Sukhothai: Eat Till You Drop Authentic Thai

This is my first experience if All You Can Eat (AYCE) Thai Food. To be honest, when I heard AYCE, I didn't expect something outstanding. I was just hoping for many good food, not superb food. But wise people once said, "Put your hope higher, and your expectation lowest". And my hope was not a waste. I was impressed with the incredible dishes of the dinner.
I went home with a big smile on my face, forget about all dietary thingy. :p

Oops. Let me rewind my memories for you.

Our dinner started with a bowl of Thom Yam Thalay. Hot and sour soup with seafood, that's how they wrote it on the menu. Who doesn't know TomYam? Famous thai soup which always available at any Thai restaurant. A strong flavor of spiciness did surprise me at first. "Ah, ini sudah diadaptasikan dengan lidah Indonesia loh. Kalau di Thailand asli mah harus lebih pedas dari ini. (Ah, this flavor has been adapted to Indonesian taste. In Thailand, the level of spiciness must be way above this one.", Mr. Iqbal (Marketing Manager of The Media) said. 

After some bribes, I was getting used to and started to enjoy the dish. And finally, it successfully kicked my appetite. 

The next starter was with Pla Takrai. It's fried marinated fish with lemongrass and fresh herb. In Indonesian, we usually call it as "sate lilit". Actually I didn't know what kind of fish the use, but it tasted so goooood. *big grin*
Perfect seasoning in this dish succeeded to make me ask for more. Tender and delicate texture did indulge my taste buds. Both hands od Pla Takrai weren't enough.

Khao Pad Sapparot was pineapple fried rice. I found some uniqueness in a good way in this dish. Recording to Chef Sidik, the unique fragrance and taste came from the soy sauce he used. They imported it from Thai. IMHO, I loooove the dish. It was perfectly seasoned. Tasted savory with a little hint of sweet and sour from pineapple. 

Phad Pho Taek (squid, fish and prawn stirred in Thai herb chilli). So bad it also contained crab, so I couldn't eat it due to my aleregic. But my friends said all the components were well-cooked. The prawn was fresh, even the squid wasn't too hard to chew.  Pad Kana Kratiam was stir fried baby kailan.

Pla Sam Rod was deep fried fish with three flavors sauce. The deep fried fish was chrunchy outside but very soft inside, and wasn't smell fishy.  Love the tangy sauce, nice balance of salty, spicy, and a hint of sour.

Kapraw Gai was stir fried minced chicken with thai basil. The dish wasn't the best of all, but it suceeded to hit top three. There was beef version of this dish, named Phad Kapraw Nuea. Similar taste, just different meat.

Anyway, due to bad lighting and  not qualified camera of mine, so, all the photos credit in this post goes to AnakJajan. Thanks to Mrs. Jajan who gave me permission to use their photos.

Recording to Mr. Iqbal (Marketing Manager of The Media), name "Sukhothai" is taken from an ancient kingdom in Northern Thailand. "Sukhothai" means dawn of happiness.
Chef Sidik, the executive chef in charge, is a humble and creative chef. I could say it just by tasting his dishes and ask him few questions. He's not a Thai, but he successfully cooks authentic Thai food. He also gave us some quick cooking trick. How generous he was.

I found a jaw-dropping fact during my visit. They had their cutlery brought directly from Thai. Made from copper. And yes, it's traditional Thai cutlery. How cool is that?

Tell me what you think! Do comment below. ;)



Sukhothai Thai Restaurant
The Media Hotel & Towers 6th floor
Jl. Gunung Sahari 3
Jakarta 10720
Phone: (021) 6263001 ext. 4605
Opening Hours: Daily – Lunch 12.00 pm – 2.30 pm, Dinner 6 pm – 10.30 pm
Price: 149K IDR nett (excl. drinks)
Twitter: @SukhothaiResto

Taiyo Sushi: Another Fusion (Rock 'n) Roll - Openrice Gathering / Food Tasting

If you happened to Pluit Putra Raya, you might notice a big sign written "Taiyo Sushi" on the left side. Once closed for a period, now it's re-open with new look. Even the changes weren't not far from the former, to be honest I prefer the old one. Well, who cares about it anyway. Let's go to the dishes. It's more important. :p

 I got the invitation from Openrice. So there were some of their staffs greeted me when I came in. 
First dish was Chawan Mushi (12K), which was a very appropriate appetizer, just exactly what I expected. The chawan mushi has nice texture and perfect seasoning. Loved it!

Chawan Mushi (12K IDR)

Taiyo Sushi Roll (52K). Half baked salmon with cucumber and crunchy inside. I forgot how they called the crunchy for sushi. Whatever it was, it definitely win my heart. Mayo and cheese on top went really well. Pssstt.. this one was my favorite.  

Taiyo Special Roll (52K IDR)

Tempura Maki Floss (22K) was a simpler roll. From the name, you might know what's in it. Yup, prawn tempura and floss. The prawn was perfectly cooked. I loved it too. Light and tasty. Let's call it as easy bites. 

Tempura Maki Floss (22K IDR)

Aburi Mozarella Roll (56K). As I googled it, aburi sushi means sushi whose fish on top that is torched by flame in a glimpse, so the fish is partly grilled and partly raw. I don't eat raw food, but aburi sushi was an exception. I loved the grilled-smell sensation. Aburi Mozarella Roll had kani inside, and chicken floss and tobiko as topping. The mayo was only for decoration; had no impact.

Aburi Mozarella Roll (56K IDR)

Unagi Salmon Special (54K). Tasted similar with Aburi Mozarella Roll and Taiyo Sushi Roll. Perhaps because they had similar ingredients. But the ingredients were too strong that the unagi was almost undetectable. 

Unagi Salmon Special (54K IDR)

Kare Pasta was their new menu. This dish contained fettucini and kare. The fettucini was overcooked for me. White sauce was a bit tasteless, but it's okay since kare was the hero of the dish. The Kare had pretty strong spices but still not sharp enough. 

Kare Pasta (45K IDR)

interior

Overall I loved the dishes. They had lovely unique taste that you'll only find in here. They kept the uniqueness so hard that almost all the sushi taste the same. That's so bad. 
I'll come back someday, anyway. :)


Taiyo Sushi
Jl. Pluit Putera Raya No.17, Jakarta
(021) 669-3675

Island Creamery

Hi, there! It's dessert time!! Who's up for some ice cream? Me me me!!

For me, there's always a place left for dessert, so after had my dinner, with a full belly, I had no doubt to enter this ice cream joint in Flavor Bliss (Alam Sutra, Tangerang). This is their first branch in Indonesia. 

Rocky Road Cake is below. I loved it. Marshmallow, peanut, and chocolate fudge combined in one bite was such a bliss to me. 

Rocky Road Cake

Red Velvet Cake (25K IDR). Well, this wasn't not my type of cake. The cake was too dry and sweet for me. Well, maybe red velvet cake just became trending lately so many joint try to serve it, hoping it could boost their popularity. Unfortunately, our tongue don't do lie. I don't recommend this cake to you. If you happen to be here, try their another cake. 

Red Velvet Cake

Mud Pie (35K IDR/Slice). Consisted of many layers of ice cream, and contained many oreos. *big grin*
Had layers of ReverseO Ice Cream (chocolate), Cookies n Cream, and caramel, with dark chocolate in the bottom and oreos on top. The dark chocolate worked to balance the sweetness from other components.

Mud Pie Slice 

Kahlua Latte Ice Cream Scoop (22K IDR). 

Latte and kahlua in ice cream form was not bad. If you're a coffee lover, go try this one!

All ice cream price: 

22K IDR for singe scoop

36K IDR for double scoops

Kahlua Latte Ice Cream Scoop

Mini Baked Alaska (35K IDR). Looks so tempting, isn't it? 

Thin slice of sponge cake as the bottom layer, berry ice cream for the filling, and meringue for the cover. Anyway, the berry ice cream took most part of it. I tasted too much vanilla and too little berry in it. 

Mini Baked Alaska

Mini Baked Alaska 

Red Velvet Ball (5K IDR each).

Nice try! The red velvet much moister and richer here.

Red Velvet Ball

Hot Chocolate Cake. 

It was very toothsome, but unfortunately too sweet. The chocolate cake was perfectly baked, so the chocolate melt was draining out lovely. 

Island Creamery
The Flavor Bliss
Alam Sutera Kav. 11, Tangerang. Indonesia
Phone: (021) 29005040

Mountain of Food Explorace Part 2: The World Club Lounge, Coffee Terrace, Chin Swee Vegetarian Restaurant

Heyho, everyone! I'm back with my Genting trip story. This time is my second day, and I was so exhausted and fun at once. Where should I start? Hmmm.. Breakfast seems a good start. We had our breakfast at The World Club Lounge. The place wasn't spacious but neat and comfort. Plus, we could enjoy the beautiful view while breakfast.

Our first challenge of the day was making a package of food with "energizing" theme. And we had to eat all the food afterwards. Since this challenge given after we had breakfast and we still had many challenge after this, so we had to be so smart in arranging our dish. Voila! This is what we got. I'm pretty proud of our creation. :') 

We still had some challenges afterwards where we had to go some tenants of the huge mall they had there, and we got free jackets! hihihi. *huge smile*

Just about half past elven (11.30am), we were ready for lunch at Coffee Terrace. Yup, it's their famous buffet dining whose had 6 live kitchen! What did I seek for the first? Of course sweets and desserts! :))

Look what I found!!
Yeah, you're not wrong, and your eyes are find. It's ostrich! I never ate ostrich meat before. So I dared myself to try once. Actually the texture was similar with mutton. I believed it had the same smell like mutton had, but fortunately the spices was sooooo strong that I almost couldn't smell.

Let's take picture with our new jackets! :p

After lunch, we got some more challenges. This time, we got free entrance to theme park! Wohoo!

I was very excited. This challenge was the one I loved the most.  

4pm sharp, we went to Chin Swee Temple. It's a temple located near Resort World Genting. It was such a beautiful temple. The challenge here was we had to find Oprah (the officer), and we had to seek her in the entire temple. The temple had a pagoda, whose 9 level height. The clue was "Oprah is in the highest point of the temple". So when we arrived, we just strike to the highest level. I made it to 8th floor, until a friend told me that Oprah wasn't there (he already reached the 9th floor). What a waste of energy! lol. 
Here's my pict, in order to prove, I had ever reahed 8th floor using stairs in my life! :p
Wait! Every level had a door to outside where we could see a very green and beautiful view. Ah, of course I didn't want to miss it. I enjoyed the view for about 5 minutes before going back to the first floor. 

We found Oprah in the prayer room. Not long after that, it's time for dinner! Yes, we ate that much. :))

There's a vegetarian restaurant here. Chin Swee Vegetarian Restaurant.

Soup of The Day

Sauted Mushroom with Broccoli

Pomfret with Thai Sauce

Salted Fish and Pork in Claypot

Loh Hon Chai in Yam King 

Lamb Curry

Stir Fry Vegetables

My favorite was Loh Hon Chai in Yam King. In ordinary restaurant, we might say it was deep fried prawn with sauce, that placed in a bowl-shaped yam cake. I saw this kind of dish for some times in Medan-ese (Tio Ciu) restaurant. But the difference is, this time was a vegetarian version, so no prawn, no meat, and no garlic. 



Chin Swee Vegetarian Restaurant
Chin Swee Caves Temple  69000 Genting Highlands, 
Pahang, Malaysia
013-333-2348
http://www.chinswee-vegetarianrestaurant.com/


Coffee Terrace
Lobby Floor, Genting Hotel , Genting Highlands Resort , 69000 Genting Highlands Pahang
05- 6101 1118
BUFFET
Breakfast: 5.30am - 10.30am
Lunch: 12.00 noon - 2.30pm
Dinner: 5.00pm - 9.30pm

ALA-CARTE
3.00pm - 5.00pm
10.30pm - 5.30am

Bengawan at Keraton Hotel - Jakarta

If you happen to Plaza Indonesia or Bunderan HI lately, you may see a new sign there: "Keraton". Yup, located in the center of Jakarta, Keraton at The Plaza has just opened and even still in soft opening period. Some of their rooms were already available, some others were still unfinished. 

When I got the invitation for lunch at Bengawan (all day buffet dining at Keraton), I wondered how to get there, as I never saw any gate or any entrance to Keraton at The Plaza. Finally I found out, their main lobby was at the back of Plaza Indonesia with the gate closed all time. The security would open the gate after checking your vehicle and belonging. Or else, you might find a black door next to Bakerzin Plaza Indonesia, that was their secondary entrance. 

Keraton Hotel is one of Luxury Collection Hotel under Starwood Management. They have different concept compared to other hotels. They offer personal butler for every client. Do you know what it means? It means you will served personally. You might do check in and check out in your room. The butler even would bring the payment machine into your room! You also might call the butler anytime you want, they would at your service 24 hours each day. How cool is that. 

Keraton at The Plaza also located among office buildings, but once you get in, you'll forget that you're in the center of city's hustle bustle as it was so quiet and calm. 

Recording to these data, we might say Keraton at The Plaza is a diamond hotel (higher than 5 stars), and those luxuries must cost you a 'diamond' too. 

Since they're still soft opening period, I found the buffet place still very vacant at lunch time. 
The ambience reminds me of Bogor Cafe (Borobudur Hotel), but this one was the high floor version. (Bogor Cafe located in ground floor and have no view)


Lychee Tea. 
A tall glass of tea with lychee syrup, lychee, and lychee pop boba. Refreshing. Me loved it. I even want  it again now. :p

Apple Mint Tea. 
A big hint of apple combined with mint sensation. Not my type of flavor, but I should say this was good enough to pamper you palate before getting ready for the big lunch.

They had many stations, which had different type of food for each station. Although they claimed their speciality was Indonesian, just like other all-day-dining buffet, they provided almost all kind of food; pasta, sushi/sashimi/Japanese, Chinese food, steamboat, Indian, Indonesian, salad, desserts, etc. 

Their Red Velvet Cake was one of the outstanding ones. The texture was unique; not fluffy, but soft, felt like it melt when it touched my tongue. 

This was Nasi Keraton; their speciality. Served with some assorted condiments you might choose. Nasi Keraton was like Nasi Uduk or Nasi Lemak. Cooked with coconut milk and covered by banana leaves. 

Foie Gras. 

Grilled Rib Eye

Steamboat

Aglio Olio 

                   Iced Caffe Latte. Cute glass! :p

                              Cappuccino

Berry Bajigur Colada. 
This was one of their cocktail selections. IMHO, it tasted challanging. Combination of sour berry and bajigur already brought awkward moment to my tongue. Moreover, the alcohol gave highlight to the sourness of the berry. In short sentence, I could say this is: Sour alcohol with ginger and palm smell. 

After fulfill my appetite, they invited me to walk around. Of course I didn't refuse. 
Apparently, their interior theme was classic modern Indonesia. Well, I named it by myself. 
The place was very comfy, neat and clean. I saw many sides with Indonesian traditional touch. 

I forgot the name of the pattern on the decoration behind. But I do remember the meaning of it; it says that human came from God, so human shouldn't forget their God. 

Breakfast Buffet Package (Rp. 225.000++) 
– Inclusive appetizer, main course (Western + Asian) in buffet and a la carte menu, dessert, live cooking selection, pass around  smoothies and croissant, egg selections, soft drink, fresh juices, fresh brewed coffee and tea

Lunch Buffet Package (Rp. 288.000++) 
– Inclusive appetizer, main course (Asian + Western), dessert, live hot cooking selection, pass around foei gras and carving selections, fresh brewed coffee and tea
Dinner Buffet Package (Rp. 188.000) – Inclusive buffet appetizer, dessert, fresh brewed coffee & tea

Sunday Brunch Package (Rp. 388.000++) 
– Inclusive all non-alcohol beverage, appetizer, main course (Western + Asian) in buffet and menu, live cooking pasta, unlimited pass around (mie goreng, nasi goreng, foei gras, carving selections), noodle selection, dessert, pass around beverage, fresh brewed coffee and tea, welcoming bubble

Beverage Package (Rp. 288.000++) – free flow red wine, white wine, champagne, cocktail, martini




Bengawan Signature Restaurant
Keraton at The Plaza
Jl. MH Thamrin Kav 15, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Phone : ( 021 ) 50680000
Facebook : Keraton at The Plaza
Twitter : @KeratonJakarta