The Apartment Jakarta

I was invited for a farewell lunch by my students at The Apartment last Sunday. It's interesting to be in a restaurant, with a concept of an apartment that gives a warm and homey dining experience. As for the food, I wasn't impressed too much but yes, I quite enjoyed my lunch :)

The Bar

The "dining" Bedroom

The "dining" Library

The "dining" Bathroom

The Dining room

Lunch Set Menu

Rp. 150.000 plus 10% tax/pax

the drink is not included

Starter:

Mushroom Soup

Mushroom and potato soup with homemade garlic bread

or

Ceasar Salad

Cos lettuce tossed with homemade dressing, garlic bread and shaved parmesan cheese

Main Course:

Chicken Fricasse

Sauted chicken and mushroom in creamy white wine sauce served with vol-au-vent and seasonal vegetable.

or

Dory Fillet

Pan - seared pacific dory fillet served with seasonal vegetables and lemon butter sauce.

Dessert:

Creme Brulee

Drink:

Ice lemon tea

Currency rate:

1 USD = Rp. 9.000

Location:

The Apartment
Menara Gracia GF
Jl. HR. Rasuna Said KAV C-17
South Jakarta 12940
Reservations: +62 21 5200 380

Hours:
Sun - Thurs: 08.30am - 12.00am
Fri - Sat: 08.30am - 02.00am

Disclaimer:The review and opinion expressed here are purely according to my personal taste. There's a possibility that the taste of the food might change later on, which could affect the review and opinion here. I also affirm that no monetary or non-monetary compensation has been received from this restaurant for writing this review.

Starbucks Holiday Gathering 2011

This afternoon, I was invited by Starbucks Indonesia for their Holiday Gathering at their newest branch in Tomang, West Jakarta.

For this holiday season, Starbucks Indonesia introduced Christmas Handcrafted Espresso Beverages, Holiday Whole Bean and Holiday food 2011. Available at Starbucks stores until the 2nd of January 2012.

Starbucks Christmas Handcrafted Espresso Beverages, served hot or cold:

Cranberry White chocolate Mocha (New): Rich, full-bodied Starbucks signature espresso with white chocolate flavored sauce and steamed milk. Topped with sweetened whipped cream, cranberry drizzle and cranberry sugar sprinkle.

Toffee Nut Latte: Espresso in steamed milk combined with toasted toffee nuts syrup, topped with whipped cream and toffee-flavored sprinkles.

Peppermint Mocha: Espresso in steamed milk, bittersweet chocolate, mocha sauce and peppermint flavored syrup, topped with whipped cream and chocolate drizzle.

I tried all these 3 Holiday Beverages. I really love the Cranberry White Chocolate Mocha.

Holiday Whole Bean:

Starbucks Christmas Blend (the red packaging) and Starbucks Christmas Blend Espresso Roast (the purple packaging)

I also tried to taste the Starbucks Christmas Blend Espresso Roast in a small cup. Starbucks Christmas Blend Espresso Roast is a deeper and darker version of Starbucks Christmas Blend with the touch of aged Sumatran coffee beans, combined with Bella Vista F.W. Tres Rio coffee beans from Costa Rica. It tasted intense deep, bitter, sweet and spicy.

Starbucks Holiday Food 2011:

Cranberry Scone - Rp. 22.500

Cranberry scone with walnut and whitle chocolate coating on the top.

Raspberry Temptation - Rp. 28.000

Vanilla sponge cake with raspberry jelly on the top plus white chocolate drizzle, layered with cheese butter cream.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Cake - Rp. 25.000

Sweet butter cake with cream cheese mousse and blueberry filling. On the top, whipped blueberry cream and blueberry sauce.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Cake - Rp. 25.000

Sweet butter cake with cream cheese mousse and strawberry filling. On the top, whipped strawberry cream and blueberry sauce.

Holiday Beef & Egg Bagel - Rp. 30.000

This is my favorite one! A bagel with a slice of smoked beef and scrambled egg, mayonnaise, lettuce, cheese and caramelized onion.

Currency rate:

1 USD = Rp. 9.000

Thank you for inviting me, Starbucks Indonesia!

Location:

Starbucks Tomang

Jl. Tomang Raya No. 25 (next to Apotik Tomang)

West Jakarta

Related posts:
- Starbucks Autumn Blend
- Starbucks VIA Ready Brew

Kitchenette Restaurant & Crêperie

Last Saturday, I had lunch together with my colleague and also some of my students. Since we just finished playing bowling and going to watch the action comedy "Johnny English Reborn" movie in eX - Plaza Indonesia, one of my students recommended the Kitchenette Restaurant & Crêperie.

Kitchenette is one of the restaurants owned by Ismaya Group. The main food being served is a large selection of galettes, crepes, salad and also pasta. There's also a variation range of coffee and tea. I like the decor of this restaurant especially with the autumn theme, it gives a cozy and heart-warming feeling.

Anyway, I guess my expectation for this restaurant was a bit too high because of the good recommendation, the name of Ismaya Group and the nice decoration of the restaurant. I was not really feeling satisfied with my choice of order. It's the Sophie sweet crepes, there's nothing special to shout about it. Beside that, my American colleague had a bad experience with the Chicken Caesar Salad.

Savory Galettes

Guesteau - Rp. 59.000

Mozzarella cheese, rosemary, bacon and roast potatoes (choice of pork or turkey bacon)

Chicken Caesar Salad (Large) - Rp. 59.000

My American colleague ordered this salad. As soon as it was placed in front of him, he became pretty shocked when he looked at the chicken. As you can see in the pictures below, especially the one on the bottom left, the chicken was raw!!! We could even smell how raw it was! We called the waiter and told him about it. At first he hesitated to bring it back to the kitchen, but eventually he took the plate. A few minutes later, the waiter came back with the same plate and informed us that, according to the chef, that's how they prepared it, and the chicken had been baked in the oven. Then the waiter just left the plate on the table. We were stunned; they had to be kidding, right? We know that fish can be served raw (i.e. sashimi) or that beef (steak) can be served rare, but for chicken...to be served raw or rare? I started to take the picture of this raw chicken, and then suddenly another waiter came to us. He asked what the problem was and then gave the same explanation as the previous waiter. I asked him to change it. The waiter apologized and brought the plate back again to the kitchen.

Well, less than 10 minutes later, the waiter brought the same Caesar's salad, and still the chicken didn't look fit to be consumed. My colleague just gave up and didn't touch the salad at all. He had already lost his appetite and paid his bill for nothing.

The Cesar's Salad after the 2nd time went back to the kitchen.

Spaghetti Aglio Olio - Rp. 49.000

Sweet Crepes

Sophie - Rp. 45.000

Illy espresso and mascarpone creme with valrhona dark chocolate powder

Claudette - Rp. 39.000

Roasted bananas, vanilla pods, butter caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream

Price subjected to 5% service charge plus 10% tax

Currency rate: 1 USD = Rp. 9.000

Location:

Kitchenette Restaurant & Crêperie
Plaza Indonesia

Extension 1st Floor

Central Jakarta 10310
Tel: 2992 3580

Opening hours:
Mon - Thu: 10:00 am - 10:00 pm
Fri - Sun: 10:00 am - 12:00 am

Disclaimer:The review and opinion expressed here are purely according to my personal taste. There's a possibility that the taste of the food might change later on, which could affect the review and opinion here. I also affirm that no monetary or non-monetary compensation has been received from this restaurant for writing this review.

Kafe Betawi

Kafe Betawi is a restaurant serving Jakarta street food since 1992. It has more than 10 branches in big malls in Jakarta, Surabaya, Balikpapan and Bali.

For sure, the taste and price can't be really compared with the authentic street food. It is decent but when you eat street food in a restaurant, you can not feel the real ambience and also the interesting part such as watching the food street sellers prepare and cook the food directly in front of you on their carts.

Nasi Goreng Kampung - Rp. 30.000

Vegetarian Traditional Fried Rice with scrambled egg and also shrimp crackers on the top.

White rice - Rp. 6.000

Soto Betawi Daging - Rp. 31.000

Traditional Betawi style soup in coconut milk with chunks of beef.

Lontong Cap Gomeh - Rp. 38.000

Chicken cooked in coconut milk. Seasoned boiled egg and vegetable on top of round rice cake.

Price subjected to 10% tax

Currency rate: 1 USD = Rp. 9.000

Location:
Kafe Betawi
eX - Plaza Indonesia Entertainment
X`nter L.2 Unit A 15A
Jl. MH. Thamrin Kav. 28 - 30
Central Jakarta
Tel: 319 09337

Disclaimer:The review and opinion expressed here are purely according to my personal taste. There's a possibility that the taste of the food might change later on, which could affect the review and opinion here. I also affirm that no monetary or non-monetary compensation has been received from this restaurant for writing this review.