Coffee at Louis with Myself and I

After days of eating just instant noodles and microwaved tteokbokki for breakfast and lunch, I decided to treat myself to a nice and beautiful brunch at Coffee at Louis. My best friend recommended me this dining place. “The food is good, and the place is very pretty and not too crowded with Surabayans,” she said. I’ve been wanting to drop by since months ago, but Surabaya was just too hot for me to function. Yet, finally, I got up today, went to the hospital to do some checkups and brought myself out to eat. 

Breakfast at Louis'

My refillable cup of Creme Brulee Tea

I did some research on Coffee at Louis’ Instagram page, where I scan all the food and beverage on the menu and decide on what I want to have. I obviously settle for the non-carb option, which is the Chicken Salad. But, then, I saw this new dish they have, a dessert menu named Pouched Pear, and it caught my attention instantly. I have never had pouched pear before, hence being unfamiliar with how it should taste, so I gave it a try. 

They have all sorts of cakes and cookies here at Louis'

The staff was a very friendly and assertive man. He greeted me and welcomed me, asking on how many person would be dining today. “It’s just me,” I answered, and he escorted me to the indoor seats, which then I cut as he was pointing at a table for two, saying that I’m going to sit outside because I need to smoke. Still with a smile, he opened the door for me and gesture politely to another table for two in the open. He went back inside, then came back a minute later with a glass of water on the house and an ashtray. 

I love how the place is not jammed-pack with people. It’s easier for me to function in public when there are less people, and I managed to finish all the things that needed to be done with my laptop today in a snap of a finger. 

This fulfills my aesthetic needs

The sight of the indoor seating

My Chicken Salad didn’t look as beautiful as I wanted it to be, but the quality of the food is amazing. The greens were rather cooked as they were topped with slices of grilled chicken, but it’s okay. There were diced croutons here and there, along with slices of baby tomato. The portion of the grilled chicken was rather generous. I got the thigh part of the chicken and, even though I’m more of a breast person, it was delightfully delicious and very much enjoyable. 

I love how the chicken skin was very crispy and savory. I don’t usually like chicken skin, but this one was an exception. The meat was very tender and delicious, and it had this level of umami that was just on point. There wasn’t much dressing on the greens, but I could tell that it was balsamic vinegar. 

Some greens to go with your cup of Joe

My share of Chicken Salad

To be honest, all of the ingredients of the salad didn’t manage to work together as a team as they had their own spotlight of flavor that stood out from each other. Like, the egg, for example. The egg was just boiled and sliced in half, and it was just there sitting on the side of the plate waiting to be eaten. I tried to combine it with all of the elements in the plate in a spoonful of a bite, but the flavor just didn’t merge well. But, hey, it’s a salad. Nothing can go wrong. It’s just a matter of personal choices. 

My first Pouched Pear I've ever taste

Drizzle drizzle drizzle!

After I finished my salad, I moved on with my Pouched Pear, which was cold. I thought, the name “pouched” would make the pear hot from  coming out straight from a pan, but it seemed that I had the wrong idea. 

The dessert was very beautiful and it had, in my opinion, this autumn vibe going on with all the color selection. It came with a tiny cup of spiced syrup, while the pouched pear laid there majestically on a bed of vanilla yogurt, circled with Coffee at Louis’ house made granola. It was a delightful sight for sore eyes.

Autumn-like dessert

I cut through the poached pear to find that the pear was rather tender, like as if it was poached, but still had this crispness of a fresh pear here and there. I scooped some of the vanilla yogurt, along with the spiced syrup and the house made granola, and brought the spoonful of delicious goodness into my mouth. Damn, it was delicious!

I put a bit too much of the spiced syrup into my pear, making it way too sweet for my taste. But, it still tasted amazing. The pear tasted fresh, sweet, and juicy, and the flavor blended well with the cinnamony granola and the solid vanilla yogurt. I have never experienced autumn in my life, but every bite of the dessert pear that went into my mouth felt like how fall season should be. 

I also ordered a cup of hot Creme Brulee tea to go with my food. The aroma of the tea was really like Creme Brulee: all toasty and sweet and caramel like, which blowed my mind. I didn’t put any sugar into my tea, because that’s how I drink my tea, yet it still tasted delicious. 

Guys, in all seriousness, if you feel like having a quiet me-time while still able to enjoy good food, do visit Coffee at Louis. You won’t regret a single second. 

Coffee at Louis

Jl. Trunojoyo No. 69

D.R. Soetomo, Tegalsari

Kota Surabaya, Jawa Timur 60264

Opening Hours:

WED - MON: 7AM - 9PM

Contact:

+61 21 822 3304 6369

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Breakfast at Zaatar W Zeit

A day begin with me trying to move my butt to the bathroom in order to get ready for a walk at Souq Waqif. It was 9 in the morning, and Tante Rosi and Tante Tika were in the living room, just arrived to pick my Mom and I up. It took me no longer than 15 minutes to get ready, all clean and dressed up, with my camera bag on my right shoulder. With no further ado, the four of us hopped into the car and drove away from Matar Qadeem. 

After a 10-minute-drive, we finally arrived at the heart of Doha. Souq Waqif, a standing market which reminds you of a scene in Disney's Aladdin, where Princess Jasmine strolls around at the market in Agrabah in which was crowded with sellers and products. The thing with Souq Waqif is just that the environment here is a lot more modern, judging from the fact that the place also has numerous cafe and restaurant, instead of just merchants selling traditional Middle eastern goods. They even have a Haägen-Dazs Cafe here!

Fancy some rugs?

Cute Qatar magnets

Fancy some colorful fabric?

A dress or two, maybe?

Police patrols at Souq Waqif

Don't this reminds you of a scene in Aladdin?

Don't these teapots look nice?

ADORABLE CAMMEL PLUSHIES!

The reason why we came to the Souq is to have breakfast at a restaurant named Zaatar W Zeit. Tante Rosi told me that she has dined at the restaurant before, and that the restaurant serves great food in her opinion. It took us a while to find the restaurant because of all the alleys and small streets. When we finally arrived at the restaurant, it was a bit surprising to see the outdoor tables were occupied even though it was still early in the morning.

Zataar W Zeit

We started the day with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice. I was going to order myself some Hot Chocolate before, but I was a bit nauseous that morning, so I had to drink something fresh and juicy to make the uneasy feeling go away. It turned out, my decision was right to pick the orange juice, because it really was fresh and thirst-quenching. It was really really sour, the orange juice, but in a good way.

A glass of freshly squeezed orange juice to start the day

The Orange Juice was very sour in a refreshing way

We decided to order some dishes and share them, instead of having one dish for each person. For appetizer, we had ourselves a bowl of Simply Caesar Salad, a bowl of fresh and crispy Romaine Lettuce, garnished with Parmesan Cheese and Oven-baked Croutons, coated with delicious mayonnaise. The Italian cheese had a nutty flavor for some reason, while the Croutons were toasty and delicious. The greens were crunchy and juicy, and they made me feel good for consuming them! 

Simply Caesar Salad

Very juicy and crispy leafs 

Our breakfast was then continued with a pan of Traditional Pizza and BBQ Steak Wrapz. Both dishes was delicious as heck! The pizza was thin, yet very stomach-fulling. It was decorated with tomato sauce, Mozzarella Cheese, ham, Oregano, and mushroom. I hardly spotted any Oregano in the pizza, but maybe they were contained under the ham, or under the melted Mozzarella cheese. Cheesy, doughy, floury, and delicious describe the pizza perfectly! The only thing that destroyed the pizza was the mushroom. I seriously tried to love mushroom, but I just can't seem to find anything delicious about it. So, I hereby declare that I dislike mushroom and that it doesn't go well with anything!

BBQ Steak Wrapz is the second thing we had as main course. The tortilla was soft and slightly fluffy, yet also crunchy. Inside, you can find a handful of beef with barbeque sauce, along with red and green bell pepper, and also onion. All in all, the beef wrap was delicious, but I love the pizza more even though it had mushroom on it. I actually ate three slices of pizza and a couple of beef wraps. 

Traditional Pizza

Delicious melted Mozzarella and ham!

BBQ Steak Wrapz

Stuffed with sweet and savory barbequed beef

What's a meal without some dessert, right? The four of us decided to order two kinds of dessert to share with. They were a bowl of Chocolate Chip Brownies and a cup of Strawberry Cheese Cake. 

Chocolate Chip Brownies are three bars of chilly brownies, served with chocolate syrup. I thought I would have an encounter with some sweet chocolate chips, but I stand corrected. The chocolate bars were not fudgy, they were a slightly dry and airy. Them brownies tasted sweet and quite delicious.

Chocolate Chip Brownies

A very nice dessert to begin with

Unfortunately, the Strawberry Cheese Cake was not as delicious as the brownies. They were painfully hard to swallow. The strawberry jam on top was beyond sweet and nauseating, it tasted like cherry-flavored cough syrup. Underneath it was a blob of, what it's supposed to be, cream cheese.. which tasted as excruciating as the jam! It didn't taste like cream cheese at all, it was milky and agonizingly sweet. At the bottom of the cup was very very few cake crumbs, which taste savory and nice, yet the cream completely destroyed it. I do not recommend you this particular dessert at all!

A cup of not delicious Strawberry Cheese Cake

After breakfast has ended, we stroll around the market. Tante Rosi and Tante Tika was planning on buying some Abaya, so we made a few pit stops to some Abaya shop to fit and bargain. It took us a while to find the perfect Abaya, along with the perfect size and price. I have to tell you, some of them were really attractive and beautiful, despite the fact that they only come in one color!

After some fitting and bargaining, Tante Rosi and Tante Tika finally got the Abaya that they love. We had breakfast, we shopped, we took some pictures, and we went home with a big joy. It was a nice morning at the Souq! 

So, for those of you who happen to life in Doha, you should definitely go to the Souq and dine at Zaatar W Zeit. Great food, good service, and free WiFi! But, watch out for the chief-in-charge, he likes to make jokes about toilet at the wrong time. Been there, done that! 

Black Abayas to die for!

Introducing, Mom, who rather shoot some flash than fit some Abayas!

Tante Tika and her Abaya

Tante Rosi and her Abaya

470 Qatar Riyal for one Abaya

Zaatar W Zeit

Souq Waqif, between Musherib and Al Rayyan Road

Doha, Qatar

Phone: +974 4431 5224

Opening Hours:
Monday - Sunday : 24 Hours

A Feast at Moe's Place

A small introduction is necessary, yes?

Today was a well-spent day, indeed! I went out for brunch with my friends and we ate lots of delicious dishes. We were going to crash at Hamptons Cafe in the first place, but the place was closed when we arrived, which made me feel disappointed. How could I not? I spent the night browsing through Hamptons Cafe's Facebook page to examine the menu and made a list of food that I want to eat. I was so ready to order a nice set of lunch since I hopped into the car. I didn't even had breakfast so that I would have spaces to fill in my stomach! But then the "Sorry, we're close" sign popped up. Dinkleberg. 

Thank goodness there was this restaurant named Moe's Place right beside Hamptons Cafe, so we entered the building and dominated a table for five. Moe's Place is a really nice restaurant, and it has this New-York-like atmosphere. The restaurant deserves a two thumbs up in terms of interior design.  The walls were decorated with street-photographs which took place in, probably, New York. The dinning area are divided into two sections, which are indoors and outdoors. The ceilings were decorated with hanging lamps and shelves that were used to placed empty bottles. All in all, Moe's Place is a fine and cozy restaurant for you to dine in with your friends and family. 

The choice of food were a bit limited as they mostly serve pasta and ribs. But there were also other main-courses that looked very interesting, such as a various choice of chicken platter and Moe's signature burger. We skimmed through the menu, asking each other what we would like to have. It took us about five minutes to decide what we were going to have.

Sally and Angel ordered themselves a glass of Iced Lychee Tea. It looked a bit different from what I expected it to be. Iced Lychee Tea should look refreshing and contains, at least, a couple of canned lychee, yet Sally's and Angel's looked like beers instead. Maybe Moe's idea of Iced Lychee Tea is a bit different, which is all bubbly and fizzy. On the other hand, the presentation was very nice and simple, and it looked like it would quench your thirst.  

The bubbly Lychee Iced Tea

Velly ordered herself a glass of Iced Tea. Nothing special, just your regular sweet iced tea. The presentation was very appealing as they put a leaf and ice cubes inside the drink. Again, it looked very refreshing and as if it would quench your thirst. I bet the iced tea would taste best if you drink it after you finish a jog.

Iced Tea; the quenchiest drink in the restaurant

Being different from the rest of the group, Icha ordered herself a glass of vanilla milkshake. Decorated with a stick of chocolate wafer, she drank nearly half of the glass before the food arrived, which made her pretty much stuffed. I don't usually drink milkshake because it always give me a feeling of nausea if I consumed it too much. But, I gotta say that, I look forward to order myself Icha's drink when I got the chance to visit Moe's Place someday in the future.

Icha's Vanilla Milkshake, decorated with a stick of chocolate wafer

As for me, I didn't order myself a drink. It would cost me a quarter of my allowance just to have a glass of Iced Lychee Tea, so I didn't bother to drink during brunch. 

A few minutes after our drinks arrived, the waiter came back to our table with our food that we ordered earlier. Sally had a plate of spicy chicken wings. It was nicely decorated with celery on top, and crushed spices and herbs on the sides of the plate, making the dish looked like a birthday present with confetti. 

I took a bite of the chicken wings. The meat was well-cooked. It was soft and slightly chewy, but the outer skin was a bit crunchy at some parts, making it deserves a two thumbs up. What I like the most about Sally's dish was the sauce that the chef used to coat the chicken wings. I have no idea what kind of sauce it was, but it tasted deliciously spicy and finger-licking good. I would finish the whole plate if Sally allowed me though. No, seriously.

Sally's Spicy Chicken Wings

A plate of Chicken Quesadillas was what Velly had for brunch. As I examined her dish, I found out that Chicken Quesadillas are slices of soft taco shells, or thin roti prata, filled with chicken and vegetables. You will mostly find tomatoes and paprika inside a slice of Chicken Quesadilla, usually covered with some fresh spicy sauce and mayonnaise. It tasted great as it was rich in flavor. It was sweet, spicy, sour, and very much refreshing. When you took a bite of the Chicken Quesadillas, you will definitely feels sparks of fireworks inside your mouth. The flavors would just burst and make you want to say, "LIVIN' LA VIDA LOCA!"

Velly's pinatta-like Chicken Quesadillas

Icha and Angel ordered the same main-course, which was a plate of grilled chicken enveloped with barbeque sauce, garnished with french fries and salad, and topped with celery. The chicken drumstick was rather large in size and contained lots of meat. The meat was very soft and a bit chewy, not to mention white in color and delicious. The barbeque sauce was to die for! When I tried a bite of Angel's chicken, I couldn't help but to want a bowl of rice to go with it to achieve perfection in terms of compatibility. 

The french fries were rather thick. Thicker than those skinny fast-food restaurant's french fries. I'm guessing that the french fries were coated with some kind of seasoning to make it tasted more savory and salty. The salad was very fresh, not to mention the sauce that they were using was very delicious and sweet. Shredded carrots, purple cabbage, and green cabbage were the ingredients chosen to make this lovely salad, and I enjoyed every bite of it.

Icha's and Angel's finger-licking-good Barbeque Flavored Grilled Chicken

All of my friends were having chicken for brunch, so I decided to have something different. Angel helped me to chose the meal, which was Moe's Place signature burger named Sloppy Moe's. I've heard of Sloppy Joe's a couple of time, which is ground-beef-filled burgers. The name Sloppy Joe's described the condition of the food itself - sloppy, wet, and messy - but I've read some articles on the internet saying that people LOVE Sloppy Joe's with capital L-O-V-E. So, I decided to try a plate of Sloppy Moe's, hoping that it would be worth it to spend such amount of cash for a stack of messy burger. 

Good merciful Lord, Sloppy Moe's was beyond worth it! The food looked better than I expected it to be. It was big, juicy, generously filled with shredded sweet pork topped with melted cheese, coated with some sweet mayonnaise, and garnished with salad. This is, by far, the most delicious pork burger I have ever tasted! This burger is AWESOME and EPIC! The pork tasted so sweet and delicious, not to mention crunchy and crispy. I wouldn't mind to have this burger for breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the rest of my life. The salad, contained of the same ingredients that were used in Icha's and Angel's salad, was very energizing and sweet. The melted cheese was very savory, especially those that were laminated to some of the pork. My burger also came with a handful of nachos, topped with fresh tomatoes. It was very crunchy, salty, and juicy at the same time. Good Lord, bless this food because it tasted beyond delicious. 

My superb Sloppy Moe's

Good Lord, would you just look at that delicious mouth-watery stacks of shredded pork!

Am I badass enough to join the epic series of Man Vs. Food?

The best pork burger I have ever ate so far

Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, do visit Moe's Place and try their Sloppy Moe's. You will never regret it. It reeks of incredibility and awesomeness. It tasted epic. Don't be shy to take a big bite of it because the flavor will explode in your mouth. The term "Burger-gasm" suit this dish very well. Go grab yourself a plate of this delicious Sloppy Moe's and enjoy yourself, now!

Moe's Place
Jl. Benda Raya No. 1A
Kemang Selatan, Jakarta Selatan

Phone: (021) 7135 5555

Opening Hours:
10 AM - 10 PM