Portico

I do feel lucky living in Jakarta.. despite the horrible traffic I have to experience everyday, Jakarta still have a lot of interesting things to offer.. new shopping mall, new hang out place, new restaurant all over the place.. I believe that I was a little late to know about this place, but it doesn't lessen the excitement I got.. Portico is located at the most strategic spot in Senayan City.. beautiful outdoor and indoor area.. the menu was very interesting as it was accompanied with cute food quote.. my favorite quote would be the one on our table "there is no love sincerer than the love of food" by George Bernard Shaw.. 

it was around 3 p.m on Friday afternoon, the place was quite empty.. we were given a nice table in the middle non-smoking area.. direct view to the park and the street of Senayan hectic area.. it was my quality time with my best friend since we need a quite place to share stories and refresh our minds due to the hectic we had at office.. I was not too hungry since I had a big lunch before, so I decided to have a nice refreshing iced lychee tea (Rp40,000) while he ordered iced peach tea (Rp 40,000) and egg benedict (Rp45,000)

my tea was refreshing.. not overly sweet, with three pieces of fresh lychees.. it was like finding an oasis in the middle of a desert *lebay*.. but indeed, I love it so much.. my friend told me that his peach tea was not less good.. refreshing with a hint of sweet-sour taste.. his egg benedict was one of the all-day-brunch menu offered.. toasted bread topped with bacon, poached egg and melted cheese accompanied with hash brown and baked tomato.. I'm not a fan of poached egg, but I did try a bite.. it tasted quite nice though I prefer not too eat the raw egg yolk.. the portion was quite small for a man's stomach but just enough for breakfast or afternoon snack.. 

overall, I was amazed by the amazing view, decoration and atmosphere.. it actually made me feel like I'm somewhere in the middle of Bali.. can't wait to try their other menus.. gonna come back there soon.. 

Portico
Senayan City GF #1
Jl. Asia Afrika No. 19
Central Jakarta 10270
Ph.: 6221 7278 1641

[Revisit] Sushi Tei

it's my favorite sushi place ever! the classic yet always satisfying Sushi Tei.. this post will be filled with lots of pictures as this was a combination from countless visits haha.. do enjoy :)

inari sushi (Rp8,500) - chuka kurage (Rp24,000)
sanshoku hana salmon (Rp29,000) - chuka wakame (Rp24,000)

wakame salad (Rp29,000) 

salmon crispy aburi (Rp29,000)

crispy roll (Rp24,000)

hotate misomayo (Rp29,000)

jumbo dragon roll (Rp75,000)

royal soft shell crab roll (Rp38,000)

shiratama maccha (Rp28,000)

gyu yanagawa + tuna salad crispy mentai (Rp88,000) using Disdus voucher

Sushi Tei

Senayan City Level 4 #08
Central Park Level 1 Unit 113

www.sushitei.co.id

Killiney Kopitiam

my mom and I have our regular mother-daughter shopping time on weekends.. and during that hectic activities, we usually pick a place for us to rest our feet and treat ourselves drinks.. last week, as we were in Senayan City, we noticed Killiney Kopitiam on the 5th floor.. it was quite catchy and so we decided to give it a try.. it is said that this coffee shop has opened its first store in Singapore since 1919.. well, such a long history for a kopitiam.. 

I ordered ice coffee tariek (Rp22,272).. it is available in a regular size and a larger size called mammoth ice coffee tariek (Rp27,272).. it came in a tall glass and even the regular portion is quite large.. it tasted really nice and not overly sweet, just the way I like.. it took me only ten minutes to finish my drink.. that's how much I love it..

my mom always love hot coffee, so she decided to order hot coffee c (Rp18,181).. unfortunately, it was not hot enough for her standard and a bit too sweet for her liking.. in her opinion, the coffee tasted a bit sour, typical Arabica cofee.. it was just okay in her opinion..

to accompany our coffee time, we ordered wheat kaya butter (Rp17,272).. toasted wheat bread filled with kaya jam and butter.. in my opinion, it tasted really good.. a little healthier option because of the wheat bread.. and the kaya jam, again, not overly sweet.. too bad, it was not too hot that the butter didn't melt..


overall, I think Killiney Kopitiam is just another kopitiam.. nothing was really special.. but luckily, their coffee tariek has got me addicted.. will I come back? perhaps, only for their coffee tariek.. 

Killiney Kopitiam

Senayan City 4th Fl.
Jl. Asia Afrika No. 19
Ph.: 6221 7278 1218
www.killineyindonesia.com

Han Gang

anyeong haseyo.. I am a fan of K-drama.. watching those series a lot finally make me curious about their food.. I have been noticing Han Gang since a while ago, but only last week I had the chance to visit.. it was quite crowded when we arrived but we managed to get our table soon.. the restaurant was not too spacious, decorated in black wooden furniture.. the menu is very thick so it's quite hard for us to open and go through it one by one hahaha.. 

the special thing about Korean restaurant is that they always serve banchan.. as we were only two persons, there are only seven types of banchan served.. looking at other tables with more visitors, there are a lot more types of banchan.. ours consisted of stir-fried spicy mixed veggies, beansprout, tiny sea snails, steamed spinach, fried fish, kimchi and mixed veggies.. please do correct me if I'm wrong.. it's actually my first time trying kimchi and I loved it.. it was very refreshing and the sourness is still acceptable for my taste buds.. I also love the fried fish, crunchy outside and tender inside and it served hot.. it's very generous of the restaurant to give fish as part of banchan, in my opinion.. 

our first order is dolsot yachae bibimbab (Rp48,000) which was rice with beef, namul (sautéed, seasoned mixed vegetables) and raw egg yolk served in a hot stone pot.. it's a very popular Korean dish.. it has to be stirred first before eating and the raw egg yolk will eventually be cooked due to the hot stone pot.. I don't know the exact seasoning for this dish, but I found this dish was very delicious.. the beef was tender and the vegetables were just perfectly cooked.. the rice was a bit too mushy for me, but it was not a big problem.. I love it so much..

next to come is yukgaejang (Rp48,000) or spicy beef and scallion soup, also served in a hot stone pot.. it's the best dish of all.. I was totally in love with it.. a thick, spicy broth combined with the tender beef.. it's such a perfect dish for my taste buds.. I even craving for it as I'm writing this review haha.. so believe me, it's addictive..


overall, I think I had a great Korean cuisine experience.. I love all of those food, full of seasoning.. very rich in taste and they truly fit my taste buds.. 


Han Gang
Senayan City LG #9A
Jl. Asia Afrika Lot. 19
Central Jakarta 10270
www.han-gang.com
Ph.: 6221 7278 1231

Tian Xi by Red Duck

who doesn't love dimsum? especially when it's accompanied by a pot of hot tea.. hmmmm.. definitely a good way to spoil yourself, soothe your feeling and refresh your mind.. it's unsurprising when I found out that dimsum literally means 'to touch your heart' :)

talking about dimsum will bring us to its elder tradition called drinking tea (yum cha - 飲茶) in Chinese history.. the tradition of drinking tea started in the Silk Road, the main trade routes which linked Asian continent with the Mediterranean world.. people travelling through the Silk Road created a demand for a place to rest..  farmers near the area also needed a place for a relaxing cup of tea.. 

at the beginning, people would only drink tea, since combining tea and food was believed to bring excessive weight gain.. it was known later that tea was good for human digestion, that owners of the tea houses started to include snacks in their menu as a company to the tea.. there was a tradition for elderly people to gather and eat dimsum after their morning exercises.. that's why dimsum is usually served only from mid-morning to mid-afternoon.. nowadays, however, a lot of restaurants served dimsum for the whole day.. 

I spotted Tian Xi in the corner of Senayan City where dimsum is served all day with a very reasonable price of Rp55,000++ per pax for an all-you-can-eat dimsum (valid only on weekends and holidays).. it's one interesting offer I just can't miss.. though eating dimsum was not recommended for a date -it was another tradition that dimsum is supposed to be shared with family, so restaurants serving dimsum were labelled to be full of large group of people talking in each table-, I had my dimsum lunch as a date with bf.. I gotta warn you that below picture captured what was eaten by two hungry individuals in the middle of the day.. please, please forgive our greediness.. *we managed to finish the whole food, though*

black pepper phoenix talons, steamed beef ribs, chicken and fish belly wrapped in bean curd skin, pocai and seafood dumpling, lo mai gai, xiao long bao, steamed meat balls, crystal wonton, fried shrimp dumpling with mayonnaise, fried shrimp in taro, bean curd spring roll, Shanghai guo tie, fried seafood spring roll, tan tart, steamed asparagus dumpling, siew may, hakau

it was one overwhelming lunch we had.. let me just highlights those items that I truly love and other items I don't like.. other non-highlighted items were considered standard issues..


on top of my favorite list would be the chicken and fish belly wrapped in bean curd skin.. I have never tried this menu before anywhere else.. it was steamed bean curd skin filled with chicken and fish belly and served with this sweet sauce.. I LOVE IT.. it was really good.. the second item would be Shanghai guo tie, a crunchy thin dumpling skin filled with meat and cabbage, served with black vinegar.. then I also love the steamed meat balls, a ball of shrimp on top of steamed tofu served with sweet gravy.. one bite of this dish and I'm addicted to it.. it was delicious, the shrimp and tofu went well with the sweet gravy.. the lo mai gai was quite good, it was filled with chicken and salted egg, which I like.. xiao long bao was not my favorite, though.. bf's favorite was  the steamed beef ribs.. it was not a common dimsum, either.. well, he found that the ribs was juicy and well-seasoned that he ordered another plate of it haha.. 


on top of my dislike list would be the seafood spring roll.. it was described as seafood salad wrapped in spring roll skin and almonds.. however, I found this dish was not a good choice... the seafood salad, spring roll skin and almonds were not a good combination.. the taste was like, separated between those three.. the almonds were just too much.. next, I also didn't fancy the pocai and seafood dumpling.. it tasted sour, which confused me.. I can't think any dimsum that tasted sour before.. the dumpling skin was too thick and the fillings didn't help, either.. xiao long bao should be filled with soup, so when you bite a bit of the skin, the soup would pour out.. Tian Xi's xiao long bao was dry, which was really disappointing..

overall, I had quite good times here.. a few dishes I don't like, but there's more dishes that I like.. it was about the choices you make when you're eating in an all-you-can-eat restaurant.. I made few bad choices, but more good choices.. 


Tian Xi
Senayan City
Lower Ground Floor 06-08
Jl. Asia Afrika Lot 19, Jakarta
Ph.: (62) 21 72781532

Healthy Sweets

after such a long time, I finally came back to Sour Sally since my bro, coming back for holiday from Sg, was craving for fro-yo.. while we were having some shopping in Senayan City, we decided to stop by at Sour Sally and treat us some fro-yo.. there's this promotion of 25% discount for BCA flazz, so we chose the Sally Candy, which was a medium-sized fro-yo twist of strawberry and melon-mint with four toppings (mixed mochi, longan, fresh strawberries, and peach)

I really like the melon-mint.. taste really nice :) while the strawberry fro-yo was quite common everywhere, the melon-mint offers something unique and definitely brings the will to come back for more hahaha.. I always love Sour Sally's mochi, it has a nice texture and taste :) I heart you, Sally..

my mom was such a health-freak.. haha.. she always makes her children eat enough vegetables and fruits.. well, during the past month, we have been trying this Tipco's juices and my favorite is Aloe Vera.. well, when you read the ingredients facts, it's actually consisted of aloe vera and white grapes.. and it tasted great when mixed.. another plus point of this drinks is that it includes small chops of aloe vera jelly.. me likey.. four thumbs up :) Tipco can be bought in any supermarket near you (advertisement :P)

Sushi Tei

I had this lunch with bf in Senayan City.. I was craving for sushi and to be specific, I wanted Sushi Tei.. wanted it so bad hehehe.. and it was fulfilled, so I'm happy :)

my bf wasn't so hungry back then, so he agreed to have sushi with me.. moreover, there's a promo with BNI's Credit Card points and we both have our points.. too bad we can't combine our points.. haha..

well, we had Chuka Iidako (Rp28k) for the appetizer.. which is delicious.. I'm sure that most of you had known this before.. but I just want to emphasize a little bit more that this dish is really delicous.. it's actually baby octopus (probably their father named Paul) in a sweet sauce.. I really like the texture of the baby octopus.. okay, drooling all over again..

next we had Salmon Skin Spicy Roll (Rp28k) which is included in the special dishes page in the menu.. and it was really really really really REALLY delicious.. I'm addicted to it.. it's my first time trying that dish and I want more.. I love the cruchiness I get from the salmon skin and it's just perfect :)

last but definitely not least, we had Jumbo Dragon Roll (Rp70k) which is quite a routine menu I had everytime I visited Sushi Tei.. however, I don't taste anything really special.. maybe because I had too much dragon roll.. so it's just okay.. I guess I should try other jumbo roll to replace this some other time..

overall, I had a good sushi time with free refillable ocha and we got ourselves a private spot.. Sushi Tei is kinda more expensive than other sushi restaurant, but I guess it's worth every penny :)

Snack Review: Maqui's Cake

this is one of the famous cake I heard people talk about lately.. and when you're walking around Senayan City, you'll notice how almost everybody bring a bag of it.. PENASARAN donk.. so one evening when I was hunting for a pair of shoes in Senayan City, I stopped by at this stall.. it's not even a store, it's only a small stall right in front of Burger King and Cold Stone..

the stall is decorated in pink and brown.. a soft and country kinda colour which I like.. (I like every colour, anyway) um, Maqui's offer a few products including this small pie, pudding, cookies and chocolate.. I tried the pies.. there were six flavour of them; chocolate, rare cheese, edam cheese, cream cheese, almond and green tea.. i was going to buy one for each flavour, however the package is only for 5 pieces, so I didn't try the chocolate one..

taste: I fell in love with the rare cheese.. it's really really really delicious.. the cream is soft and just right.. I don't really know how to write the taste in words.. I just LOVE it..I also love the edam cheese pie, the cheese is a little stronger than the rare cheese.. but I also LOVE it.. my second favourite.. while the almond and green tea is just ordinary.. well, the almond tasted just like muffin and I'm not a big fan of green tea.. the green tea is actually good but I'm just not a fan.. for the cream cheese, I don't really like it.. it's just ordinary..

price: Rp8 thousand each.. it's expensive for a very small cake.. worth for the rare cheese, though :)

packaging: very nice.. I would give an A if it's an exam.. it's really cute and neatly made.. I think half of the price is charged for the packaging..

overall: I will definitely be back for more rare and edam cheese :P~

Christmas is here :)

Below is the pictures of chrismtas decorations in each corner of Jakarta I've been, through this December. Enjoy...

and the winner is.. my favourite mall.. Mall Taman Anggrek

congratulations :)