Otosan Japanese Restaurant & Suki: Zomato Foodie Meet Up!

Last week, I was invited to a foodie meet up held by my favourite foodie website, Zomato. Thank you so much for the invitation, Shabrina! The meetup was held at Otosan Japanese Restaurant & Suki in Jalan Sabang, Central Jakarta.

This is the first time I have ever heard about Otosan. Talkin' about suki and/or shabu-shabu, any other names would pop up in my head other than Otosan. This even made me more excited since I would get to try new menu at a totally unfamiliar restaurant.

We were greeted warmly by Zomato team and Ivan, the owner of the restaurant. Between menus, Ivan always spared the time to explain the origins of the dish, and I really appreciate that. I love it when I know what I eat and how it was created, it makes me feel like I'm in the middle of a date with my food. *hug food*

Lychee Kult

 This is totally perfect for a hot summer-y day like that day!

Salmon Soyu Don

Oh, how do I even start with this. Beside from the slightly (and when I said slightly, I mean it, it was really really slightly) overcooked rice, this dish was just perfect! The salmon was nicely-cooked, with a sprinkle of fried garlic on top, which gave it a hint of crunch and saltiness. The rice and butter combination melted in your mouth instantly. Ivan said they managed to get the recipe right after trial-and-error for about 20 times. 20. I hope those 20 precious pieces of salmon didn't get to be thrown away.. *drools*

Yellow Submarine

  That yellow coat on top is supposed to be mango sauce, but it didn't tasted like mango at all. In a good way.

Okinawa Roll

Suki: Enoki mushroom, Chikuwa, Oborosuki, Horenso, Beef slice

Suki situation *waddup*

Suki with Tom Yam broth. Soo-keeeh.. *in Bill Compton's voice*

They have three kinds of broth. Spicy, sweet and tom yam. The broth was made with fresh salmon bones, so they tasted a tad lighter than other usual suki broth you may find in other restaurants. Ivan said it took them 40 times trial-and-error to achieve the perfect broth that they have now.

Cawan Pudding

This is exactly my style! Silky steamed egg pudding with maple syrup and cheese. It tasted like creme brulee, but no burnt caramel-on-top part (not that that burnt caramel part was bad either).

Summer Spring Roll

The perfect roll to refresh your taste bud after the attack of suki broth and the awesome buttery salmon soyu don.

Kyoho Kult

This beverage consists of Yakult and real grape nectar. The grapes were soaked in water (or was it honey? Or was it sugar water? I forgot) for days until all the sugar leaked and voila, the perfect nectar was born.

I really enjoy my lunch at Otosan. I might be back for more Salmon Soyu Don and Cawan Pudding. The suki broth was a little bit light for my liking, I prefer something heavier like the one they have in Little Sheep Restaurant, but put that aside, nothing's wrong with the broth. The beverages are surprisingly so good and refreshing. I had three glasses of Kult drinks that day, because it was literally freaking hot out there and the drinks were that refreshing (or maybe I was that greedy).

I would totally recommend Otosan for those of you who are into Japanese fusion food and/or suki, this is totally the place that will suit you.

Have an awesome meal wherever you are! Godspeed <3

All the happy tummies :)
Photo credit: Ayu Pratiwi

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