Balboni Ristorante

During Lebaran holiday, my girls and I when to Balboni, an Italian restaurant located at Kota Kasablanka. The restaurant is actually located at the office building next to the shopping mall, but it can be conveniently go through from the ground level of the mall. The place itself is stunning. A wide open kitchen with bar section on the center of the room, and I liked how they combine the wooden earth color with greyish furniture for the table and chairs. There were also an open air area where white couches were placed for people to sit back and relax, it would be a great spot when the weather is friendly. 

Liberte French Brasserie

Our next foodventure of the day went to Liberte, a French patisserie inside Gallery Lafayette Pacific Place. I wasn't put much expectations on the place, to be honest. We were just happened to be at Pacific Place having an innocent window shopping when we passed by Liberte and decided to give it a try. 

Kopitiam Tan

Kopitiam Tan is the latest establishment by BIKO group, created to be a modern yet casual traditional dining & coffee shop. With the free wifi and central location in business district, it was obvious how the kopitiam is aiming for office staffs & executives to be part of their regular diners.

[CLOSED] Mee Kepang

 

The past couple months, I have heard numerous good words on this new noodle joint located at The Foundry No.8. Last Thursday, I went with bestie for a bowl of noodle breakfast. The noodle joint is very petite, not more than 6 tables. The menu was simple, consist of few type of noodles to choose. We chose to have Mee ayam bakso pangsit (37k) and mee ayam woku rica (37k). Unfortunately their fresh squeeze Jeruk Pontianak was not available, so we went with their Homemade liang teh (15k).

Salt Grill, Altitude

Among all three restaurants at Altitude, Salt Grill might stands out to be the most popular one. With the name as big as Luke Mangan, the famous Australian Chef, I suppose it is reasonable for public to be curious more on Salt compare to the other two.

I was there with my bestie last Monday for a lunch date. There were only few tables occupied by the time we arrived, a rare scene seeing how on normal days they are always fully booked. We were seated in a purple suede U-shape couch facing the breathtaking views of Jakarta's landmark. Imagine this, a good convo with your best friend while enjoying sky high dining with scrumptious food and fabulous view. Can Monday get any better?  

Enmaru, Altitude

 
For most Jakarta's residents who are not going on vacation on Lebaran holiday means only one thing to do, hopping from one mall to another. As for me, a foodie stays in Jakarta who happen to not having a vacation, it means time to clear up all the pending diners "to go" list on my smart phone's note pad.

Personally, the only thing get in the way of me trying out on new diners is mostly the hideous traffic. The road, and oh my... the so called free way is just getting worse each day, making me had to just satisfied with adding the names of new diners to my "to go" list without having the actual action to try. So, with Idul Fitri holiday comin' and I'm stuck with not going anywhere this year, what's more fun to do then hitting on the so free, so good, no traffic road, day by day, trying one by one new diners, scratch off each by each from my "to go" list.

Getting to know Food Panda: An online food ordering service

Being a foodie, one of my joyful agenda is to find a good restaurant, preferably a new one, try it and then share it with all Ivy's Life readers. However, with the traffic getting worse and worse each day, sometimes all I want to do is lay back on my couch, watching reruns of the good old "Joey Tribbiani & the gank" while accompanied by my choice of food without having the hassle of wasting at least an hour to drive back and forth to the nearest mall for some take away. Isn't just by thinking about it had somehow soothe your mind?  

How about making it possible?

Bibigo

Ever since my friend took me to a lunch at Bibigo, Nex Serangoon a while ago, I have been hooked. Their pajeon (Korean seafood pancake) was so good that it had me drooling every time I think of it. When I heard Bibigo is opening soon in Jakarta, I was more than ecstatic. Bibigo is one of the largest food chain in Korea with franchise in several countries including London, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Beijing, Seoul and now, Indonesia.

[CLOSED] Pho Bar

Three days before Eid Al Fitr, I went for a quiet lunch with my mom at Pho Bar, a Vietnamese noodle bar recently opened at Fairground SCBD. The road was a joy, it took me not more than 15 minutes to drive from my mom's house at North. Isn't it nice if Jakarta's traffic remains this way?

Laduree Singapore

I have never tasted Laduree before they recently opened in Spore last April this year, yet the name has been familiar since those round colorful sweet thing become one of the phenomenon in the world of dessert. To me, personally when I think of macarons, I think of Laduree, simply because it is one of world's best known macaron. 

Tim Ho Wan, Plaza Singapura

Tim Ho Wan finally opens in Singapore with the first outlet took place at Plaza Singapura. This tremendously famous dimsum eatery franchised from Hong Kong has been well known as world's cheapest one michelin star restaurant, also been highly raved by American celebrity chef, Anthony Bourdain. 

Antoinette, Mandarin Gallery Singapore

Antoinette is a Parisian patisserie owned by Chef Pang, who is a well known pastry chef in Singapore. The patisserie has become one of the most talked about pastry shop in town. I will only do a short review as Antoinette is famous for their beautiful selections of cakes & macaroons, and we didn't try any of them. 

Hatched @Holland Village, Spore

One of my friends who stayed in Spore told me that Hatched is one of those breakfast places which less known by tourist but well known by the locals. I figured, if the place was well known by locals, it should be a good one. So the next morning, we went to Hatched for our breakfast. 

Au Chocolat, Marina Bay Sands Singapore

Last May, I went to Spore for a short break with my bestie. It had been nearly two years since our last trip together to Hong Kong back in 2011, so it was really fun to finally have another one. After checking in at York, we went to have lunch at Au Chocolat. Located at level 1 of Marina Bay Sands, Au Chocolat is a French inspired confectionery and bistro, opened by the same group behind Ku De Ta, half of the place was occupied for confectionery store filled with chocolates, candies and cakes. While the bistro have wide selections from breakfast foods, finger foods, main courses and delicious desserts.

Hotel Reviews: York Hotel Singapore

If you are looking for a hotel along Orchard, a nice one with not too shocking room rates, York Hotel might be the one. The location might not beat Mandarin, but the price surely did. The room is a bit old, but very clean and not smelly. I stayed at Mandarin before, and the room is also kinda old.

Plan B

Plan B is a Spanish restaurant located at office ruko along Permata Senayan. The owner is a Spanish chef who had worked in several Michelin star restaurants in cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, San Sebastian and Sevilla. He later took his cooking skill to countries in Latin America and South East Asia before deciding to open his own Spanish restaurant in Indonesia.