Cuca : The Real Gem in Jimbaran

Happy Belated New Year, hungry people! This is my first post in 2014. One of my resolutions is to post more often then 2013. Wish me luck. :p

Have I told you that I went to Bali last October? I'm pretty sure I did it on this post. Now I'd like to share another good food in Bali; Cuca.

They opened in August 2013, just exactly on Eid Mubarak day. But I heard their name way before it. Apparently they prepared the dishes, ingredients, concept, and whatsoever from far far ago. Good to know. I was more than excited to try, I even booked my table before I departed from Jakarta. lol :p

Located in Jl. Patih Jelantik, near Intercontinental Hotel, the place wasn't in the main street, but there's a signage so you won't miss it. Thanks to my driver who drove me along to all of places I wanted to go in Bali with all his patience. (His name is Pak Kadek, his number is 62-819 9910 0879. He is very kind and sincere. I definitely will hire him if I happen to go to Bali again). Cuca have 3 parts of seating place: garden (it didn't have beach view but very lovely on sunset), dining area (private area, suitable for dating, family dinner, or any occasion that need more privacy), and kitchen bar (very suitable for people like who loves to watch the chef doing his attraction). I chose kitchen bar!

I came with 3 of my empty-tummy-friends, but since it was our last night in Bali and we still had one eating place to go that night, so we managed to order 3 tapas (small dishes/appetizer) and 3 drinks. FYI, Cuca only serves tapas, so there is no main course. The waiter said it took approx 3-4 portion to make someone full.

Welcome Dish

While waiting for our order, the friendly waiter served us the welcome dish. Don't know how to call it, the texture was similar with cotton. The flavor came from powder spice. Kevin, the head chef and founder, said it had Ayam Betutu flavor. And he created the recipe by himself! Cool. I even amazed from the first dish.

Crispy Fried Chicken (IDR 60K)

First dish appeared so tempting. Came with an outstanding presentation, it wasn't hard for me to take a good picture of it. Crispy Fried Chicken. Even from the name, you could tell what's in it. Yes, it's chicken. But Cuca successfully put an extra touch that made the dish unforgettable to me.  With a hint of wild honey, sesame dust, lemon basil, and served with coleslaw, the chicken was crunchy outside and juicy inside. Well seasoning was definitely their plus point.

Roasted Tiger Prawns (IDR 90K)

Roasted Tiger Prawns brought me to in the middle of love and hate. Love it because the outstanding taste. Hate it because I need some more by now that I'm drooling while writing this. I can tell you the tiger prawn was all fresh because I could taste it. Came with deep fried eggplant as topping and light coconut broth successfully highlight the season.

Free Range Chicken Puddle ( IDR 58K)

Well, I'm Asian, I eat rice. I was curious what would happen to Indonesian red rice in Chef Kevin's hand. And it turned out very well. Free Range Chicken Puddle came as a luxurious result with a high rated taste. Broth was nice, a little thick and savory. The red rice was very fine, felt like less fiber-ish, very enjoyable. The chicken was cut into diamond cut, cooked into perfection. Well done.

Monkey Business (IDR  65K)

When it comes to dessert, I will never miss it. Monkey Business is a bowl of baby banana pudding baptized in caramel look-a-like sauce that made from whiskey butterscotch, with espresso gelato. Am not a big fan of banana, but this one was an exception! The best sweet bitter alcoholic dessert I ever had. :)

Cocoa 8 (IDR  80K)

From the first sight, I knew my heart would fall for this one. The idea of mint choco flying in my head. And I was right. The combination of warm dark choco mousse with homemade mint ice cream (yes, it was homemade and the taste was no joke, way better than the one sold in supermarket. How cool is that?) and chocolate croutons was incredibly the best! OMG. As a chocolate lover, am so proud and happy. Chocolate and mint will never go wrong, right?

Bali Breakfast (IDR 65K)

It was not a breakfast menu, it's dessert. Called as Bali Breakfast because of the look. Hmm.. What is that? Let me explain. The 'yolk' in the middle was mango puree that tasted sweet and runny. The 'white part' was whipped coconut which tasted light, creamy, and went super duper well with the mango. This was the best dessert of the day. Never thought coconut and mango could make a pretty result. I will definitely came back for Bali Breakfast. *big grin*

Sun-Gria Mocktail  (IDR 60K)

Sun-Gria Mocktail  (IDR 60K)

Besides the outstanding dishes, Cuca also has outstanding beverages. Sun-Gria came in an extraordinary appearance. They replace ice cubes with watermelon ice cubes. Since I ordered the mocktail, not cocktail, they used watermelon juice. There should be red wine if you order cocktail one. Yes, this is one of the best thing here, every cocktail had mocktail version. Suitable for a person who cannot drink like me. Anyway, Sun-Gria Cocktail will cost you IDR 90K. 

Moo - Cocktail (IDR 90K) 

I'm so familiar with chocolate milk. There's no day i spent without drinking one. Moo, was a chocolate milk I drank that day. But the difference was Moo got hazelnut liquor and vanilla brandy. Light and comforting, enough to got me a good sleep. 

Blush - Mocktail (IDR 50K)

Just like the others, Blush also had mocktail - cocktail version. The cocktail version would cost you IDR 90K. Blush contain red watermelon juice with yellow watermelon ice. So refreshing. Cute appearance, right? 


I extremely enjoyed my visit and definitely will come back as soon as I can. Nice ambience combined with good food. What else can I ask for more? The real gem hidden in Jimbaran, Bali. :)

My view while eating

Cuca 
Phone:(0361) 708066


Hours:
 
12:00 pm – 12:00 am
Address: Jalan Yoga Perkanthi, Jimbaran, Bali 80364

Anyway, as you seen on picts, I got a new logo. What do you think? :) 

The Smell of Yummy Christmas

Heyho Readers! 

Lots of my firsts came in this year. Without noticing much, this year is nearly passed. A bitter sweet year of mine reminds me of a chocolate cake. It's dark, sweet, lovely, and makes me craving for more. :) 
I also can't hide my excitements for next year. I've been planning tons of resolutions though. A little secret, I'm planning to resign from the company I'm working for. Hopefully I could create something better in future.

Thank you for keep reading my blog during this awesome 2013. See you in 2014. 
At last, have a yummy Christmas and scrumptious New Year! Keep eating, stay awesome! 


XOXO,

Sara Rozelina
Author of YummyForDummy.asia

This is a cake from Dapur Cokelat 

Marutama Ramen : The Rise of Japanese Ramen

Ramen shop is everywhere now. But I do remember, Marutama Ramen as the pioneer of authentic ramen shop in Jakarta. Last week I made a visit to their outlet in EX - Plaza Indonesia. I love the ambience; private, calm, and earthy. Even located among other shops in the middle of the building, they still have interesting view, which is bowling alley. So don’t worry if you go alone, you still can watch people playing bowling and shout “wow” when they do strike. Never find a restaurant with this kind of view before. 

Boiled Gyoza was my first dish. Gyoza is Japanese dumpling. Available in two choices: pork and chicken. You also can choose how you want it to be cooked; boiled or fried. The gyoza came with special house made sauce, made from vinegar and soy sauce. Tasted a little strange to me. The vinegar was too strong, ruined the gyoza’s natural charm. Maybe next time I’ll ask them to serve the sauce separately. 

Boiled Gyoza

Second dish I tried was Tamago Ramen (IDR 66k). This is their new menu. Well, not literally new, but they just created a new package. Before, you could order Marutama Ramen with tamago (marinated half boiled egg). Now, because of a lot of request, they allow you to order Tamago Ramen, and get the exact dish. Fun fact: here you can have all you can eat noodle, as long as you still have the broth. Don’t worry, the ramen come in a big size. A little truth about the broth, it is chicken broth, made fresh everyday. The spoke person said they need 30 kilos of chicken bones and more than 5 hours to cook the delicious rich broth. This broth is used for all ramen and menu. They call it toripaitan. That’s what makes Marutama different with others. So if you don’t eat pork, you still can dine here and order chicken, because you are always allowed to choose chicken or pork for the topping. Not enough? You also may order for extra topping with extra charge too. Enough with the information. Now my turn to share my opinion. I loved it! The broth was so rich and thick with perfect amount of seasoning. It was the hero of the dish. The tamago was beautifully cooked. Need a whole night to marinate the egg before served to customer. The ramen itself was silky and perfectly boiled. I’m not surprised that it was a homemade ramen. Yes, they made the ramen in their main kitchen and distribute to all of their branches everyday.

Tamago Ramen - IDR 66K 

Tamago Ramen - IDR 66K 

Marutama is still one of my favorite ramen in Jakarta. What about yours? Tweet me. (@yummyfordummy) 

Marutama Ramen

EX- Plaza Indonesia 2^nd floor #20

P: 021‐316 0705

F: 021‐315 1874

Operation hours:

Sunday – Thursday : 11.30 am – 11.15 pm

Friday – Saturday : 11.30 am – 12.00 pm

Sizzling Brownie to Sizzle Your Sweettooth - Fat Burger

Among many burgers joint in Jakarta, Fat Burger successfully caught my eyes. Used to be located at 5^th floor of Plaza Indonesia, now they move into a new nicer place; LG floor, still in the same building. Fun fact: they have classic-look jukebox where you can order your favorite songs for FREE. Yes, it’s free! I tried to order some songs then happily ate my meal while listening. It’s fun.

Offering juicy meat and delicious big size burger, now they proudly present you a new dessert. I found it very creative and inspiring. Sizzling Brownie it is. From the name, you might guess it is a brownie in a hot plat. Then yes, you’re right. This is how they served the tempting Sizzling Brownie: a brownie on a hot plate and vanilla ice cream on top, with the chocolate sauce poured onto them so the sauce will sizzle all the way.

Felt like a sweet dream to me. The moist rich chocolate brownie with cold and milky vanilla ice cream plus melted chocolate sauce gave a superb sensation to my palate. My sweet teeth were truly entertained. For you who don’t like sweet, you might find it too sweet. But you like me, so you definitely love sweetness. See you around, sweet heart! ;)

Fat Burger

Address: Plaza Indonesia

Jl. MH. Thamrin No. 28 – 30

Central Jakarta

Phone:(021) 3107584

Store Hours: Sun-Sat 10am-10pm

Plaza Senayan Food Court 
3th Fl, #339 Jl
Asia Afrika No. 8

South Jakarta

Paradise Inn : The Paradise for Your Buds

Paradise Inn is a second line of Paradise Dynasty. Opened their first outlet in Indonesia at Plaza Indonesia. FYI, Paradise Inn is a franchise from Singapore, brought to Indonesia by Boga Group. The room is decorated with Chinese theme and traditional Chinese song played, felt like I was in Shanghai.

Chinese food is famous of its traditional spices that good for health. Traditional Double Boiled Chicken with Spare Ribs and Ginseng (Rp. 45.000/portion or Rp. 158.000/pot) was my choice as opening dish to tickle my buds. To be honest, I didn’t expect the dish to be super delicious because, well, you know, traditional spices usually taste strange. But out of my expectation, this dish was so tasty. The broth was so rich, made from chicken stock with double boiling way. First they boiled the stock, and then they steam it. That’s why the chicken and pork meat were so soft. Delish!

Traditional Double Boiled Chicken with Spare Ribs and Ginseng (Rp. 45.000/portion or Rp. 158.000/pot) 

This wasn’t my first visit. I used to come with my family, and my mom always orders Hotplate Tofu with Preserved ‘Cai Xin’ and Minced Pork (Rp.48.000 for small size and Rp. 68.000 for medium size). I have to admit it also one of my favorite dishes in Paradise Inn (the other one is Imperial Pork Ribs). I loved the homemade tofu, so soft, mild and felt nice. Very easy to digest but solid enough to give a soft touch in your mouth. Ah, new idea. Someday if I get a toothache, I’ll eat Paradise Inn’s tofu instead of porridge. Lol. Anyway, the sauce went well with the tofu. Tasted savory and salty. 

Hotplate Tofu with Preserved ‘Cai Xin’ and Minced Pork (Rp.48.000 for small size and Rp. 68.000 for medium size)

Who doesn’t like coconut pudding? Paradise Inn made their Coconut Pudding (Rp. 42.000) everyday from a real Thai coconut. Enough said, I had no doubt about this fact, the taste spoke itself. Lemongrass Jelly with  Lemonade (Rp. 25.000) was also a good deal. Refresh my mind and belly, as if I’m ready again for another round. No, I’m kidding. I was full enough, but literally refreshed. Apparently lemonade is a good companion for a jelly. Nice touch.

 Coconut Pudding (Rp. 42.000)-back and Lemongrass Jelly with  Lemonade (Rp. 25.000)-front

Paradise Inn

Plaza Indonesia Level Basement Unit 25-27A

Ph. 021-2992 3848

Fax. 021-2992 3849

Business Hours : 10 am - 10pm (daily)

Twitter : @ParadiseIndo

Facebook : Paradise Inn Jakarta

You may read this post on Farrago Indonesia.

Pancious - Perfectly Homemade

I remember when Pancious opened their first outlet in Permata Hijau area was a big hip. Now they already have more 10 outlets in Jakarta, Bandung and Surabaya. I love the ambiance of Pancious' outlets. The decoration dominated with white and red, with sofas everywhere made the customers comfy. The place is perfect for all occasion from hang out with friends, dating, family gathering, or even a business meeting, maybe that's why Pancious is always crowded. 

Blueberry Cheese Pancake (Rp. 43.500 for single and Rp. 62.500 for double). To be honest, I'm not a fan of vanilla ice cream. But this one was an exception. The homemade ice cream was milky yet light enough as a vanilla ice cream. The pancake wasn't too sweet. The blueberry cheese sauce was so good. Sweet and sour, mixed with milky vanilla ice cream to flavor up the pancake. 

Blueberry Cheese Pancake

Blackpepper Meatball Pasta (Rp.65.000) was the highlight of that day. Served with creamy sauce, but tasted light enough that I could finish it all in less than 15 minutes. Homemade meatball was made from minced beef. A little too dry, but went well with the creamy sauce. Extra sausage was also a homemade and made the dish taste even better. A perfect shot of blackpepper made everyone can eat it.

Blackpepper Meatball Pasta (Rp.65.000)

My heart fallen for Fresh Fruit Ice Tea Cocktail (Rp. 52.000). Made from fresh mango juice and tea, with diamond cut strawberry, mango, apple, and kiwi. I think the drink was good as dessert too. Came in a huge glass bottle, the portion was enough for 2-4 persons. 

Fresh Fruit Ice Tea Cocktail (Rp. 52.000)

If you notice, almost all the menu in Pancious are homemade and no preservatives or any other chemical thing. Glad to know it, and don't you wish to find other food taste like theirs. Other good thing is, they serve breakfast menu all day. :)

Pancious

Plaza Indonesia Level 5 Unit E06 – E08
Jl. M.H. Thamrin Kav 28 – 30
Jakarta 10350

Phone: (021) 29924808

Opening Hours:
Sunday – Thursday: 10am – 10 pm
Friday – Saturday: 10am – 12 pm

Twitter : @panciouspancake

Facebook : Pancious Pancake House

You may also read this post on Farrago Indonesia. 

Nasi Ayam Bu Oki

On a vacation trip, it's a must to try local food, don't you agree? Suggested by the driver I hired for few days in Bali, after having fun at Tanjung Benoa, he took me to Nasi Ayam Bu Oki. I heard the name for quiet some times before. Ah, it's a famous thing. 

Located near Santika Hotel Nusa Dua, the place looked so simple but never empty. People just kept coming even it already 2 hours passed from lunch time. The first thing the waiter asked was the level of spiciness. I ordered medium. Apparently they already had one set of dishes so you don't need to choose, but it also open for your preference. 

Here is the picture of my plate. 

Nasi Ayam Bu Oki

One set of dish consisted of rice, fried chicken, ayam suwir (pulled out chicken), lawar ( in Indonesian we called it as urap khas Bali. Basically, vegetables - usually bean sprout and long beans - mixed with shredded coconut), telur pindang (egg boiled with soy sauce stock), sate lilit (fish satay). I love the sate lilit that I ordered more. It costed me IDR 2K for 1 sate lilit. All the side dishes were so good, I finished them all in less than 10 minutes! 

Cooked by native Bali, the dishes was rich of spice. Worth a try! 

Tips: Order for more sate lilit
Price : Less than IDR 20K (I forgot the precise price)
Payment: Cash only

Nasi Ayam Ibu Oki

Jl. Celagi Basur

Perumahan Puri Jimbaran, belokan di Jl. Raya Uluwatu

Jimbaran, Bali

T. (0361) 805 2059

[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