth trying though.

Tori Baitang Udon (IDR 45.000)

If you're looking for richer broth, here you go. Tori Baitang Udon is served with white soup and tori balls. The broth is definitely the richest amongst all, and I just love their homemade tori balls. 

Beef Curry Udon (IDR 50.000)

Udon served with sukiyaki beef and Japanese curry. I've always loved any kind of curry, so I will definitely say that this is delicious. It was said that the curry here was made not too heavy to adjust with Indonesian taste.

Tempura is also something you shouldn't miss here at Marugame Udon. They had various kind of Tempura ready to pick on the counter. Their tempura is refreshed every fifteen minutes to keep the freshness and quality.

Beef Croquette (IDR 10.000) and Egg Tempura (IDR 8.000)

Kisu Fish Tempura (IDR 10.000) and Broccoli Tempura (IDR 10.000)

Ebi Tempura (IDR 14.000) and Chicken Chilli Tempura (IDR 7.000)

All of them were served hot freshly cooked, so no wonder they're all good. My personal favorite would be the Ebi Tempura and Chicken Chilli Tempura. The egg tempura is also one of a kind, I think it's the only place in Indonesia where you could find a half boiled egg covered with crunchy tempura. 

So, will I be back? The question is not necessary, since I've been their regular customer since the opening of their first branch in Mall Taman Anggrek. And I've been back there twice since this event held about two weeks ago. So, I'll see you there? :)

Marugame Udon

Gandaria City 

Mainstreet Lv. UG

Jakarta Barat

Publico Bistro and Winebar

Last Saturday, a best friend of mine was holding her birthday dinner at Publico, Senopati. The place is a three-storeyed building, with the first floor as the reception area, while second and third floor are the dining area. All three floor are connected by a unique spiral wooden staircase. The dining area was spacious, it is dominated with the black and yellow furnitures, and they got a huge void above the bar area. Love love love the interior, but too bas it was dimly lit, so I didn't manage to take good pictures.

So let's just go straight to the food.

Thai on Ninth (IDR 50.000), deep fried bread and chicken, served with Thai chilli sauce.

Popcorn Prawns (IDR 50.000), deep fried prawns served with salad with thousand island dressing.

Tea Smoked Salmon (IDR 115.000), roasted in ginger and garlic marinade, served with wasabi mashed potatoes and apple salad (But as you can see in the picture, my friend's plate got no apple).

Black Angus Beef Burger (IDR 90.000), with onion rings, cheddar cheese, and triple cooked fries.

Oven Grilled Stuffed Chicken Breast with Pesto (IDR 80.000), served with butter mashed potatoes.

Soy Glazed Salmon (IDR 115.000), served with garlic ginger rice and sauteed mushrooms and beans.

Miso Marinated Black Cod (IDR 115.000), roasted and served with butter mashed potatoes.

Roasted Spring Chicken (IDR 95.000), served with roasted potatoes, sauteed mushrooms and beans, and gravy.

 

Grilled Barramundi (IDR 135.000), well that's what written on the bill, but I think this more looks like Steamed Barramundi with vegetables.

I'm not reviewing the food one by one, but let me tell you, there's not a single dish that dissapointing us that night. Yes, you heard it right. Well the dish might not be perfect, but everything's delicious and everyone seems to enjoy our dinner that night. As for my dish, the Soy Glazed Salmon, it came in generous portion, well seasoned salmon with crispy skin and tender meat, and delicious rice. Gotta love it.

And as usual, a narcissistic picture to end the post. Happy birthday, Maya!

Publico
Jalan Senopati Raya no. 65
Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan
ph. (021) 52964960
f. Publico