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!

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

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

[Singapore] Tim Ho Wan

Meet Tim Ho Wan's pork bun, currently the best pork bun I've ever tasted. I've been eyeing this pork bun for months since it's Singapore branch opening, and so there's no way I'm not paying it a visit on my Singapore trip last month.

As expected of a 1 Michelin Star Restaurant, the bun is to die for! For the price of S$ 4.50, expect three beautiful buns with sweet and crispy outer layer, fluffy bread, filled with tender and fragrant char siew pork with BBQ sauce. It is definitely a must-order dish when you're here, and let me tell you, they're best eaten while hot and fresh.

Also people said that your visit at Tim Ho Wan wouldn't be complete if you haven't tried their Big Four Heavenly Kings: Baked Bun with BBQ pork (S$ 4.50), Vermicelli Roll with Pig’s Liver (S$ 5.50), Pan Fried Carrot Cake (S$ 4.50), and Steamed Egg Cake (S$ 3.80). So we did order them all (I didn't take picture of the vermicelli and carrot cake), and also added Chicken Feet with Black Bean Sauce (S$ 4), Prawn Dumpling / Har Gow (S$ 5.50), Pork Dumpling with Shrimp / Siew Mai (S$ 5.00), Glutinous Rice Dumpling / Lo Mai Gai (S$ 5.00), and Beancurd Skin Roll with Shrimp (S$ 5.50).

Other than the buns, the other items that I recommend are their Glutinous Rice Dumpling and the Carrot Cake. But all the dishes were decent though, all ingredients were fresh and taste good.

Unfortunately, to get this scrumptious Dim Sum, you have to wait in the line alongside with the other hungry Singaporeans, because Tim Ho Wan has no reservations policy. I waited for two almost two hours to get seated, but there was not even a slight regret. So hereby I'm leaving you with this picture of people lining to get their favourite buns. And trust me, this is not even the end of the line. Get yourself prepared!

Tim Ho Wan Singapore
68 Orchard Road #01-29A 

Plaza Singapura Singapore 238839 

(Dhoby Gaut MRT) 

Tel:+65 6251 2000
Opening Hours: 10.00am – 10.00pm 

(First-come-first-serve basis; no reservations)

also available at:

ERA Centre, 450 Lorong 6 

Toa Payoh, #02-02

Telephone: 6483 2000Opening Hours: 11am – 10pm (Daily)