BISTECCA JAKARTA

How anything under Union group never failed my taste buds. I was here at Bistecca last weekend with my girlfriends, in need of good food and we got them. Bistecca is located in the same building as the other establishment of Union group, The Dutch. As soon as we stepped inside, the design immediately reminded me of Union group's signature concept. Except for Casa, I personally always feels every restaurants under the group has similar vibes and ambiance, that New York pub style classic. 

RUTH's CHRIS STEAK HOUSE JAKARTA

The first time I noticed Ruth's Chris will be opened here was on February when I went to Raffles hotel for my birthday brunch. Ruth's Chris is located on the lobby floor of Somerset which I had to pass by on our way to Raffles, and I quietly marked the place in mind (since it wasn't yet opening that time). We were supposeably planning to have our Valentine lunch here, yet they were fully booked the whole day, so I kinda forget about the place until few weeks ago when Hubs initiated the idea. 

TEXAS ROAD HOUSE - DUBAI MALL

Texas road house was established in 1993 and famous for its steaks and ribs. Now with over 450 outlets, they have been named the number one steakhouse in America and was recognized as one of the nation’s best companies by Forbes magazine. 

My first impression when I stepped inside the restaurant was that it’s so Texas look a like with a bit of the cowboy theme and the brown wood concept. I wouldn’t say the overall decor is my favorite, but I do feel it goes well with the concept and the type of restaurant they are, which is a place where you can be casually dressed, worry free, enjoy the food and go home with satisfied tummy.

Applebee's Plaza Senayan Jakarta

Having to not go on any New Year holiday this year, I guess cafe hopping is one of the thing left to do. Honestly, I was not really keen on trying Applebee's, but it was the first day of 2015, and some of the restaurants that are not located inside shopping mall were closed. So, hubs and I went to Plaza Senayan where Applebee's first outlet is located. 

Hog's Breath Cafe Indonesia

Steak lovers, be happy, coz Hog's Breath, the well known Australia Steakhouse is finally opening their first outlet here in Jakarta! In case you are not aware of the brand, they are huge in Australia with more than 80+ outlets counting since the first establishment on 1989. Their specialty and main focus is to bring the best prime rib steaks for the customers. Along the years, they complement the signature dish with other variety of menu, making them one of the place to go for meat lovers. 

Astons Specialities Jakarta

Astons Specialities comes from a simple dream of it's owner who wish to bring western cuisines at affordable prices. With the first outlet only took place in a coffeeshop along East Coast Road, Astons Specialities has now expanding to more than 20 outlets in Singapore.

Ask Aston for his recipe to success and the answer is surprisingly down-to-earth: " For me, it's about providing quality and value-for-money food, service that makes you feel like you're with friends, and an experience that you'll remember for life." quoted from their website.

Holy Gyu!

It was Saturday. Only a day after we got back from our short new year trip, We were tired, lack of sleep, hungry of steak but wasn't really in the mood to go somewhere far. We were thinking to go to Seven to 7 at PIK, but when I called toll information asking about the traffic to South and they said it was jammed free, our initial plan changed just like that and it brought us to Holy Gyu! It took us not more than 25 mins to reach Panglima Polim, something that could never happen in a normal Saturday night. The parking however was a hassle. With Sinou Kaffe, Mangia, Taco Local, Loobie lobster & Holy Gyu itself located one next to another, no wonder the streets were packed with cars.

T.G.I Friday's

Back then when I was still in college, TGI Friday's was one of the place my friends and I went to very very often. It was one of my favorite diners, I love their food, the red and white stripes concept, even all the cute colorful pins the waiters put in their suspenders. When it was closed together with the rest of the other restaurants at Taman Ria Senayan, I was seriously bumped.
It's not really about the food. I can always look for other place who serves good steak, what I was sad about is more on how I lost one of my comfort place to dine.

Rustique grill & wine

A belated birthday dinner...

Several weeks ago was my birthday. Instead of dressing up and planning on where to have my birthday treat, I spent the whole day doing photo shoot for Lemon and editing until late midnight. You know how there was a saying that age is just a number? 

Well, I am always someone who believes that age doesn't define your character nor personality. But, somehow as I grow older, especially after I got married... My mindset changed, priority changed, I changed... Somehow, birthday no longer serves as something die die also must be celebrated kind of day. So on the day, I was pretty much satisfied with the birthday noodle cooked by hubby and the vanilla fruit cake. :) 

Carnivor: The meat company

I love it when something coincidence turns to be something worth to remember.

The first time we got to know the place was around a month ago when we had a thing to do at Kemayoran and decided to drove to Sunter after to look for dinner. We passed by a huge banner on the side of the road advertising on a restaurant, Carnivor, located in Sunter Icon Food Point. Being a true carnivore, we were sold as soon as we read the words "The meat company". *grin*
The food point was located in the same area with marketing gallery of Sunter Icon, an on progress new apartment. Behind the marketing gallery building was the Sunter Icon Food Point with three restaurants side by side, Captain Seafood, Warung Tekko and Carnivor.

Outback Steakhouse: An all time favorite

Hubby and I always have a thing for Outback. Since forever, the place had been our favorite dining. We have been together for almost 6 years since the first time we dated and out of that six years, three Valentine's dinner were celebrated here and countless of regular visits to this place had been done. Whenever we are craving on a good juicy steak, Outback had always becoming the safe place we went to as it never disappointed us, either from the food, the ambiance or the service itself.

Several weeks ago, hubby and I were thinking on where to have our dinner. Most of the time, I will suggest to go to a new place we both never went to, but that night we were in a serious need of good comfort food, something that will make our belly happy, so we decided to go for an all time favorite at Outback. 

Stevan Meat Shop

Still in my mission to conquer all the new dining places at Pantai Indah Kapuk, we went for dinner at Stevan Meat Shop. From the name, I could tell that the place was similar with Seven to 7 where the concept was a meat shop which also serve meals to diners.

 

The entrance was an outdoor spot with several tables & entering the main door was the meat shop, they sold various of meat selections mostly angus and wagyu types, along with salmon, frozen sausage, fries, scallop, unagi, udon and also some fresh vegetables. Where on the non - frozen section, they were also selling different kinds of imported sauces, ketchup, oil and snacks. Back to the meat selections, we chose Wagyu mb9+ Rib Eye (71,5k per 100 grams) and Black Angus Rib Eye (38,5k per 100 grams). We asked for each 200 grams. They have the combo package valued at 35k to get the sauce + side dishes + veggie. If we only want to have the sauce without any side dishes, they will charged us 12k. It was weird, I thought that a steak should always comes with the sauce, yet they still charge us for it. The unique from them was they have options for the sauce which not ordinary found at other steak place. Other than the usual mushroom, BBQ and black pepper, we can chose to have bulgogi, kungpao and pad thai sauce. Unfortunately, I realized the other types of sauces after we already put in orders. 

Talking about the place, I like how they did with the interior where most of dining places with brick and wood concept will usually go with dark woods, Stevan chose natural light wood so the place looks bright, vintage with clean and stylish ambiance. Aside from the outdoor spot, they have indoor spot in second floor. The first floor was dominated for the meat shop only. Their tables and chairs was custom made with stamp of Stevan Meat Shop in each of them.

Sadly, the interior was much nicer than the food. Usually I always have well done for my steak temperature, but the waiter suggested me to have it medium well as it fits better for my angus rib eye. He said that having it well done will make the meat dry, I agreed and went along with it. Well, he did made a point, the meat was certainly not dry but it was not tender, it was chewy and giving me hard time on cutting the meat. While the Wagyu was better than my Angus, but overall, without trying to compare or is it too obvious for me to do so, I like Seven to 7 so much more than this one. 

Stevan Meat Shop

Jl. Marina Indah Golf

Rukan Crown Golf Mediterania Blok A No. 8

Pantai Indah Kapuk, North Jakarta

Ph. +6221 93581008

White Hunter

There was nothing much to do and no place to go when you spent your holiday in town. Shopping mall was always seems to be the only option. I was saying to my husband that we need to took advantage of the smooth traffic and we should go to place that we normally won't go due to the heavy jam. Got to think, I remember we didn't got the chance to go to Living World at the last time we went to Serpong area, so we went there. It was a new shopping place in Tangerang where I happen to know have quite many dining places.

Walking through the mall, the food zone seems to be centered on the ground floor. We didn't really crave for anything at that time, but when we passed White Hunter, I saw this sign written they have 50% discount using certain credit card that I happen to have. A 50% discount plus a new dining place that I never tried before, what's more to ask? =) White Hunter shared one space with Korean restaurant, Han Gang and yes, their were in the same management, so you will be given 2 menu books from 2 restaurants to choose from. The place itself was quite large as it was meant for 2 different restaurants. They designed the place with bricks and woods and have this huge imitation tree in the center.

We looked at the menu and ordered House salad (38k) and Fried champs (35k) for the starters. When I read the description on the house salad "freshly mixed spinach w/ champignon, beef bacon and deep fried garlic, served with our homemade sesame dressing". It strikes me that their salad description was the same like one of the best salad I ever had at Gyu Kaku, I truly hope it was the same as not many place use spinach on their salad, mostly they will use lettuce or rocket leaves. When the salad was served, yes, it was definitely looked like the one at Gyu Kaku, but the dressing was too brownish and thick. Got to the tasting part, it was unfortunately not good. Blame it on the dressing that was too thick, too dense and too sweet that we hardly can eat for second bite so we just left it unfinished. While the fried champs was very interesting, they came in big sizes, whether individually or in groups, they used these big champignon mushroom and well fried. It was delicious.

As for the main course, I chose US prime rib eye steak (99k) came in steamed veggies and 1 side dish, I opted for potato wedges. The steamed veggies was perfectly steamed, very fresh, still have the crunchiness but not in the crackers crunchy way, and I loved the wedges, it was perfectly fried and remains non flabby until the last bite. My rib eye was ok, not the best one I ever had but quite ok. My husband chose Australian tenderloin steak (175k). Well it was also ok but in my humble opinion, it was not worth the value. Luckily they were 50%.

US Prime Rib Eye

Australian Tenderloin

White Hunter

Living World Ground flr Unit 37

Jl. Alam Sutera Boulevard kav 21

Serpong, Tangerang

Ph. +6221 53125496

Other outlets: Emporium Pluit

Smokey Ribs

Last night, me and my colleagues went for dinner after our office hours ended. We wanted to try this new ribs place that just opened at Pantai Indah Kapuk named Smokey Ribs. When we reached there, it was almost 8 pm and the place was full house. We put our names in the waiting list and waiting to be called.

Smokey Ribs occupied 2 ruko and has an outdoor and indoor space. The ambiance was quite homey, they used yellow lights. I think this was the first time that I really forgot to take pictures on what the place look like. I did my best to recall on how the place was designed but nothing seems to be captured on my mind... All I remember the place has these wooden thing going on, from the color of the wall and the tables. I guess I was too busy chatting with my colleagues that I really didn't pay too much attention on the interior. Luckily I didn't forget to took pictures on the menu we ordered. 

The place was famous for the ribs. We saw they have quite selections of ribs but 4 of my colleagues aimed for the same one, their chef's recommendation... Smokey baby back - 4 bones (105k). It came in 2 sizes, small with 4 bones and large with 8 bones. It was good, the ribs were cooked tender, came with coleslaw and choice of fries or mashed potatoes.

While I chose to have Sirloin US - 200gr (110k) as my dinner that night. I was quite disappointed on the meat as it was too dry and hard to chewed, while the steamed veggies was not soft enough.

As for the appetizers, we chose Smokey's calamari (33k), Fried mushroom (25k) and baked potato skin (38k). To us, the appetizers were completely different from the ribs. Both presentation and taste was unpleasant. The calamari was still ok, but the mushroom and the potato skin weren't acceptable. The mushroom came in flattened and tasteless also watery when we chewed it. The potato skin was covered in cheddar cheese with smoke beef topping, accompanied with sour cream which to me was tasteless.

I think this place can be a good options for people who  crave for ribs. Definitely cheaper than the one at Tony Roma's and the taste was nice. I will be coming back to try on other main course and maybe skip the appetizers.

Smokey Ribs

Ruko crown golf mediterania blok B No. 10-11

Pantai Indah Kapuk, North Jakarta

Ph. +6221 70710955

Naughty Nuri's

Naughty Nuri's just opened their second Jakarta's outlet at Pantai Indah Kapuk. As we didn't get the chance to try when we were in Bali, last night my husband and I dine there. Pantai Indah Kapuk now is in the process of becoming one of the culinary heaven. We spotted many new restaurants along and opposite the seniors like Tekko and Leko. It was around 9pm something when we got there so the place were not that crowded but also quite occupied. 

The place was designed moderate, nothing fancy, but I saw many beer bottles and cute piggy statues displayed. We sat in and started to order. My husband chose their signatures, Spare ribs (95k) and I opted for Pork steak (80k). The steak and ribs weren't came with dishes so we order a portion of French fries (15k) and Satay (25k). The waiter told me that my pork steak will took around 30 minutes to be served as they made it fresh cut. 

French fries came first. Unlike the usual frozen fries, Nuri's used original fresh potatoes, i loved it. The spare ribs was quite large, I took a bite of my husband's plate. The meat was tender, but I didn't really like how they marinated it. It was too sweet for my taste, i'm not sure whether they were using too many sweet ketchup or that was just their signature sauce. My pork steak and satay were also marinated in the same way, too sweet for our taste. We didn't likey! 

The waiters were actually polite, but one of them took our fries away when they were still some pieces left in the plate. I hate it when they did that. Overall, I wasn't sure why Naughty Nuri's ribs is so famous. Maybe it just didn't suited our taste. To me personally, only the fries were acceptable.

Naughty Nuri's

Ruko Crown Golf Blok A55

Jl. Marina Raya Pantai Indah Kapuk

North Jakarta

Ph. + 6221 700 98999

Ya Udah Bistro

It's not a new place but I have never been there due to the location. Previously they were located at Jl. Jaksa before move to Menteng. Growing up in Jakarta since I was 1 year old doesn't make me familiar with the road. Luckily, one of my colleagues quite familiar with the address. We went there on a Friday noon. It was located not in a busy street, it was not on the main road but very crowded street as there were many shops and a mosque right in front of the bistro. It was not hard to find, just look for the bright orange color.

The restaurant was not like what I expected. Calling it bistro, what I had in mind was like a small cafe but nicely decorated. Turns out it was a ruko and the owner didn't bother to put much effort on the interior. They didn't have air-con, only big fan were hanging so the place was kinda hot. 

I heard that their specialty was sausage, but I was not a fan of sausage so I ordered The meat eater's delight (55,5k) so I can tasted three kinds of meat. It was a portion of grilled pork, beef medallion and grilled chicken breast served with plain spaghetti. The spaghetti was very plain and tasteless, the meats was also not satisfying. I'm not sure whether the chef forgot to season the entire plate or it was meant to be that tasteless.

The meat eater's delight

Here's what my 3 colleagues ordered: 

Pork Chop (57,5k). It said that it was a juicy pork chop pan fried and finished on a charcoal grill but when it came, the pork was not juicy at all. It was a little bit dry and burned.

Pork Chop

Farmer Bratwurst (pork) served with German fried (37.5k). I took a bite on the sausage and the fries. I like the fries, it was well seasoned. The sausage was not bad either. 

Farmer Bratwurst

This one also Farmer Bratwurst, the difference was only it was served with Hash Brown. I didn't taste it but my colleague said the hash brown was not good.

All of us didn't finish our meals. I didn't know whether it was just a coincidence that the meals were not enjoyable to eat as this Bistro was quite popular and crowded with people, but coincidence or not, I am not thinking to come here for the second time. 

Ya Udah Bistro

Jl. Johar 15, Gondangdia

Menteng

Ph. + 6221 3140343

http://www.yaudahbistro.com/cms/