Bakmi Buncit Margonda Depok

Kalau kamu jalan-jalan ke jalan Margonda Raya di kota Depok, sempatkanlah mampir ke sebuah tempat kecil namun istimewa ini, Bakmi Buncit.

Selama empat tahun menjadi penduduk temporer di Depok, saya malah baru ngeh sama tempat ini sekarang setelah saya tidak lagi tinggal di sana.

Terletak di sebuah ruko kecil tepat di sebelah kanan Depok Town Square alias Detos, tempat ini lumayan mungil dan mudah luput dari orang-orang yang memandang sekilas saja. Awalnya kaca film jendela restoran yang membuat ruangan di dalam jadi terlihat gelap sempat membuat saya ragu untuk mencoba makan di tempat ini. Namun setelah masuk ke dalam, tempat ini ternyata berpenerangan cukup dan bersih.

Dari sekian banyak menu Chinese food yang ada, saya memutuskan untuk mencoba menu klasik, mie ayam bakso. Semua rekomendasi dan ulasan dari orang-orang yang menyatakan bahwa mie di tempat ini enak sekali dan patut dicoba menjadi terkonfirmasi saat di suapan pertama. Ya, mie ini memang enak! Rasanya mienya sendiri sudah cukup berbumbu dan gurih, topping yang disajikan (ayam, bakso, sayuran) bersih dan empuk. Yang saya suka dari sayuran dan mienya adalah rasanya yang tidak tawar dan telah dibumbui dengan cukup sukses. Sering kita temui topping sayuran di dalam bakmi yang masih terasa tawar, bahkan cenderung pahit.

Harga untuk seporsi mie ayam bakso di tempat ini adalah Rp.27000. Memang sedikit over-priced dari mie-mie lain pada umumnya, namun saya rasa sebanding dengan rasa yang ditawarkan. Bagi saya sih, lebih baik saya membayar sedikit lebih mahal untuk makanan enak daripada membayar mahal untuk makanan yang tidak enak.

Setelah (sok-sokan) menelisik dan meneliti isi dan rasa bakmi yang saya makan, ternyata saya menemukan tongcai di dalam mangkuk bakmi saya. Tongcai adalah sayuran yang terbuat dari lobak yang diasinkan. Saya rutin melihat tongcai di dalam bubur ayam yang dijual ibu saya, namun ini pertama kalinya saya menemukan tongcai sebagai topping bakmi (meskipun saya tahu dari beberapa orang bahwa itu hal yang umum). Kunci dari tongcai yang enak adalah cara membersihkannya. Sebagai anak seorang pedagang bubur yang rutin membersihkan tongcai, saya menjadi tahu bahwa tongcai harus dicuci berkali-kali sebelum menjadi layak untuk dimakan. Air pertama cucian tongcai sangat sangat hitam. Orang yang pernah mencuci tongcai pasti akan mengecek tongcai yang dia temui di menu lain, bersih atau tidak. (sumber: ibu dari penulis)

Teman makan saya memesan menu lain yaitu kwetiaw goreng. Penggemar kwetiaw pasti akan menyukai kwetiaw di tempat ini. Selain porsinya yang besar, tekstur kwetiawnya juga sangat kenyal dan tebal. Dijamin mengenyangkan. Saya yang bukan penggemar kwetiaw pun tergoda dan ikut mencicip.

Kwetiaw Goreng
IDR 30000

Bakmi Ayam Bakso
IDR 27000

Will I come back for more? I surely will. Have an amazing meal wherever you are, guys!

Jeans Chilli Chicken Gandaria City

Beberapa minggu yang lalu, saya diundang oleh rumahmakanjakarta.com ke acara food gathering di Jeans Chilli Chicken, Gandaria City. Begitu mendengar namanya saya langsung mencoba menerka-nerka apa jenis makanan yang ditawarkan restoran ini, ayam pakai jeanskah atau gimana? Setelah tiba di tempat, barulah saya tahu bahwa Jeans Chilli Chicken adalah sebuah franchise dari Sydney dengan menu andalan chilli chicken ala Korea. Jeans sendiri berasal dari kata Jin, sebuah nama resep terkenal ayam goreng di Korea (semuanya bisa dibaca di buku menunya kalau-kalau kamu mampir).

Tempatnya lumayan sederhana, terletak di Main Street area lantai UG, di seberang Incognito. Sebuah meja panjang telah tertata apik untuk para undangan lengkap dengan nama masing-masing. Selain itu, RMJ juga membagikan stiker-stiker "Keep Calm" yang lucu-lucu. Cute!

Tidak lama setelah itu, pelayan mulai membagikan mangkok-mangkok hitam besar yang berisi sebuah bola nasi yang padat. Cara makan di restoran ini cukup unik. Selain membagikan nasi, pelayan juga membagikan sarung tangan plastik dan gunting. Ternyata nasi itu bisa dicampur dengan lauk-pauk yang ada dan dibentuk menjadi bola-bola nasi! Namun itu kembali ke pilihan pelanggan. Saya sendiri hanya mencampur nasi dan lauk, lalu langsung memakannya tanpa dibentuk menjadi bola-bola. Tipikal orang kelaparan. Hihihi.

Rice Ball

IDR 20000

IMO, the rice was really delicious. Terasa legit dan enak namun tidak terlalu gurih. If this were a dish made at my home, I could probably finish this off alone with some salted fish.

Ginseng Fried Chicken
IDR 92000
Potongan-potongan ayam goreng tepung yang telah direndam dalam ginseng merah sebelumnya.

Cheese Chilli BBQ Chicken

Pada dasarnya menu ini sama seperti Chilli BBQ Chicken, hanya saja di atasnya terdapat lapisan keju leleh yang terasa amat sensasional di lidah saat dipadukan dengan saus ayamnya yang unik.

Chilli BBQ Chicken

IDR 92000

Nah ini dia menu andalan restoran ini. Miss Faith, sang humas restoran yang juga seorang Korean menerangkan bahwa tingkat kepedasan menu-menu di restoran ini telah ditingkatkan, karena sebelumnya banyak yang komplain bahwa makanannya kurang pedas. To be honest, saya sebagai orang yang suka pedas namun tidak kuat makan pedas, merasa bahwa makanan malam itu pun belum terasa pedas-pedas banget. Tapi segitu saja cukup kok! Sudah enak!

Chilli Chicken Egg Roll

IDR 42000

Ini menu yang juara buat saya malam itu. Sebagai pencinta telur, saya cukup kecewa dengan telur ala sushi Jepang yang rasanya menurut saya lumayan aneh karena agak asam manis. Namun telur ini enak! Rasanya seperti telur (ya iya lah ya.. Maksudnya seperti telur pada normalnya, tidak neko-neko dan aneh-aneh). Teksturnya lembut dan tidak terlalu berminyak. Saus chilli chicken dan mayonnaise yang ditambahkan di atasnya semakin menambah gurihnya hidangan ini. Sedap!

Honey Fried Chicken

IDR 92000

Seafood Cake Soup

IDR 28000

Another menu di restoran ini yang cukup sesuatu. Di tengah-tengah serbuan saus-saus chilli chicken yang gurih, sup ini cocok dinikmati sebagai penyeimbang. Potongan-potongan fish cakenya dan topping lainnya ga pelit, kuahnya juga terasa sedap dan adem. Favorit saya malam itu.

Chilli BBQ Chicken Feet

IDR 65000

Kaki ayamnya besar-besar! Mungkin karena semasa hidupnya mereka rajin jogging dan berolahraga.. Bumbunya kurang lebih sama dengan bumbu Chilli BBQ Chicken.

Miss Faith yang lagi sibuk menjelaskan cara meracik nasi dan segala macam lauk pauk sehingga bisa menjadi bola-bola nasi yang manis dan bersahaja :')

Bola-bola nasi karya miss Faith. Saya yang malas bikinnya pun langsung main comot aja.

Para perut-perut yang berbahagia. By the way kokoh yang di belakang saya itu (saya yang baju kuning) adalah pemilik franchise ini. Terima kasih kokoh dan Rumah Makan Jakarta atas undangannya! Sukses selalu! (photo credits to kak Mullie)

Sebagai pencinta makanan Korea, saya sangat menyarankan buat kamu-kamu semua untuk pergi ke restoran ini! Harganya mungkin memang di atas rata-rata, namun menurut saya sangat sesuai dengan rasa dan porsi yang ditawarkan. It was totally worth it!

To all of you dear readers, have a great meal wherever you are! Godspeed! 

Warung Pasta Margonda Depok

Biasanya kalo denger kata 'pasta', pasti yang terbayang di pikiran kita adalah sebuah makanan yang mahal dan ribet, yang untuk menikmatinya saja kita harus dress up dan pergi ke sebuah restoran yang super fancy. Well, yang ditawarkan Warung Pasta adalah sesuatu yang baru dan beda. Dari namanya saja, tempatnya benar-benar sesantai dan senyaman itu untuk menjadi tempat hang-out bareng teman dan keluarga. Pasta yang disajikan di sini amat beragam, dan yang saya suka adalah kita bisa memilih ukuran pasta yang kita inginkan, menyesuaikan dengan keadaan perut saat itu.

Saya sendiri sudah berkali-kali menjajal Warung Pasta, baik yang di Margonda maupun yang di Kemang. Tapi baru pada kunjungan saya yang terakhir saya mencicip satu menu dessertnya yang tidak pernah saya icip sebelumnya: Chocolate Fondant! And it turned out to be really addictive (I even came back the week after, only to have 2 plates of Chocolate Fondant. Bad tummy! *spank*)

Chocolate Pool

Chocolate Fondant

IDR 17500

Bloody Mary

Omega 3

Creamy Tako

Fried Mushroom

IDR 13000

Althought the price is really affordable, but what Warung Pasta offers is far from average. I personally really like their pastas and desserts. As what the name suggests, Warpas serves Pasta with an Indonesian twist. I guess your Indonesian tongue can't really lie, huh?

Have a nice meal, everyone! :)

The Playground at Pondok Indah Mall

I've been eyeing this place for a long time. As the name suggests, the place has seats that look like those games you'd see in a playground. I sat on a table that has seating like those thing where you sit on it and you steer it so it can go round and round in an axis. What was it called again? I don't even know what's it called in Bahasa.

I went to the one in Plaza Indonesia only for drinks, and I went to their Pondok Indah Mall's outlet with my friends for her birthday lunch. This is where I got the chance to try out the food.

Togatake Pasta

IDR 68000

Chimichurri Dory

IDR 58000

From the way the food was put on the plates, I gotta admit that they're really interesting-looking. Each of the dish we ordered has an exotic kinda taste, so it's pretty balanced. Interesting on the eye, as well as on the tastebud.

As explained on the menu, Chimichurri is an Argentine Parsley Sauce. Separated, the fish, mashed potato, and the sauce probably were just average, but combined together, they really are exciting. The green fancy chilli on the top was a little bit too sour though. But then again, if you eat it altogether with the fish, mashed potato, and the sauce, they were lovely. The togatake pasta was a bit too sweet for me, but I did I enjoy the big sized fish and mushroom toppings. 

I really appreciate and enjoy The Playground menu list. Consists of exotic-titled food, fusion food from Thailand, Japanese, to even Argentine. Those dishes are certainly not for everybody but they're brave enough to take the risk and don't play safe. Something that I rarely found in other restaurants nowadays. As for the price, I do think it's really worth the food you got. The food comes in big portion and you got the chance to taste things you've never tasted before. For me it was a fun experience and I look forward to try out other numbers as well in the future. Godspeed!

PS: Happy 24th birthday, Tania! God bless us! :D

Holycow Steakhouse: Camp Bonjer and Camp Senopati

Meat, meat, and meat. Once again, this shallow tummy went in search for the best affordable meat in town. And there it was! With a slogan "This is where wag(Yu) belong", Holycow offers a comfortable eating space where the customers would feel like they're home already. Like they belong here. The price range itself is completely affordable compared to other brand in its genre.

Though to be honest, I was kinda disappointed with their camp in Kebon Jeruk. The camp Kebon Jeruk is much wider, with more humanely tables compared to the ones they have in Senopati. With a lot more comfortable parking lots as well. The food on the other hand, was a little bit of a let-down. My friend ordered her meat well done, and it arrived, well, well done on the edges, but super raw on the core of the meat. My order was fine, but the meat was a little bit too hard to chew. I like the food in camp Senopati better.

Anyhows, what I like about Holycow is that it offers various choice of sauce, and you can have them as much as you want. They have mushroom, barbeque, black pepper, Buddy's special, and the recently created sauce, W sauce. I found the latter one interesting. For some people it might not suit their taste (as to what my sister said, it was too salty), but for me it works just fine. It's green and you can taste some herbal spices in it. I'm not really sure what they were, but this smart-ass tongue thinks it tasted mint and thyme in it. Ha. But hands down, it still cannot beat two of my favourite sauces, mushroom and Buddy's special. We're talkin' about garlics and creamy mushroom here, baby. The other thing that I like about it is that it offers free refills for tea. That includes lemon tea, green tea, and blackcurrant tea. Generosity never kills, baby (Okay, pardon me, just how much exactly am I going to say 'baby' again? It's just all this talk about meat and steak makes me feel like a hot baby!).

In general, Holycow offers you a whole new level of steak experience. Meat lovers, you are welcomed to drool yourselves all the way down here.

 Prime Rib Eye (with Buddy's Special sauce)

Camp Bonjer

IDR 82500

Prime Tenderloin (with Mushroom and BBQ sauce)

Camp Bonjer

IDR 87000

Wagyu Rib Eye (with W and Mushroom sauce)

Camp Senopati

IDR 127500

Sirloin Young Beef (with Buddy's Special and Mushroom sauce)

Camp Senopati

IDR 87000

Personally, I prefer beef than wagyu. It's hard to explain but you'll understand when you eat it. They're not really different, and even at some point, you'll find the wagyu meat harder to chew. My personal recommendation for you would be Sirloin Young Beef and Wagyu Rib Eye. Also make sure to try ALL the sauces. Why? Because they're free! Why else would it be? :D

Sincerely yours, shallow tummy. Godspeed!

Rumah Makan Baji Pamai and Rumah Makan Marannu: Authentic Ujung Pandang Food

Last week, I was wandering around Boulevard Street Kelapa Gading and texted my friend: "Do you have any recommendations of food worth-trying here?" And she replied: "Just try out anything randomly. Everything on that street is guaranteed delicious." It's true indeed. This area is considered to be one of so many Jakarta's food paradiso. Seafood, Japanese, authentic Indonesian, Chinese, Malaysian, all genres of food, you name it. They're here.

Being an insecure tummy that I am, I decided not to try out on anything new and went to two of my subscribed restaurants: Rumah Makan Baji Pamai and Rumah Makan Marannu. Both  serve authentic Ujung Pandang food. I've been a loyal customer in both restaurants since I was in kindergarten. Lately, I haven't visited in a while.

First, I went to Rumah Makan Baji Pamai. Located on Boulevard Street, next to Nasi Kenanga. Its specialty is Bakmi Ujung Pandang. I saw the place had been upgraded here and there. The design is way cleaner and more modern, and how I love the bathroom. The closet's been upgraded with seating and eco-washer, like those you would encounter in big malls. It's kinda out of topic, but I really appreciate restaurants that provide comfortable bathrooms for the customers. Hygiene first!

Bakmi Spesial Kecil

IDR 26000

Bakmi Biasa Kecil

IDR 24000

The  noodles was like nothing you ever tasted. I couldn't recall any kind of Chinese noodle that has an alike texture. This noodle was big and thick like spaghetties, but chewy and curly like Chinese noodles. It's unique in all of its entity. I ordered Bakmi Spesial and Bakmi Biasa. They were just the same, only that the Spesial had more pork toppings and the chicken toppings was the breast part, while the Biasa was the thigh part.

One portion is served with three dumplings and you can ask whether you want 'em all to be fried or boiled. Or you can have both, boiled and fried. For me personally, the small portion was already fulfilling enough. Probably it was the noodles, because they're so thick and chewy.

Next, I went to Rumah Makan Marannu, still on the same street, but it's on the other side of the street, across Indomart.

Es Pisang Ijo

Coto Makassar

Konro Bakar

I forgot all of the prices and didn't keep the receipt either, but they were probably ranged from IDR 20000-50000.

The Es Pisang Ijo wasn't really like the modern version that you would find in booths or food stalls, it is more of the traditional kind, only consists of banana, shaved ice, vla, and syrup. No other overrated toppings such as cheese, or chocolate, etc. The smooth texture of the green coat; the sweetness of the vla, banana and syrup all combined in one bowl is a heaven-like combo.

The meat in the Coto and the Konro Bakar was cooked just right. They might look too small at first, but after finishing it, trust me for regular tummies, you would be full. In the right amount. The Konro Bakar was served with peanut sauce (almost satay-sauce like) and a bowl of coto soup, which I found pretty useful to neutralize all the greasiness from the meat and the savory from the sauce.

When planning to visit Marannu, I suggest that you don't wash your hair first, and try not to wear your best outfit, because it would be such a waste. The whole place will be covered with smokes from the roaster and the griller, and they will patched onto your body instantly.

Overall, if you want a good ol' dose of Ujung Pandang food in Jakarta, make sure to visit these places. In my opinion, Marannu still serves the best Konro Bakar in town. Nothing can beat it, so far. So if you have anything in mind, that could probably beat Marannu to second place, just lemme know!

Have a great day, and enjoy your meal wherever you are now! Godspeed :)

Bale Raos: Eat Like A King (Literally)

As an Indonesian, of course you know that Yogyakarta has its own kingdom, and it's called Keraton. The current ruling King is Sultan Hamengku Buwono X and his Queen is GKR Hemas. That, we all know.
But little did I know, after 22 years of becoming an Indonesian citizen, and an admirer of the simplicity and elegance of Yogyakarta, there is this awesome restaurant just right in the yard of the Keraton. Bale Raos, a royal cuisine restaurant. Here you can enjoy the King's and Queen's favorite dishes. In short, eat like a king slash queen. Now tell me, with a tagline like this, who cannot be tempted to dine here?

The restaurant is located in Kagungan Dalem Kemagangan area, claimed to be the closest access to Kedaton area, the main Keraton area. The place was simple and neat, and it was outdoor so you'll probably feel like you're eating on a house terrace. A really neat and cool house terrace. And do you know that feeling when you look at a dish menu, and you just know that you would love the dishes? That was the kind of feeling I got when I look at the menu. The dish title was completed with description written underneath, and price. Menus with descriptions and prices. Now that, is a menu.

I visited this place twice during my stay in Yogya, but I only got the chance to cover the second visit, so maybe I won't be able put up photos for some dishes I'd write here.

My family wasn't really the appetizer kind of people, so we skipped the appetizers and go past the main course and dessert.

Paru Ragi

IDR 20000

Lombok Kethok

IDR 22500 

Garang Asem

IDR 22000 

There was another meal that I tried out on the first visit, but I don't have the picture here. It's Urip-urip Gulung, rolled catfish fillet, served with Mangut sauce. I really love it! First, because it was catfish. Second, because it tastes like Unagi. Talkin' about food twist!

And then there came the desserts..

 Manuk Nom

IDR 7000

Tapak Kucing

IDR 7500

 Rondo Kepomo

IDR 7500

Puding Gulo Gosong

IDR 7500

My sister had three plates of Tapak Kucing all for herself. That's how good it was. And do you notice how affordable all the dishes were? Our second visit's bill was not more expensive than IDR 150.000ish. Three main courses, seven plates of desserts, and a few glasses of cold drinks. Mineral water is on the house. For dessert, I recommend you to try Manuk Nom and Rondo Kepomo. The first is a pudding made out of fermented rice and eggs. The texture was smooth and you can't smell the fishy egg smell at all. The latter is something similar of caramel pudding, but it's not caramel. I forgot what  it was made from, but I'm pretty sure it involved cinnamon and Javanese brown sugar. The taste was sweet with a just amount of bitterness from the burnt sugar, enough not to make you feel sugar-sick.

As a non-drinker, I was interested to try the Beer Djawa, because it doesn't contain alcohol. It's made of spices and natural ingredients, it makes the drinker feel warmer, but not too drunk. It was surprisingly nice! I personally recommend to add some sugar, otherwise it'll feel too bland. But maybe that's just because I like sweet. If you don't like sweet, then not adding sugar is okay. 

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Beer Djawa

IDR 14000

The one word I can use to describe this place and the dishes was: neat. The food was simply made with heart, with simplicity yet definition. It is a your-momma's-cooking kinda dish. The prices are highly reasonable and affordable for a "King's Food", you wouldn't feel being ripped off at all. I would simply come back around for more. Till' we meet again, Yogya!