I'm eating my way around life.

Jakarta is chock full of seafood stands, dotting the roadsides. How to pin point the ones that are good and clean? Pick the crowded ones. Like this amazing place on Jl. Wolter Monginsidi, Seafood 68.

Seperti warung2 seafood pada umumnya, mereka buka pada malam hari dan tutup dini hari. Tempatnya bersih dan ramai, makanannya cepet dateng. Abis pesen, kita disuguhin otak2 buat nyemil (bayar tentunya). Seperti biasa, gue dan keluarga gue pesen Kerang Dara Rebus, Kerang Hijau Saus Padang, Baronang Bakar, dan Cah Kangkung.

I love their kerang dara. Bukannya kerang dara dimana mana sama? oh tentu tidak. Di sini kerangnya tender dan sama sekali nggak amis, fresh banget, dan dipping saucenya juga segeer. Kalo ga dihentikan gue bisa makan 5 piring sendiri kali. Paling asik nyemil kerang rebus.

Kangkungnya lupa difoto hahaha tapi yang jelas kangkung mereka itu just the way I like it. Crunchy dan asinnn.

Baronang bakar mereka juga juara. Bumbunya itu lho, nyeresep banget, dan kecap cabenya mereka itu pedesnya asik! Ikan mereka dipotongnya juga jadi bikin mudah dimakan. Ikan2 lainnya seperti bawal juga enak, tapi rekomendasi gue adalah bakar aja semuanya, karena lebih taaasty.

INI DIA JUARANYA. kerang ijo saus padang. Dayummmmm enaknyaaa ga pernah gue temui di tempat seafood semahal apapun. Gatau gimana caranya, kerang mereka ini luarnya crispy tapi dalemnya lembut banget, jadi kerangnya sendiri udah gurih. Terus saos padangnya itu enak banget, pedesnya, asinnya, pas banget. Paling enak dimakan pake nasi panas. Biasanya keluarga gue pesen 2 sampe 3 piring hahaha the best.

Soal harga, sepiring sekitar 20-30 ribu kalo nggak salah. Dijamin bersih, gue belom pernah sakit perut abis makan disini. Dan dijamin puas! Cumi goreng tepung dan udang goreng menteganya juga enak. kayaknya semuanya enak hahaha intinya jangan malu2 pesennya kalo makan disini ;;—))

FINALLY, TIME TO WRITE NEW POSTS!

Hello, I’m back with a plethora of pictures from this awesome Indonesian place called Te Sate. Okay so y’all know the restaurant Sate Khas Senayan right? So apparently Sate Khas and Te Sate are owned by the same person. Te Sate serves a more sophisticated take on Indonesian food from all over the nation, and yes it’s more expensive, but they’re GOOD. Some of their food are great and some of them are just plain good.

It’s located in Pacific Place, 5th floor, right in front of the elevator, across Ootoya (an awesome Japanese place that serves Japanese home cooking). The place itself is huge ang goooorgeous.

I love their menu too, it’s a kipas sate!!

I went with my mom and dad, so we naturally order a LOT of food. We had Rawon Buntut, Gado-gado, Sate Ayam Madura, Sate Lilit, Kepiting Soka Saus Mangga, Sambel Matah, and some Nasi Uduk. 

I know that isn’t a good picture but oh well. It’s basically just regular rawon but with buntut instead of chunks of meat. I thought oh okay, rawon. It tastes good, flavorful, and the longer you let it simmer the spicier it gets (which is great). The absolute best part of this is the buntut itself. If you ever want to taste the definition of meat falling of the bones, this is it. It’s SO TENDER and awesome and there is zero difficulty eating it. So yes it’s pretty great, even tho I’m not completely blown away.

Sate Ayam Madura. Nama restorannya aja Te Sate kan, so I expect great sate. Sate Khas has amazing sate. This, not so much. The texture is great, really tender, tapi HAMBAR. Somehow rasa bumbunya ga cocok dengan rasa satenya, dan kayak ga ada rasanya, beda jauuuuhh sama yg di Sate Khas. NOT recommended. Kalo mau pesen sate, pesen yang dibawah ini:

THE BEST SATE LILIT EVEEERRRRR. Sate lilit disini ada dua jenis, bebek sama kepiting. Di piring ini ada keduanya. Semuanya enak, tapi yang kepiting HEAVEN. Gue sangat suka sate lilit. Di Bali hobi gue makan sate lilit. But this is better than anything I’ve ever had. Bumbunya itu perfect. Segala-galanya enak banget. Enaknya dua kali lipat kalo dimakan pake….

THIS AWESOME SAMBEL MATAH. Gue suka sambel. Gue suka sambel matah. Dan ini adalah sambel matah ter enak. Gurih, pedes, seger, paaaasssss banget sama sate lilitnya. Pokoknya kalo lo pengen sate enak seger, pesen sate lilit kepiting + sambel matah ini!!!!

You might ask wth is that???? It looks like a caesar salad but with sambel kacang and emping. Yup, its the weirdest gado-gado I’ve ever seen. But I know to not judge food by how it looks. It was decent. Fresh, but different. Tahu dan tempenya seharusnya lebih crispy dan nyeresep, tapi bumbu kacangnya enak. Decent lah, tapi porsinya banyak banget. It’s pretty funny to look at tho hahaha

Last but not least, the glorious gloooorious Kepiting Soka. This is an awesome dish. Kepiting soka emang cocok banget sama mangga muda. Bener2 fresh, asem pedes seger kyaaaa suka banget. Kalo lo ga suka sambel mangga, lo akan mengubah pikiran lo dengan makan ini. Yep it’s even better than the one in Din Tai Fung. Best I’ve had.

So, the verdict is, I love Te Sate because their food packs a punch. Flavourful and authentic. But its terrible sate ayam makes me mad, man. It’s supposed to be their specialty!! Oh well, Sate Lilit FTW!!!!

Best enjoyed with mom and pops because of their steep prices. Like 90rb a dish steep. Yup, fancy Indonesian food it is.

Hi beautiful followers!! Sorry for the lack of updates, I haven’t got the time, college entrance prep is kicking back in. I ate  delightful traditional but fancy Indonesian lunch on Sunday, and I will be writing a long post on that with pretty pictures! And hopefully I can have some more awesome food this week and not sustain myself with junk food and crappy take outs. 

<3

Jalan Senopati adalah jalan dimana restoran2 berderet. Dari tradisional, sushi, steak, suki, sampai asian food tersedia. Nggak lama setelah lo melewati belokan SCBD, lo akan menemukan Zenbu, sebuah resto jepang yang tampak biasa saja. Tapi saat lo masuk dan melihat menunya, pasti lo overwhelmed dan akan super bingung memesan.

Mereka punya 3 menu. Menu utama, menu sushi, dan menu dessert yang disediakan oleh Gelare. Di menu utama asiknya ada itungan kalorinya!!! Menu utama ini isinya appetizer2, Mozaru, udon, ramen, don, Omurice, furai, tempura, dan minuman. Apa itu Mozaru? Mozaru adalah menu andalannya Zenbu, yaitu nasi berbumbu dengan katsu (bisa milih katsu apa) dan ditutup keju mozarella dan dibake. Yup, sooo good. Tapi malam ini gue nggak pesan itu.

Untuk appetizer, gue pesen menu baru mereka, Wagyu Cheese Roll. Namanya aja kedengeran super enak.

Disajikan di atas hot plate, gulungan2 daging wagyu ini membungkus jamur enoki dan keju mozarella yang meleleh2 keluar. Lumayan sama persis sama Zhuma Beef Roll di Zhuma Sency, bedanya ini wagyu, which makes Zenbu’s ten times better. The sauce sizzles and caramelizes with the cheese, making it even tastier. Saat digigit, kerasa banget betapa lembut dan buttery nya daging wagyunya. Best appetizer!

Sushi course: Sushi Balls!!

Aren’t they the cutest things??? Bola-bola sushi kecil ini nggak hanya cute, mereka juga enak dan murah. 6 assorted sushi balls ini harganya cuma 25ribu. Rasanya ya sama aja sama sushi biasa, tapi bentuknya yang bola2 ini bikin nasinya lebih padat dan enak dimakan daripada sushi biasa, dan juga lebih praktis karena tinggal hap abis sebiji.

My sister’s sushi: Mentaiko Salmon Belly

the picture speaks for itself. my stick-thin sister plowed through 4 pieces of this deelish pieces of goodness.

Soup Course: THE BEST SOUP EVAAAR: SALMON BELLY SOUP

noooo I forgot to take pics of this amazing bowl of soup!!!! So basically, it’s a hot and delicious soup of mushrooms, some green vegs and the best slices of salmon belly. Y’all know how good a piece of salmon belly is. It’s the wagyu of salmon. If that makes sense. It’s buttery, fatty, soft, and melts in your mouth. In this soup, it’s boiled soft and heavenly, when you bite the soft pink flesh, your taste buds will thank you. It’s amazing, warm, comforting, healthy, and less than 300 calories. Seriously, what more can you ask for?

Main Course: Seafood Katsu Curry

Zenbu has reaaaallly good katsu and furai. Combined with their mild yet silky curry sauce, it’s a grrrreat bowl of rice. It’s just great. Of course, places like Go! Curry has better curry, but this is great.

Bottom line is, Zenbu, like Bakerzin, doesn’t have anything that tastes less than great in their menu. I didn’t order their waffles, because I was so full, but their waffles are the best waffles in the country. Maybe in the continent. Or the whole world. IHOP or Waffle House doesn’t even compare. They need their own post. They’re 50% off on Tuesdays, too. Oh God this place is awesome.

Hari sudah malam. Lapar melanda. Ngidam kari jepang, teriyaki, tempura. Buka dompet, sisa 30 ribu doang. Jangan bimbang, ada solusi nendang! Kemarin malam gue makan di Keyaki Japanese Food, yaitu lokasinya di belakang mesjid Al Azhar Pusat, passss di samping Roti Bakar Edi yang super oke dan super terkenal itu. Harga semua di bawah 30 ribu, menu lengkap dari kari, tempura, teriyaki, dll. Dan ENAK! Seperti biasa gue makan bersama Bram. Doi pesen chicken teriyaki, gue pesen chicken katsu yang dimasak pake telor itu lho, lupa namanya.

Dari tampang emang nothing much. Tapi menurut gue sih enak banget dan super terjangkau. Averagenya 20ribu udah pake nasi. Makanan gue lebih enak dari oyakodon nya Kiyadon, which is basically the same thing. Katsunya masih berasa crunchy, hangat, telurnya lembut, rasanya gurih dengan sedikit rasa manis yang passss bgt. Chicken teriyakinya juga enak, ayamnya tenderly cooked, sausnya juga enak. Abis makan dari sini paling mantap emang makan pisang bakar di sebelah, roti bakar edi. ^^

jadi intinya, siapa bilang makanan jepang harus mahal?

This post isn’t about anything adventurous or new. It isn’t about taking leaps of faith and trying menacing food. It’s about comfort food. And mine comes from Bakmi GM.

Okay, I have a confession to make before we start. I HATE Bakmi GM’s noodles. I know, everybody loves ‘em. I can stand ‘em only when I have it yamien. I hate the fact that it’s so thin and doesn’t taste noodle-y at all. Hate on me, hate on me. BUT, I LOOOVE these two menus. They’re so good, there’s nothing that can come close in this city.

1. NASI TIM

Since I was a wee kid, my mom has been feeding me this, especially when I’m sick. It’s warm, soft, so easy to eat, the rice tastes so buttery and it melts in your mouth, and when eaten with the hot broth, everything just comes together. When you’re sick and you can taste nothing, you’ll still taste the warmth and the softness of this dish. It’s the DEFINITION of comfort food. This is even better than a huge bowl of Velveeta macaroni&cheese (my other comfort food). Satu kata yang bisa mendeskripsikan nasi tim GM: gurih. Gurihnya itu pas. Meresap di setiap potong ayamnya yang lunak, di setiap sendok kuahnya yang panas. Duh, pokoknya the best dish in GM.

2. PANGSIT GOREEEEENG!!!!!!

Pertanyaan satu: siapa yang nggak tau pangsit goreng GM. Pertanyaan dua: siapa yang nggak suka pangsit goreng GM??!!?!?!?! Kayaknya jawaban dari kedua pertanyaan itu adalah nggak ada. Tekstur dari pangsit goreng ini belum pernah gue temui dimanapun selain di GM. Dicelup di saos nya yang juga merupakan saos puyung hai itu, rasa asam manisnya pas banget sama rasa enaknya tepung digoreng. Dan prize nya adalah mata pangsitnya men. Dikala di sekitarnya digoreng crunchy dan super crumbly, ayam di tengahnya itu lembuuut banget. So moist. It’s the best thing in the world. It’s so absurdly good.

Apa yang kedua dish favorit gue ini have in common? Gue udah mencari ke pelosok2 jakarta, dan nggak ada satu pun nasi tim atau pangsit goreng yang rasanya mendekati. Kalo ada yang nemu, kasih tau gue, dan kalo gue setuju, gue traktir lo setengah porsi pangsit goreng GM.

this time i bring good pics because i’ve started bringing my beautiful S90 powershot around!!!

THOSE GLORIOUS TOPPINGS AND CHOCOLATE

OH THE BEAUTY!!!

Trust me, they are HEAVENLY.