Sunday, May 17, 2009

Ta Thao Restaurant

It was almost 2 pm on a hot Sunday afternoon. There were women starving in the car. Luckily, they found a small restaurant in West Jakarta area. A lot of cars were parked in front of the restaurant and almost all tables were full with customers... Yeah.. let's give it a try!

I ordered the Special Lomie Bagan. Wondering what's so special about this special Lomie?

*digging... digging.. digging... *

Eh... only 2 small size cubes of meat in my bowl, that's all?

Hmmmm..... so how did it taste?
Well, the lomie tasted just salty and a bit fishy, nothing special at all...

I couldn't take it anymore... Left about the 3/4 of the remain lomie in the bowl...
My mom tried the recommended Nasi Campur (this is not the way of common Nasi Campur - mixed rice, being served). I guess this nasi campur is a fusion style of white rice and topping of scrambled egg, choy sum, red chili cooked with sweet soysauce and corn starch.

Absolutely, it looks good but guess what?

The rice was so hard and dry, tasted like rice crust adhering to rice pot. As for the topping, too much MSG.
"Auntie, how's your Sapo Lomie?"

*slurping.. slurping...*

Hmmm... I guess my mom's friend was the only one who enjoyed her food with the raw egg in the pot.

Note:
Lomie is also known as Loh Mee or Loo Mien which is a Chinese cuisine. It contains of thick egg noodles in brown broth thickened with corn starch and beaten eggs, cooked with Chinese cabbage and meat slices.

Disclaimer:
The review and opinion expressed here are purely according to my personal tastebuds. There's a possibility that the taste might change to the food later on, that can affect to the review and opinion here.

54 comments:

thenomadGourmand said...

aiyoyooo...Indo dont do good chinese mee? wait till u get here! we will spoil u rotten! ;p

Selba said...

TNG: Hahaha... can't wait for the day to come! Well, actually, a lot of delicious chinese noodles here but I guess, this restaurant wasn't serving the good one :)

foodbin said...

you should add some black vinegar in the lor mee for extra flavor!

pisang goreng 115,NF said...

yeah foodbin was right black vinegar
extra kick there......

but here loh mee is in dark sauce why thereis white sauce?

My Carolina Kitchen said...

I love trying new restaurants but sometimes it can be disappointing. Like you I assume when we see cars out front that it will be good. In fact we often don't go to a restaurant that looks like it doesn't have any customers.

I enjoy your restaurant outings and always look forward to them.
Sam

Donna-FFW said...

So sorry it wasntas enjoyable as you had hoped. At least one of you enjoyed:).. Photos are still undeniably gorgeous!

Selba said...

foodbin: Oh.. I didn't know that should add black vinegar. Next time, when I eat lomie again, I'll try it, thanks for the suggestion :)

pisang goreng: I'm aware that lomie in Malaysia has darker sauce than the ones here in Indonesia. Ours are mostly brown :)

MCK: Yeah, you are right, Sam. There's also a possibility that actually the food from the restaurant is good but because of too much customers and orders, so quality become bad at that time.

Mica said...

Aw, I'm sorry your lunch was disappointing!

Selba said...

donna-ffw: Hehehe... yeah, good for my auntie :) Thanks for the compliment, Donna!

Selba said...

mica: It's OK, next will not go there again ;)

worldwindows said...

Wrong choice but at least an adventure filed away.

Selba said...

worldwindows: Yup, you are right :)

Mary said...

Good or bad, I'm always fascinated by the food you describe on your "voyages of discovery." Sorry this one was so unpleasant.

Selba said...

mary: Thank you, Mary. That's really kind of you. It's a big encouragement for me to share my "voyages of discovery" of food in here :)

Maryann said...

Hi Selba! Isn't it disappointing when this happens?
xox

Selba said...

maryann: Yup, the expectation is too high also, I guess :)

Mediterranean Turkish Cook said...

Don't you hate it when you go to a restaurant and not enjoy the food! Disappointment in the food makes dining less enjoyable I think. At least you know not to go there again!

JENCOOKS said...

Intriguing that loh mee looks so light in color. Our Loh Mee here is dark with half hard boiled egg and some crispy fish and ngoh hiang and vinegar goes nicely with it.

Olivia said...

Oh no! It's not often we find a negative review on your blog. But not every restaurant can please every patron all the time, and as you say, we all have different taste buds.

the ungourmet said...

Doesn't it stink when you are looking forward to a great meal and it turns out to be not so great!

I hope your next meal is a better one!

Happy day to you!

Pearl said...

ahh sorry that it wasn't very delicious! you'd think that with all of the customers sitting there, that it'd be excellent!

MaryBeth said...

Sorry to hear that your meal was not all that great. Ok, for at least you and your mom.

J2Kfm said...

hmm, poor quality of the food marred the experience eh?

Lomie=Loh Mee. haha ... good translation.

SimpleGirl said...

sometimes trying new restaurant is risky ya...i've got it many times...

Helene said...

I enjoy reading about your restaurants reviews. Keep them coming even if it's not always perfect to your palate :)

Selba said...

MTC: Yes, you are right. Definitely, not coming back at that restaurant again :)

jencooks: Wow… ngoh hiang in lomie? Here, we usually eat ngoh hiang as a main dish. Suddenly, you make me craving of ngoh hiang :)

livie: I just couldn’t believe when I only found 2 size cubes of meat in that big bowl, hehehe…

Selba said...

the ungourmet: Absolutely! Especially on starving stomach! Hehehe… Happy day to you too :)

pearl: Hehehe.. yup, wrong judgement! :)

Marybeth: Yeah, too bad, but then the restaurant is still crowded until today :)

Selba said...

j2kfm: Hahaha… I guess so! The Indonesian spelling is a bit different than the Malaysian one ;)

simplegirl: Hehehe.. yeah lor, that’s so true :)

helene: Thank you, Helene! I will try my best to share my restaurants review :)

Food For Tots said...

It is funny. How can the biz be so good that the food is on the opposite site? Guess they must have a very good feng shui (auspicious location). Hehehe!

Selba said...

FFT: Hahaha... you are probably right, sometimes believe it or not, feng shui has a great effect on a business.

EatTravelEat said...

I remember having experiences like yours when there are many customers, but yet the food tastes mediocre. It certainly makes one feel very disappointed!

I like the polaroid like borders this time for your photos :). Very nice.

Selba said...

ETE: Ah... mediocre sometimes is still acceptable but if it's just salty and fishy, that's supposedly unacceptable, ya? hehehe... Thanks for the compliment! :)

Little Inbox said...

Aiyo, you and your mom ordered the wrong dish.

Selba said...

little inbox: ya lor.. should order the same menu like the auntie, hehehe...

Laveena said...

Nice :)

Selba said...

laveena: Well, it might look nice but looks can deceive, ya? ;)

Life for Beginners said...

Ooh, I love them polaroids of the dishes with the prices! Genius! :)

Bangsar-bAbE said...

Seems like the addition of raw egg makes the food better! ;P

Netts Nook said...

Maybe you will have better luck next time. Sorry it was a bad experience.

5 Star Foodie said...

Oh, no! Sorry those dishes weren't so great :(

Katherine Aucoin said...

I am so sorry you didn't care for the Ta Thao Restaurant. The pictures are good. At least you have ne restaurant you can cross off your list.

Marta said...

I'm sorry you had a mediocre and slightly disappointing meal. I hate when that happens! But, oh well, gotta keep trying, right ;)

Elyse said...

I'm sorry that this restaurant wasn't as good as it could have been. Oh well, now you know :) Sorry that I've been an absent commenter; I just finished up my law school exams and am finally getting around to my google reader.

burpandslurp said...

aw, too bad you didn't like it that much...but it looks quite good leh! I like the soup with the raw egg.

Elra said...

OMG, I miss nasi campur. Too bad that this version disappointed you!

Selba said...

LFB: Hey.. you are back! Thanks for the compliment :)

bangsar-babe: Hehehe…. I guess so. Well, the auntie enjoyed it.

netts nook: Yes, hopefully better luck next time :)

Selba said...

5 star foodie: I’ll make sure not to come back to this restaurant :)

Katherine aucoin: Hehehe, you are right, it a nay to this restaurant.

marta: Yes, definitely will keep trying other restaurants :)

Selba said...

elyse: It’s ok, Elyse :) Yay, so he law school exams has finished? Time for party, ya? Hehehe…

burpandslurp: Hehehe… yup, the food actually looks good but too bad, not the taste.

elra: Come.. come… come visit me in Jakarta and I’ll bring you to eat the nice nasi campur in town ;)

CUMI & CIKI said...

everytime u publish something i get excited - realise there are so many dishes i have yet to try! Special Lomie Bagan for example.. i must try this one day!

Sara said...

Sorry you didn't love it. You always find the most interesting places to eat at!

Nic (KHKL) said...

here in malaysia/singapore, we have loh mie with black, chinese vinegar for the taste. chopped garlic is also used, at times. it makes the dish more appetising. i'm salivating thinking about it..haha!

Selba said...

cumi & ciki: Ah.. if you try the special Lomie Bagan, must make sure to find the good restaurant ;)

sara: Hopefully, next time, a better review of restaurant :)

nic: It's lunch time! Can find lomie around your area? ;)

shantanughosh said...

You have a lovely blog. Especially nice for me because I know so little about Indonesian food. The only time I was there was for a vacation in Bali. Hope I will be back and also visit some other cities the next time.

Selba said...

shantanugosh: Thank you for your kind compliment :) Hopefully you can visit Indonesia again, there are a lot of interesting places and also not forgetting food to try ;)

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