Mexican Food Extravaganza Sizzles at Bengawan - Keraton The Plaza

From 18 May to 2 June 2013, the Mexican Chef Lamberto Valdez Lara is cooking authentic Mexican food at Bengawan at Keraton The Plaza.

Last Saturday, I had a chance to try the Mexican food:  Nachos - corn tortilla chips topped with cheese tomatoes, beans and beef; Green Rice -  green Mexican jalapeno chili, Chiles Rellenos - stuffed bell pepper with Alaskan king Crab, fresh corn, goat cheese, chipotle sauce; Carne Asada - achiote marinate, perfectly cooked medium, roasted guajillo salsa, wild mushrooms. Organic grown cherry tomatoes; Chicken Flautas - stuffed flour tortilla with chicken and cheese.

Caldo Tlalpeno

Chicken broth with avocado, onions.

My Mexican lunch :)

Bengawan's signature drinks.

Price is subjected to 21% government tax and service charge.
Current currency: 1 USD = Rp. 9.805

The Mexican Food Extravaganza Sizzles is available for:
- Lunch Buffet Package - Rp. 288.000 per person
Inclusive appetizer, main course (Asian + Western), dessert, live hot cooking selection, pass around foeigrass and carving selections, fresh brewed coffee and tea.
- Dinner - a la carte menu.

Location:
Bengawan Restaurant 
Keraton at The Plaza A luxury Collection Hotel
Jl. MH. Thamrin Kav. 15
Jakarta 10350
Tel: 5068 0000

Opening hours:
Breakfast: 6:00 AM - 10:00 AM;
Lunch: 11:30 AM - 3:00 PM;
Dinner 6:00 PM - 11:00 PM

Related posts:
Bengawan - Keraton at The Plaza, Jakarta
Royal Weekend Indulgence - Brunch at Keraton at The Plaza
Mexican Food Extravaganza Sizzles at Bengawan - Keraton at The Plaza

Gandy Steak House

Gandy Steak House used to be my favorite restaurant when I was a little girl. I can't remember when was the last time I ate at any Gandy Steak House. For sure, it'd been more than two decades until a couple weeks ago, I visited again a Gandy Steak House in Kelapa Gading area.

 Salad Bar

Not so much choices at the Salad Bar.

Salad - Rp. 39.000

Each of us shared this plate of salad.

The uniform of the waiter is still the same like in the old days. Male waiters are wearing black butterfly tie and  red vest.

The food are brought to the table by a trolley.

Bread (complimentary)

Grilled Pepper Chicken - Rp. 57.000

Chicken Steak - Rp. 57.000
Tasted similar to KFC!

Country Beef Steak - Rp. 51.000

Gandy's authentic shallot and bird chilies pickles.

We finished all the shallots!!! Good thing, we didn't smell any bad breath :P

Lychee Iced Tea - Rp. 25.000

Lemon Squash - Rp. 19.000

All prices subjected to Government tax and service charge.

Current currency:

1 USD = Rp. 9.800

It felt good to visit again this steak restaurant for bringing back childhood memory. Too bad, I couldn't feel the oomph factor from the dishes like what I remembered, except for the shallot pickles! ;)

Location:
Gandy Steak House 
Jl. Boulevard Kelapa Gading Blok LA 6 No. 1-3
Kelapa Gading
North Jakarta
Tel: 453 0771

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.

Sushi Tengoku

Cindy and I just had a buffet lunch at a 5 star hotel but we still went for an early light dinner together with Ana and Cindy's husband at Sushi Tengoku in Radio Dalam area, South Jakarta. 

Sushi Bar

Tatami area

A fish aquarium in the middle of the restaurant.

For our light dinner, we only had

Agedasi Tofu - Rp. 17.500

Hana Maki - Rp. 53.000

Salmon Maki - Rp. 40.000

Current currency:

1 USD = Rp. 9.775

All prices are subjected to 10% government tax and 5.5% service charge

I enjoyed these two fusion sushi and the Agedasi tofu was also very good but I think I will give a try to order the authentic sushi next time whenever I visit this place again :)

Location:
Sushi Tengoku
Jl. Radio Dalam Raya F11 - 11A
Kebayoran Baru
Jakarta Selatan
Phone: 7396940, 7233973
Opening hours:
Mon - Fri: 4 pm - 11 pm
Sat - sun: 11 am - 11 pm

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.

19th Avenue Kitchen & Bar

Some food bloggers and I were invited to a food tasting at 19th Avenue Kitchen & Bar. This restaurant just had the grand opening last March.

the Bar.

Before the food tasting started, the management told us that we only could order either the pasta or Asian menu. And, the price of the ordered food should not be above Rp. 69.000.

The Food:

19th Avenue Sauce - Rp. 39.000

The sauce was very cloying, salty and also sour.

Pesto - Rp. 48.000

I think I made the best choice on that night. My order, the pesto was delicious although it tasted more like fusion pesto.

Gindara Teriyaki - Rp. 49.000
The Gindara fish was pretty good. 

Cheese Burger - Rp. 48.000

When the burger was served on the table, everyone was like "wow",  it looks so yummy! But what a big disappointment, the burger was under seasoned.

Creamy Carbonara - Rp. 48.000

Too creamy and the salmon was a bit smelly. 

Ravioli Scoglio - Rp. 47.000

According from what I heard, this dish was the most disappointing dish on that night because the shellfish was not fresh and the ravioli was overcooked, totally mushy.

The Drink:

Blue Yakult - Rp. 28.000

I was expecting a refreshing sweet sour drink rather than this plain sweet and creamy drink. 

Current currency:

1 USD = Rp. 9.775
All prices are subjected to government tax and service charge.

One of the bloggers ordered  Going Nuts Smoothies - Rp. 28.000 (no picture). For me, I think  it tasted really good but unbelievably, there were pieces of plastic bag inside the drink. Two bloggers who drank this smoothies almost swallowed them.

Overall:

It's actually pretty sad, a good concept of restaurant but they only focus on the decor and ambience of the restaurant, instead of the taste. The worst part was the carelessness in preparing the drink.

Location:
19 th Avenue Kitchen & Bar 
Greenville blok AV no 19
West Jakarta
Tel: 29401119
Opening hours: 11 am - 2 am

Fatburger

Fatburger has already existed for 60 years in the USA and  got voted as the best burger in Los Angeles and Las Vegas. So far, there are three Fatburger restaurants in Jakarta since a couple years ago. But, strangely, this American burger restaurant chain is not as famous as its other competitors. 

Fatburger claimed that their burgers are made from pure Premium US Angus Beef. Sure, the  size of the burgers are big and pretty juicy but I find it, not as tasty as the other American burgers like Burger King or Carl's Jr.  Hmmm.... maybe that's the reason why this burger restaurant is not  so famous here in Jakarta?

Location:
Fatburger
Plaza Indonesia 5th Fl.
Unit #E03,04,04A
Central Jakarta
Phone:3107584


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.

Chatterbox - Grand Indonesia

It's been such a long time for me to eat at Chatterbox. Chatterbox first opened in 1988 at Hayam Wuruk Plaza until the year 1990 and from year 2004 Chatterbox expands in some premium shopping mall in Jakarta. Serving Asian and Western food. On my last visit to Chatterbox in Grand Indonesia, the food still tasted decent.

Cream Mushroom Soup 

Fried Tofu

 Chicken Cordon Blue 

Chicken & Mushroom Noodle

Es Selasih 

Location:
Chatterbox Grand Indonesia Seibu
Grand Indonesia, 2nd Floor
Jl. MH Thamrin
Tel: 2358 0159

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.

Soto Padang H. St. Mangkuto

Last week, after I tweeted about Soto Padang from the Artisanal Minangkabau Culinary Experience Press Conference, Natalia (Daniel's girlfriend) replied to my tweet. She told me about Soto Padang Mangkuto which according to her mom is one of the best Soto Padang in Jakarta. I got quite curious :) Thus, today, I went together with Natalia to have  Soto Padang Mangkuto for lunch.

Inside the restaurant.

 Rice  (1/2 portion) - Rp. 4.000 

The pink rice crackers on rice

Soto Padang - Rp. 26.000

Beef broth with small pieces of fried beef, vermicelli, and Frikadeller (fried potato dumpling). 

Red chili paste to add the flavor and spiciness.

Paru - Rp. 12.000 (3 small pieces)

We also had Paru (beef lung) to accompany our Soto Padang.

Current currency rate:

1 USD = Rp. 9.775

All prices are subjected to 10% tax.

Tell you the truth, this was my second time eating Soto Padang. It tasted different than my first Soto Padang at the Artisanal Minangkabau Culinary Experience. The aroma of cloves and cinnamon was pretty strong compared to Soto Padang Mangkuto which got a very mild aroma. I like both of them. Well, next week, there's a plan to try another famous Soto Padang in Central of Jakarta. I definitely will post about it, so stay tune ;)

Location:
Soto Padang H. St Mangkuto
Jl. Pintu Air Raya No. 26 Pasar Baru
Jakarta Pusat
Telp: 3857357

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.

Sumiya Japanese Restaurant

Lately I have read a lot of compliments on Twitter about how delicious the food in Sumiya Japanese Restaurant.  This Japanese restaurant is located hidden inside STC (Senayan Trade Center) mall.

I could feel like entering an old-fashioned Japanese house in Kyoto as soon as I stepped my feet inside this restaurant. It's also nice to hear the soft Jazz music instead of traditional Japanese music. A different pleasant atmosphere :)

After I looked through the menu, I decided to try the Eraberu Teishoku lunch set menu which is a lunch set by customer choice. For one cold dish and two hot dishes, it costs Rp. 89.000 plus government tax and service charge. Rice, salad, pickles and Miso soup are included.

Salad

This fresh tangy salad definitely increased my appetite.

Salmon Sashimi

Love this fresh and supple Salmon.

Agedashi Tofu

Tasty deep fried bean curd with Shiitake.

Gyu Momoniku Roast

Using salt from Himalaya and traditional Japanese sauce with mild black pepper that made this roast beef dish totally delicious.

A tummy-warming Miso soup.

Japanese Rice

Pudding

It had a nice mild green tea flavor. I wish I could have more.

Free flow tea.

Current currency:

1 USD = Rp. 9.770

I enjoyed each of the dish. It's such a pleasure to have a delicious and satisfying lunch by myself :) The only thing that I don't like about this restaurant, it does not provide a section for the non-smoking customers.

Location:
Sumiya Japanese Restaurant
STC Senayan IT Mall Grould Floor 128
Jl. Asia Afrika Pintu IX Gelora Senayan
Jakarta 10270
Tel: 57931826


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.