Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Nanny's Pavillon Kimberly's Room (Home Sweet Christmas)


Kimberly's Room is the newest restaurant from Nanny's Pavillon. It was opened last September in Plaza Indonesia. I  just adore the unique concept of this restaurant. It really makes me feel like I'm in a girl room with a high concern of beauty details. You can tell directly from all those beautiful hanging clothes, gorgeous shoes, pretty bags, replica of mirror dressing tables and even also a  big box of cosmetics.



Open kitchen.

For this year Christmas season, Nanny's Pavillon is presenting "The Home Sweet Christmas Menu":

Welcome Home Tower Tea Set - Rp. 168.000 (including two cups of hot tea)
The little wooden house is so adorable, isn't it? ;)

Start first with the savouries:
Mini pancake with smoked salmon.

Smoked beef rolled pancake.

Mini Alvin's potato.

Continue with the sweet food:
Mini blueberry pancake.

Mini chocolate waffle.

Ending it with fruits:
Fresh Fruits (pomelo, kiwi, orange, raspberry)

Strawberry skewered pancake.

You can choose Chamomile, Jasmine or English Breakfast tea.

Garden Tenderloin Steak - Rp. 99.000
Australian Tenderloin Steak with Homemade Green Peas sauce and Cherry Truss Tomato served with selection of mashed potato, french fries or baby potato. It's worth a praise! :)

Beef Fondue - Rp. 119.000 (only available at Nanny's Pavillon Bathroom)
Cubes of Australian beef cooked in sizzling oil with selection of sauteed vegetables and three kind of homemade dipping sauces (pepper, cheese, and brown sauces). It's a bit sinful after eating the Garden Sirlion Steak but I just couldn't resist to eat this delicious beef fondue (of course, I shared with other food bloggers who were invited to this food tasting event).

Maiya's Choco Mallow - Rp. 29.000
Nothing beats a cup of hot chocolate with float melted marshmallow during cold weather or rainy season :)

Let it Snow Pancake - Rp. 39.000
Berry pancakes covered with homemade white chocolate sauce and mini Christmas tree.

There is also Home Sweet Christmas Gift where you can have it for every minimum purchase of Rp. 250.000 or if not, for a minimum purchase of Rp. 68.000, you just need to add Rp. 38.000 to get one of the  gift items.

Sweet Scented Potpourri 
available on 1 - 2 December and 7 - 9 December 2012
Christmas Hamper
available on 14 - 16 December 2012
Home Sweet Cushion
available on 21 - 25 December 2012
All prices excluding tax and service.
Current currency: 1 USD = Rp. 9.600

Beside all these, Nanny's Pavillon is going to held an event called "One Hug Thousands of Love Asia Charity Tour" from 20 - 25 December 2012 throughout 10 outlets in Jakarta and Bandung. This event is a Free Hug campaign during Christmas. It's all about delivering love and care between Santa Claus and customers. Every hug given, customer will get a piece of Royce Chocolate and a chance to take a photo with the Santa Claus.  This event is supported by Royce Chocolate.

Location:
Nanny's Pavillon Kimberly's Room
Plaza Indonesia, 2nd Floor,
Unit L2# E24, E24S, E24T
Jl. M. H. Thamrin Kav. 28 - 30
Jakarta 10350
Tel: 29923916/ 29923917

Related post:
Nanny's Pavillon /Terrace 

Monday, November 26, 2012

Pasta de Waraku - Indonesian Feast with a Twist (PIM 2)


Pasta de Waraku is one of my favorite places for having fusion Japanese pasta and pizza. I was pretty intrigued  when I received an invitation from Pasta de Waraku to try their new special menu - Indonesian Feast with a Twist, which they claimed as a unique twist to Japanese dishes with the richness of Indonesian taste that will tantalize the buds.

Together with some other food bloggers and media, we tried the below dishes:

Appetizer
Korokoro Tofu - Rp. 25.000
Deep Fried Seasoned Tofu
Calamari - Rp. 35.000
Fried Squid Rings
Edamame - Rp. 10.000
Soybean Pods

Pizza
Salmon Pizza with Curry Sauce - Rp. 50.000 (medium), Rp. 65.000 (large)
Thin crust Pasta de Waraku pizza topped with baked salmon in curry sauce sprinkled with slice of chili, cucumber and onion. As usual, I enjoyed the thin crispy crust though I wish the topping could taste richer.

Pasta
 Beef Spaghetti with Rendang Sauce - Rp. 58.000
Not your average beef spaghetti, instead of standard bolognese sauce, they use rendang sauce which is famous known for its richness flavors and also with mince beef and quail eggs. Good thing that the rendang was not as spicy as I expected.

Fried Oxtail ala Java - Rp. 65.000
Spaghetti aglio e olio cooked with Wafu sauce, completed with fried oxtail and red bell pepper. Frankly speaking, I was not really keen to see the red chili paste on the top of this spaghetti aglio e olio.

 Traditional Fried rice with Angus beef - Rp. 65.000
The authentic taste of Indonesian traditional fried rice cooked with salted fish and shrimp paste. For the combination with Japanese dishes , use Angus beef in Teriyaki sauce and also completing with egg on top. The Angus beef was nice. The fried rice was tasty but too spicy because of the chili seeds.

Indonesian Grilled Ribs Spaghetti - Rp. 65.000
Spaghetti Aglio Olio cooked with Wafu sauce, completed with grilled ribs and fried white onion. Also served with 2 types of chili paste: red chili and green chili. If you are a chili lover, you will definitely love this dish but for me, after I ate a spoon of it, my lips and tongue felt like they were on fire :(


Strawberry Cheesecake Milkshake - Rp.  28.000
I need milk to cool down my lips and tongue. 

Grilled Chicken Spaghetti- Rp. 58.000
Signature Spaghetti aglio Olio cooked with Wafu sauce, completed with juicy grilled chicken covered chili paste on top. I didn't try this one because I still felt the burning sensation on my lips and tongue :(

Dessert
 Baby Hanito - Rp. 32.000
Juicy Fruits (left)
Banana Crumble (middle)
Candyland (right)
The name "Baby Hanito" really represents the size of it. It's a 6 cubes of honey toast with toppings. For the toppings, I still prefer the ones that are put on those classic Hanito like Hanito Macha Red Bean and Hanito Earthquake.
All prices are subjected to service charge and PB1 tax.
Current currency: 1 USD = Rp. 9.600

At the end of this food tasting, it was hard for me to enjoy the food because I'm not a chili person. There are so many Indonesian food without chili. Why all these pastas and pizza need to have chili? Does food with chili really represent Indonesian food? I understand a lot of people love chili but there are people and also children who can not tolerate it. I guess it would be wise to add other non chili pasta and pizza with Indonesian twist to the menu.

Location
Pasta de Waraku
Pondok Indah mall 2
Restaurant Row, level 3 No. 343A
Jl. Metro Pondok Indah Blok 3B
Jakarta Selatan
Tel: 75920608

Related posts:
Pasta de Waraku - Jakarta
Pasta de Waraku (Food Tasting Panel)

Sunday, November 25, 2012

JCF 2012 Closing Event - Charity Dinner


" Eat, Drink & Donate" Charity Dinner became the theme of the Jakarta Culinary Festival 2012 Closing Gala Dinner. This event was held on  31 October 2012 at Pop Up Restaurant.


The Closing Gala Dinner prepared by 7 Indonesia's best chefs, presenting their signature dish. For the Wine Pairing for each dish, provided by Yohan Handoyo - Dimatique International

Cold Appetizer
by Hugo Adrian (Blowfish Kitchen & Bar)
Tuna Carpaccio with Okinawa Sauce and Daikon Salad
I really enjoyed this cold appetizer. The Okinawa sauce was perfect and refreshing for the delicate Tuna Carpaccio.

Wine: Cape Discovery Rose 2011, Australia - Indonesia.

Hot Appetizer
by Arimbi Nimpuno (Lifestyle Studio and Arimbi Kitchen)
Grilled King Prawn with Green Curry Espuma
Wine: Cape Discovery Sauvignon Blanc 2011, Australia - Indonesia.
I'm still wondering until now why the small prawn is named King Prawn? I skipped the Green Curry Espuma because it's too spicy but I could tell that the other food bloggers enjoyed it.

Soup
by Sandra Djohan (Epilogue)
Pumpkin Soup with Foie Gras
Warm, thick and creamy soup with the melt-in-the-mouth foie gras was luscious.

Pasta
by Gianfranco Beltrame (Casa D’Oro, Hotel Indonesia Kempinski Jakarta)
Ravioli stuffed with Cepe Mushroom, Yellow Pepper Sauce
Wine: Montes Limited Selection Sauvignon Blanc 2010, Chile
Soft ravioli (yes, you read it correctly, it's soft, not "al dente") with nice cepe mushroom filling.

Fish
by Gilles Marx (Amuz Gourmet)
Steamed Fega Barramundi, Ginger Scented Rice & Lime Coconut Sauce
Wine: Vina Ventisquero Grey Chardonnay 2010, Chile
It came to my surprise when an Asian dish was prepared by the famous French chef in Jakarta. Why not preparing a French dish which is his expertise?

Meat
by Vindex Tengker (The Dharmawangsa Jakarta)
Roasted Bultarra Saltbush Lamb Shoulder Rack with Mustard and 
Taragon, Radish, Agnoloti, Salsa Verde and Cepes Jus.
Wine: Kaiken Ultra Malbec 2010, Argentina
Chef Vindex definitely did a fabulous job on this dish. The lamb was so tender and aromatic from all the herbs.

Palate Cleanser
by Ismaya Catering
Orange Granita with Lemon Sorbet
This palate cleanser was a nice respite from the heavy dishes.

Dessert
by Steve Diaz (Colette & Lola) 
Golden Hazelnut Praline, served with Amaretto Nougatine Ice Cream
One word for this dessert... Delectable!

During this charity dinner, all the money raised was donated to Drive Books Not Cars organization, in support of Taman Bacaan Pelangi and Sahabat Anak.

Thank you, Ismaya Group and Goorme.com for inviting me!

Location:
Pop Up Restaurant 
Grand Indonesia
West Mall Level 5
Jakarta

Friday, November 23, 2012

Convivium Cafe Deli

After the Red Velvet Cupcake baking class, Cindy and I decided to have a late lunch at Convivium, an Italian restaurant not far from the Vineth Bakery.

A cozy and warm decor. 

First, we ordered our drink.
Chamomile - Rp. 25.000
Green tea - Rp. 25.000
complimentary Italian cheese bread and a cookie.

Then we ordered:
Pizza Carnivora - Rp. 80.000
Tomato, Mozzarella, Beef Bolognese
I love this pizza! Very savory and scrumptious!

Starccetti con Crema e Funghi - Rp. 50.000
Homemade Handkerchief Pasta with Mushroom Cream Sauce.
Nice and creamy but I think I will not order this again when I revisit this place.
All prices subjected to 5% service charge & 10% PB1 tax

Location:
Convivium Cafe Deli
Jl Panglima Polim IX No. 1
Jakarta Selatan
Tel: 7269963
Note: It is closed every Monday.

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.

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Yellowfin Senopati


Yellowfin's open kitchen.

As a food blogger these days, there are quite a lot of food-tasting invitations. It's almost like every week, there is another invitation or request for food product review in my inbox. It's always interesting to test out food at a new place, not only because we can try and review the food, meet new people, but also because we can share our experiences of how the restaurant treated us, the food bloggers.  

One such recent experience was when I was invited by Yellowfin, a Japanese restaurant located near the SCBD area. Three weeks ago, I received an email with a subject "Intimate Blogger Lunch Gathering With Yellowfin" from the OPCO media relationship assistant. That email was more likely an introduction letter of the company that owns Yellowfin. At the end of it, it mentioned I should contact them to RSVP, but didn’t specify any date for this lunch gathering. I emailed them asking when this event would be held. Later on, I got the reply for a date that I couldn't come. Fortunately, the date was changed and I found out, Dino also received the invitation, thus we decided to go together. 

We arrived exactly at 1 pm, the appointment time, with hungry tummies. The restaurant was really swarming with people. To our surprise, the waitresses who greeted us had completely blank expressions when we told them that we had come for food-tasting invitation. Obviously, the management didn't inform anyone at all that we were coming. Luckily, we managed to get one of the last two tables available, where we could sit and wait while they were cross-checking with the management. It took almost 30 minutes of waiting before the restaurant manager came to us.

A few minutes later, we were served two dishes. Dino and I really enjoyed them. They were really delicious.

Buta Bara Jalapeno - Rp. 42.000
Pork Belly with Jalapeno Butter. Perfect tender that melted nicely inside my mouth.


Gindara Saikyo Yaki - Rp. 165.000
Grilled Black Cod Marinated with Saikyo Miso for 2 nights, was so appetizing.

After the two dishes, we waited 15 minutes for other dishes to come out but nothing was served anymore on our table. I called the restaurant manager, asked him what would be the next dish. I was stunned when the restaurant manager told me that he was only instructed to serve two dishes for us. I briefly told the restaurant manager that usually for food-tasting invitations, either we choose by ourselves from the menu or the restaurant prepares a set menu starting with an appetizer, followed by main course and dessert. The restaurant manager called the management for a confirmation. Anyway, I talked to him again and said if this is the restaurant’s policy to only serve two kind of dishes to be reviewed, it was fine for us. But the restaurant manager said that he would serve us some other more dishes.

Despite the mishap of the miscommunication in the beginning of the food-tasting experience, the restaurant manager made up for those issues by overly generous and kind, insisting us to try other kinds of dishes, even beyond what we expected. I was really impressed by the hospitality that we received from the restaurant manager. The food in general was quite good, although there was nothing really to shout about except for the first two dishes, which were the highlight dishes of this food-tasting

Tobiko Wakame Salad - Rp. 42.000
Flying Fish Roe and Seaweed Salad with Shoyu Onion Dressing.

 Dory Chili Garlic Sauce - Rp. 65.000
Deep Fried Dory with Chili Garlic Sauce.

Ebi Harumaki - Rp. 48.000
Deep Fried Prawn & Mushroom Springroll with Wasabi Cocktail Sauce.

Hot! Shoyu Ramen - Rp. 55.000
Spicy Chicken Shoyu Ramen (level 2)
This level 2 spiciness used six chilies. Frankly speaking, I couldn't eat it at all because the fiery taste of the chilies.

Volcano Roll - Rp. 40.000
Deep Fried Shrimp Roll with Chopped Fish and Spicy Mayonnaise Sauce.

Green Tea Ogura Dorayaki - Rp. 60.000

Cold Ocha - Rp. 20.000

Porco Rosso - Rp. 35.000
Blackberry syrup, Cranberry juice, Soda water and Grapefruit juice
Castle in the Sky - Rp. 35.000
Peach puree, Peach syrup, Soda water and Grapefruit juice

Sake and Shochu
(Note: Shochu is a Japanese clear distilled spirit similar to vodka. The main difference between sake and shochu: sake  is brewed, whereas shochu is distilled.)

Flavored Shochu - Rp. 50.000/glass
Strawberry and Orange

All prices subjected to service charge & tax.
Current currency: 1 USD = Rp. 9.700

Location:
Yellowfin 
Jalan Senopati No. 42
Jakarta Selatan
Tel: 7220394