Saturday Night Out

It has been a while since I went out on a Saturday night. I usually spend the weekend at home slacking around, as if the world doesn't need another slacker, but not yesterday night. A friend of mine from Bandung, who goes by the name Gita, was in town with her whole family. We haven't run around the city for almost two months, so we decided to meet up at Plaza Indonesia. 

It was at around three in the afternoon when we arrived at the crowded high-class mall. Oddly, we were pretty hungry. "I feel like having Ramen Sanpachi," said Gita. We didn't know that Ramen Sanpachi opened up a branch at Plaza Indonesia, so instead of actually looking for the place, we ended up strolling around the God-knows-how-many-stories mall for food. 

Something brought us to the fifth floor - it might be fate, destiny, or maybe even a horse. It didn't take long before we discovered Ramen Sanpachi's booth sign. We were very excited when we found the ramen house and semi-sprint to the counter to place our orders. 

I had me a big bowl of Shoyu Ramen, while Gita had some Jigoku Ramen: Level 2. My ramen didn't turned out as I expected it would be, it was too salty to begin with. On the bright side, the egg was great and the yolk was gooey, while the Tonkotsu (sliced pork) was savory and superb as always. The thing about Gita's Jigoku Ramen is that the dish has levels of hotness. I guess level 2 was not that hot and peppery, judging from the fact that Gita didn't struggle to catch her breath after every sip of soup, but I don't think I could handle it. 

Shoyu Ramen

Jigoku Ramen: Level 2

After we had our late lunch, we window-shopped from floors to floors. We visited Christian Louboutin, ZARA, and other fancy boutique which name I can't pronounce. Hours were spent when we made numerous pit stops at various shops. When I took a quick glance at my watch, it was 5 o'clock. We decided to pay a visit to Nanny's Pavilion for tea time. 

I don't see the point of having other dishes than waffles at Nanny's Pavilion, hence my decision to have a plate of Black Crunchy Caramel Waffle that costed Rp39.000,00. It was a big rectangle-shaped waffle, decorated with Vanilla ice cream, Oreo crumbs, and caramel sauce. What I love the most about my dessert is that the Oreo had no white cream in between them. The waffle was crispy and savory, not to mention blended well with the Vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce. Those Oreo crumbs were like cherries on top of my waffle sundae. It was pure ecstasy!

Black Crunchy Caramel Waffle for Rp39.000,00

Pure bliss!

Gita, on the other hand, had a plate of Nanny's Customers Fries - a stack of thick and crunchy french fries, topped with Mozzarella and white sauce. I had a bite of Gita's french fries and it was D-E-L-icious! 

As we were munching on waffles and french fries, some people were lining up at GBK (Gelora Bung Karno) to watch Music Bank, a South Korean music television program. One of the KPOP artists that performed that night was SHINee, and Gita loved one of the vocalist, who goes by the name Choi Minho. Not being able to watch the performance, she wrote "Minho" with some chilly sauce on her french fries plate instead. 

Nanny's Customers Fries

"Might as well decorate my plate using chilly sauce"

The joy of writing one's idol's name on a french fries plate

I thought that, maybe, I might as well try ordering a cold beverage, instead of having mineral water that costed way more expensive than the ones that we can buy at a supermarket. I ordered myself a glass of Melonade, while Gita had a glass of Mango Lemonade. 

Both drinks were lemon-based, but had different side ingredients. Mine was a combination of melon and lemon, which was funky and okay. The bottom of the glass was filled with melon bits. It was challenging to scoop those juicy bits. 

The cold beverages was fresh, sweet, and fizzy. It turned out that they used sparkling water to make the drink. If only I knew about it sooner, I wouldn't order it in the first place, because I don't like fizzy drinks. But it was okay though, I managed to finish the whole drink in the end.

Melonade

Mango Lemonade

And by that, our Saturday night had came to an end. I got home at nine, then Gita drove away with her family to rest for the night. It was nice to finally hang out at malls after a long months of traveling away and staying at home.


Ramen Sanpachi
Jalan M. H. Thamrin
Plaza Indonesia
Urban Kitchen, 5th Floor

Nanny's Pavilion (Kimberly's Room)
Jalan M. H. Thamrin
Plaza Indonesia
2nd Floor

Instant Jajangmyeon

I bought a pack of instant Jajangmyeon last week. I have never tried Jajangmyeon before, so I was pretty excited when I found out that Ranch 99 Market sell various kinds of instant Jajangmyeon. Jajangmyeon, you see, is a Korean dish - wheat noodles topped with black bean sauce, and usually garnished with some diced meat and vegetables. This particular noodles derived from a Chinese dish named Zhajiangmian, which basically made out of the same element of food.

Instant Jajangmeyon

Sure, you may see nothing special about this dish, for it is merely noodles with sauce. But, the thing is, the sauce is the main star of the dish. The sauce is black in color and it is made out of fermented black soybeans. The only thing that popped into my mind when I heard the word "fermented soybean" is a traditional Japanese food named Natto. I've tasted Natto before and I'm not fond of it because it tasted weird, bitter, and funky in a bad way. My past self hoped that Jajangmyeon would tasted somehow better than Natto. 

Put the noodle into a pan of boiling water

The instant Jajangmyeon that I bought had a slightly larger and wider noodle compared to the ones that we have here in Indonesia. It came with another pack inside the packaging, which is the black bean sauce. As I grope the smaller packaging, I could feel some chunks and cube-shaped object at random places. "That must be the meat," I thought.

A pack of black bean paste

Mom did the cooking while I documenting the process. It was written on the package that the noodle must be cooked for five minutes. I don't like soft and squishy noodles, so Mom cooked it for three minutes. The noodles turned out medium well, just how I like it!

Pour the sauce into the bowl

After the noodle was nicely cooked, Mom proceed to tore the smaller packaging and pour the black bean sauce onto the goldilocks. They didn't lie when they said that the sauce is black because it was! Its' pitch black color was intimidating. Now I know why squid-eating predators would sprint when the squid has squirt out its' ultimate self-defense tool: the blinding black ink.

False advertisement 

As I mix the black sauce with the noodles, I could smell the aroma tingling my nose. It smelled slightly weird, to be honest. I rolled my chopstick around the dark brown noodle and took my first bite of Jajangmyeon. It tasted weird, but not too weird for me to finish the whole bowl. The sauce tasted like soy sauce, and it has this weird flavor which I cannot determine. Maybe it was the flavor of the black bean since I have never tried black bean before. There were chunks of mushroom, meat, and potato, and they didn't taste that bad.

Bon appetite~

Long story short, my first experience in eating Jajangmyeon was okay. It didn't tasted that bad, but I would prefer to have a couple bowl of Indomie Kari Ayam. For those who fancy Korean dish, you should definitely try Jajangmyeon. Who knows, maybe you will like it better than I do. 

P.S. You can get instant Jajangmyeon at most supermarket that sells imported products, such as Ranch 99 Market and Food Hall. Happy hunting!

Reminiscing the Good Ol' Days at Bakmi Golek

I recall Bakmi Golek as a restaurant that my parents and I used to visit when I was a kid. I don't have many memories about the noodle house, other than the wooden bridge inside the restaurant which leads to the ladies room and the Koi pond where you can find fat and squishy fish huddling up on a chunk of bread, but I do remember how my Dad made a ruckus during one of those nights when we dine in. 

We sat at a table that was facing a television. A soccer match was on air that night. I remember how mesmerized I was with Bakmi Golek's fried quails egg that tasted rocky, oily, and savory, so I didn't pay attention to the soccer game. My Dad focussed his gaze at the television while slurping his noodles repeatedly. As the match got intense, Dad got more anxious. At some point, my Dad abandoned his noodle and set eyes on the screen. Suddenly, a loud roar of "GOOOOOOOAAAALLLLL!" echoed inside the building. In front of me was my Dad, standing up with his fist on the air, he accidently punched a lamp above him. People were eyeing us, and I remembered how 4-year-old me went, "What just happened?!"

Apparently, Bakmi Golek doesn't serve pork

Last week, my parents and I paid a visit to Bakmi Golek to have lunch. I was a bit full because we were just from my Dad's friend's house and we were served with KFC's Kolonel Yakiniku. But then, the waitress came to our table and served us with a pair of Bakmi Golek Ayam Special. The sight of the noodle was mouth-watery, so I ended up ordering a portion for myself.

Left: Es Rumput Laut, Right: Fresh Orange Juice

As I waited for my noodles to come, I had a glass of Es Rumput Laut, or an Algae Beverages literary translated. I had never had Es Rumput Laut before, so I decided to give it a shot. I was hoping that the beverage will be colorful and funky, yet it was somewhat transparent and dull. The algae had a crunchy and wet texture, and it was bland. The water was sweet from the liquid sugar. It tasted nice, although I was hoping for a more fun physical appearance and shocking flavor.

The transparent algae

A few minutes later, my bowl of Bakmi Golek Ayam Special arrived. The noodle was topped with bean sprouts, meatballs, quail eggs, diced chicken, and cabbages. It came with a small bowl of savory and hot broth. I pour the transparent and flavorful broth into my bowl of noodles and dig in. 

Bakmi Golek Ayam Special

The curly noodles were nicely cooked, but a bowl of that special noodle was a bit too much for me. Next time I went to Bakmi Golek, I would settle down for half a portion of the noodle. The broth was hot and savory, and it tasted good with strings of noodle and a little bit of everything. The meatball tasted great, unlike other meatballs that you can find at street vendors! They were soft and a bit chewy, and they tasted like how meatballs are supposed to tasted like. But, do keep in mind that Indonesian meatballs, or bakso, are different from meatballs that you see in Disney's Lady and the Tramp. My favorite side dish was the fried quail egg. When I was smaller, the eggs looked bigger and fatter to me. Now, they were just puny and fragile. Yet, they tasted awesomely same!

Want some?

Bakmi Golek's soft and savory meatball

My all-time favorite, the fried quail egg

We also had half-a-portion of deep fried dumplings. The crispy skin was very delightful and enjoyable, yet the filling tasted slightly off. It has this texture of a food that just came out from the freezer, stiff and rigid, and it tasted a bit too salty for my taste. But, I enjoyed the crispy skin, which is my favorite part of deep fried dumplings. All in all, lunch was great, and my parents and I ended up reminiscing how my Dad throws his fist into the air fourteen years ago.

Half-a-portion of Bakmi Golek's deep fried dumpling

Bakmi Golek

Jalan Kalimalang Raya, No. 14A

Duren Sawit, Jakarta

Phone: (021) 8660 5967

My New Favorite Restaurant

My new favorite restaurant in town! Kaca Mata Restaurant has the most awesome menu so far. In this particular restaurant, you can find lots of pork and lots of century egg. What is more awesome than a restaurant that serves both pork and century egg? I was beyond excited when my Mom took me to this restaurant. I was ready to order myself a bowl of pork noodle, but when I glanced through the menu, the word "Century Egg" caught my attention. Goodbye noodle, hello black egg!

Mom's lunch, a bowl of Pork Noodle

Those roasted pork were very tempting

Savory broth, brought to you by Kaca Mata Restaurant

Second serving, maybe?

While Mom fill herself with thin and skinny noodle, I spoiled myself with a bowl of porridge. This porridge came in a beautifully drawn bowl that has a lid. I was very very excited as I opened the lid, who knows what manna from heaven could be in there? I was welcomed by a stack of Cahkwe, a deep fried rice dough which originated from China, a large amount of hot and steamy porridge, and two slices of century egg. My mind went, "YAAAAAY!!"

The porridge is very delicious and savory. My Mom said that sesame oil was probably added to the porridge because it tasted different than any other porridge I have ever tasted. The century egg, on the other hand, tasted delicious in an odd way like usual. Very acidic and vinegar-like, and the texture is very mushy yet chewable. I finished the century egg first for some reason, I'm not sure what it is. I usually save the best for the last, but this time, I want to devour it first. The Cahkwe was very crunchy and it went well with the porridge.

My lunch! 

Piles of Cahkwe ready to be indulged

Want some?

The almighty Century Egg, we meet again

The egg yolk is very black and creepy, yet it tasted awesome!

The crunchy and savory Cahkwe

"Mom, what's that over there," I asked my Mom, pointing at the dark red rope-like object hanging behind a glass. "That's what you called Casio Goreng Madu. It's crispy pork, fried with honey, and it tasted very delicious," she answered. Those Casio looked very very very tasty, so we ordered a plate and dig in. 

See those dark red object hanging behind the glass?

A close up of the Casio Goreng Madu

I took a bite of the so-called Casio Goreng Madu, and I immediately lost my sanity. "What is this why can it tasted so delicious I don't even asdfghjkl," I said to myself. I sounded crazy, I know, but wait until you take a bite of this delicious delicacy yourself. You would probably be as sane as I was. 

Casio Goreng Madu is the name of the dish. Crispy pork, bathe in honey and fried until it's crispy. It's very sweet, thanks to the honey, and I love it very very much, especially the burnt one. I have found my new favorite dish of all time, and you can find it at Kaca Mata Restaurant. Do try this dish. It's very delicious, the first bite made me feel like as if I was watching Super Junior's concert. 

Manna from Heaven 

God's epic fingers

Kaca Mata Resraurant

Grand Wijaya Centre

Jl. Wijaya II, Blok C No. 4

Jakarta Selatan, DKI Jakarta

Phone: (021) 723 5228