[Food Tasting] Shang Palace: "Tea Wonders" Sensation

I was pretty amazed when I know we could eat alcohol (if you haven't read, you read my post here). Then I found out that we also could eat tea. Yes, tea. Amazing, right? 

Apparently, using tea leaves for cooking is not something new. Chinese people usually use tea leaves as cooking ingredients. Chef Benson Fok, yes he's a chinese too, prepared some delicious tea-infused menus for you to try. Please welcome, Tea Wonders. This menu only available during September. 

Tea Wonders consists of :

• Braised Bo Lei Duck - Rp. 68,000++/portion
• Stir-Fried Phoenix Prawn with Long Jin Tea Leaf - Rp. 98,000++/portion
• Lamb Chop with Golden Phoenix Tea - Rp. 88,000++/portion
• Steamed Bai Ling Mushroom and Seafood with Rain Flower Tea Sauce - Rp. 78,000++/portion
• Glutinous Rice and Fish Cooked with Yellow Treasure Flower - Rp. 58,000++/portion
• Steamed Tomato Stuffed with Assorted Vegetables with Dongding Oolong Sauce - Rp. 58,000++/portion
• Stir-Fried Lotus Root, Water Chesnut, Lily Bud and Pumpkin - Rp. 68,000++/portion
• Chilled Red Tea Jelly with Chinese Pear and Pipa - Rp. 58,000++/portion

I hadn't tried all of them, because part of me insisted to try the regular menu too. :p

Menu that day

Corn and Crab Soup 

Corn and crab soup wasn't part of Tea Wonders. But as it was a good dish to giggle my appetite, it was (actually) a good choice. So bad, due to my allergic to crab, I had no guts to try. Poor poor me. 

Braised Bo Lei Duck

Ms. Agnes - manager of Shang Palace - said Bo Lei was a type of tea. Bo Lei had similar taste with Pu-Erh, but they're definitely different. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of duck, but I do eat one slice, so I tried one and........one more, and.......one more. This was one of the best duck dish I ever met. Nice sweet savory sauce, juicy and well cooked duck meat. Apparently the chef really knows how to cook duck. 

Lamb Chop with Golden Phoenix Tea

Have I ever mentioned that I can't stand of lamb? If not, now you get it. 
I tried for some times, but my sense of smell was just too strong. Nah, lets talk about this one. To be honest, it was well-spiced. I didn't know how the chef cook it, but he succeeded to reduce the lamb-smell. This dish came with scrambled white egg and yummy sauce. I guess there's a tea ingredient in the sauce. The scrambled white egg was magnificent. Absolutely love it. :)

Steamed Bai Ling Mushroom and Seafood with Rain Flower Tea Sauce

Steamed scallop and prawn plated with Bai Ling Mushroom was nice. I am a big fan of prawn, and prawn never goes wrong with anything. :p
The sauce was mild. Actually i was hoping for stronger sauce because the scallop-prawn-mushroom need to be highlighted. 

Glutinous Rice and Fish Cooked with Yellow Treasure Flower

This dish looked similar with Lo Mai Kai, glutinous rice with meat that wrapped in lotus leaf. And I wasn't wrong. They tasted similar too. The difference was the presentation and additional ingredients. Lo Mai Kai didn't use bamboo bowl. Glutinous Rice and Fish Cooked with Yellow Treasure Flower had a 2x2cm piece of fish on the top. I assumed it was snapper fish. The glutinous rice was sticky and tasteful. I found little fiber appeared in the glutinous rice, and thought it was coconut until Mrs. Jajan asked the waiter and the waiter asked the chef and we found out that it was CRAB. Oh, crab! (As I told you I am allergic to crab)
The good news is there was no symptom of allergy later on. Fiuh. Am I crab-immuned already?  Maybe I am. I was a little regret that I didn't eat the corn and crab soup. :p

Chef’s Special Stewed Pork Rib served with Chinese Bread 

When I asked about what are their recommendation, Joris (Digital Marketing Manager) and Felicia (Marcom) said this stewed pork ribs, then we agreed to order. And none of us regret! The stewed pork ribs was soooooo tender and no pork-smell at all (that's my main consideration of ordering pork in a restaurant). The sauce was also perfect and joyful. So when I put the ribs' meat in the bread, it was heaven! (I'm drooling now)
Love the texture and taste combination. Good job chef! Hats off! ;)

Chilled Red Tea Jelly with Chinese Pear and Pipa

Back to Tea Wonders, here was the only dessert of the series. I watched how to make this pear in Masterchef US and was amazed and confuse at the same time. It's pretty hard for me.:p First you must peel the pear, then make a big hole in the middle where the seed and core are there. No worries, here you can enjoy the pear effortless. The dessert wasn't sweet, more in to plain and pipa taste. Good dessert to finish the dinner. To be honest, I didn't know what is pipa. But as we talked about it, the taste reminds us with one of cough syrup, and we assumed pipa was a kind of chinese herb that also used to make cough syrup. I did some small research and got some endorsement for our "theory". lol

Anyhow, the conclusion was this dessert was healthy. ;)

Psssttt.. they also have dimsum menu available everyday until 2.30pm, and all you can eat dimsum also available on weekend at IDR 188,000++. Will try that soon! 

Shang Palace 
Shangrila Hotel Jakarta
Kota BNI, Jl. Jend. Sudirman kav 1, Central Jakarta
Ph. (62 21) 2922 9999
Fax. (62 21) 2922 9900
http://www.shangri-la.com/jakarta/shangrila/
http://www.shangri-la.com/jakarta/shangrila/dining/restaurants/shang-palace/
Twitter : @ShangrilaJKT
Facebook : Shangrila Jakarta
Instagran : @ShangrilaJKT

RM Jatinunggal: Feed You with (/and) Fish

Have a daily routine in crowded and noisy Jakarta has given me some stressful head. I needed some air. Fresh air. 

I heard there a restaurant in Jonggol, near Cibubur, West Java, which is located among natural charm. There I went. After fought against Jakarta's traffic and strayed for a while, I got there! Woohoo!

Breezy wind, splash of water, green green grass, and dance of goldfish in the water welcoming my coming. Made me forget Jakarta's crowd for a while. I love the place. Pretty clean for an outdoor restaurant. Carrying Sundanese theme restaurant, or we call it as lesehan, they offered authentic Indonesian food. Not too crowded, just plenty people come and having lunch, most of them came with family.

They had a quiet big place. People said Jatinunggal is very famous. They first opened in 1989 and never open a branch afterwards.

Gurame Goreng (Deep Fried Carp)

Everytime I order seafood, there's a piece of worry in me. I always afraid the food will be fishy. Fortunately, my worry was not proven. The carp was definitely fresh! A little oily, but still acceptable. I asked for half kilo carp for two persons. 

Kangkung Hot Plate (Hot Plate Kale)

They was not only provide fresh fish, but also fresh vegetables! The kangkung came in a very big portion. More than enough for just two of us. :)
The only thing I could complain was it wasn't salty enough for me.  

Sayur Asem

 What's the meaning of having lunch in Indonesian restaurant without ordering Sayur Asem? I'm a big fan of Sayur Asem, and it's hard for me to find an outstanding Sayur Asem out there. (Pssstt... my mom's is still the best)
Here, they had a pretty good one. Just a little less bold than I expected. But the vegetables was good, balance of spices was also nice. 

Coconut

The sunny day and breezing wind invited me to coconut. I forgot to ask for a young one. But they gave me what I wanted. *super big grin* 
The coconut was nice, juicy and soft. Or in brief, it's young. :p
They put brown sugar into coconut water, and it wasn't too sweet. I loved it! :))  

I don't know why they wrote goldfish whereas I ordered carp. They both worth the same though.

They have a big pond with a lot of goldfish. We can feed the goldfish with the fish food they sell. It's only 1K/pack. And when you throw the food into the pond, here's what happen to the fish! They jump, they gather, they swarm. Fun!

View around the restaurant

Overall, I like the place. So peace and quiet.  I had fun and relax. So bad, too much energy to spend to go there. And now... I miss it already.

Tips: They had some big signage though to guide your way. But it's located in rural area so there's no clear address. Just asked the people around, they must be know the place. 

RM Jatinunggal

Jl. Jatinunggal, Sukasirna Jonggol - Bogor, Jonggol, West Java, Indonesia

021-89931132

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

Mr. Curry PIM 2

Call me reckless blogger, cause I am. Lol. Apparently I've just realised that I haven't posted this post.  

Mr.Curry has opened their new branch at PIM 2 last December 2011. Located near Pasta de Waraku. 

Not just new place, they also offer new menu. 

The ambience was exactly the same with Mr. Curry GI. Yeah, that's their signature. 

Salmon Carpaccio. It looked very fresh. I could smell a hint of sesame oil in it. I love clear salad. The lettuce was crunchy, proved that it was fresh. The salmon also not fishy. Nice! 

Korokoro Tofu. I looooooved this. It was simply just deep fried silk tofu. But it was soft and nice. They spread some seasoning to give it some tastes. 

 

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Assorted Mushroom Omurice. It was so creamy and buttery. Actually it was delicious, but I got myself nausea when ate it too much. :(

Chicken Katsu Curry Rice. Actually it was pretty good. The chicken was moist and tender. You can choose the curry, they had some variants. 

Here are the best part of the dishes which made my day delightful. A Dash of Fruit Splash (top) and Matcha Karamba (bottom). I loved the matcha! Yeah, I'm not a big fan of greentea, but this one was different. The ice cream was light and not too sweet. Then dorayaki was soft and cute (see the heart shape). The  honey toast was me-love-it-completely. 

Mr. Curry, Japanese Curry & Sweet House
Pondok Indah Mall 2
Restaurant Row, Level 3
Jl. Metro Pondok Indah, Jakarta
Ph: +6221 75920666
http://www.ismayagroup.com/mrcurry
http://www.facebook.com/iloveMrCurry

Bandar Djakarta

Heyho everyone! 

It's time for seafood. I know, i rarely post about seafood, i don't eat seafood much, but it doesn't mean i don't like it. :))

I was at Flavor Bliss (Alam Sutra) and I saw Bandar Djakarta there. Yeah, Bandar Djakarta opened their branch at Alam Sutra, so we don't have to go to Ancol every time we're craving for Badar Djakarta. Nice!

The uniqueness of eating at seafood restaurant is you could see the 'sea-creatures' and choose which one and how much you want it. Then you may order how do you want it to be cooked. 

Kangkung Cah Tauco - 12K IDR. I loved it. It was well-seasoned and balance. Not too spicy, and not too salty. 

Udang Pancet Besar - 11.5K IDR/gr. I chose it to be cooked with honey sauce. Well, no honey-smell, but it tasted sweet and savory. They grilled the shrimp and mixed it with honey sauce. Seems like they put oil too, so the shrimps were shiny. Me loved it. 

Cumi Goreng Tepung (Deep Fried Squid) - 6.5K/gr. I loved it too. Very chrunchy and tasted savory. Moreover when I dipped it into sambal, whoaaaah, I'm drooling now. ;p

Sayur Asem - 3K. Came in a small bowl, it was a soup with a lot of herbs and veggie. Tasted a bit sweet, sour, and spicy. The sourness different with lemon, because it used asem jawa. Me gusta!

Ikan Ilak (Ilak Fish) - 13.7K/gr. I chose to cooked it with cabe ijo (green chilli). So they grilled it, then pour minched cabe ijo throughout the fish. For me, it's not highly recommended, but still edible, of course. I prefer sweet and sour sauce or another common sauce. But not this one.  

We got free lalapan (a basket of raw vegetables) and sambal (Indonesian style chilli). 

Coconut - 15K. In a hot hot day, it was very very helpful to me. Lol 




Overall, I loved the food. The ambience was Sundanese, where we can lesehan (sitting on the floor with low table). Me starve for more. :D






Bandar Djakarta
http://www.bandar-djakarta.com/
Pintu Timur Taman Impian Jaya Ancol
(021)6471-4528


 The Flavor Bliss Alam Sutera (Jalan Sutera Utama), Tangerang, Banten. 
+62 21 53140388


Seafood City
Green Bay Pluit
Jl. Pluit Karang Ayu Blok B1 Utara
Muara Karang - Jakarta Utara