Thursday, December 26, 2013

i love taimei 我愛台妹 Jakarta


"i love taimei" (我愛台妹) is a store that sells Taiwanese street food. The concept of Taimei is brought together by two Taiwanese sisters. In 2009, they had their first store in Bugis, Singapore. And so far, there are already three more stores.

Just yesterday, "i love taimei" opened their new store in Indonesia. It is located at Tribeca - Central Park mall.

Open kitchen.

Cute colorful kisses on the wall.

Super Milk Caramel - Rp. 22.000
One of the signature drinks. My first time to drink milk caramel and it's so good! The grass jelly was a perfect topping for this drink.


I love Taimei Winter melon - Rp. 18.000
A sweetened drink made of Winter melon fruit. It looked like tea but there is no tea in this drink. It had a unique taste that reminded me to pandan syrup.

Mango Popz - Rp. 22.000
Refreshing drink with mango flavor and bubbles that will pop inside the mouth. If you are not a sweet tooth person, I will recommend the 50% of sugar level.

Selina Chicken - Rp. 32.000
This chicken is named after one of the Taiwanese girl group S.H.E (Selina, Hebe, Ella). The process of making this chicken is fry - marinate - grill. The BBQ sauce was tasty. As for the chicken cutlet, it was so tender and had a nice semi-crispy skin. Delicious!

Sweet Potato - Rp. 18.000
The sweet potato was coated with batter for getting the crispy texture. Tasted nice but the seasoning was a bit too sweet for sweet potato that already tasted very sweet.

Chicken skin - Rp. 18.000
Very crispy that made the texture more like chips instead of the original fried chicken skin. Good seasoning though.

Shan Cai Bento - Rp. 32.000
There are five choices: BBQ crispy chicken, Taimei chicken thight, popcorn chicken, extra crispy chicken, or mushroom combo. A boiled egg, seasoned french beans and white rice are included in the bento. This menu is only available in Indonesia. 
Current currency:
1 USD = Rp. 12.200

Location:
I love taimei Central Park
Central Park Mall, Tribeca UG-06
Jl. S. Parman Kav. 28
West Jakarta

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Tsurukamedou Ramen, Jakarta



It's been raining in Jakarta and a bowl of hot ramen would be perfect for the rainy season. Not too far from my house, there is a ramen shop named Tsurukamedou; it means the Hall of Crane and Tortoise. It is founded by Ramen Chef Masayuki  Nomura in Japan. So far, there are already 8 branches in Japan.

Tsurukamedou offers ramen which soup is made purely from bones, cooked at high temperature for over 16 hours. Because of the recipe's pureness and intensity, Tsurukamedou is well known in Japan for its authentic Hakata style super strong tonkotsu ramen.

For appetizer:
 Ebi Gyoza - Rp. 32.000
Crispy skin with a good amount of filling.

Spicy Tori Karaage - Rp. 32.000
I like this crunchy and tender chicken. Not too salty nor too spicy. It's good eaten with the shredded cabbage. 

Tori Katsu - Rp. 32.000
The deep fried breaded chicken was good.

The Ramen:
Tonkotsu Ramen - Rp. 45.000
Hakata-style ramen served with pork slices, egg, spring onions. The pork bone broth tasted definitely very rich, strong and tasty.

 Tori Ramen - Rp. 45.000
This chicken ramen is for those who can not eat pork. It tasted nice but not as tasty as the Tonkotsu ramen.

Tori Shishen Ramen - Rp. 45.000
Spicy ramen which I didn't dare to try it but according to my friends, it tasted good.

Ebi Chahan - Rp. 32.000
This fried rice was totally enjoyable.

The drink:
Hot Ocha - Rp. 8.000 (refill)

The dessert:
Jelly (complimentary)
Current currency:
1 USD = Rp. 12.250

Location:
Tsurukamedou Jakarta
Jalan Ratu Kemuning Raya Blok A2 No 8A,
Taman Ratu Greenville (opposite Papa Mama Bakery Shop),
West Jakarta,
Tel: 56940712

Saturday, December 21, 2013

Freeze Ice Cream, Mall Taman Anggrek


Yesterday was the last working day in 2013 thus my colleagues and I celebrated it by eating ice cream at Freeze. Freeze ice cream is made ice cream using liquid nitrogen. 

The process of making the ice cream.

Mix the ingredients.

 By adding the liquid nitrogen at -196 Celsius degree, the ice cream was frozen only in a minute.

Beside the signature creations, customers can create their own ice cream. They also can select the sugar level (normal, less or none) and have additional topping that cost from Rp. 3.000 to Rp. 5.000 for each topping (pretzel, almond, walnut, bobba, corn, peanut, candy, fresh fruits, and many more).

Final touch.

Sexy Bangkok - Rp. 26.364
Thai Tea ice cream with raisin and crushed peanut.

 Chocolate Maniac (small size) - Rp. 20.909

Black & White - Rp. 26.364
Vanilla Cookies & Cream ice cream with Oreo & Peanut candy.

Charlie & Cheesecake Factory - Rp. 31.818
Cheese Cake ice cream with Fresh Fruit & Pretzel.
I asked for less sugar and ended up with a salty creamy ice cream.

I couldn't finish my ice cream. I didn't like the taste although I love anything with cheese. I also didn't like the ultra smooth texture. My tongue felt numbness and hurt after effect from the super cold ice cream.

My colleagues enjoyed their ice creams but I didn't :(

All prices are subject to 10% tax.
Current currency: 1 USD = Rp. 12.250

Location:
Freeze Ice Cream 
Taman Anggrek Mall 4th Floor
Jl. S. Parman
West Jakarta

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.

Friday, December 13, 2013

Soup Restaurant, Plaza Indonesia


My ex-colleague suggested Soup Restaurant in Plaza Indonesia when we planned to meet for lunch. I couldn't be more happy because the food at Soup Restaurant is delicious especially the Samsui Ginger Chicken. 


Tim Tien Chee dengan Sup Ayam - Rp. 35.000
Double boiled Tien Chee with Chicken soup. This herbal soup is good but maybe a bit tasteless for some people.

Nasi Olive ala Teo Chew - Rp. 45.000
Teochew preserved black olives mixed with plain rice. The black olive is known to stimulate appetite and aids in the process of slimming

Ayam Jahe ala Samsui - Rp. 90.000 (small size)
The way to eat Samsui Ginger Chicken is by dipping the chicken into the fragrant ginger sauce and wrapping it with fresh crunchy lettuce.

Po Cai Saus Tiram dengan Enoki - Rp. 50.000
Po Cai stir fried with Enokitake mushroom in oyster sauce.

Steam San Yu Fillet - Rp. 70.000
Steamed Garoupa slices being steamed and topped with a special made sauce.

Current currency:
1 USD = Rp. 12.120

Location:
Soup Restaurant
Plaza Indonesia, 3rd Fl Unit A 22 - 24
Jl. M.H. Thamrin Kav. 28 - 30
Central Jakarta
Tel: 39838220

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.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Call Me Honey - Chatime Indonesia

Chatime is a popular Taiwanese tea franchise founded in year 2005 in Taiwan with the numbers of outlets approaching 1000 in 80 cities worldwide (the US, Canada, Australia, Taiwan, China, Malaysia, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, UK, and UAE). There are already 72 Chatime outlets in Indonesia since the first franchise outlet opened in 2011.

In the beginning of November 2013, I received an invitation from Chatime for the launching of Honey Series. I declined the invitation because the time and location were not suitable for me. Two weeks later, the Chatime Digital Marketing contacted me again for Honey Series tasting. This time, I could choose the outlet and time.

Saturday, 23 November 2013.
It was 9.50 am when I arrived at one of the two Chatime outlets in Central Park mall. The cashier told me that the outlet would be opened at 10 am. Thus, I went to do some shopping first and came back to the outlet around 10.25 am. I told the cashier that I came for the Honey Series tasting. The cashier showed me the Honey Series brochure and asked me to choose one of the four varieties of the tea being offered. I was confused. I asked the cashier if I shouldn't try all the four series in order to review them. The cashier checked on the computer and said I was only entitled to get one drink. I called the Chatime Digital Manager but there was no answer.

The Honey Series are Honey Black Tea with Coconut Jelly, Honey Milk Tea with Pearl, Honey Green Tea with Rainbow Jelly and Honey Lemon with Aloe Vera. The price starts from Rp. 18.000 to Rp. 24.000.

I chose the Honey Green Tea with Rainbow Jelly 

I was already enjoying 1/2 of the drink then suddenly I felt something strange inside my mouth. I took it out of my mouth and found a strand of hair. Feeling shocked with what I found, I directly showed the stand of hair to the cashier. Then, I walked back to my table to take the drink and returned it to the cashier. The cashier apologized, but that was all. As the cashier didn't offer to replace the drink, I just walked out of the outlet and sent a text message to the Chatime Digital Marketing, telling her what had happened.

Until two hours later, there was no response at all. Thus, I tweeted about this incident. Again, there was no response either although the Chatime twitter was active during that time (there was a quiz to get a free drink).  

Monday, 25 November 2013.
Finally, there was a response from Chatime to my tweet.


Wednesday, 26 November 2013
The Chatime Digital Marketing sent me a text message replying to my Saturday text message. She apologized for the incident and informed me that the Chatime Customer Relations - staff would be contacting me to follow up.

In the afternoon, I received an apology email from the Chatime Customer Relation. At the end of the email, Chatime said as a gesture of gratitude, Chatime was giving me a free cup Honey Green Tea Rainbow Jelly Regular which could be claimed on Saturday, 30 November 2013. 

I could not believe when I read this apology email. I didn't understand what was the actual purpose of the invitation in the first place. I replied to the Chatime Customer Relation saying that I thought the reason why Chatime invited me in the first place was for tasting the four varieties of the Honey Series, but then I only could try one of them. Then, when there was a strand of hair inside my drink, Chatime didn't replace it at all, but now is offering me the same drink as a gesture of gratitude? What a big disappointment of a big tea franchise. 

Thursday, 28 November 2013
The Chatime Customer Relations-staff called me. She apologized and explained that there was a misunderstanding. She offered me that I could come back to the outlet so I could taste the four varieties of Honey Series. I refused the offer.

Friday, 29 November 2013
I was eating lamian with my ex-colleagues at Paradise Dynasty at Central Park mall when I received a call from a strange number. It was the Chatime Manager from the outlet in Central Park mall. He apologized for the incident and asked me to visit his outlet. He sounded so relieved and even praised God when he could finally reach me on the phone. He told me that he tried to call me a couple of times but couldn't reach me (it's true because there were three missed calls on my mobile phone). Again, I declined to come as he offered, but then when he found out that I was in Central Park mall, he even wanted to deliver the drinks. I was touched by how persistent he was, so in the end I decided to go to the Chatime outlet.

After eating lamian, I went to the Chatime outlet. The cashier and the staff immediately apologized when I mentioned my name. The four varieties of Honey Series were brought to me with small cups so I could try each of them. The drinks were without the toppings.


Honey Lemon Tea: It's refreshing. I like the level of sourness of the lemon mixed with the honey. It's good for the throat

Honey Green Tea: The nice fragrance and taste reminded me of a popular brand of a green tea and honey in plastic bottle.

Honey Milk Tea: I like the Chatime Milk Tea because although it's milk, the tea flavor is still strong. Compared to the Milk Tea using sugar, this Honey Milk Tea tastes much sweeter.

Honey Black Tea: Since the drink at Chatime could be tailored individually for the level of sweetness and ice, I prefer to have less honey for this drink the black tea itself already has the sweet honey flavor


After the Honey Series tasting (the four small cups pictured above), as a gift, I got a cup of Mango Yoghurt with Grape Jelly to bring home. 


Monday, 2 December 2013
To my surprise, the Chatime Customer Relations-staff called me again. She told me that Chatime would like to send me the four varieties of Honey Series since I refused to visit their outlet. I told her that I already went to their outlet and tasted the Honey series last Friday so there was no need to send me the drinks. The Chatime Customer Relations-staff was not aware at all that I went to their store but she kept insisting on sending the drinks to me.

Wednesday, 4 December 2013
I received the four Honey Series.

Honey Lemon with Aloe Vera, Honey Black Tea with Rainbow Jelly, Honey Milk Tea with Grass Jelly, and Honey Green Tea with Rainbow Jelly.

This time, I really like the Honey Milk Tea with Grass Jelly, I even think that the Honey Milk Tea with Grass Jelly is a better combination than with the pearl. The Grass Jelly is so smooth and good. I love the Aloe Vera inside the Honey Lemon. the Honey Black Tea is still too sweet, especially with the Rainbow Jelly.

Chatime Indonesia
Customer Service: (021) 5829099
Twitter: @ChatimeIndo
Delivery only for Central Park area: (021) 29200180

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

La Mian - Paradise Dynasty Jakarta

Last week, my ex-colleagues and I went to Paradise Dynasty because there is a promo - 50% discount for all lamian (Chinese noodle). It is valid every Monday to Friday, from 2 pm - 5 pm and only for dine-in.

We all enjoyed our lamian. Each of the lamian was cooked in the delicious Signature Pork Bone Soup. I definitely will be going back again soon if the 50% discount is still valid :)

La Mian with Scallops, Prawn & Crab Meat - Rp. 72.000

La Mian with Vegetable Pork Dumpling - Rp. 58.000 

La Mian with Braised Pork Belly - Rp. 72.000


 The Braised Pork Belly is served separately on another plate.

We asked the waiter to cut the long lamian so we can eat the lamian easier.
All prices are subjected to tax and service charge.

Current currency:
1 USD = Rp. 11.900

Location:
Paradise Dynasty
Central Park, Level LG Unit 139-140.
Jl. Let. Jend. S. Parman Kav. 28.
Jakarta Barat
Tel: 29200351

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.
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