Koffie Warung Tinggi d/h Tek Soen Hoo

Koffie Warung Tinggi is a new established coffee shop, located in the corner of 5th floor West Mall, Grand Indonesia Shopping Town. I don't usually wander around the 5th floor of the mall, so I did not notice until few fellow food bloggers made it on their blog. I was more than curious to try. See, I'm a sucker for coffee, so it's like a must to visit new coffee shops. Of course, I took my mom, the coffee connoisseur to also try this newbie with me.

To my surprise, the tag shows that it was established in 1878, while I just notice the name recently. That's when my mom said, "Oh, I know this place. It used to be very famous for selling coffee beans in Hayam Wuruk area.. Oh there you go, it was known as Tek Soen Hoo." Now I see. It started in 1878 when Tek Soen Hoo was just a modest convenient store in Hayam Wuruk area, and how it developed into a coffee brand supplier to Indonesia's best hotels and supermarkets. And in 2013, a modern coffee house is established by OPCO Group. 

It was a long story of a coffee shop, claimed to be the first in Jakarta. I love the historical touch of this shop already. I'm cheap, eh? Well, Koffie Warung Tinggi, of course, sells mainly Indonesian local coffee, coffee companions and heavy bites. Since I had my lunch, I decided to try their coffee and bought martabak to balance my bitter coffee. So here's our coffee break.

long black 8oz (22k)

cappuccino 8oz (30k)

martabak manis plain (15k) with nutella (20k)

My mom fell in love with their long black as it was bitter with low acidity just the way she liked it. She said it was most certainly the best cup of coffee she ever had. See, she loves her coffee black. I also llove my cappuccino so much, it was smooth, creamy and topped with just enough foam. No sugar added as the companion is the sweet martabak topped with nutella jam. This martabak topped with nutella jam has been really famous throughout Jakarta. Warung Tinggi's version was delightful. I love the soft texture of martabak and oh those melted nutella jam. What's not to love? The butter was just enough not to make it too oily and ruin the whole plate.

Overall, I had a really pleasant coffee break at Koffie Warung Tinggi. I must admit that cup of cappuccino definitely has won my heart. Definitely going to return to this historical coffee shop.

the leftovers.. nothing!

Until then, cheers!

Koffie Warung Tinggi d/h Tek Soen Hoo
Grand Indonesia Shopping Town

West Mall 5th fl.
Jl. M.H. Thamrin No. 1

Central Jakarta 10310

Ph.: 6221 - 2358 0311/2
website | twitter

Ismaya Catering Cafe

Ismaya Catering Cafe is a concept store brought to you by the famous Ismaya group. Established in 2009, Ismaya Catering Co has been one trusted catering service in Jakarta. Famous for bringing a unique, fresh concept of a cafe, Ismaya definitely nailed it again. I love the brown-red ambiance with dimmed lights and casual atmosphere of this cafe. Here's a sneak peek of what the cafe looks like.

 

On Feb 28, 2013, Ismaya Catering Cafe launched new menus to satisfy Jakartans' appetite and crave for good food. Easy bites, heavy bites, sweets or just cold drinks, the choice is yours. Let's start, shall we?

Nachos with Beef Chili Con Carne (45k)

The classic nachos topped with beef chili con carne, jalapeno slices and served with tomato salsa, sour cream and guacamole. It's a classic Mexican dish, which has been really famous throughout the world. I love Ismaya's version of it, the nachos were crispy and crunchy, and the beef chili were generous. Do not be afraid as it was not too spicy, so you can eat them and not having your stomach hurt. The tomato salsa was another hit, sweet-sour tomato dices were perfect as the nachos dip. The other two dips were just okay for me. I do think it looked really pretty, don't you agree?

Mexican Cheese Quesadilla (48k)

Another famous Mexican dish, tortilla skin filled with mushrooms, pepper, onion, coriander leaf and melting cheese, topped with jalapeno and red chili slices, served with tomato salasa, sour cream and guacamole. Ismaya's version of quesadilla is vegetarian version, so you'll find no meat there. A good choice for you, who is on a diet. I love how light this dish was, which made it a perfect starter, just enough to tease your taste buds.

Nasi Goreng Kecombrang (45k)

Moving on to the heavy bites, first we are served with nasi goreng kecombrang. Kecombrang or 'torch ginger' is one of Indonesian traditional spices, usually used as chili mixture, to create a unique taste. The taste was rather indescribable, as you need to experience it yourself. I think it's a bit spicy with a really strong both smell and taste. I have to say that I love how the kecombrang taste among the fried rice and chicken chunks, though I don't think it will be everyone's favorite. Served with sunny side up egg with runny center and pickles, I am missing kerupuk to make it more Indonesian. Be careful that there are chili chopped mixed in the fried rice as I find it a nice surprise. The rice used, however, was too mushy as it was newly cooked rice, while the thumb rule for cooking fried rice is to use yesterday's rice to create the perfect texture.

Soto Tangkar with Jasmine Rice (45k)

Soto originated from Jakarta, cooked with coconut milk, filled with beef dices, potato, carrots and lots of shallots, served with warm white rice and emping. The soto was too salty, even after eating it together with the white rice. Fortunately, sweet soy sauce came to rescue the day. After adding few drops of sweet soy sauce, a spoon of chili and lime juice, the soto tasted so much better, spicier and tastier.

Singkong Belanda (32k)

Fried cassava chunks with caramel sauce and grated cheddar cheese. Served hot, it was Indonesian meets Western kind of sweets. I love the soft texture of cassava, mixed with sweet caramel and salty cheese. Personally I think it's perfect for a coffee companion.

Molten Chocolate Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream (40k)

One of the most famous dessert in the whole world, warm chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream, presented beautifully with fresh strawberry and chocolate sauce. This dish was too common, that I do not taste any difference compare to others. Unfortunately, our chocolate cake that night did not have that oozing chocolate sauce, which made it kinda lose the true meaning of molten chocolate cake.

Red Melon Berry Refresher (35k)

A drink made of watermelon and strawberry will never go wrong. Both taste strong, without overpowering each other. 

Virgin Apple Mojito (35k)

My favorite apple mojito, made from green apple slices and lots of mint leaves added with lime juice. I love how refreshing this drink was. Love the sour green apples and this is my thirst quencher.

Overall, a nice dinner at Ismaya Catering Cafe. So much in love with their cafe looks and delicious food. Gonna come back soon. :)

Ismaya Catering Cafe

Grand Indonesia Shopping Mall

5th fl, unit ED2-12A West Mall

Jl. M.H. Thamrin No. 1

Central Jakarta

Ph.: 6221 - 2358 1157

website | twitter | instagram

Ninety Nine

Merry Christmas everyone! I just can't believe that it's almost the end of 2012 already.. wow, time flies fast, huh? anyway, last Friday, I had an early Christmas dinner with my best girls.. and as we are five busy girls, it's really hard to find a time to fit everyone's schedule.. so when finally we had Friday night set, I was beyond excited.. we decided to have our dinner at Ninety Nine in Grand Indonesia due to the central location and cozy place.. a friend of mine made the reservation and though the traffic was quite unfriendly that I managed to reach the place around 7.30 p.m..

the place was quite pack though not full and we had a very nice table, a good start.. the menu was quite extensive from Western cuisine to Asian cuisine.. start our night with fresh drinks, iced grapefruit (Rp38,000), iced kiwi berry (Rp38,000) and pink lychee iced tea (Rp40,000) plus a cup of hot chamomile tea (Rp32,000).. I looked like an old lady based on my drink order, really.. but I was looking for something warm and chamomile tea was my perfect choice.. and kindly they add a piece of cookie to accompany my tea.. of all the fresh drinks, we all agreed that our favorite was iced kiwi berry.. it was sour and sweet at the same time with fresh fruits to literally wake you up.. I'll remember to order that next time..

hot chamomile tea

pink lychee tea - iced kiwi berry

off to the main courses.. started off with an appetizing plate of nachos chili con carne (Rp52,000).. it was one great nachos with lots of condiments and generous cheese.. I totally loved it.. continued with al capone pizza (Rp86,000) which was wood stone baked pizza topped with beef ham, pepperoni, minced beef and beef sausages.. sorry, the pic turned blur and not blog post worthy.. the portion was huge so remember to share when you order it.. it tasted just okay, nothing special and one of my friend even dislike it.. so I don't think it was quite recommended.. on the other hand, our dinner star, barbeque pork ribs (Rp186,000) was definitely can't be missed.. glazed in honey hickory BBQ sauce and served with baked potato, the ribs was tender and just delicious.. I would lick the whole bones if I don't remember being in public area wearing a dress.. not a classy lady attitude haha.. lastly, we still have baked lasagna (Rp86,000).. looked very yummy and finally some greens in between our meaty meals.. however, by the time it arrived, we were already to full.. I tasted a bite and thought it was quite good.. it was filled generously with minced beef and tomato ragout and topped with melted mozzarella cheese.. 

nachos chili con carne

barbeque prok ribs

baked lasagna

so, our bellies were indeed full but there's this little space which was always be available for desserts.. and my friends are desserts addict, so there's no way we can end our dinner unless we do it the proper way.. bread and butter pudding (Rp38,000) and lemon meringue (Rp34,000) were ordered.. not long after, both desserts come.. now, the bread and butter pudding has my high expectation since I'm a huge fan.. served with vanilla ice cream and vanilla sauce it looked really tempting.. however, after the first bite, it was too sweet for my taste buds.. ah, disappointing.. though the texture was soft and smooth, I can't help but stop eating after a few spoons.. the lemon meringue however, was outstanding.. sour meringue on top of sweet lemony cake.. now, that's heavenly.. the cake was soft and fluffy, not too sweet and I love the red jam aside which tasted really sour.. apparently, sour and sweet was match made in haven..

bread and butter pudding

lemon meringue

overall, great companion for your dinner is definitely the best thing in the table.. the good food and atmosphere were always a nice compliment.. a bit pricey though as the five of us ended spent Rp813,560 (the prices above are subject to 7.5% service charge and 10% tax).. worth it? well, for a once-in-a-while occasion, I guessed I wouldn't mind.. but definitely won't go there too often :D

Ninety Nine
Grand Indonesia East Mall Lower Ground
Jl. M.H. Thamrin No.1 

Central Jakarta 10210
Ph.: +6221 2358 1196

www.ninetynine.co.id

M Cafe

"so much chocolate, so little time.." - M Cafe

for me, M Cafe is definitely just too irresistible to be missed.. I have missed the chance to visit previous pop-up Magnum Cafe due to the long queue.. lucky for me, my office mates are just as curious about it as I am.. so last Thursday, we went straight from the office to Grand Indonesia despite the heavy traffic of Jakarta.. arriving around 7:00 p.m, we found there was a short line of queue, which was considered acceptable, and so we waited.. on the side of the queue, we were greeted by a wall decorated in Magnum and chocolate notes.. this is definitely a photo spot you just can't miss.. after almost 15 minutes of waiting, we were offered an outdoor area which we accepted right away.. 

so, enter the royal world of Magnum.. a long narrow alley with red carpet.. feels like a celebrity already.. we went through their indoor dining area and reached the outdoor area.. the indoor area was simply decorated with dark furniture and dimmed lights.. the indoor area was quite packed with people and seemed a little bit too busy.. the outdoor area was much cozier with fewer people.. decorated resembling a rooftop garden.. I felt in love right away.. white furniture combined with dark sofa on the side, with lanterns as source of lights, completed with Jakarta's skyline as the background.. enough talking, let the pictures speak..

the menu offered is various, from appetizers to tempting desserts and sweet drinks.. we found ourselves quite overwhelmed decided to pick what to choose.. not willing to take risk, we chose the easy ways, pick those recommended menus.. reuben's caesar salad (Rp35,000), nachos (Rp39,000), calamari vindaloo (Rp35,000) and spaghetti a la diable (Rp40,000) for our appetizers and mains.. of course, eating at M Cafe would not be complete without some sweets, so we had frozen chocolate (Rp45,000), waffle d'antwerp (Rp39,000) and deconstructed cheese cake (Rp39,000)..

okay, let's go through one by one.. nothing could be wrong with caesar salad.. served with bacon bits and cheese, we found that the portion was a bit too small for such price.. nachos was actually quite good with a satisfying portion.. my friend did complain that it was lack of cheese and not as crunchy after a while.. the calamari was the least impressive dish.. I wondered, really, why we ordered that in the first place.. it was just another deep fried calamari which tasted rather bland, served with lettuce and tartar sauce, nothing special.. and the best dish of the night goes to spaghetti a la diable.. it was actually a tomato-based pasta served with seafood.. it tasted really good and a bit spicy.. I didn't expected it to be that good, but it was delicious!

the frozen chocolate was huge and topped with lots of whipped cream, which made me a little scared of trying, remembering all the calories.. anyway, it was a refreshing first sip but the rest was just another frozen chocolate milk.. too sweet for my taste buds, but worth the try.. waffle d'antwerp was definitely appealing.. two stacks of waffles topped with two pieces of Magnum ice cream and lots of chocolate sauce, accompanied with sour raspberry jam.. it was sinfully good.. I love the combination of all the elements.. the sour raspberry jam added balance to the dish, preventing it to be overly sweet.. the waffle, however, was too thick and not crunchy outside.. 

lastly, we had the deconstructed cheese cake.. by saying "deconstructed", it means that all of the ingredients of a cheese cake are prepared separately but presented together, although not in the usual form of a cheese cake.. so what we had that night was three bars of rice crispy with creamy cheese fillings in between and an Magnum ice cream with caramel and chocolate sauce.. it was heavenly.. I love every little details in it.. one of the best and most unique dessert I have ever tasted.. yum yum..

overall, I had a great experience in M Cafe.. the service was fast and the waiters are familiar with the menus.. great ambiance and beautiful decorations.. good food with reasonable price.. it's no wonder people are keep coming to visit.. it is indeed recommended :)

M Cafe

Grand Indonesia West Mall 6th Floor

Jl. MH Thamrin No. 1

Kado++

so last Thursday, I had a meeting with my college friends to arrange and discuss our upcoming holiday.. I was so excited and I just can't wait! haha.. anyway, our meeting point is Grand Indonesia, since its location right in the middle of our offices.. the traffic was quite friendly to me as I arrived around 7p.m just right as our plan.. I always believe that people talk over food, so we looked for some place to have dinner and it's a plus if the eatery also provided wi-fi service, since we were going to do some research over the internet..

going around the mall, my friend suggested Kado++ serving Japanese food.. since I haven't tried it and the restaurant offers free wi-fi, we finally decided to have our dinner here.. the place was quite empty as we arrived.. I found that it was quite cozy and comfortable dominated in wooden furniture, brick walls and sofa at the corner.. okay, so we were quite hungry, which resulted in impulsive orders of kousou panko yaki (Rp45,000), tonkatsu don (Rp58,000) and mix moriawase kushiyaki (Rp95,000).. for drinks, we had one hot regular tea (Rp12,000 - one time refillable) and two glasses of  hot ocha (Rp14,000 each - refillable)..

tonkatsu don is pork katsu over rice accompanied with a bowl of miso soup.. the portion was quite huge and it looked yummy.. the rice was a bit too mild for my liking but I do like the pork katsu.. I tasted some unusual herbs in the mixture of the batter.. the soup was good, I ended up finishing it all by myself, though the tonkatsu don was actually not my order haha.. next, came the kousou panko yaki which was herb pork katsu.. it was marked as recommended and it tasted indeed good beyond expectation.. I love the herbs and the katsu was crunchy outside, tender inside.. eat it along with the black sauce, and it was just perfect match for my mouth.. 

my favorite dish of the night is mix moriawase kushiyaki.. the term kushiyaki is actually quite unfamiliar in my ears since I usually heard the term yakitori.. curious, I found my answer in Wikipedia, it was told that yakitori is commonly Japanese skewered chicken or other skewered food in general, while kushiyaki is a formal term of skewered and grilled poultry and non-poultry items.. okay, so the appearance of the dish, in my opinion, was very pleasing in the eyes.. mix moriawase kushiyaki consisted of seven pieces, including momo (leg meat), tebasaki (chiken wing), gyu karubi (beef belly), gyutan (beef tongue), salmon, ikada (green onion) and ninniku (garlic).. accompanied with some spicy sauce, I found the dish was delightful.. I especially love the tebasaki and gyutan, but the ikada was a nice little compliment :)

overall I had a great time in Kado++.. good food and affordable price in a nice, cozy restaurant.. the prices above are subject to service 5% and tax 10%.. and we got a 20% discount by using BII credit card.. oh how I love discounts!

Kado++
Grand Indonesia
West Mall Level 3A
Jl. MH Thamrin No.1, Jakarta
Ph.: 6221 235 1871

Paulaner Bräuhaus

girlfriends time!!! it was December 29, 2011 and I have a date with my 3 girlfriends.. we wanted to have dinner in style then continue to enjoy Jakarta's night life.. actually, I don't know whether having dinner at Paulaner Bräuhaus should be considered fancy or stylish.. but whatever, I don't even care haha.. joining us were our two male friends so it was a party of six.. a friend of mine had made a reservation so we have our table directly after we arrived.. it was Thursday night and the place was full but not too crowded.. anyway, I like the uniforms of the waiters and waitresses which really made me feel like in Germany.. no, I haven't been there, just to describe how much I like it :P

located in East Mall of Grand Indonesia Shopping Town, the restaurant is quite large, dominated in wooden furniture and dimmed light.. I love the atmosphere here, it was cozy, relaxing and comfortable.. they even have a live band that night with jazz songs.. lucky for us, on Thursday, Paulaner Bräuhaus have a promotion of Lady's Night where girls can order food with free drinks.. YAY to free stuffs haha.. those are the plus points which officially make me a fan of Paulaner Bräuhaus.. 

Lychee Mint Elixir - Love Potion No. 9

as a part of the Thursday promotion, we are given two free drinks for any platter ordered.. so we picked Lychee Mint Elixir (Rp81,818) and Love Potion No. 9 (Rp81,818).. our lychee mint elixir tasted just like a cherry cough syrup haha.. none of us like it.. it has this bitter-sweet weird taste.. on the other hand, love potion no. 9  is simply my favorite.. it has a little sweet and sour hint, which was very refreshing, with just a little alcohol.. I have to say I don't drink alcohol.. not that I'm against it, it just they don't fit my taste buds..

De Bortolli Sacred Hill Cabernet Merlot

a friend of mine has decided to not drink any alcohol other than wine, so she asked whether we wanted to share a bottle, since the price of one glass was just ridiculous.. all of us agreed, including me, since I haven't tried wine before.. yes, I'm that girl next door who don't drink alcohol and have never tried wine haha.. looking at the wine menu, she decided to pick De Bortolli Sacred Hill Cabernet Merlot (Rp650,000 per bottle or Rp180,000 per glass).. it's a red wine type and just as I expected, I don't like it haha.. it's a little sourish bitter and tasted really warm in my throat.. as most of us were new to wine, my friend gave a "Wine 101" class that night when I learn about how to hold a wine glass and how to drink wine properly haha.. thank you :)

Knusprige Schweinshaxe mit Sauerkraut, Serviettenknödel und Bratensoss

first dish to arrive is schweinshaxe or crispy pork knuckle (Rp220,000) served with sauerkraut, bread dumplings and gravy ordered by one of our male friend.. and it was HUGE.. I have never seen such a huge pork knuckle.. it was roasted until the skin was very crunchy while the meat inside was very tender.. let me tell you that it was really delicious.. not surprising since this dish is one of the best Germany dish.. I know the huge amount of fat going in my body while tasting it, but it was just irresistible.. I LOVE IT..

Paulaner Platter
(Kassler, eine Thüringer, Leberkäse, Wiener Würstchen,
Stück Nürnberger und Schweinshaxe mit Sauerkraut und Kartoffelpüre)

as for the four girls, we decided to share Paulaner Platter (Rp250,000) consisted of smoked pork chop, three types of sausages (Thueringer, Vienna and Nuremberger), meatloaf and crispy pork knuckle served with sauerkraut and mashed potato.. as you can all guess, I love those meaty, fatty porks meat haha.. my favorite other than the pork knuckle, would be the sausage but I'm not quite sure which one is which.. the mashed potato has a very mushy texture with a hint of sweetness, and the sauerkraut was just too sour for me.. 

Thüringer Bratwürste mit Sauerkraut

the latest dish to arrive was  gegrillte Thüringer Bratwürste mit Sauerkraut or grilled Thueringer sausage served with sauerkraut (Rp90,000).. it finally arrived after all of us had finished our dinner and made complains.. Thueringer sausages was made of fine minced pork blended with other ingredients then filled into pork intestine.. well, tasted just as good as the ones in our paulaner platter only took a lot longer to arrive.. 

overall, I had a great night at Paulaner Bräuhaus.. a lot of laughter and stories were shared.. great food, great atmosphere and great friends.. what could be better?

Paulaner Bräuhaus
Grand Indonesia Shopping Town
Ground Level East Mall
Jl. M.H Thamrin No. 1
Central Jakarta
Ph.: 6221 2358 3871
www.paulaner-brauhaus.com/jakarta