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

Mountain of Food Explorace Part 1 : Marry Brown

One day, on a fine day, my owner just got invitation. This time wasn't just from a restaurant nearby, but from Resort World Genting! Big woohoo! 
The invitation was for 17-20 July 2012 and they said they would provide all my needs during event. 
So there I was, going to Genting - Malaysia with 4 others. I was so excited that this was my first invitation abroad. :p
Resort World Genting held an event called Mountain of Food Explorace, which required us to do some challenges and exploring Genting at once. The participants were from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and China.

Departed with morning flight was my first challenge that I'm not a morning person. But there I went. Terminal 3 Soekarno Hatta International Airport - Jakarta. With a boarding pass sheet on my hand, getting ready for my flight. 
We arrived to KLCC at 11.30am. A middle aged man, Mr. Lee, picked us up and brought us to Genting. But we're so hungry and thirsty. So we asked him whether we could stop at the nearest gas station and buy some food in the mini market there. His "yes" was such a heaven sound to us. :p

This were my hunger kit. A bottle of mineral water and a pack of chocolate muffins. FYI, it helped a lot. Actually, I didn't know this brands, I just picked anything I saw. The muffins was moist and very sweet. Since I was in a major hunger, there's no problem with the sweetness. 

Few miles after the gas station, we saw this. Apparently, an accident had just happened there.  I didn't know where's the owner of the car. The first thing came up in my mind was "why the traffic is so normal". I believe, if this happen in Jakarta, there would be a huge traffic jam. 



After about 3 hours (I slept during the journey), we finally arrived! YAY! To celebrate our arrival, we took a photo together in front of the First World Hotel. For the first 2 days, we would spend nights here.

Left to right: Me, Mia (Rian's wife), Rian , Inez, Julia. 



Ms. Mei met us there and help us to check in. She gave us a paper bag. Guess what. It was a pair of trousers and a shirt from Wrangler who's also the sponsor of the event. 

This was our room. Actually, we got 1 room for each. But we requested so Julia and me could be arranged in one room. Inez was in the next room, but she's afraid to sleep alone, so she slept over in our room. Yes, 3 of us sleep in 1 room. Could you imagine the mess we got? hihi.

After took a bath and unpacked our baggage, we went to go to have our late lunch. It was 5 pm and my lunch only 2 regular muffins and a bottle of mineral water. So we went around for some time. Short stories, we chose Marry Brown. A fast food during travelling is a safe choice.

Mi Kari Ayam Goreng (Curry Noodle with Fried Chicken) - RM9.80

I saw the picture on the menu and fell in love. So I ordered this. So bad it was out of my expectation. The curry was plain. The noodle was too overcooked. And the snaps was undercooked. In a shorter words, it wasn't as good as it looked like. 

This was Lucky Plate - RM13.25
Consisted of mashed potato, small bun, vegetables salad, and 2 pieces of fried chicken. As you can see, the main point of the dish was the fried chicken. For a major hunger context, this was very edible. For a non-major hunger, I prefer KFC. Tasted plain (since it was original flavor) and they don't have chili sauce. Well, they had one, but for us, it tasted more like sweet sauce rather than chili sauce. The texture was so so. Some parts even too dry. 

Nasi Marry Brown (Marry Brown Rice) - RM11.80
It also looked mouthwatering on the menu. Unfortunately, the real one was different. Even it had the special sauce to combine with, it still tasted too dry. The sauce was just sweet and lack of spiciness.

Unsatisfied our late lunch, we still thanked God, at least we weren't hungry anymore. 
8 o'clock sharp we went to Visitors Information, and got to know the other participants. We were separated into groups of two. There I met my team mate; Jae Park - a tomboy 21 y.o. girl. 
After that, we had a show to catch. Guess what?! FREEZE! 
Freeze is the title of an interactive dance and magic show on ice. Nice show, indeed. Pardon me for no pict because there was lack of light.

It was 10 pm already. It's been 5 hours since the last time we ate. In our defense, 5 hours was a normal period for the hunger to start re-attack our belly. Our appetite was risen. * exaggerate*
We went to Nyonya Colors and found there was a dish that wasn't on the menu but on display, near the cashier. Nasi Lemak it was. And the most shocking fact was it only costed RM2. Contains a handfull size of rice, anchovy, peanuts, egg, and their special sauce (looked like sambal, but it wasn't). This was more than worth it. The rice was soft and went very well with the sauce. 

In the end of the day, we were quiet tired and slept very tight. Tomorrow we still had some challenges to do. Adios! 



Genting Highland Resort
Pahang, Malaysia
(603) 2718 1118 
www.rwgenting.com

Hummingbird Eatery

Hummingbird is one of the hippiest joint in Bandung. Well, at least for Jakartans who try to seek any good food in Bandung, it is.
I went there about 5 months ago. (Sorry for late post)
Had been hearing about them for many times, I pushed me and my friends to go there. :p
Fortunately, I succeeded. Say yay, people! :D

First impression: Nice outdoor ambience. They have a 'big nest' which uniquely......lovely.
I was on the waiting list. Apparently they had a bunch of customers that day. During my waiting, I entered the indoor part, so excited to see what else they have that have been talked lately. The interior reminded me of Beatrice Quarter (I'll post about it soon). At the backyard, I found Hummingbird Guest House, which I did willing to book, but unfortunately they were unavailable that day. It looked comfy and clean.

These were on my table:
Bibimbab (44.5K). A big hot stone bowl with colorful components.We could say Bibimbab is Korean 4 Sehat 5 Sempurna (without a glass of milk). Agree, people? :p
Consisted of white rice, beef, mushroom, vegetables (bean sprout, lettuce, spinach, carrot, cabbage, and cucumber), and the most eye-catching part was the half boiled egg! Whoah. It was so sexy when the yolk bursted out. 
The sauce was just so ordinary, nothing special in it. It even less seasoned than the one I usually eat. But for a place like this, it was quiet good, remembering they're not a Korean restaurant.

TomYum Pasta (36.5K). At first, I was worry for ordering this dish, because I never heard pasta could be cooked in TomYum flavor. I mean, of course it could be, but would it be weird? Well, apparently it's not weird at all. It even tasted super good! Sour and spicy with TomYum typical taste successfully made this dish more than just edible, it even really made my day.

Garlic Beef Involtini (49.5K). No, it's not sausage. It's involtini; a processed beef that rolled resembling sausage. At a glimpse, it might look like a sausage, but if you look closer (or taste), involtini has rough texture, and not as juicy as sausage. I don't know whether it is really how an involtini should taste like or not, I never ate one before. 

Back to the dish. The mushroom sauce saved the dish, for it balanced the involtini which lack of juiciness. What did the garlic do here? Well, it helped a lot, I guess. It gave a strong-kickin'-buds smell.

Even it wasn't my favorite, but I could say, good job for the dish.   

(left to right) : Lychee Jello (26.5K) - Pinky Berry (26.5K) -  Passionate Peach (26.5K)

Overall, I was satisfied with my visit. Will come back as soon as possible. Moreover, they have some cakery collections that I haven't tried. Pssst. I heard they opened their first branch in Jakarta lately. It's in Kuningan City. Remembering a comment of a friend that said Hummingbird always succeed to keep the consistency of their quality, hope they won't lose this score. :)

Hummingbird Eatery & Guesthouse

Jl. Progo No.14
Bandung
022-4212582

Mon - Fri: 07:00 - 22:30
Sat: 07:00 - 23:30
Sun: 07:00 - 22:30

Food Tasting: Umaku Alam Sutra

Heyho, Readers!

Even my owner was a bit busy with her life, thanks God she never forgets to fullfil me. :p

Well, this time we got invitation from Umaku Alam Sutra. 

Umaku is a Japanese restaurant which serves authentic Japanese cuisine with reasonable price. First opened at Duren Tiga, now they spread their wings into Alam Sutra. Yay! 

We had so much fun. A little chit chat and games that they'd prepared really widen my knowledge about Japanese cuisine. For example, I never knew that Tempura brought by Portuguese soldier to Japan, only Southern Japan people eats rice, etc. 

Hot Ocha (5K) will never go wrong. 

 Karai Ramen (35K). Thick hot and spicy broth with slices of beef and noris completed a big bowl of ramen. I could say it was very very spicy. I didn't dare to eat them too much. :p
They said, this ramen is origin from Hokkaido. Because the temperature is quiet cold there, so people love to eat something spicy to warm their body. 

Salmon Yakimeshi (33K). The rice was a bit sticky, just fit well with my likely. The seasoning was perfect. They put small pieces of salmon into the fried rice. I could say Japaneses fried rice is more likely into Hongkong fried rice ( not Indonesian), so it tasted salty and savory, without any hint of sweet. 

Sashimi Mariowase Jyo (44K). Hmm.. as I told you in previous posts, I don't eat raw food, include sashimi. :D
Some of my fellows said it wasn't fresh, but the other said it was fine. So I can't say anything, I didn't even try.

Spider Roll (37K). Not much I could say about this dish. The unagi didn't smell fishy,

Tempura Moriawase (35K). It was still hot when it came up. The sauce was nice, went well with the fries.

Sake Kabutoyaki (26K). This was Salmon's head, smeared with sake and other seasonings. First I heard, I didn't expect much from this dish. But surprisingly, it tasted so good! A little bit sweet, salty and savory, combined well in bite. I have to say, this really kicked my buds. :)

Some Robatayaki, which consisted of 1 piece each. 

I forgot its name, but I do believe it tasted so good that I wouldn't erase this part from my post. The fire-sprayed salmon was super great. It felt like melted when it touch my tongue. Whoah! Can I call this as mouthgasm? :p

Volcano Roll (35K)

Inari Sushi. Yup, different from usual. They put seaweed and roe fish, and mix them with the rice. What a lovely! :))

Salmon Grilled Cheese (27K). Grated cheese on the top of sushi? Challenge accepted. Lol
Tasted very fusion, as it also had mayo between the rice and cheese. So, with the dominan of mayo and cheese, I guess you now the taste already.

The very generous owners gave us these cute souvenirs. Thank you. :))

Overall, I loved it. Small, neat, unique, and decent place. Good food with affordable price. What else can I ask? :)


Umaku Alam Sutera
Ruko ASTC (Alam Sutera Town Center) Blok 10E No 9
(ruko seberang flavor bliss)
Alam Sutera, Tangerang
Phone: (021) 943811633
http://twitter.com/umaku_alsut