Mantao, Bao, and Pork

I’ve been eating baos at Dynasty Paradise for almost half a year now and never for once I tasted its’ salted egg bao. So, this afternoon, I made my way back to my favorite Chinese restaurant in Surabaya and dig in. Of course I didn’t just ordered the Steamed Salted Egg Yolk Buns. I also got me a piece of a samcan filled mantao and a plate of thai char pork, which is basically grilled sliced pork cheek. 

Although it was passed lunch hour, as I was eating at around three in the afternoon, the restaurant was still jammed with locals indulging on rice and noodles. I always go for the outdoor seating so that I can smoke. It’s a good thing there were a few seats left. It took a while for my food to be served, as well as my simple warm tea in a glass, but all was well. 

First, came a bamboo steamer filled with three of my Steamed Salted Egg Yolk Buns. They looked very different from the salted egg buns I had before as they were black in color and shaped rather small. Their sizes were only half of my fist! The buns felt very firm and solid, yet soft as well. I poked a hole on one of those buns and squirted the fillings out like those viral video of Gudetama buns spilling their fillings from their bums a few years ago. It was very amusing, yet torturing because I couldn’t wait any longer to taste the buns. 

Paradise Dynasty went for a sweet approach for its’ salted egg bao. Each bao, despite its’ rather small size, contained just enough amount of salted egg fillings. It was not too much, but I could feel the splash of salted egg on my first bite. It tasted grainy on my tongue, which was not bad, and it had bits of the salted egg yolk inside the mustard-colored lava. The sweetness was okay. There was no bad, nor stinky, aftertaste after I swallow it. 

I think this one is probably the best salted egg bao I have ever eaten, yet! I’m sorry Pao Pao. 

Moving on to the samcan-filled mantao, with samcan being a slice of braised pork belly. I was expecting a warm food, yet I got a room temperature mantao on a plate. Maybe I left it too long since it was served because I was busy taking pictures and videos of my food. 

I love the mantao very much. It was thin and soft, but also chewy and it had a slight sweetness in every bite. It went well with the braised pork belly, but not with the lettuce slice, so I had to take it away from my sandwich. The pork belly was very flavorful and dominated by sweetness. It wasn’t my favorite because the meat was not that tender and it had lots of layers of fat in it, which I don’t like. I managed to finish the pork belly first, leaving some mantao behind. Then, things got interesting from there. 

Remember that I also ordered a plate of pork cheek? Okay. So, I grabbed a few slices of the pork cheek, stuffed them in between the leftover mantao, and I dug in. It tasted so much better! 

The sliced pork cheek was very very crispy. The meat part, the fat park, and the skin part, all of them were very crispy and savory, and it had an intense level of umami in it. Slightly oily, but was still okay to munch on. The flavor combination of the soft and sweet mantao with the savory and crispy pork cheek deserved a standing ovation. I really really recommend all you guys to order this dish and indulge yourselves in it. You won’t regret a single thing! 

I ate, and I ate, and I ate. I had me a warm tea with no sugar to end my late lunch. Didn’t manage to finish all the food, so I took it home with me for later at night when I feel like munching something. 

Paradise Dynasty

Mall Ciputra World, 3rd Floor

Jl. Mayjen Sungkono, No. 87-89

Gunungsari, Kota Surabaya

Jawa Timur 60224

Opening Hours:

SUN - THU: 10AM - 10PM

FRI - SAT: 10 AM - 12AM

Contact:

(+62) 31 5120 0155

Get Piggy with Buyu Bowls

My best buddy Bernhard took me and Nona for a late lunch, or should I say early dinner, at this food booth at Jakarta Selatan named Buyu Bowls. My first plan was to go to Kaca Mata Restaurant since I was craving for its' Sweet Pork Buns so bad. But, then, over Whatsapp Bernhard suggested me to try out this newly opened place that serves pork with rice. "Can I show you a nicer place to eat? Babi juga, kok," he said. I couldn't resists any pork-related dish, so I told him to count me in.

It was around 2 in the afternoon when I arrived at Senopati. Buyu Bowls turns out to be a food stall located at the corner of a road. You can't hardly miss it because the food stall itself is black in color, build on a green grass which would definitely catch your attention, and it has this big "BUYU BOWLS" parked at the top of the assembly.

The atmosphere surrounding Buyu Bowls is somewhat picnic like. There were only two sets of tables and benches for the customer to dig into their rice bowl. If you were to visit Buyu Bowls during weekdays, I would guarantee your chance of getting yourself a seat. Can't promise you anything if it's the weekends. If you're down, you can definitely sit on the grass. They're very clean and green like those grass you see in a movie where people would just have a fun picnic on Sunday mornings. And, since the seatings are all outdoor, smoking is definitely allowed.

I had me a regular bowl of Crispy Pork Rice Bowl and a bottle of Bir Bintang, while Nona and Bernhard both had the Spicy Pork Rice Bowl and bottled water. I was expecting a slow service, but turns out it was super fast. Bernhard placed our order and ten minutes later our food was ready. How awesome is that?

Before I continue, do allow me to apologize for the shitty quality of the picture. My phone was out of battery at that time, so I borrowed Bernhard's phone to take pictures. I'm sorry for not doing any justice to the food.

Here was my regular bowl of Crispy Pork Rice Bowl, consisted of a rice topped with sliced pork, stir-fried papaya leafs, and an intimidating glob of chilly with sliced cayenne pepper in it. It was breathtaking and very appealing to the eyes. I was excited to try the sliced pork as they all looked like as if they were cooked to perfection. Just look at that juicy meat, and the fat layers, not to mention the crispy golden brown skin lingering on top of it all.

I took a big bite with bits of everything here and there, and I was lost for words. Oh, God, the pork was just amazing! It was very delicious and juicy. The meat was very tender and the fat was silk-like. I managed to finish one piece of it even though I hate eating fat because of the texture. And the skin, oh boy that golden-brown-cooked-to-perfection pork skin, was beyond crispy and it contained a bucketful of umami.

The pork and the rice went well with a handful of papaya leafs (which tasted mostly bitter because that's how it's supposed to taste like) and a bit of the sliced cayenne pepper. My mouth bursted with flavor at each bite. I do recommend that if you don't like spicy food, you better get rid of them chilly before you eat because it so spicy you couldn't taste anything but bitter and spicy. Adding a bit of those chilly to your spoonful of savory goodness is okay, but not too much.

I managed to finish my dish in under 15 minutes. I was planning on enjoying the food slowly, but I just couldn't help but to spoon me more and more.


Buyu Bowls
Jl. Gunawarman No. 16
Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan
Jakarta 12110

Opening Hours:
SUN - FRI: 11AM - 9PM

Contact:
(+62) 878 0878 0099

Instagram: @buyubowls

Paradise Dynasty at Ciputra World, Surabaya

I've been a regular customer of Paradise Dynasty ever since my first months staying in Surabaya. I usually eat at this particular Chinese restaurant whenever I have money. If not, I probably stayed at home and fried some tempeh. The thing about Paradise Dynasty is that they serve very very delicious and flavorful Chinese cuisine, and the fact that we are allowed to smoke if we sit on the outer part of the restaurant adds a plus point.

My share of Deep-fried Prawn with Salted Egg Yolk

During my first visit, I was having such a stressful day. I decided to head out to a nice mall and treat myself to a movie and good food. Paradise Dynasty was the restaurant I chose to binge at. It took a while for me to scan the whole menu because they offer various kinds of dishes. Thank God the locals in Surabaya are mostly Chinese, so pork is available on the menu.

One of the dishes that caught my attention was this Baymax Red Bean Bun. I immediately ordered myself one set, consisting of three palm-sized Baymax, that costed me Rp32.000,00. Not a single regret. Then, I got myself this cold dish named Chilled Sliced Pork in Minced Garlic and Soya Sauce, which I don't need to explain what that is judging from the name of the dish itself. And, last but not least, was a plate of Deep-fried Prawn with Salted Egg Yolk. They all looked amazing on the menu, I couldn't help myself!

I love Baymax!

The Baymax buns really cheered me up that night. I love how the buns were so soft and fluffy, yet chewy when you bite it. The red bean filling was very generous and it was stuffed inside Baymax's tummy. I enjoyed every bite even though I was hesitant to eat it at first because it was just so adorable! I mean, look at that face and that fluffy tummy!

This was a very nice appetizer, despite that those Baymax buns suit more as a dessert.

Then I had the chilled pork. One of the waitress took the liberty to enlighten me about the dish being cold. Maybe she was afraid that I didn't know, hence complaining about why the food is not hot. The reason why I ordered this dish is because I was just curious about how it would taste.

Turns out, it tasted fine, but I had come to a realization that cold pork is just not my thing. The pork was savory (and cold. I need to say it over and over again because of how odd it is being cold.) while the cucumber wrapped inside it was just fresh and juicy. I like how the chilly sauce gave another flavor into the dish. The garlic was very distinguish, as if it was saying "Bro, I'm here. Enjoy my presence!". I'm not complaining, but in my opinion, the flavor would be a lot more balanced if they put less garlic. I couldn't taste the soya though. Or, maybe it was there, but I'm not quite familiar with how soya sauce tasted like.

The sight of the Chilled Sliced Pork in Minced Garlic and Soya Sauce.

Look at them adorable faces!

The final dish was the Deep-fried Prawn with Salted Egg Yolk. Needless to say that the dish was very delicious. The prawns were deep-fried to perfection and they were coated with a generous amount of salted egg yolk. Very crispy, very flavorful, and it had a kick in every bite. The salted egg didn't dominate the flavor of the prawn, every ingredients combined work well with one another, making it deserved a standing ovation.

But, I do have to say that the dish was very heavy and it upset my stomach when I over eat it. One portion of the prawn contained lots of prawns, I bullshit you not. I would recommend if you share this dish with another two people just so that it wouldn't go to waste. I couldn't finish it, so I requested one of the waitress to wrap it up for me to take home with. Nonetheless, it was still very enjoyable.

You may think that I'm currently sitting on my bed as I'm writing this blog post. No! You are definitely wrong. I, in fact, am updating my blog at Paradise Dynasty. Plot twist!

I was from the gym, survived a session of upper hand training my personal trainer. I was going to watch a movie at the mall where my gym is located after my work out, but to my surprise the cinema is closed for good. I quickly decided to head to Ciputra World, so that I can enjoy a nice cinema for my quality time with the Nun and got me some good food before the movie.

I was so hungry (again), I ordered another three dishes for myself: the Xiao Long Bao Dynasty, a set of Pan-fried Shanghai Pork Bun, and some Stir-fried French Bean with Minced Pork. Praise the Lord!

I've been wanting to try the Xiao Long Bao Dynasty because I was attracted to their rainbow colored dumplings. One set, that costed Rp88.000,00, is filled with eight kinds of dumplings, each has different colors and filled with different fillings. It didn't take long for my order to be served on the table, and the first dish that arrived was this babies.

Xiao Long Bao is the Chinese term for dumplings.

A simple, yet breathtaking, presentation of the dumplings.

As I waited for my other dishes to be serve, I occupied myself with them rainbow dumplings. I studied all the different colors and their fillings, then devour them one by one in less than ten minutes. Pardon the beast inside my belly.

1st dumpling: Steamed Shanghai Black Truffle Pork Dumpling

The filling was a combination of black truffle and pork, which tasted mostly like pork but with a mushroom aftertaste. It was delicious and it was a good start for the rainbow dumpling. On to the remaining seven.

2nd dumpling:  Steamed Shanghai Foie Grass Pork Dumpling

I could taste a creamy substance mixed in the filling. There was definitely a flavor which I'm not familiar with and I'm guessing it was the foie grass. It tasted okay, but not my favorite. 

3rd dumpling: Steamed Shanghai Ginseng Pork Dumpling

Tasted a bit herby and sour, but still good. It was okay for me. 

4th dumpling: Steamed Shanghai Garlic Pork Dumpling

The garlic immediately kicked in on the first bite. Very savory and porky, and the amount of garlic was on point for my taste. 

This is what it looked like.

5th dumpling: Steamed Shanghai Crab Roe Pork Dumpling

Definitely one of my favorite among the seven. I could taste the crab roe bursting with fishy flavor (in a good way) as I chew the whole thing in one bite. 

6th dumpling: Steamed Shanghai Sechuan Pork Dumpling

I actually had a lot of expectation regarding this particular dumpling. I've been obsessing with whatever dish that has "sechuan" in its' name, including this one, merely because I watched Rick and Morty and I don't know how sechuan sauce tasted like (yes, that famous Mulan sechuan sauce). This dumpling was slightly spicy and had a kick of pepper in it. Delicious, but kind of a let down and definitely not my favorite.

7th dumpling: Steamed Shanghai Pork Dumpling

One word: basic

8th dumpling: Steamed Shanghai Cheese Dumpling

A cheese-filed dumpling? Never heard that one before! I saved the best (merely because it had cheese in it) for the last and I was not wrong. The pork filling was same like the other dumplings, very savory and delicious. But, the stretchy cheese made the dish tasted unique, but worked out well in the end. This is my favorite!

There was an instruction on how to indulge the xiao long bao. I followed the instruction thoroughly, even added the vinegar and ginger to add more flavor. True, it added a burst of flavor to the already well-flavored dumpling, but it was not meant for my tastebud because I'm not into ginger that much. The vinegar was okay, though.

All of the dumplings had a chewy and perfect skin: not too thick, yet not too thin as well. One bite into the dumpling and the juice squirted out immediately, dripping from my spoon to the table. Hell, I wasted lots of dumpling juice today, but it was okay since each dumplings had lots of juice in it.

After the dumplings were gone, I was left with my final two dishes: the Stir-fried French Bean with Minced Pork and the Pan-fried Shanghai Pork Bun.

Some veggies for your tummy.

The vegetable with minced meat was savory and slightly spicy. It had a lot of oil in it, which I don't like, but I managed to finished it. They sure used a lot of minced pork because I was left with some spoonful of it after I finish my beans.

Fluffy buns!

Nicely shaped, aren't they?

Last, but not least, the Pan-fried Shanghai Pork Bun which didn't exceed my expectation. One set had three buns filled with minced pork that costed me Rp35.000,00. The bottom part of the bun was fried, while the whole bun itself was steamed beforehand. I was expecting a crunchy and chewy texture, but I was wrong. The buns were just soft and chewy. That's it.

The sight of the buns' fillings.

The fillings, on the other hand, was not like how I expected it would be in a good way. Shaped in a ball and not sticking to the inner surface of the steamed bun, the fillings had a strong umami flavor and very juicy. I ripped open one bun and the juicy was just dripping down my hand I got a panic attack. Still delicious, but I was quite disappointed by the texture. Maybe I should get myself some Deep-fried Chinese Bun with Condensed Milk?


Paradise Dynasty
Mall Ciputra World, 3rd Floor
Jl. Mayjen Sungkono, No. 87-89
Gunungsari, Kota Surabaya
Jawa Timur 60224

Opening Hours:
SUN - THU: 10AM - 10PM
FRI - SAT: 10 AM - 12AM

Contact:
(+62) 31 5120 0155

Warung Babi Guling Bu Made Sekar

Warung babi guling ini sudah menjadi warung langganan gue sekeluarga sejak beberapa tahun yang lalu, awal-awal kami masih bisa dicap sebagai turis di Bali. Waktu itu, kami bertiga menginap di sebuah hotel di daerah Legian yang jarak tempuhnya ke warung babi guling ini nggak begitu jauh dengan kaki pun. Terletak di pengkolan dekat Pasar Kuta, warung makan ini ternyata masih buka meskipun waktu itu sudah menunjukkan pukul 10 malam. Lauk-lauknya masih cukup banyak, pengunjungnya pun masih ramai, dan untungnya masih ada meja untuk kami makan di tempat.

Gue selalu takjub dengan pemandangan kepala babi yang dipajang di etalase. Maaf, ya, mungkin ada dari kalian yang agak risih melihat foto kepala babi panggang yang gue selipin di postingan ini. Tutup mata aja, ya. 

Terdiri dari beberapa rak, etalase di warung babi guling milik Bu Made ini menampilkan pilihan lauk serba babi guling yang menggiurkan. Banyak banget pilihannya, gue sampai bingung mau yang mana. Ada kerupuk babi, kulit babi garing, sate babi, sate lilit ikan, gorengan babi, usus ayam garing, semur babi, abon babi, daging ayam sambal, potongan daging babi guling, sampai sayur urap pun semuanya ada. Pusing, kan? Sama!

Lauk yang paling gue suka dari semuanya adalah gorengan babi, dengan kegaringannya yang nggak bisa dikalahin, rasanya yang gurih, dan tingkatan umami yang melebihi tingkat dewa. Seenak itu dan senagih itu! Gue biasanya suka bawa pulang sekantong kresek untuk dicemilin. Dan, biasanya, meskipun gue belinya malem-malem, pagi-paginya pun masih renyah. Mau digadoin, atau dimakan pakai nasi hangat dan sambal pun enak. 

Kalau makan di tempat, biasanya gue memesan nasi campur, yang terdiri dari nasi dan semua lauk-pauk yang ada di warung itu. Gue selalu minta untuk dipilihin bagian dagingnya karena gue nggak doyan lemak, kecuali lemak kering renyah yang ada di kerupuk babi dan gorengan babi. 

Gurih, manis, asin, pedas, enak, semua ada dalam satu suapan nasi campur tersebut. Harus banget dalam satu suapan itu semua lauknya kebawa, jadi biar meledak-ledak rasanya di lidah. Gurih dan pedasnya ayam ada, renyah dan asin dari gorengan babi ada, cita rasa khas sate lilit bali pun ada, pokoknya semua rasa menyampur jadi satu dan, sumpah, enak banget!

Kalau kalian main ke Bali dan menginap di daerah Legian, sempetin untuk mampir ke Warung Bu Made di Pasar Kuta, ya. Nggak nyesel, deh! 

Warung Babi Guling Bu Made Sekar

Pengkolan Pasar Kuta

(Tanya warga lokal sekitar, pasti tau!)

Opening hours:

Suka-suka Bu Made, tapi biasanya dari maghrib sampai tengah malam

Pig-a-Boo's Nasi Babi Crispy Sambal Matah

Hidup gue jadi lebih mudah semenjak gue menggunakan jasa Go-Food selama masa konsinyir. Buat kalian yang nggak tau konsinyir itu apa, konsinyir adalah sesuatu yang jauh jauh jauh lebih menakutkan dari film the Conjuring. It's a state when cadets don't have the permission to enjoy their weekend outside the institution. Pada intinya, gue dihukum nggak boleh pulang, atau kata orang tua gue di setrap.

Nah, selama masa konsinyir, gue terjebak dengan segala macam makanan yang ada di barak dan lingkungan barak, which are boring as hell. Makanannya itu itu aja. Not that I'm not grateful, don't get me wrong, tapi gue bosen. Minggu pertama konsinyir masih biasa-biasa aja karena ada kantin GSG yang menyediakan varian makanan yang menarik macam roti bakar, mie ayam bakso, nasi ayam penyet, nasi padang, dan nasi rames. Tapi, setelah minggu ke-15 dikurung begini, lama-lama muak juga. Akhirnya gue memutuskan untuk memakai layanan jasa Go-Food. 

Minggu lalu, gue memesan dua porsi makan siang dari Pig-a-Boo. Jelas aja dari namanya udah ada unsur haramnya untuk gue bagi dengan teman sebarak gue yang beragama muslim, jadi aja gue makan sendiri dalam sekali genjot. 

Nasi babi pertama yang gue lahap adalah Nasi Babi Rica Rica dengan potongan babi bumbu rica ricanya yang pedesnya kurang ajar dan tumpukan sayur daun pepaya yang pahit dan pedas. Gue biasanya anti menyantap potongan babi yang ada lemaknya, tapi kali ini gue santap habis saking enak dan gurihnya. 

Nasi babi yang kedua adalah Nasi Babi Crispy Sambal Matah dengan potongan babi panggang kriuk dan onggokan sambal matahnya yang kecut dan segar. Nah, ini kesukaan gue. Memang bintangnya adalah babi panggangnya yang gurih dengan slepetan kulitnya yang renyah dan asin, tapi sambal matahnya pun memegang peranan penting soal kombinasi rasa. Kalian harus tahu, sambal matahnya itu kecut dan segar banget, bawang merahnya yang cantik berhasil menarik perhatian gue, dan rasanya nggak terlalu pedas namun kuat. A definite must try. Bisa-bisa gue nambah tiga porsi sambal matahnya kalau makan di restorannya langsung. 

Kedua makanan ini patut diberikan acungan jempol, apalagi Nasi Babi Crispy Sambal Matahnya. Sayangnya, porsi babinya terlalu sedikit kalau menurut gue. Nasinya segunung, sayur daun pepayanya manusiawi, sambalnya lumayan banyak, tapi lauk babinya jomplang banget. But, all in all, I'm happy with Pig-a-Boo's meal selections. 

Mie Ayam Abadi

Mie Ayam Abadi restaurant in Serpong

After spending hours playing poker at the Mad Bean, I went to this Chinese restaurant that serves "one of the best pork noodle in Serpong", quoting what he said, named Mie Ayam Abadi. I ordered myself a portion of Hokkian Lo Mie Spesial Babi Panggang and the jumbo sized Mie Babi Asin.

My Hokkian Lo Mie Spesial Babi Panggang consisted of a handful of chewy hokkian noodle bathed in thick savory soup, with cuts of beef, fishballs, dried shrimp, veggies, and eggs, and garnished with a few slices of salty roasted pork. Hokkian noodle is slightly different than your regular noodle in terms of size, shape, and texture. While the average noodle is yellow in color, curly, and tender, hokkian noodle has this irregular and carefree shape - as if the noodle maker was making the noodles half-heartedly - and it has this broken white color. 

When I saw the presentation of the dish that I ordered, I immediately regret my decision. My Hokkian Lo Mie didn't look appealing at all - it looked like a goo of tentacles. I was aware by the fact that Hokkian Lo Mie is a type of noodle cooked in thick and heavy soup, as the waitress explained to me beforehand as I was looking through the menu, but it didn't cross my mind that it would look unappetizing. 

But, then, I said to myself to give it a try. I'm always up for anything new anyway, so I took a spoonful of the Lo Mie and dig in . . 

Hokkian Lo Mie Spesial Babi Panggang

It was delicious! True, it did not look like how I expect it would be, but it was still delicious. I love love love love love the hokkian noodle. I love it so much! I love how the noodle had this chewy texture and dough-like, yet slightly savory, flavor. 

The soup, on the other hand, was very thick and flavorful. It tasted both savory and salty, and it had this hint of fish sauce in which was enhanced by the dried shrimps. I'm not a big fan of the fish balls though, as well as the rubber-like beef cuts. And last, but not least, was the mouth-watering salty roasted pork slices on top. It completed the Hokkian Lo Mie like how a cherry would complete a bowl of Ice Cream Sundae. 

All in all, even if my Hokkian Lo Mie Spesial Babi Panggang didn't look pretty, it actually tasted pretty damn fine! 

Just like the name of the dish, Bern's Mie Babi Asin tasted salty. The already-salty hokkian noodle was topped with slices of salty roasted pork, then bathed in salty broth, so it was just plain salty. It was less flavorful compared to my dish, but it tasted fine as well.

Mie Babi Asin Jumbo

I would definitely pay another visit to Mie Ayam Abadi restaurant when I get the chance and order myself a different dish to try. You should too when you are around the neighborhood! Just, make sure you come to the restaurant when your tummy is super empty, like I did, because the serving of the noodle is pretty generous. Finish the whole thing and your brain will stop working. We, Indonesian, refer to it as kenyang bego: a state where you are over gorged with food your brain malfunctions and isn't synchronized with your body.  

Mie Ayam Abadi

RUKO Mendrisio 3, Blok B No. 28

Jalan Boulevard Illago, Gading Serpong

Opening Hours

Monday - Sunday: 7AM - 9PM

Contact:

(+62) 21 2987 1682

(+62) 812 8607 2819

Taruna in Frame

As pilot cadets who enroll in Sekolah Tinggi Penerbangan Indonesia, we rarely get long weekends due to our tight schedule in the institution. Last Thursday was Chinese New Year, and we were lucky enough to be able to have a day off from the day before. We thought campus would immediately start on Friday, but then we received a news about how our headmistress was kind enough to extend our days off until Sunday. I was overwhelmed by the fact that we actually get a five days off from the institution. A chance like this is as rare as finding Waldo in Katy Perry's Candyfornia! 

To make a good use of our long weekend, the gang and I decided to do a rendezvous at Pantai Indah Kapuk to have culinary adventure. Ambar, my dorm mate at Sekolah Tinggi Penerbangan Indonesia, slept over at my house on Thursday night. We ganged up with Gavin and Aryo in the morning and headed to PIK approximately at 10. Gita, who is also my dorm mate, caught up with us just before shalat Jumat with her boyfriend/myclassmate, Ramdhan. 

Our first stop was Hakata Ikkousha.

It was an hour before mid noon when we arrived at the ramen house. The restaurant was still unoccupied by hungry citizen, getting us a table was as easy as going in an amusement at Disneyland with a fast track ticket.

#handsinframe

Condiments

Gavin's cold ocha

Aryo's milk drink with tapioca bubbles

Crepe tester from Fold Crepe Annie - love the Oreo Crepe so much!

Happy Hour was at 11AM - 2PM. For every purchase of ramen, we get a discount for chicken karage, fried gyoza, or grilled gyoza by only paying Rp9.800,00 for each portion. Being a sane person, that I am, I quickly ordered myself a bowl of Ramen Babi Spesial and a plate of grilled pork gyoza. If it wasn't for the Happy Hour, I would get charge more or less Rp30.000,00 for a plate of gyoza. Crazy, right? 

Loving the lovely and appealing presentation of my noodke. My Special Pork Ramen was served with a dash of sesame seed, soft boiled egg, chopped leek, and sliced pork. Two thumbs up for the runny egg yolk! 

Compared to Ramen 38 - Sanpachi, my ramen broth was rich in flavor, yet slightly salty to my taste, and less thick. The noodle was cooked well done, making it tender and less chewy. If only the waitresses were concern enough to ask how we wanted our noodle, like they do at Ramen 38, I would definitely have my noodle curled up in a medium well goodness. I'm not satisfied with the super thin pork slices. Even though it tasted deliciously fatty and savory, they could definitely thicken the cut. It's a good thing the dish was big in size and they soft boiled their egg, or else I would rate the ramen house a 6 out of 10 instead of a 7.4. 

Ramen Babi Spesial - 55K

Grilled Pork Gyoza

I ordered a plate of Grilled Pork Gyoza as a side dish, while Aryo had the deep-fried ones and Gavin had Chicken Karage. We shared our side dishes and even tasted each other's ramen broth - in which I conclude that Gavin's Chicken Curry Ramen's broth was very typical with Indomie's Mie Kari Ayam, while Ambar's ramen broth is the spicier and chicken version of my Special Pork Ramen, and Aryo's Pork Shoyu Ramen was savory with a hint of sourness here and there. 

The gyoza shared the same size with my thumb and the filling was not that generous. My grilled gyoza tasted excellently savory, even when it was rather oily for a dumpling skin with very few minced-pork filling, and the edges were deliciously chewy and crunchy. Aryo's gyoza was crispier than mine and shared the same taste. I'm not fond of Gavin's Chicken Karage because they were super oily and they were over coated with batter. The chicken itself was spicy and sweet at the same time, which tasted a bit off for me.

Aryo's Pork Shoyu Ramen - 58K

Aryo prefers to have Fried Pork Gyoza to accompany his ramen with

Ambar's Ramen Ayam Tamtam - 58K

Gavin's Chicken Curry Ramen - 58K

A plate of Chicken Karage that belonged to Gavin

Boy, were we stuffed! The portion of the dishes at Hakata Ikkousha was big enough to make cadets like us feel full. We had to wait for around an hour to let the food go down to our digestion system before we could make it to our next stop, Shirokuma.


Yup, Shirokuma. I clearly stated on my previous post about Shirokuma that the dessert place was simply overrated. So, what made me go back to the soft cream palace and decided to give it another chance? Simply, the adorable limited edition dessert: Delicutesh Cream!

My Delicutesh Cream, woohoo!

Delicutesh Cream consists of panda-shaped mixed soft cream on a cone. The dessert is only available during the month of love and it has a limited serving per day. I fell in love with the adorable looking panda ice cream, so I decided to give it a go. 

As I told you before, despite the creamy texture of the soft cream, I am not satisfied with the matcha soft cream. The green tea flavor was not strong enough to be called "green tea" and it was dominated by the bitterness instead of the sweetness. I had a hard time devouring the awful bitterness of the green tea, but I made it eventually. In the end, I can still conclude that Shirokuma is simply overrated, and that the Delicutesh Cream would definitely gain love from its' lovely appearance but not from its' sweet deliciousness. 

The adorable Female Panda Cone

Gavin ordered a glass of Green Tea Latte that tasted none like latte but more like water with green tea powder. It was clearly a BIG NO for me. On the other hand, Aryo seemed to enjoyed his Twist Soft Cream. The soft cream melted very quickly, making him had to lick the vanilla and green tea soft cream that dripped all over his hand. 

Green Tea Latte - 25K

Twist Soft Cream - 15K

Sharing your ice cream is good, people!

Not satisfied with my ice cream, we decided to visit another ice cream cafe, the Northpole Cafe. I've been curious with this particular dessert house, simply because of its' various choices of ice cream flavor. I surfed the web about its' whereabout and explored Instagram just to find beautiful pictures of its' ice cream that made me go fidgety. Luckily, Northpole is only three restaurants away from Shirokuma, so we only had to walk a bit instead of driving ourselves. 

The new dessert join specializes in ice cream. They have four choices of ice cream cone, with 16 different flavors of ice cream that costed you Rp25.000,00 each. Three of the flavors are exclusive flavors that will costed you another Rp10.000,00, which are Baileys, Diablo Beer, and Choco Ferrero. 

Same like Baskin Robbins, they have this policy that allows the consumer to taste the ice cream before they can decided which flavor to get. Curious about the beer flavored ice cream, I asked the ice cream lady for a tiny spoon of it. The moment the ice cream made contact with my taste buds, it became clear to me why they sell it for Rp35.000,00. The beer flavor is strong in this one, very bitter like how a beer should taste, yet there was a hint of vanilla sweetness here and there. I'm not a big fan of beer, so tasting is enough for me. But for those who fancy the bubbly and fizzy sensation of Diablo beer, you should definitely get the ice cream!

I went for the Salted Caramel ice cream with Oreo cone. Even when the cone was super small, on the edge of it was a generous amount of melted marshmallow and Oreo crumbs that tasted superb! I didn't know Oreo and marshmallow worked well with each other, especially with a scoop of the salty and sweet Salted Caramel ice cream. 

Salted Caramel Ice Cream with Oreo cone - 40K

Gavin's share of ice cream with plain cone - 25K

We tasted each other's ice cream and they all tasted sooooo good! Ambar's Choco Lemon Ice Cream was very chocolaty with a strong lemon flavor, yet Gita's Choco Ferrero was way more chocolaty than Ambar's - even when it was hard for me to distinguish the Ferrero chocolate inside. Aryo decided to get creative with his dessert combination, so he went for the Hazelnut Ice Cream with Fruity Loops cone. 

I know, the dessert at this cafe can be pretty pricey, but I don't see why you can't enjoy good quality ice cream once in a while.

Ambar's Choco Lemon Ice Cream - 25K

Again, sharing is good!

Aryo's Hazelnut Ice Cream with Fruity Loops cone - 40K

Gita's Choco Ferrero with Milo cone - 50K

After we screamed for ice cream, we move on to our last pit stop, which was LOCALE24 Diner & Bar. We only had drinks at this restaurant/bar, while we wait for a couple of friends to join in the fun. I had a glass of Pina Colada that was overflowing with coconut. It was rather challenging for me to finish my drink because I didn't enjoy it at all. Same thing with Gavin and his Mojito that definitely used green food coloring and syrup in the making. Unfortunately, the battery in my Mom's Leica died just as I was about to take picture of the drinks, so, no pictures in this one. 

It was fun having culinary adventure with my fellow heavy eaters. True, we only visited four restaurants that day, but we also shopped for street snacks on our way to Pantai Indah Kapuk - such as the sensational Hot Jeletot, boiled quail eggs, and cheap cheese sticks. Not to mention, I bought a portion of Nasi Bungkus with grilled fish, tempe, and salted duck egg on my way home. Can you imagine how much weight I can gain in just one day? 

"The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time."

Hakata Ikkousha

Ruko Garden House, Blok B

Bukit Gold Mediterania

Jalan Raya Pantai Indah Kapuk

Pantai Indah Kapuk, Jakarta

Opening Hours:

Monday - Sunday: 11AM - 10PM

Contact:

+62 21 2903 3271

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

Northpole Cafe

Ruko Crown Golf, Blok A No. 57

Bukit Gold Mediterania

Jalan Marina Indah Raya

Pantai Indah Kapuk, Jakarta

Opening Hours: 

Monday - Sunday: 12PM - 10PM

Contact:

+61 21 2921 0357

LOCALE24 Diner & Bar

Ruko Gardon House, Blok B10-11 

Bukit Golf Mediterania

Jalan Raya Pantai Indah Kapuk

Pantai Indah Kapuk, Jakarta

Opening Hours: 24 Hours

Contact:

+62 21 2903 3162