Rungkut's Okayest Chicken Wings

Today is day three without gas. I had me a bowl of fiber for brunch, which consisted of two honey star fruits, two bananas, a handful of leftover papaya, and a handful of green grapes. It was enough to stuff my tummy for a few hours, but then I started craving for some meat.

The only place I know in Surabaya that serves good chicken wings is Holy Wings, but it's located so far away from where I live (about an hour and a half drive to the city). Nu-uh. There's no way I'm going to drive myself there. My lazy butt even lacks the motivation to go to the bathroom. I decided to settle for the okayest chicken wings in Rungkut that I can find in the Go-Jek application.

It goes by the name Crazy Wings, only 7.5km away from my crib. There ain't much dish that you can chose from the menu other than chicken wings and rice bowl topped with chicken. I went for the Original Chicken Wings and the Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings. Each of the dishes costed me Rp30.000,00, then I had to pay another Rp19.000,00 for the delivery fee.

I got a bit cranky from waiting. It took so long for my food to arrive I even got the chance to finish 3/4 of this horror movie I just download, Veronica. And, when the Go-Food guy arrived with my chicken wings, I was given a plastic bag decorated with brown goo at the bottom of it. "Lho, kok begini, ya," said the delivery guy, "wah, saya nggak ngerti kenapa bisa begini. Kayaknya ketiup angin, soalnya saya taruh di stang motor, jadi sausnya tumpah." No sorry, no anything, just a series of self defense. Sure, I have some patient left to spare. Didn't make a big deal out of it, took my wings, said thank you for his service, then went straight inside the house and plated my meal.

Today's lunch was twelve pieces of chicken

I was worried about if the chicken wings got soggy from the sauce, since it took very long to get delivered, but thank God they didn't. All of them was still crispy, even the ones that got soaked into the sauce, but I'm sure they can probably be crispier if I were to dine in at the restaurant.

I first tried the Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings. Well fried, crispy skin, chewy meat, it was good. Unfortunately, I could hardly taste any garlic, nor parmesan. The chicken wings tasted like normal deep-fried chicken with no seasoning. They were just savory, that's it. I don't even know the tiny light yellow spots covering the surface of the chicken. If it was parmesan, it clearly didn't taste like one.

Garlic Parmesan Chicken Wings

Next was the Original Chicken Wings. Crispy, sweet, savory, and it had this nutty hint from the sesame seeds on top. The crispy skin was soaked with the sauce and it was very tasty. Compared to the other chicken wings, I like this one better. Although, I had to switch flavor in between bites because the sweet sauce made me slightly nauseous when I ate it too much. But, overall, Crazy Wings' chicken wings are good. A 6 out of 10, if I may.

Original Chicken Wings

Crazy Wings

Jl. Medokan Asri Timur VII

Kali Rungkut, Kota Surabaya

Jawa Timur 60293

Opening Hours:

MON - SUN: 10AM - 9.30 PM

It's available for delivery with the Go-Jek application. 

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

Telur Asin Sedap Rasa

Today, I received a souvenir from my classmate named Dhedy. It was a box of salted duck eggs originated from his hometown back in Sidoarjo. Telur Asin Sedap Rasa, its' name is, produced by a man named Khoiron at Desa Kebonsari, or Kebonsari Village. 

Telur Asin Sedap Rasa

Care for some eggs?

The salted eggs were different compared to any other salted eggs I have ever eaten in my life. Instead of the usual bright blue color, the color of the egg shell was brownish black; and they were slightly bigger. The eggs were smothered in salt and was smoked, hence the burnt shell producing the dark color. You can even smell the familiar scent of charcoal sticking on them. 

I crack open an egg and was welcomed with a broken white color of the egg white and bright orange yolk in the middle. Like any other salted eggs, the texture of the eggs were very firm, gelatin-like, and very rubbery. The texture of the egg white was less firm than the yolk, yet both are slightly crumbly. 

I shared the duck eggs with my dorm mates, Gita and Ambar, and we finished the whole thing in just 15 minutes. Every bite of the egg was heaven on earth! They didn't tasted as salty as regular salted eggs do, which was nice and enjoyable for a person who's just not that into salty food like me. I just love how the thick yolk would stick onto your teeth as you chew it. Those eggs tasted so good. Too good we ended up devouring all of it instead of saving them for later. 

Don't get fooled by their covers

The yolk is the best part

P.S. Dhedy, if you're reading this, thanks a lot for the eggs. They were overwhelmingly delicious!