Shabu Ghin's Grand Opening Event

Big thanks to Kak Oliv, whom without her, this blogspot wouldn't exist. 

A million hugs and kisses to the Shabu Ghin crew, Pak Greg, Kak Novi, and Kak Wisnu whose kindness exceeds the fairy godmother herself. If it weren't for you guys, I would still be a Shabu Ghin virgin until God-knows when. 

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Me, Gita, and the Shabu Ghin crew

Unlike Gita, who happens to have eaten shabu-shabu before, I was a shabu-shabu virgin to tell the truth. I know not the origins of the delicacies, nor the food stuff contained in it. Heck, I didn't even know how to indulge in the dish properly! So, when I found out that I was invited by the Shabu Ghin crew to attend it's grand opening event, I went straight to cloud nine. 

It was at noon when Gita and I arrived at the shabu-shabu restaurant - fifteen minutes into it's opening hour and the restaurant was unoccupied with crowds of hungry citizens. As an early bird, I was rewarded with a parking lot for my car. Usually, it is a bit of a challenge to get a parking space at most restaurants in Senopati because they generally only provide four, up to six, parking lots; and did I mention that the traffic is sickening? 

We didn't struggle that much to locate the restaurant. Just across Seven Eleven, you just can't miss the black colored building of the restaurant, with its' eye catching white colored Japanese writings. 

Definitely can't miss it

We were about to set foot into the restaurant when the staff opened the restaurant door for us and greeted us with the brightest smile ever. The waitresses then welcomed us and confirmed about whether we already have reservation, or not, in the most proper and friendliest manner they can ever bring out. No, seriously, the waitresses were beyond friendly I ended up nodding my head all the time to express gratitude every time they said something to me. "Selamat datang," she said, I nodded. "Sudah ada reservasi sebelumnya," she asked, I nodded. "Maaf, mbak, sudah ada reservasi sebelumnya," she confirmed, I snapped out of consciousness and spoke human language. 

We were then escorted to our table by one of the waitresses and was given a menu. She offered to help us in terms of choosing the meat to indulge, which I accepted because I know nothing about this set of food. 

I just love how this particular waitress explained to us about the details of the meat and the basic flavor of the soup used for the hot pot. She even narrowed down our food options and gave recommendations about which one we should have. How great is that, right? 

Some waitress that I have encountered in my life can be ignorant about the food served at the restaurant they work at and they can be rude as well, which is an instant loss of appetite. But, here, at Shabu Ghin, you will only find the friendliest, most welcoming, and knowledgable staff you can ever find, yet. 50 points for Shabu Ghin!

Look at that happy face behind the menu board

What to chose? 

There were three kinds of beef available at Shabu Ghin, which were the Special Beef, the US Premium Beef, and the Wagyu Beef. We couldn't decide which set of beef we should take because all of them looked super appealing. In details, the waitress explained the differences between each meat. "Special Beef itu dagingnya tipis dan empuk, dan lemaknya sedikit. Beda dengan US Premium yang banyak lemaknya. Dagingnya lembut juga, hanya saja lemaknya lebih banyak ketimbang dua daging lainnya. Nah, untuk Wagyu Beef, dia memiliki tekstur kelembutan yang sama seperti US Premium, hanya saja lemaknya sangat sedikit dan di permukaannya ada motif marble." 

As for the soup, you can choose up to five different selections of flavored broth with an additional Rp29.000,00 each. There were five kinds of soup, which were the Original Konbu, Chicken Mizutaki, Spicy Tonyu, Spicy Seafood, and Sukiyaki. 

Again, the waitress was very detailed in explaining the basic flavor of the soup, which was very helpful for me and Gita to make it easier for us to chose which we would have. "Kalau Spicy Tonyu itu hampir mirip rasanya dengan kuah opor, mbak. Nah, kalau Spicy Seafood itu seperti rasa Tom Yum, dan kalau Sukiyaki itu agak manis dan sedikit asin," she explained. She recommended us the Original Konbu Soup because people dig that particular flavor at Shabu Ghin. I decided to go with what she recommended to ease the curiosity. And, as for Gita, she went with the Chicken Mizutaki Soup. 

Your choice of an all-you-can-eat buffet

Eating utensils

There were lots of side dishes to choose from the buffet table, and the choices varies from condiments, fruits, vegetables, raw food, and even cooked dishes. Me and Gita took a couple from every food stuff available so that we could have a taste of everything. 

The raw food stuff were mostly fish related, and some of them I was not that familiar with. There was this bowl of what seemed to be orange balls, which turned out to be salmon flavored balls; cylinder shaped frozen dough with white filling, who goes by the name oborotsuki, that was actually fish balls; another bowl filled with white fish balls, raw fish, crab cakes, and seafood filled tofu. 

I didn't eat vegetables that much on that day - as I only took a pair of baby bokcoy, a piece of baby corn, and a spoonful of bean sprouts - but I tried every mushroom served at the buffet table. There were brown shimeji, enoki, and shiitake mushroom, plus some more that were deep fried with tempura batter on the other side of the buffet table. Oh, and did I tell you that I don't like mushroom?

Some greens, perhaps?

Fish based raw food

Various options of edible fungus

A bowl of Oborotsuki, or fish balls

Personal favorite condiment 

Chilly powder to add some taste

Strings of cold and chewy udon were also available for us to dig in

A diverse choices of Japanese cuisine and Korean cuisine were the options that we can chose from the cooked dishes. Two kinds of sushi were served on that day, but they didn't stand out much compared to the other side dishes, as they were merely cucumber filled rolled rice topped with fried shallots.

Various kinds of tempura were also served on the buffet table, such as spinach tempura, string bean tempura, onion tempura, sweet potato tempura, enoki tempura, and mushroom tempura. I'm not a big fan of the veggie tempura, especially the spinach tempura and string bean tempura, because they were very very oily. The tempura batter stood out more than the mushroom itself, blinding my tastebud about the fact that they are mushroom, so I keep finding myself craving for more of Shabu Ghin's enoki tempura and mushroom tempura. 

I was not a big fan of the chicken karaage, though. They were fine, deliciously savory and crispy in fact, but I don't like how the chicken meat was oily and fatty. 

I also had a bowl of gyüdon, which is basically a bowl of warm rice topped with sweet beef and onion soup. The flavor of the gyüdon was perfect for my taste - the beef was very tender and honey-like, while the savory and sweet broth was on point. I may not know the exact authenticity of a Japanese cuisine, but this dish right here truly was Japan in a pot.  

Your choice of sauces 

Unappealing, but tasted good!

A pot of beef soup to have your warm rice with

Sushi, anybody?

I found a unique fusion between Japanese and Italy in one of the dishes, which is the Bolognese Ramen. People usually blend spaghetti with bolognese sauce, but Shabu Ghin decided to go out of its' comfort zone and ended up creating this exceptional love child. 

Two thumbs up for the chef who made the bolognese sauce because he, or she, actually used meat in the sauce mixture instead of just tomato like most restaurant do. There was actually a generous amount of meat in the sauce, and the sauce itself was rich in flavor - sweet, slightly piquant, savory from the meat, and a refreshingly sour from the tomato. On the other hand, the ramen was nicely cooked - not too hard and not too mushy - and it mixed well with the bolognese sauce. Simply enjoyable!

Now this is something you don't see everyday

My personal favorite was the chapchae! For those who are not yet familiar with what chapchae is, it is a korean cuisine consists of stir fried sweet potato noodle, with sesame oil, vegetable, beef, then topped with a handful of sesame seed. It was my first time eating chapchae and I feel in love instantly.

I just love the consistency of the chewy chapchae, plus whatever seasoning that the chef put into the dish made the sweet potato noodle tasted even better. Them beef and veggies add an extra kick, making the whole dish a burst of flavor. 

My favorite side dish from Shabu Ghin!

Would definitely come back for more of this

The beverages here at Shabu Ghin is also refillable, and the drinks varies from hot to cold, juice to coffee, and sweet to bitter. I had a glass of iced ocha, while Gita had her share of hot ocha because she was having a sore throat. 

I was very curious with this funky gadget that serves iced Milo and cold juice, just adjacent to the ice ocha machine. After I finished my glass of iced ocha, I proceed to the beverage corner to get me a glass of cold fusion juice. As expected, I didn't know how to operate the machine. I tried to look for a button to push so that the juice will flow into the empty glass that I have, but my search was to no avail. I ended up asking for help from one of the waitress. 

"Mbak, boleh minta tolong," I asked, "ini pencet yang mana ya supaya keluar jusnya?" I bet she was laughing so hard on the inside because of how frustrated I was, but she managed to keep it cool and showed me the way to operate the machine. It turned out, the machine was equipped with touch screen. Damn it, technology!

Refillable cold and hot beverages

Hot beverages for those who have sore throat

Fresh and thrist-quenching Mango & Peach juice

And, thus the fun part begins!

I was pretty much blind about the whole shabu-shabu situation, so I let Gita to take charge in terms of cooking. "Nih, Kin, pertama-tama kamu masukin dulu yang lama matengnya, kayak bakso ikan dan sebagainya," she explained, "abis itu baru deh masukin sayur-sayuran, soalnya bakal cepet matengnya." I followed her instruction like a student following a teacher's order.

"Nah, nanti kalo kamu mau masak dagingnya, dicelupin kedalem hot potnya terus diaduk-aduk biar cepet mateng. Sebentar aja tapi dicelupinnya," she added. 

Multitasking is not my forte, so I had a bit of a struggle between wanting to create a masterpiece with my hot pot and the need to take decent photographs. I eventually managed to do both, but some of my food stuff ended up overcooked because I let them swim in my Original Konbu soup for too long. But, they still tasted good, though.

Gita was so fluent in what she did with her ingredient and hot pot. She made the right choice in choosing the Chicken Mizutaki soup because the stock itself already tasted delicious, let alone adding condiments into the mixture. The savory chicken stock blended well with the garlic, chili, and chilly powder that Gita added, not to mention the fact that it was warm and bubbly, making the whole dish very enjoyable to consume. Pure bliss. 

Would you look at that!

Gita's creation in her hot pot

My pot of Original Konbu tasted delicious as well! The soup is dominated with savory and piquant flavor, with a dash of sweet and sour in it. It reminded me of how Miso soup tasted like as they share similar flavor points here and there.

I followed Gita's instruction and put in the fish balls first, followed by the veggies and udon. I had fun cooking them raw ingredients, but it was one hell of a task.

My share of original flavored soup

Put some fish in it

My favorite were the salmon flavored balls and the oborotsuki. They tasted like how fish balls are supposed to taste, but each had a slight different flavor that stood out more compared to the other seafood ingredients. 

As I said before, I'm not fond of mushroom, yet I ate every single mushroom-related food stuff available on that day. I couldn't figure out the flavor differences among enoki, brown shimeji, and shiitake mushroom, but if I have to choose which one that tasted yucky the least, it would probably be the enoki. 

To me, all mushroom tasted yucky. Yet, I keep on eating them in hope that, one day, I can open my heart for mushroom and eventually fancy them. 

What was inside my hot pot

We were overwhelmed by the fact that we get to try all three kinds of meat - Shabu Ghin's Special Beef, Shabu Ghin's US Premium Beef, and Shabu Ghin's Wagyu Beef - all of it for free and we can refill the meat as much as we want. We questioned it at first, but then the waitress who was with us earlier came back and explained that, "Karena mbak adalah tamu undangan, jadi kami akan menyediakan semua jenis daging yang kami punya untuk mbak coba." Lord Almighty..

I love the simple, yet elegant presentation of the meat. The three of them were sliced so evenly and thinly, and were served in a different colored container - the specials in black, the premium in white, and the wagyu in dark brown; stacked according to the price range of each beef set.

Gita taught me how to cook the beef in the hot pot, which is to grab a slice with a chopstick, dip it into the soup, stir it for a few seconds until it gradually changes its' color from red to gray, then dig in. "Nih, ya, aku bikinin dulu biar kamu coba dagingnya kayak gimana," she said whilst dipping a slice of her Shabu Ghin's Special Beef into her Chicken Mizutaki soup. I observed the whole process in fascination and, to be honest, were awestruck by how fast the meat got cooked. I tried my hand at cooking the beef and it didn't take long before I could master the whole dipping action.

My personal favorite would be the US Premium Beef, as they tasted so tenderly juicy and melted in my mouth, and I couldn't help but to crave for more of those jelly like fat that makes the whole dish taste even better. Don't get me wrong, the wagyu beef were delicious too - it was even more tender than the US Premium Beef - but they were lacking of those fatty goodness that I love so much. Even the Special Beef set, which was far less pricey compared to the other two, managed to capture my attention with its' tenderness.

Special Beef Set

US Premium Beef Set

Just look at them tender and juicy fat

Wagyu Beef Set

Layers and layers of tender goodness

Here's a quick vlog of me and Gita pigging out. 

Unlimited desserts were also served on the buffet table for us to enjoy - it varies from fruits, salad, jelly, and soft cream - and we had a bit of everything. We love the chocolate and vanilla pudding the most because of its' lightness and sweetness that completed our meal. I was going to get myself some green tea and vanilla ice cream, but it was unfortunate that the soft cream machine was out of order on that day.

Some pudding to end your meal

All in all, my first dining experience at Shabu Ghin was awesome! I would definitely recommend you to dine in at this shabu-shabu house when you get the chance. True, the price of the food and beverages here can be a bit expensive, especially for my fellow cadet comrades, but I don't see why you shouldn't treat yourself once in a while. 

The good news is that the restaurant is currently having this special promo that lasts until the end of October, where you can dine in like Gita and I with a special 50% discount, woohoo! Oh, and did I mention that child and senior citizen who dine in at the restaurant, will get a special prize as well? How awesome is that? 

I bet you are going to love the restaurant in and out. The comforting ambience of the spacy restaurant, combined with the friendly and well mannered restaurant staff, plus the delicious all-you-can-eat food and beverages will definitely make you want to come back for more. Trust me. 

Shabu Ghin

Jalan Wolter Mongonsidi No. 53

Senopati, Jakarta

Opening Hours

Monday - Friday: 11 AM - 3 PM and 6 PM - 10 PM

Saturday - Sunday: 11 AM - 11 PM

Contact

(+62) 21 720 2336

(+62) 21 720 1667

Another Feast at Moe's Place

This post is dedicated to Cathy Moore, in which without her would not exist

All thanks to Cathy, a regular customer at Moe's Place who read my blog and suggested Moe to invite me over to the restaurant for a meal, that I was able to experience my first food-tasting event.  Cathy was supposed to join us for lunch on that day, but she passed away two days earlier because she was ill. May she rest in peace. 

I would also like to thank Moe, the owner of Moe's Place, for giving me the opportunity to experience a wonderful casual dining like never before

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Moe and me

Last Saturday, I went to Moe's Place - a restaurant specialize in ribs and steak located in Kemang - to attend my first ever food-tasting event. The owner of the restaurant, a.k.a. Moe, invited me over for lunch, saying that he has plans to serve new menu in his restaurant and would like to have me and some companies as his honored guests to try them. I, of course - because why wouldn't I, accepted his invitation wholeheartedly. 

I was greeted by Moe himself the first second I set my foot into the restaurant. "Hi, I'm Moe," the man said, "I've been expecting you Kinan." The three of us - my Mom, a friend of mine, and me - was escorted to our table at the the second story of the building. There were nobody up there other than us. "This place is usually used to hold an event, or a gathering," Moe explained. 

The interior of the restaurant was simple, yet cozy and lively. There was this black board with a set of menu written on it with colorful chalk, a shelf decorated with retro toys and daily-life objects, and also hanging lamps with a line of empty liquor bottles on them. It's a restaurant-version of Dexter's laboratory and I was Dee Dee. 

"Welcome to Moe's Place"

The lovely interior of the restaurant

Empty bottles to decorate the lamp with

Retro thingamabobs; dibs on the milk container!

One of my favorite display

"I already prepared something special for you all, but first, let's order some drinks," said Moe, whose actual name is Bimo (bee•moe) Aribuwono. Back then, when Moe lived in New York, his American friends found it difficult to pronounce "Bimo" properly. Then, he took the liberty to nickname himself "Moe", so that it would be easier for his friends to call him.

There was this routine of his to cook Indonesian dishes every weekend, at his flat in New York. He, then, would invite his foreigner friends for a meal, whilst introducing his homeland cuisine at the same time. It became a custom to dine at Moe's flat every weekend, until at some point, his friends would invite themselves to his place by saying, "Let's go to Moe's place.". And that is where he got the idea to name his restaurant.

My drink was personally, and magically, chose by Moe himself. "I know Kinan wants to have a glass of Iced Lychee Tea," Moe said. I actually did, I have no idea how he figured that out! On the other hand, my Mom ordered herself a glass of Lemon Water, while my friend Gita had herself a glass of Mocktail named November Rain.

Moe explained it to us beforehand about how November Rain is like a non-alcohol Mojito - a drink in which consists of lime juice, sugar syrup, and mint leaves. Gita described her Mocktail as sour, but had a hint of sweetness in it.

The Iced Lychee Tea tasted different compared to every Iced Lychee Tea I have ever tasted before. It had this different kind of sweetness in it that gives you the idea of eating Lychee-flavored Nutrijell (a brand of Jelly that Indonesian consume), unlike the sugary and syrupy sweetness that you usually encounter in most Iced Lychee Tea. Chilly and very thirst-quenching nonetheless, and it had this flavorless foam on top that simmered down by the hour.

Clockwise: November Rain, Lemon Water, Iced Lychee Tea

The first dish that we have was a plate of Nacho. Unlike any other Nacho, this particular Mexican dish had French Fries hiding beneath the crunchy pile of Tortilla Chips. Topped with melted Cheese, Sour Cream, Bolognese, Jalapeño, and fresh Salsa; this Nacho turned out to be an idea that Moe's son, Dimas, had.

A brilliant boy, Dimas is. Even though I have never meet him, I can tell that he has epic ideas for food. The Nacho that we had was what Dimas' vision of the Nacho that he want - with French Fries and Bolognese. The Sour Cream used to garnished the dish with was personally picked by Dimas himself. "He tasted every Sour Cream and chose which one is best to top the Nacho with," told Moe. All that I can say that every component used to make this appetizer worked swell!

The Salsa is what I love most about this starter. Made immediately after an order was put up, you can expect the the Salsa to be FRESH with capital F-R-E-S-H! It was juicy. It was refreshing. It was sweet. It was sour. It was the best Salsa I have ever tasted! It had that 'kick' that made you want more.

"Compliment on the Salsa," said Mom to Moe, "it is very very fresh, juicy, and delicious!". Mom figured that the Nacho tasted Javanese, which then replied by Moe with a, "How did you found out!".

Man, those Salsa sure tasted awesome!

That Jalapeño is killing it!

We chat as we dine. Moe share about the history of his restaurant, which was very interesting! Before it was a restaurant, Moe's Place was actually Moe's Catering that serves only one dish, the famous Baby Back Ribs. Moe's Catering gained customers, who eventually become fans. The business was so good, until one of the customer said, "Hey, Moe, why don't you open up a restaurant?". And that is the beginning of Moe's Place. 

"We shall continue our meal with a bowl of salad," the chubby man said. He told us that the next dish that we were going to have was an idea came from his wife, Melissa. 

The healthy plate consisted of Lollo Rossa, Romaine, Rocket, Cherry Tomato, Olive, and Cheddar Cheese, then garnished with Crackers and Parmesan Cheese, which then glazed with Honey and Reduced Balsamic Vinegar. A mouthful of those would give you an explosion of flavor inside your mouth! It tasted sweet from the honey, sour and tangy from the balsamic dressing, salty and savory from the cheese, and leafy from the greens.

For those who are on a diet, you might want to get a plate of this juicy salad

Simple, yet beautiful presentation

Moe's Place is well-known for its' Baby Back Ribs, which many customers said was highly pleasant to the taste. My Mom and I were very lucky to be able to have that particular dish as main course during that day. Unfortunately, Gita could not join the fun because Baby Back Ribs is made of pork (one of the food that is forbidden to be consumed by Muslims), but lucky for her -it's a plane! it's a bird! No, it's Moe to the rescue!

Moe prepared a special main course for Gita, which is steak. "Today, you will be having steak," he said, "and you have the liberty to chose which part you would like to have.". He mentioned the beef cuts that they have in the restaurant - which were Sirloin, Tenderloin, Filet Mignon, and Rib Eye - which then followed by Gita settling down for the Filet Mignon. "Would you like it pink, or bloody," he asked. And pink was the answer. 

While we wait for our food to be served, we had a "Beef 101". Moe taught us a lot of things about beef and steak, which was waaaaaay more fun compared to Chemistry!

One of the lesson that I learned that day was to be cautious when we order steaks at restaurants. The fact that there are not many who are aware about beef cuts trigers the corruption of beef. Some restaurant would just misused our ignorance about the physical appearance of steak by giving us false beef cuts. For example, changing Tenderloin with shoulder cuts. If the chef is handy enough to use knife, he then would easily cut and shape them shoulder cuts looking like Tenderloin. And we wouldn't figure it out, because we have no idea how the fudge Tenderloin looks like! Plus, if we are not familiar by how the texture and the flavor of the steak should be, we would ended up paying more for low-priced beef. You don't want that to happen, do you?

The other thing that I learned was that the period of time and the environment to store the beef affect the condition and quality of the beef. Beef is at its' prime condition during the first 3 months of chilling. Then, it gradually sags, but still great at its' 3 months freezing time. After those 6 months of chilling and freezing, the quality of the beef will not be good to be used to make steak. Again, some corrupt restaurant would just abuse our ignorance about beef by giving us ugly quality beef. 

During our "Beef 101", Moe took out the beef cuts that he had and gave us a quick look on how they supposed to look like. He also suggested us to order Rib Eye whenever we dine at a steak restaurant, because then we would get ribs, beef tenderloin, and savory fat in one plate. Those beef were very huge, some of them were as big as my thighs and shank! I occasionally poke the beef out of curiosity. 

Then, two waiters came to our table and handed us our main course. I saw Gita's and hers was gorgeous! The presentation of the Filet Mignon was very beautiful and pleasing to the eye, it had that fancy glow surrounding it. It made me feel like as if I was seeing a celebrity on the red carpet. And at the center of the meat was perfect pink in color! If I were Gordon Ramsay, I would be very pleased with the steak.  

"Gita made the right decision in choosing to have her steak pink," said Moe, "because it is when the meat tasted best!". I took a bite of my peer's steak and it really tasted great! The steak was very juicy and tender, the meat would just cut off right away when you penetrate your canine into it. 

The steak was served with Potato Wedges, some greens, and a bowl of Mushroom Sauce. Unlike any other Mushroom Sauce, Moe's Place's was orange-ish in color and slightly watery. It tasted slightly peppery, not the slightest bit creamy, and unique. "Our Mushroom Sauce is not gray like the general Mushroom Sauce, because we get rid of the part that make the sauce gray in color," explained Moe while chopping down a mushroom to half and showed the exact part of the fungi. 

Gita's gorgeous Filet Mignon

A close up look on the steak

P stands for "Pink" and "Perfection"

Moe, showing the anatomy of the mushroom used to make sauce for the steak 

The black part was disposed, hence resulting on a pink colored Mushroom Sauce

My Mom and I, and also Moe, shared a plate of Baby Back Ribs. Needless to say that the ribs were ECHO PAPA INDIA CHARLIE! Why wouldn't they be? Those ribs were Hickory smoked for 6 and a half hours long, smothered in honey and sweet Barbeque sauce, then grilled to perfection. The meat was very tender and it was very easy to detached it from the bone. Even though the ribs were smoked for more than 5 hours, the meat didn't get sloppy and fall off from the bone, yet still soft and tender. 

Moe's Place's Baby Back Ribs was seved with a handful of Potato Wedges, Corn on the Cob, and some greens. Other than the amazing ribs itself, I fancy the wedges as well. Unlike any other Potato Wedges, that would make your stomach full and make you feel sick if you eat it too much, this particular Potato Wedges was light and well cooked. I don't have any idea what cooking methods the chef used, but I'm sure it's a good one! Just imagine, the skin of the potato was stiff and slightly rubbery in a good way, the potato itself slightly shrunk, which explained why they were lighter than regular Potato Wedges. Seasoning were used to give them Potato Wedges flavor, slightly salty and peppery, you will love it!

Moe was very understanding by serving a bowl of sambal, or chilly sauce, for the ribs to go with. Typical Indonesian, we can't survive a day without sambal. Now, this particular sambal was sweet and hot, a personal favorite of mine. Mom said that Moe has to add some more chilly into the sambal as it was not tongue-burning enough. On the other hand, Moe's foreigner customers were in pain when they eat the chilly sauce. But, I prefer to have my ribs solo, without any addition of seasoning or sauce, because it tasted best that way.

Moe quickly dashed to the kitchen, then came back with a bottle of seasoning. It was a secret seasoning, but we were able to taste it, lucky us! "Try this with your steak," said Moe, whilst pouring some onto the plate. I cut my ribs off, dipped in in the seasoning and, boy, does it tasted great!

Moe's famous Baby Back Ribs

Glazed with honey and Barbeque Sauce, the ribs is the definition of foodporn

Served with Potato Wedges and Corn on the Cob

Plus greens, glazed with Balsamic Sauce, on the side

Moe, slicing the ribs to share it with my Mom and I

Just look at them tender meat!

Dare to try this sambal?

There was this side dish that we have, which was a plate of Potato Wedges. But, this Potato Wedges is very different compared to any Potato Wedges you have ever eaten before, even with the one served with the Baby Back Ribs. "Potato Wedges are, well, Potato Wedges. They are American food. So, I tried to experiment with some cooking style, and I finally succeed with an outcome that I'm happy with," shared Moe. 

Moe told us that he used a French cooking method to cook the potato. "It's still Potato Wedges, but I made the cooking method so complicated until the taste and the texture of the potato is completely different than the usual Potato Wedges. But it's still Potato Wedges," he added. Listening to Moe's story about how he experiment with ingredients to make something new gave me the idea of him being the human version of Remy from Disney's Ratatouille. 

I ate a piece of this French-style Potato Wedges and, boy, did Moe just bring Potato Wedges to a whole new level! It was very unique and one-in-a-million. The skin was very stiff, thick, slightly rubbery, and nicely seasoned. If you bite into the Potato Wedges, you will find yourself the inner potato that shrunk and clumping together that tasted like potato but with a kick of flavor into it. They were sprinkled with garlic and Rosemary, and boy do they smelled great! The texture combination of the rubbery skin and mushy potato merged well with one another. They were bite-sized and very light, making it suitable to be consumed as appetizer! Definitely must try this side dish, you will beg for more!

A cup of Yogurt was served as dipping sauce for the Potato Wedges, unfortunately the flavor of the yogurt ended up dominating the potato, making them not suitable for each others. But, the Yogurt itself tasted great! Basil and lemon were added into the yogurt, making it tasted fresh and slightly citrusy. 

The French-style Potato Wedges

Beautiful color plain crunchy!

The delicious Yogurt

Man, were we full. But it was not over yet. Moe still had one more dish to serve, which is. . . Ice Cream! Who wouldn't love Ice Cream after a big meal, right? 

The dessert that we had was a big scoop of frozen Vanilla Ice Cream dashed with Cinnamon, topped with toasted Walnut, poured with steaming hot Espresso, then drizzled with a spoonful of Coffee. It was a combination unlike any other!

It is very hard to describe the flavor of the ice cream. It was hot and cold, creamy and watery, and also sweet and bitter. It had a unique flavor as the component inside the dessert combine with each other. Me and Gita devoured the Ice Cream happily because it was very very delicious! We constantly add some more coffee into the cup and continued indulging. "You know the flavor of every ingredients used to make this dessert, but when you combine them, they create a new indescribable flavor," convinced Gita. Yes, you should definitely give this Ice Cream a try!

A scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream, topped with toasted Walnut and Cinnamon

Pour the Espresso into the cup

Add a dash of Coffee and voila! dessert is served

After we finished our dessert, Moe took us on a quick tour around the kitchen. The kitchen was not that big, it was rather compact and efficient. Cooking utensil were placed on one side, while ingredients and seasoning were put on the other side. There was a big metal table at the centre of the kitchen to garnish the dishes and to prepare the ingredient as well. 

One of the cooking tools that impressed me was this big oven where they cook their steak. Can you guess what feature that the oven came out with? Touch screen! Yes, you didn't read that wrong, touch screen! Have you ever find any oven that has touch screen? I don't think so! There were numerous cooking methods installed to the oven, such as "Pink Steak" and "Bloody Steak". "The steak that Gita had was cooked inside this oven," explained Moe, "and when we press the "Pink Steak" option, then the outcome of the dish will be exactly the same." Very impressive, huh?

Moe took out four kinds of beef cuts that he stored in the fridge and displayed them on the table. "Big, aren't they?" It was a sight that I have never seen before. A desk bell would drown in the sea of beef cuts!

All in all, the kitchen was very clean and neat. There were no left over ingredients scattered around the floor, nor the table. Things were stored accordingly, even the ingredients and seasonings were organized. It was pleasant to roam around the kitchen, especially when there were no cockroaches, nor rats, around. 

The sight of the compact kitchen

Cooking section

Decorating the plate with Burger and Fries

High-tech oven to cook the steak with

Seasonings and spices to give flavor to the ingredients

Left to Right: Rib Eye, Sirloin, Tenderloin, Filet Mignon

Taking out some veggies

The kitchen that doesn't have too many spaces

And thus our lunch came to an end. We bid each other goodbye and hoped to see each other again soon. But, wait, Moe didn't let us go just yet! He took out a glass of red icy beverage and told us to take a sip before we leave the restaurant. "It's Pink Sarrah," he said, one of the cold beverages served at Moe's Place. 

Fun fact: Pink Sarrah was named after Moe's daughter, Sarrah. It turned out, some of the dishes served in the restaurant were named after Moe's family member. There was this dish that was named after his son, and another which named after Dimas' grandfather. 

I took a sip and I twitched a bit because the drink was bubbly and fizzy. I'm not a big fan of soda, and the drink definitely had some in it. A mix between Strawberry syrup and Lychee syrup, Pink Sarrah really was a suitable drink to be consumed during a hot day. The ice gave a kick to its' fizzy effect, which was very tiring for me to drink, yet somehow I ended up being the one who finished it. For those who fancy sweet and fizzy drink, you ought to try this particular beverage.

Pink Sarrah

If I were to rate Moe's Place well-being, I would give the restaurant an Oscar. Excellent food, friendly service, great ambience - you will be greeted as a family at Moe's and it felt as good as it sounds. So, the next time you can't decide where to go for lunch, just go to Kemang Selatan and park your car at Moe's Place. Order yourself some Baby Back Ribs and indulge!

Moe's Place

Jalan Benda Raya 1

Kemang Selatan, Jakarta Selatan

Phone: (021) 7135 5555

Opening Hours:

10 Am - 10 PM