Food Bloggers Event : Yang Manis Dari Masa Lalu

It's been a busyyy weeks for me, and honestly I feel so bad for writing this post a little bit late. But... it's better than none right? :p
So .. 2 weeks ago, I've been invited by Mr. Arie Parikesit ( Kelana Rasa ) to attend some event that held by Alchemy and also involving Walls Indonesia. This event held at Rempah - Rempah restaurant, a traditional and ethnic Indonesian food restaurant at Senopati. With it's title "Yang Manis dari Masa Lalu" ( the sweetness from the past ), the guest ( mostly all the Food Bloggers around town ) also introduced to a new variant from Walls Ice Cream, "Es Dung - Dung".



The event start with a break fasting dinner that provided by Rempah- Rempah Restaurant. The menu is not really ordinary I could say, it is really an authentic Indonesian food! First, we try Sop Senggang Halimah. This is a clear beef ribs soup with some green cherry tomatoes. The soup taste so light yet savory, with a lil' bit sour taste.



Then to the main course, we're having Ayam Rempah. I kinda love the curry leaves that been using in this dish, lil' bit salty and crunchy ( because it's fried ) but giving a nice spiciness to the chicken.


Next, a quite unique one is Abon Tembakau Deli, which is really crunchy ( not like the typical Abon ;p ) with a strong coriander ( ketumbar ) taste.

And also a unique dish is Balado Limbat. Limbat is one of type of fish from Sumatra. The fish thinly sliced, deep fried, and served with Balado seasoning. The fish taste smoky, reminded me of Cakalang Fish.

and also served with Bakwan Jagung, and Salad Melayu.

After dinner, Arletta Danisworo as the MC, start a discussion about some food that we usually has when we were kids.

Then Ratna Soemantri ( The dessert specialist ) give us a quick knowledge about the history and the difference between the various type of ice cream.

After that, Arie Parikesit ( Culinary Expert ) spoke a lil bit of Indonesian culinary and how we must proud with our traditional food and support them. Definitely a wake up call for me ! ( I'm seriously thinking to travel more and tasting all of those authentic Indo food ;p )
Then Nuning Wahyuningsih (Brand Manager Wall's DungDung) introduced us to "Es Dung - Dung" , a new variant from Walls Ice Cream, with a traditional flavor which is Coconut and Jackfruit. Amazingly, the Coconut flavor definitely taste like a traditional Es Dung -Dung ! It's nice because there are some coconut or jackfruit bits in it !



After that we're having some Ice Cream Decorating games, and Jenzcorner & Febe from Ingredients of Life won it! Congrats girls!

And you know what.... I'm also winning one of the games, which is a "Live Tweet Photo Competition". So in this games we take a pic of Es Dung- Dung that been served, then we Twitpic that to @esdungdung twitter account, then they pick the winner. I've got a unique parcel from Cemal Cemil. Yay!

Before we go home, we're given 2 packs of Es Dung - Dung as well.

At the end of the day, I really had a great time ( even though having a crazy traffic jam and bad migraine before ). Definitely an educating yet entertaining event, and thank you for inviting! :)

Food/ Restaurant Review : Union

Fresh from the oven ! Last night I was going to this restaurant, after watching Kungfu Panda 2 ( It’s our Independence Day’s Holiday ! ). The movie was incredibly entertaining ( who doesn’t like Poh the panda ?? ;p ) and besides, I had a great time at this newly open restaurant.

Still a sister company from a famous restaurant chain like Loewy, Canteen or Cork and Screw, Union are bringing some Brasserie, Bakery and Bar concept. The rumor has it. Some famous young chef which is Chef Adhika Maxi( that has been worked in Gordon Ramsay's restaurant ) are the Head Chef for the Brasserie, and the beautiful Pastry Chef Karen Carlotta for the Bakery. And yea… I’ve heard about the crazy queue in this restaurant, so I decided to make a reservation. And you know what.. the restaurant is fully booked for the day, but the receptionist suggest me to put my name on the waiting list. And here I am at the waiting list number 12 ! :p

Atmosphere :

I loveeeee the vibe at Union ! Dark wood paneling and furniture, white tiles, vintage pictures hanging on the wall and the most exciting, Open windows ! The view are amazing since it’s located at the front of Plaza Senayan’s Fountain ( Yes they have one ! – go to Sogo’s Starbucks then you’ll know). And don’t worry about the Jakarta’s heat, because they place some Air Con ( or fan ? I don’t know :p ) at their windows. I love this concept, and I found it really cozy to hang at this place. And yeah… The waiter are soooo friendly.

Price :

A little bit pricey, but worth it. 60k – 150k. Approximately 100k- 150k/ person.

Food :

( First I’m sorry for the pics because I’m taking it with a Fisheye Lens, because my bro was using those 50mm lens at that time)

I found all the dishes that I’ve had are pretty yum! Before we eat, we’ve been served by their bread that accompanying with butter, salt and olive oil. The bread taste fresh and a little bit chewy.

So for starters we order Romaine Caesar Salad ( Rp. 60.000,- ). This salad are really good! Consist of Romaine Lettuce, Chicken, Half Boiled Egg, Potato chips and Bacon bits with a light mayonnaise dressing. The Potato chips and the Bacon really gives a nice crunchiness on this salad. Fun to eat.

We also order Scallop Aglio Olio Spaghetti ( Rp. 70.000,- ). The first look, I thought it was sooooo dry. But then, I know that the Scallop and Olive oil was at the bottom. The Scallop was sooooo fresh!! And it cooked perfectly! ( Not too raw, not too overcooked ) Taste sweet and soft, not chewy at all. The spaghetti are cooked al dente with a dash of chili flakes and olive oil. Nice !

Then, we order Whole Roast Baby Chicken – for two persons ( Rp. 100.000,- ) Served with potato wedges and vegetables. The Chicken was roasted perfectly with lemon and rosemary, it’s quite tender. The sauce are more taste like tomato soup ( sour and salty ). Well… I don’t like the sauce, so I leave it alone. The potato wedges are nice and crunchy.

Drinks! Just like at Loewy, they serve some fancy cocktails too. So we try the waiter’s recommendation which is Cotton Candy Cosmopolitan Cocktails ( Rp. 85.000,- ). First served, we’ve been amazed by some foam ( or I don’t know what it’s been called ) that is big, and cotton candy like. Then the waiter pour some of the liquid, and the cotton candy we’re melted ( Aaaaaaaaa….. ! ) The cocktail taste so refreshing because it’s really sour :p ( I thought it will be so sweet since it’s name is cotton candy. Oh well… :p )

Then, Ice Peach Tea ( Rp.25.000,-), taste nice.

And Fresh Lemon Juice ( Rp. 20.000,- ), taste really sour and refreshing

Dessert! Yeah… Their Red Velvet Cake was already been the talk of the town, so I really curious about this cake and really want to try ( Red Velvet lovers !!! ) But unfortunately, my last piece of the cake was given to another customer ( even I’ve already order it first), because of the missed communication of the waiter ( huaaaaa…… ). But then, the good waiter ordered me some of another cake which is Crispy Chocolate Cake, for a COMPLIMENTARY of what has been happen. ( Yaayyy…. ! ). Then the cake served nicely with it’s beautiful thin crust, layer of dark chocolate and raspberry and blueberry garnish. The cake tasted sooooo heavenly ! It’s crunchiness from the thin crust, and the bittersweet chocolate was reminding me of Ferrero Rocher Chocolate :p

After I go home and look at the bill, I’ve just noticed that there’s a bottle of Equil charges in the bill even though I’m not ordering it. Oh well…. I already had a nice serviced, nice food, and nice time at Union, so I don’t mind ( Unconditional love . LOL). But next time, I will sure to check the bill again, and make sure that I’ve got my own Red Velvet Cake ! *Noted :p

UNION
Plaza Senayan Courtyard
Ground Floor, Jl. Asia Afrika No.8
021 - 5790 5861 - 63
Twitter : @UnionJKT

Food/ Restaurant Review : Hops and Malt

It's time for PIK ( Pantai Indah Kapuk ) culinary ! As you guys know, PIK area are starting to be the place for hungry eaters since Leko and Tekko ( The Iga Penyet ) open there. As the area develops, there are many new restaurant open and offering so many kind of food. Indonesian, Chinese, Japanese, Western, Vietnamese, -5 degrees beer ? You name it.

Just open at 31 July 2011, "Hops & Malt" ready to serve you with many range of food and also, beer. It is say that they provided kind of Beer Games too. But in that time, I'm having ladies night, so I don't think the Beer Games fit us :p

Atmosphere :
Brick walls, asphalts floor, dark wood furniture. I think the place is quite nice, but I think there's still some elements in the room that doesn't go well together. Maybe would be more cozy if the lighting more warm and not too bright.


Price :
from 20 - 60k. Approximately 60- 80k/ person.

Food :
I'm quite enjoying my dinner there. I think they serve a quite nice food. Plus, there's still 30% discount because of their soft opening.
I 'm ordering Fettuccine Alfredo ( IDR 35.000 ). When the dish arrived, I'm quite confused because they're written 'Green Fettuccine' in their menu's descriptions. I thought that green fettuccine means using spinach fettuccine or else, but I was wrong. Greens means their using peas in the dish. LOL. But the taste was actually pretty good. The creaminess was perfect, and the smoked beef taste nice.

Next, Gindara Steak ( IDR 45.000 ). The fish was cooked perfectly and taste fresh. There's some kind of sauce on top of it that I don't know what it is :p Taste quite like marinara sauce. But it's good.

Half Chicken ( IDR 45.000 ). The chicken quite nice too, tender and grilled perfectly. The BBQ sauce also okay.

Drinks, I'm ordering Smoothie In Fusion ( IDR 24.000 ) . Taste okay with a taste of orange and pineapple, etc.

Hops Delights Mocktail ( IDR 29.000 ). Well... I don't like this one. I think there's some strange flavour in this drinks that I don't like tho.

Grass Fizz Mocktail ( IDR 29.000 ). As you can see this mocktail using lemongrass, so you can figure out how it's taste like :p

And you know what, they're giving a complimentary shots which is Jell-O Shots, if you are tweet and mentioning them. The taste of the shots was quite nice with a strong peanut flavour.

Desserts! We're ordering Chocolate Lava Cake ( IDR 25.000 ). The chocolate cake was served in tin foil, the cake was a little bit thin, yet the chocolate inside was abundant. And yes, never goes wrong with a Vanilla Ice Cream!

Next we're trying Casata Alla Siciliana ( IDR 20.000 ). It's basically an Ice Cream cake containing candied or dried fruit. It taste just okay for me.

Hops & Malt
Pantai Indah Kapuk Boulevard
UB - RGB 17 - 18a
Twitter : @HopsMalt