EBISUYA BANDENGAN JAKARTA

I am very skeptical when it comes to Japanese food. Judge me all you want, but I always feel the pricier they are, the better quality they would be. I am an avid believer in no fresh quality sushi comes in cheap price. 

ITACHO SUSHI INDONESIA

Okay so the thing is, I love Japanese food. I'm such a sushi slut that I'd practically okay to the idea of having them everyday, but let's face it, Japanese food isn't entirely cheap. If you ask me, my loves would be Sushi Masa and Tatemukai, but both aren't exactly the type of places to eat on daily basis, so most of the time, I often go to Sushi Tei for an affordable but still pretty good sushi. 

Nishimura Shangri-La Jakarta

When you think of dining in a certain restaurant at a five stars hotel, pricey is usually what comes in mind. However, at Nishimura, expect to find good fresh sashimi and sushi in a quite reasonable price range. 

SUSHI BURRITO PACIFIC PLACE JAKARTA

On my last trip to Spore, a friend of mine told me about Sushi Burrito, this sushi place that she thought I might like, but I didn't have the time so I was happy when I found out they open their first outlet in Jakarta about a month ago.

Omakase at TATEMUKAI Grand Indonesia

When it comes to fine dining, I always find myself willing to spend it more over Japanese food rather than other cuisines. Aside from how much I love them, I know how expensive a good quality of Japanese food can be. I always am a true believer in "you get what you pay for", and this Japanese fine dining really is a good example of it. 

Fukuro Dining & Sake Bar SCBD

I don't have favorite food but I always have more love when it comes to Japanese food, especially when it had to do with sashimi. I honestly couldn't understand how some people can't eat sashimi when it is one of nature's most precious food. Anyway, when a friend of mine told me she just had a pleasant dinner at this new Japanese restaurant at Fairgrounds SCBD, I couldn't help but to go there as early as I can. 

Robata Jinya Indonesia

I rarely go to Gandaria City mainly because of two reasons. One, it's quite far from where I live. Second, I don't see any interesting thing attracts me to go there. Well at least not until I heard that Robata Jinya opens there. Robata Jinya is a Japanese restaurant originated from West Hollywood. The one in Hollywood itself has been reviewed several times by the local media, mostly for their powerful ramen. 

[CLOSED] Hokkaido Fish Market Muara Karang Jakarta

Muara Karang is one of THE food destination in North, especially for people who live nearby the area. However, the place mostly crowded with Medanese or Chinese cuisine, so when Hokkaido fish market open its door, it definitely took people's attention. If you ever go to the one in Novena Square Singapore, yes, this one is the same.

Sushi Masa Muara Baru Jakarta

Lately, foodie enthusiastic, especially who stays at North has been hearing news about a so called mysterious sushi place opens at a secluded area somewhere in Muara Baru. For those who never heard of Muara Baru, the neighborhood mostly known for its port activities including fish shelter and warehouse complex. In conclusion, not a place to expect a sushi place or even any kinds of restaurants to open.

[CLOSED] Revisited: Taiyo Sushi

Ever since my first visit to Taiyo, I have been wanting to pay a second visit as it was a love & hate first visit. Lovin' the sushi but hatin' the service. When one of my favorite web, Disdus.com features promo from Taiyo Sushi, I immediately bought the vouchers.

Tonight I went there with my husband. I bought 2 vouchers at that time with the promo package of 1 Special sushi roll + 1 tempura selection worth 48k. The waiter passed us a small paper with a list of sushi & tempura selections to be chose for our vouchers, as we have 2 vouchers so we can choose 2 types of sushi rolls and 2 tempura selections. We went with Taiyo special roll (53k), Spicy mozarella salmon (53k), Yasai tempura (32k) and Karaage (32k). For the non vouchers selections, we added a plate of Salmon sashimi (32k) and Salmon mentai (17k). After we finished ordering, I just realized we chose a bunch of salmon.

Taiyo Special Roll (Salmon, kyuri, crunchy topped with aburi salmon)

Spicy Mozarella Salmon (Mozarella cheese topped with aburi salmon)

Yasai Tempura (mixed vegetable tempura served with tempura sauce)

Salmon Sashimi

I think it was a very good deal from Disdus as the actual price of our package worth 85k, so 40% off as I only paid 48k. The portion was huge and we found all the food was delicious and fresh. My favorite was the Yasai tempura, it came in big portions, nicely fried and very attractive presentation. 

My second visit was meant for me to edify whether it was a love or hate against Taiyo. It was love. The service was flawless tonight and so was the food. Nicely improve since my first visit which happen to be only on their second day of opening at that time. 

Taiyo Sushi

Jl. Pluit Putera Raya No. 17
North Jakarta
Ph. +6221 6631652

Cal-Roll Factory

My best friend and I went to Gandaria City for a chit chat lunch. Since we were both craving for Japanese food, we walking around looking for Japanese restaurant and we found Cal-Roll Factory. I remembered that this place was a franchise from USA. I was quite surprised when I saw the place as it was small and very casual, unlike most of the newly opened restaurants which like racing on who has the best interior look. This one was very fun and casual, with yellow and black color dominated the room. Their walls were all covered with pictures of menu descriptions.

 

We sat down and I got a headache when I looked at the menu as there were so many to choose from, and unlike typical sushi place, they used actual people's name and other fun words for their sushi menu, such as Marty, bill, Joe, M&M, Kick ass, bread monster, etc. I agreed with the uniqueness but definitely giving me quite some time to read on each of the menu descriptions as I can't decide what was the sushi ingredients from the name itself. Luckily they divided the sushi selections into several from their chef's recommendation, house special rolls, crunchy rolls, baked scallop rolls, and they also provided half portion rolls so we can have more different kinds of sushi types.

We went for the waiter's recommendation and ordered: 

Crunchy Roll - Agape (58k) ; Shredded crab, shrimp tempura and spicy scallop.

Half rolls - Alaskan Salmon (20k); Salmon, avocado and mayo

Baked Scallop - 58k; Avocado roll topped with baked scallop and smelt egg

Half rolls - Marty (24k); Baked salmon, smelt egg, avocado and mayo

Crunchy Rolls - Kick Ass (48k); Spicy Albacore, cream cheese, crispy seaweed, tempura crumbs

Chicken Karaage (38k)

Overall, I like their sushi. It was fresh and tasty. The kick Ass was my favorite. I don't really know what Albacore is, and I forgot to ask the waiter but it tasted like egg plant. Anyway, the Kick Ass with spicy albacore was really recommended. 

Cal - Roll Factory

Gandaria City Level UG Flr M-U11

Jl.Sultan Iskandar Muda, Arteri Pondok Indah
South Jakarta

http://www.mycalrollfactory.com/

(Closed) Tsukinofune

One of the so many great things that I like from the company I worked in is the colleagues. We are quite close one another and even some of the colleagues had resigned, we still keep in touch and sometimes gather for a chit chat. One of our ex colleagues who got married and moved to Singapore came to Jakarta, so yesterday the five of us gather for a sweet lunch at Tsukinofune.

 

I had been wanting to go to this place for quite some time since I read the review in Laksmi Pamuntjak's Jakarta Good Food Guide book, but since I am really not familiar with Jakarta's road esp those in South, my curiosity on Tsukinofune just paid off yesterday. 

It was located at the back of Hotel Ambhara, not inside. There's an alley beside Hotel Ambhara where Tsukinofune entrance positioned, so we can just parked along the alley. The restaurant itself was not too spacious, but as we walked in turns out they divided the place into several rooms, they make the interior quite Japanese looky. I especially loved how they designed the bathroom, it was so cute and antique, one of the cleanest bathroom in dining places I ever been. 

We had been wanted to try their special lunch bento set where only can be ordered latest by 2pm. The 5 of us all opted for Tsukinofune Bento (160k). I actually wanted to try others for comparison, but the Bento's picture just look so tempting that I decided to go with the same one. As for the sushi, we ordered Tsukinofune roll (75k) and Tuna wakame roll (65k) to shared. The sushi came first and the presentation was flawless and so was the taste. Tsukinofune roll was roll of tempura, cucumber, avocado and topped with Unagi, loved it. Tuna wakame roll was nice too, but we prefer Tsukinofune roll better.
Our bento came and we were surprised of the portions. The bento was in a wooden box with 9 slots where 9 items of dishes beautifully put inside, where the salad, chawan musi, rice and miso soup served outside the box. Reminder for next time: One bento was more than enough to be shared by 2-3 persons. Everything on the Bento was presented beautifully. I loved the Chawan musi, it was one of the best in town, came with mushroom, crab stick, chunks of chicken, and ginko nuts, the egg was not smelly at all. The 9 items in the bento were jelly fish, prawn tempura with almond and fried crab meat, grilled beef, prawn mayo, cold soba, grilled salmon, fresh sashimi, unagi and yakitori. Unfortunately, I didn't try them all due to the capacity of my tummy. However it was assured that the amount we paid was worth the meals, the service and the ambiance of the dining place. 

Tsukinofune roll

Tuna wakame roll

Chawan musi & salad

Complimentary coconut ice cream

Tsukinofune Bento

They didn't charge us for the ocha and it was refillable. After our meal, we were given complimentary coconut ice cream for dessert. I didn't like it tough, too sweet for me. Anyway, it was a very pleasant dining experience. I will surely be back. =)

bwL girls w/ wardrobes from Lemon's

Tsukinofune

Hotel Ambhara (at the back of the hotel)

Jl. Iskandarsyah Raya No.1

Jakarta

Ph. +6221 2700709

Sushi Tei

Sushi Tei had always been one of my favorite place to eat. I think they really serve a good Japanese meals with affordable prices. 

I still very much remember my very first time dine at Sushi Tei. They just opened at Plaza Indonesia and one of my schoolmate wanted to dine there. At that time, I wasn't really into sushi, and I still remember vividly that I didn't order nor tested any kinds of Sushi, instead I opted for Donburi. But around 2 weeks after that, I was curious so I paid another visit to Sushi Tei and ordered several kinds of Sushi including their famous Jumbo dragon roll. I felt in love instantly both to Japanese food and Sushi Tei. Since then, my dining there had been countless.

I knew that I didn't need to review more about this place as surely almost everyone who like Japanese food must have been to Sushi Tei. But anyway, I will just briefly mentioning what me and hubby ordered several weeks ago when we dined there. 

Salmon sashimi (38k), Sanshoku hana salmon (29k), Salmon skin spicy roll (29k), Chicken karaage (37k), Takoyaki (24k), Salmon skin fried (29k), Mix inari (17k), Chuka chinmi gunkan (12,5k) and Gindara teriyaki (75k).

Satisfying as always...

Sushi Tei 

Emporium Mall Level 2

Pluit, North Jakarta

Ph. +6221 66676388

Other outlets: Plaza Indonesia, Pondok Indah Mall 2, Mall Kelapa Gading V, Plaza Senayan, Senayan City, Central Park, Gandaria City

Kiyadon

This was a late post. I was on leave from work and the internet connection at home was so lousy that I wanted to scream at the operator for all the non sense about fast connection.

Anyway, one of my colleagues was leaving us and on her last day we gathered for lunch at Kiyadon. We sat in the private room with tatami seating. Here's what we ordered: 

Nabeyaki Udon (78k). Udon noodle with sweet sliced beef, vegetables, egg and served w/ prawn tempura. Nabeyoki Udon had always be one of my favorite dish at Kiyadon. It seasoned well with generous topping. 

Una Don (78k). Rice bowl topped with grilled fresh water eel.

Spicy Salmon Pasta (78k).

Wantan Ramen (65k). Ramen with chicken dumpling & miso soup.

Tori Katsu Don (50k). Rice bowl topped w/ deep fried breaded chicken cutlets and onion on eggs. This was a dish that just never could go wrong.

Tom & Jerry (88k). Grilled eel, cucumber, salmon, cheese, tobiko.

D.I.G (88k). Kani stick, cucumber, salmon, chicken floss, tobiko.

 

Kiyadon seldom failed my taste, and this time I was also very much satisfied. Farewell was never easy but a nice lunch with friends surely help. =) 

See you Yunica! *hugs*

Kiyadon Sushi

Grand Indonesia Shopping Town

Garden District 3A #10 - 16

Jakarta

Ph. +6221 23580523

Sushi Joobu

I saw this review about Sushi Joobu at detik.com. It was written that the chef was from USA and had experiences in restaurants across states, so I decided to give it a try. It located in Ruko Kelapa Gading Boulevard near Bread In and Ayam Presto. Not hard to find. It was wednesday night when me & hubby went there and the place was quite filled up, around 6 tables (they only had around 12 tables besides sushi bar). 

 

  

As we entered the dining, I noticed the place was quite small. It was 2 storey, and they have sushi bar on the 1st floor and tatami sitting on the 2nd floor.
We sat at sushi bar. 

Too bad the menu book came with no picture. The waiter said their specials are Joobu's special roll (55k), Grilled Salmon Head (61k) and Crispy Salmon Roll (32k). We ordered the 3 specials and salmon sashimi (47k), Seasoned Baby Octopus (29k), and  Crispy Salmon Skin (27k). Besides Sushi Tei, I had never find any other Sushi place with Salmon Skin in their menu, so I am very excited to try it.

The salmon sashimi came first and it was a disapointment. It was not fresh at all. Followed by baby octopus, crispy salmon roll and salmon skin. The salmon skin was different with the one I used to eat, this one was chopped and seasoned with vinegar, and they put sliced cucumber in the bottom and covered with fish flakes. It was not bad, but didn't suite my taste. The salmon head reminds me of grilled fish at Sundanese restaurant, it was weird. The Joobu's special was a roll of eel, seaweed, red chili, salmon slices and fish roe. Overall, the one I can tolerate is only the crispy salmon roll.  

O yes, there were 4 sous chefs behind sushi bar and all of them was not wearing the transparant gloves. So when they cut our sashimi and rolled the sushi, I can really see they are using their hands directly without putting the gloves. =After we paid, we were given 20% coupon for next visit. However, I don't think I will be coming back.

Salmon Sashimi

Baby Octopus

Crispy Salmon Roll

Crispy Salmon Skin

Grilled Salmon Head

Joobu's Special Roll