Jalan-jalan ke Kota

Pas kemarin di Bali, ada satu hari di mana gue dan Ibu gue jalan-jalan ke kota untuk belanja dan nonton film di bioskop. Karena rumah kami memang letaknya di desa, kanan kiri sawah semua dan kalau malam-malam gelapnya kayak lagi program Live In di pedalaman kampung, kami memang benar-benar harus ke kota kalau mau mencari hiburan. Perkebunan padi seketika berubah menjadi jalan raya yang diramaikan kendaraan berplat nomor DK. Gue pun menjadi semangat saat sampai tujuan karena udah lama nggak ngeliat papan reklame bulat berwarna hijau tua dengan tulisan Starbucks. "Bener-bener kayak orang desa main ke kota, ya," ucap Ibu gue.

Perjalanan dari Desa Pejeng ke Denpasar kurang lebih dua jam. Destinasi pertama kami adalah Mal Bali Galeria yang terletak di sisi Jalan By Pass. Dengan desain gedung yang sepertinya mengikuti gedung tradisional di Bali, Mal itu tampak beda dengan mall-mall lainnya yang pernah gue kunjungi. Hanya dua lantai, bangunannya luas dan tidak dihias dengan Air Conditioner di setiap sudutnya, dan dilengkapi dengan area berjalan yang hijau di tengah-tengahnya. Ibarat donat tapi dalam bentuk kotak dan adalah sebuah bangunan. 

Siang itu, kami mampir ke bioskop yang ada di Mal Bali Galeria dan menikmatti indahnya nonton film keluaran terbaru dalam keadaan sepi. Belum pernah, seumur hidup gue, gue nonton film dengan keadaan sesepi dan sekosong itu. Cuma ada lima orang doang dalam satu studio!  

Kami nonton Alien: Covenant. Gue penggemar berat seri film Alien karena itu adalah makanan sehari-hari gue saat gue masih berumur 4 tahun. Iya, sekecil itu gue udah nonton film garapan Ridley Scott dari yang pertama sampai yang keempat. Gue bahkan inget banget di suatu siang, saat gue masih TK dan sedang disuapin sama Ibu gue, gue lebih memilih nonton Alien ketimbang film Robin Hood karya Disney. 

Tapi film itu pun yang menyebabkan gue takut setengah mati berenang di kolam, dan di laut. Pokoknya aktivitas apapun yang mengharuskan gue untuk berinteraksi dengan air, gue ogah, dan ketakutan ini berlangsung sampai gue kelas 3 SD. Akhirnya, setelah gue dipaksa ikut kursus dan berhasil berenang dari tepi kolam ke tepi seberangnya, dalam keadaan hujan badai yang membuat air kolamnya butek nggak karuan, atas dorongan Bapak gue, gue pun berhasil menghilangkan rasa takut dikejar-kejar Xenomorph di dalam air.

Selesai nonton film, gue kepingin makan yang berkuah karena, ternyata gue baru sadar bahwa makanan berkuah adalah comfort food buat gue, gue mendapat kabar yang nggak enakin. Jadi, ketimbang seharian mecucu dan menyebarkan hawa negatif ke seluruh penjuru Denpasar, gue memutuskan untuk makan Soto Betawi di Kafe Betawi.

Ditemani kerupuk oren yang rasanya terlalu bagus kalau dibandingin dengan kerupuk oren ala tukang ketoprak gerobakan, gue melahap Soto Betawi gue yang dihias dengan remahan emping dan bawang goreng. Rasanya nggak kayak Soto Betawi sama sekali, lebih kayak sayur lodeh. Terlalu banyak santan, terlalu manis, dan nggak ada gurih-gurihnya blas. Agak mengecewakan, tapi cukup untuk menghibur hati yang lagi gundah. Ditambahin sambel pun nggak ngaruh apa-apa karena rasanya tetap kayak sayur lodeh dan bukan rasa soto.

Sebelum meninggalkan Mal Bali Galieria, untuk ketemuan dengan Tante gue di daerah Seminyak, gue sempet mampir ke gerai Starbucks yang membuka cabangnya di mal tersebut dan membeli tumbler yang gue kepingin dari kapan tau. Sayangnya, desain tumbler yang gue mau udah nggak ada, karena udah lewat musimnya, jadinya gue pilih yang paling murah aja. Tadinya gue mau bayar pakai Starbucks Card, karena bisa dikasih diskon 10% untuk tumbler-nya dan dapat minuman gratis seukuran Tall, sayangnya mesin pengoperasian kartunya sedang error. Batal dapat diskon, deh. But I got me this tall-sized Iced Shaken Lemonade, with Passion Fruit Tea and less ice, so yay!

Yang tadinya mau ketemuan di Nalu Bowls harus diganti karena, saat itu, Nalu Bowls akan tutup dalam waktu satu jam. Akhirnya kami pindah haluan dan memutuskan untuk ketemuan di Earth Cafe yang terletak di sisi Jalan Kayu Aya. 

Nggak susah kok untuk menemukan Earth Cafe ini karena terbantu dengan papan reklame warna hijau yang kemungkinannya kecil untuk kelewatan. Awalnya sempat bingung mau parkir di mana karena cafe ini mungil banget, tapi ternyata ada parkiran khusus di dalamnya yang bisa memuat mobil dalam hitungan jari dan beberapa motor.

Karena saat itu gue lagi sok-sokan mau menerapkan hidup hits dengan diet sehat, jadilah gue pesan chia pudding parfait ini yang nama aslinya gue lupa. Parfait ini terbuat dari chia seeds yang dicampur dengan almond milk hingga mengembang, yang kemudian dihias dengan potongan stroberi, potongan mangga, taburan kuaci dan goji berry, tumpahan pemanis alami yang terbuat dari kurma, sedikit yogurt, dan parutan kelapa kering. Wow, Kinan jadi vegan! Hidup vegan!

Gue nggak nyangka makanan sekecil ini ternyata semengenyangkan itu. Asli, gue kenyang banget makan beginian doang! Beberapa suap terakhir itu rasanya menyiksa, entah kenapa. Sebenarnya enak kok, meskipun kalau chia puddingnya dimakan sendiri aja akan terasa sangat hambar maka dari itu dikasih segala hiasan biar ada rasa sedikit, tapi lama-lama lidah gue bosen juga dengan makanan vegan dan organik ini. Gue sangat merekomendasikan parfait ini untuk kalian yang asli vegan dan yang sedang diet sehat.

Sementara itu, Ibu gue tengah sibuk dengan jamur goreng kriuk dan jus C4-nya yang terdiri dari wortel, timun, dan apel. Kenapa ya, rumput tetangga selalu kelihatan lebih hijau? Kayaknya enak banget Ibu gue ngunyah potongan-potongan jamur yang dibalut tepung garing nan gurih. Makannya pakai kecap asin pula, tambah enak kan jadinya!

Sudah, deh, setelah kenyang menyantap biji ngembang yang rasanya hambar itu, gue dan Ibu gue memutuskan untuk kembali ke Desa Pejeng. Sudah cukup jalan-jalannya di kota, besok-besok lagi kalau udah suntuk dengan sawah dan segala hutan belantaranya. Dan gue pun harus menyetir dalam posisi kekenyangan yang membuat gue agak mengantuk. Sip.


Kafe Betawi
Mal Bali Galeria
Jl. By Pass I Gusti Ngurah Rai

Opening Hours:
Monday - Sunday: 10AM - 10PM


Starbucks
Mal Bali Galeria
Jl. By Pass I Gusti Ngurah Rai

Opening Hours:
Monday - Sunday: 10AM - 10PM

Earth Cafe
Jl. Kayu Aya, Seminyak

Opening Hours:
Monday - Sunday: 7AM - 11PM

SHIROKUMA: Simply Overrated

After Sally and I had lunch at LOCALE24 Diner & Bar, we headed to Shirokuma to get ourselves some ice cream. A birdy told us that Shirokuma is famous for its' matcha dessert - green tea ice cream, green tea cake, green tea rice balls, you name it! - so we went to the dessert house to get a taste of its' overwhelming green-tea-based dessert.

Sally had a bowl of Matcha Anmitsu - a traditional dessert bowl with mochi, shiratama balls, chunky red beans, matcha jelly and served with a side of brown sugar syrup. She asked for an additional ice cream on top, which costed her an extra Rp12.000,00. 

There were three choice of ice cream: vanilla, matcha, and twist. Sally went for the Twist Soft Cream because it was a combination of matcha ice cream and original milk flavor Japanese Soft Cream.

Matcha Anmitsu

I ordered a lovely Matcha Cake Parfait for myself, which consisted of soft cream layered with matcha cake, cornflakes, mochi, shiratama balls, chunky red beans and matcha jelly. My dessert is pretty much the same with Sally's. We were only lacking one or two elements each. 

Overall, the presentation of the dessert is excellent. They were very adorable and very appealing to the eye, very kawaii if I may say. But, do they tasted as good as they look? 

The soft cream was creamy and milky. It wasn't too thick, nor easily melt. Unfortunately, the Twist Cream was dominated with the original milk flavor cream, making it hard to distinguish the matcha flavor of the soft cream. 

On the other hand, the matcha cake in my parfait had a strong green tea flavor, yet, the texture of the cake itself was horrible. The cake was very stiff, as if the baker put too much flour in the batter, and it crumbled easily. Yes, the matcha flavor is very strong in this cake, too strong it made the cake tasted bitter and simply unpleasant. As a sweet tooth, I was disappointed by how the cake is lacking of sweetness. 

Next, is the shiratama balls. Shiratama balls are made from glutinous rice flour. It is similar with mochi, as they both were made from the basic ingredients and share the same chewy texture. Shirokuma's shiratama balls were basically tasteless, even the matcha shiratama balls didn't have any green tea flavor at all. It was a bit of a challenge for me to finish my rice balls because they were very unpleasant to my taste buds. 

Didn't like the chunky red bean in my parfait because they made my dessert tasted weird. And they weren't even sweet, just plain nutty! But, I did enjoy eating the matcha jelly on the bottom of the glass - they were sweet, slightly bitter, chewy, and tasted like green tea. The cornflakes tasted like, well, cornflakes and it blended well with the ice cream.

Matcha Cake Parfait

Now that I have tasted a glimpse of Shirokuma, I can say that the dessert place is overrated. Sure, they may have cute and adorable desserts, but they don't taste as good as they look. They are only good for Instagram and it ends there. Not recommended for those who strive for delicious dessert. 

SHIROKUMA

Ruko Crown Golf, Blok A No. 23

Bukit Golf Mediterania, Jalan Pantai Indah Kapuk

Pantai Indah Kapuk, Jakarta

Opening Hours

Monday - Sunday: 12PM - 10PM

Contact
+62 21 2923 7523

Dinner With The Yearbook Committee

Meet the Yearbook Committee

I just got home after spending the night at Mr. Curry with the Yearbook Committee. We broke the fast, had dinner, and devoured parfaits. I've been wanting to go back to Mr. Curry and I finally did it. I even prepared my stomach by not munching on snack after I had brunch to show how determined I was. Today was my second visit to Mr. Curry and the food was still as delicious as ever.

Started with a glass of complimentary sweet tea, then followed with a glass of Iced Lemon Tea and a plate of Tori Karaage as an appetizer. There were dates and glasses of tea served on the table as complimentary dishes for the Muslims to break the fast. Much to my surprise, the tea tasted different in a good way. It was sweet, yet it has this flavor that tasted very familiar. Either it was fruit-flavored tea or candy-flavored tea, I couldn't tell, but it sure tasted good!

Iced Lemon Tea

Some dates to break the fast

A glass of funny flavored complimentary tea

There were twelve of us, dinning in at Mr. Curry, and we ordered plenty of food. Sally, Enno, and I shared a plate of appetizer because we didn't want to get ourselves full before the main course. Well, at least I didn't. The Tori Karaage was delicious and crispy, but it was fatty and squishy. I'm not a big fan of food that still has fats in it, especially the squishy and the rubbery ones, so I just took a piece of the Karaage. 

What I love about the appetizer was the lettuce and the dipping sauce. There was a slice of lettuce on the Karaage plate and I was in the mood for some juicy greens, so I took it and dipped it in the Tartar sauce. Man, that piece of lettuce was juicy! The Tartar sauce was very delicious, savory and sour, as well. Too bad I didn't bring some breadsticks with me. 

Tori Karaage for appetizer

Creamy Tartar Sauce

Cindy ordered herself a plate of deep-fried tofu for appetizer. They were as big as thumbs and very few. I tried a bite. It turned out that those tofu had a rather unique texture. "Delicious, right, Kin? These tofu are crispy on the outside, yet very soft and light on the inside," said Sally. Yes, those tofu were very light. The inner part of the tofu was very soft and fragile, it literary disperse in your mouth. Highly recommended for those who prefer a rather light appetizer!

Light and crispy deep-fried tofu

Febby's delicious looking cream soup and juice

"Curry-a-plenty" described our dinner perfectly. I ordered myself the same dish that I ordered on my first visit to Mr. Curry, which is a plate of Katsu Omurice for dinner, crispy chicken katsu on top of fried-egg-enveloped tomato fried rice. It came with a generous amount of savory curry sauce on the sides and a tiny bowl of salad. I enjoyed the dish very much! It's a good thing I didn't eat snacks beforehand.

Febby's creamy omelet rice

My crispy and delicious Katsu Omurice

Salad for dessert

Christy's Curry Katsu Rice

Sally's Fried Cheese Salmon Curry Rice

The thing about Mr. Curry is that they always have discount promotions everyday. The promo may vary, depending on what day that you dine in. Since today was Thursday, and Thursday's promo is "Buy two Jumbo Parfaits, free one Macaroon Parfait", we had a parfait party! 

I've been wanting to try Mr. Curry's parfait and I finally did. I ordered myself a Chocolate Banana Jumbo Parfait, like the one that Iqbal and Bagas had. Judging from the size of the parfait, Sally and Enno decided to share their parfait because they didn't think that they could finish a glass. Bimo, Andrew, Anty, Cindy, and Febby had three different flavors of Macaroon Parfait, which were Cookies and Cream Parfait, Tutty Fruity Parfait, and Chocolate Parfait. Dimas had a big glass of Blueberry and Kiwi Jumbo Parfait. Christy ordered herself a Green Tea Jumbo Parfait. And then there was this Strawberry Pudding Parfait that belonged to Christy and I, but we decided to share it with the girls.

Bimo's and Anty's Cookies and Cream Macaroon Parfait

Andrew's and Febby's Chocolate Macaroon Parfait

The Jumbo Parfait consisted of corn flakes at the bottom of the glass, then topped with some creamy and stuffing whipped cream. The whipped cream was covered with a generous amount of Vanilla ice cream, then it was garnished with toppings accordingly. Each parfaits had different toppings, but we could all find Strawberries and Pocky sticks in every parfait that we ordered. The Macaroon Parfaits, on the other hand, had different flavored macaroons on top of the Vanilla ice cream.

Cindy's Tutty Fruity Macaroon Parfait

Dimas' Blackberry and Kiwi Parfait

Good Lord, look at those parfaits!

Stop tormenting me, parfait. You know I can't resist you. 

Sally's and Enno's Mango Parfait

Christy's Green Tea Parfait

My Chocolate Banana Jumbo Parfait was very very very delicious! The chef used shredded dark chocolates as toppings, which blended well with the Vanilla ice cream and made the whole parfait itself didn't tasted too sweet. The roasted almonds were also very delightful to be consumed, along with the strawberry and the bananas. Then I proceed to dig a little dipper to get myself a spoonful of whipped cream and corn flakes. A hint of chocolate fudge was found, mixed with the whipped cream and the corn flakes, making the bottom part of the parfait the best part there is. The next thing I know, I finished the whole parfait all by myself.

Then I proceed to get a taste of the yellow colored pudding on top of the Strawberry Pudding Jumbo Parfait. The pudding was pretty tasteless at first, but then it gave this slight caramel flavor as you chew. The other girls were stuffed, but I continued to eat my second parfait. I had to stop at some point because Osmosis Jones accidentally bumped into my Puke Button, somewhere inside my body, making me feel all queazy.

Strawberry Pudding Parfait that was shared with everybody

My Chocolate Banana Parfait

This parfait, I worship it. 

Delicious stacks of corn flakes at the bottom of the parfait glass

All I can say is that dinner was great! If you're looking for a place to break the fast with your friends and family, Mr. Curry is the right place to be. A wide selection of appetizer, main course, and dessert is available at Mr. Curry, and I can guarantee your satisfaction. They even have a daily discount promotion, which includes a 2-in-1 lunch set and a buy-2-get-3 promo! For more information, you can check out Mr. Curry's Twitter account here.


Mr. Curry
Restaurant Row Level 3, Pondok Indah Mall 2

Jl. Metro Pondok Indah 

Jakarta 12310

Phone: (021) 7592 0666

Opening Hours:

Monday - Sunday: 10 AM - 10 PM