IZAKAYA KAI

Digging into one of the well-known place in North Jakarta: Izakaya Kai. Brief explanation, this Japanese restaurant is one month old baby from Chef Andhika Maxi, Karen Charlotta, and Tempura Master Hitoshi Kimora. Sounds familiar? Yes, they're the masters behind your favorite western food and fancy cakes at Union and AMKC. Knowing that they're exploring their area in Japanese food field, with the tempura master itself, excites me a lot to dig the goodness they offer. 

Located in the Pluit area, North Jakarta, this hidden gem is not hard to find. Basically they're separated into two different storey: they first one is for easy Western food, the second one is for Japanese cuisine. Place is pretty, comfortable, with open bar for the Japanese section and off course displays of pretty cakes for the Western section. Drooling me much!

Service is friendly, although they're still having those crowded weeks, it's fast and sprightful. Open my feast with brioche bun, one soft bun with flavorful minced pork.  Tempura set is one of their favorites, looks like everyone is enjoying their own on every table. Pork belly, reminds me of Chinese style of pork belly, is tasty and juicy. No wonder, this goodness has passed its 8 hours cooking time, must be delicious! Yakitori is offered in several styles, and I do recommend to have their tebasaki (wings) and tsukune (chicken meatballs). They may be simple, but those yakitori is surely well-seasoned and tasty!

Hint: don't forget to close the feast with those fancy cakes from Chef Karen Charlotta. Unique twist of their well-known red velvet with dense dark chocolate is one genius idea! 

Overall Izakaya Kai is one place you can try to have something different in North Jakarta.  Place is pretty, convincing, and food is palatable. 

Price:
Brioche bun-35k
Prawn tendon-120k
8 hours pork belly and trotter-60k
Tebasaki (chicken wing)-30k
Tsukune (chicken meatball)-20k
Chocolate red velvet-50k

IZAKAYA KAI
Jl. Pluit Kencana Raya no 59, Pluit
North Jakarta
(021) 22663966

Opening hours:
Cafe 11 am – 11pm
Izakaya Dining 11am-3pm, 6pm-10pm

Best regards,
Jessica Christy Limanjaya
@jechristy

YELO EATERY BOGOR

Hello from Bogor!

Yes, I took my day off to visit Bogor because apparently reaching Bogor is quite easy with train (Sukabumi-Bogor) which happens to leave 3 times a day, within 2 hours trip. This is my first experience with train and I find the executive class is somehow comfortable (50k on weekdays) while it's quite crowded at the economy class (20k). 

So I visit this fun and humble eatery called Yelo Eatery, finding this one excites me much because God know, I miss brunch! I can not say living in Sukabumi is not fine, but they do not this kind of food which is my favorite. I google through Yelo's menu and give me thrilled when I see 'all day brunch' on the menu!

Fun colorful wall is one main attraction here. Yellow and blue are surely a good match, expelling young and energetic atmosphere. They have good lighting, too! The big window give the hot ambiance to this place, but I still love it tho. 

So apparently I am lucky to visit them because currently they're having promo buy 2 get 3. Buying 2 main courses will give you one free meal they've chosen for you ( they have french toast, salad, etc). Such a good deal! I am having quite a hard time to decide what to try because honestly everything looks good by their description on the menu. 

HAMBURG ON POTATO-50k

My friend is a big fan of Rosti and she loves it! It is entertaining my taste bud as well! Australian beef patty is tender and thick, with melted cheese and egg on top. I am not a big fan of beef, I do not have any complain with theirs. Everything taste really really good on each other. I find their rosti is quite oily but seasoning is nice. So it's forgiven I guess. Portion is generous too! This kind of goodness for only IDR 50k is such a good deal!

GRILLED CHEESE SANDWICH-40k

Yeah I am big fan of grilled cheese and by looking at it on the meny drolls me much. They're using this thick wheat bread (may be for healthier effect) and tasty cheese inside. The thick bread somehow really make me full, eating two pieces of it can stop me from eating anything else. I prefer thinner bread with thicker cheese, but still. this one is alright!

FRENCH TOAST-40k

I find their french toast is a bit weird. Tasty fried eggy bread, topped with maple syrup, but having scrambled egg on top! French toast supposed to be sweet, so the scrambled egg kinda confuse me a little bit. I end up eating it separately, having the egg with the tasty strawberry jam and caramelized apple and eat the scrambled egg with addition of salt and pepper to make it better. So here's my advice: sweet and salty do not work on this plate.

So after all Yelo Eatery is one enjoyable eatery with and bright ambiance. Love love all the vibrant colors, good food, and service too. I know that eateries in Bogor city is developing, many new cafes are popping here and there, I believe that they, with this consistency, will surely survive. 

Ps: Will definitely come back to try another menus. 

YELO EATERY

Jl. Pajajaran Indah Raya no. 5 Bogor Tengah, Bogor

West Java

081802799127

Opening hours: 10am-10pm

Best regards,

Jessica Christy Limanjaya

@jechristy

RED BRICK CAFE

Hello!

Sorry due to my hectic days in Sukabumi, I haven't post anything yet catch up with all the new places in Jakarta. So I guess I have to let all those my friends in Jakarta to write it for me and got myself drooled with all of their writings. While I am gonna dig in to these hidden gems in Sukabumi and write about their goodness here!

So basically Sukabumi City is one small city when you have to drive only for 10-15 minutes to reach any places here. This hidden gem, surprisingly, located in quite far, the edge of the city, secluded with all of the potentials they're having.  The hint is this: Red Brick are residing behind Bengkel Vanali Motor.

So basically Red Brick has this 'boyish' concept when all the decoration is dark and kinda manly. Actually in my imagination I can capture lotsa cowboys are catching up here, having their beer, spending the time. Anyway it's only on my dream tho. This one does not serve beer. They are cafe with mouth-watering menu and coffee to be served!

HOT CAPPUCCINO

Good presentation, not-bad latte art, the coffee is okay. Not the best I've ever had but I am not complaining.

GYUDON

First impression: looking good! It is fragrant with sweet aroma served with lotsa rice and fried egg. The egg is somehow a bit to dry, thin, and lack of flavor, The meat is good, tender, cooked beautifully with flavorful spicy seasoning. Such a savior to the bowl!

SALTED EGG CHICKEN

This one my friend, is something you have to try when you give Red Brick a visit! Generous bowl of fried chicken, covered with salted egg yolk, not too thin yet to thick, in a perfect way to get it all covered. Egg is cooked beautifully, too! I am such a happy kid to have it on my own!

ps: the portion is quite generous, ppl can share it for two.

MAC AND CHEESE

My friend is craving for something creamy and cheese, so she orders a portion of mac and cheese. Turns out it's not bad. Pasta comes with good consistency, cuts of bacon, and melted cheese on top. For me a bit of salt and pepper can really make it better, while the portion is quite generous, too!

RED BRICK PANCAKE

I am happy to order this. To be honest it surely is one of the prettiest pancake in my life! The presentation is really beyond my expectation. Everything is just right: fluffy batter, colorful plating, flowers (although it's not edible), ice cream on top, sprinkled with choco chips and nuts. The pancake is quite fluffy and not bad at all, but the winner is their ice cream! It's thick and creamy, just the way a good ice cream should be.

My bad I do not take a note of their exact price, but overall it's quite affordable, ranging from IDR 30-60k. I can say they're serious in this food industry. Food is well managed, good presentation, taste good, too! The thing is they are located in quite secluded area, so finding Red Brick is quite an effort for me. But hey, I surely would come back for their good food!

RED BRICK

Jl. Pelabuhan II no 271 (bengkel Vanali Motor)

Kota Sukabumi, West Java

0821-6400-0469
Opening hours: 9 am-10pm

Best regards,
Jessica Christy Limanjaya
@jechristy

FAVORITE CROQUE MADAME/MONSIEUR IN JAKARTA

As some of you know, I really am a sucker for brunch. I really love the idea of starting the day with delicate breakfast. My favorite so far is Australian type of breakfast. I remember my visit to Sydney and Melbourne several years ago, while brunch was surely something new for me. I did fall in love with it, how pretty the presentation was and those fragrant waffle, pancakes, baked eggs really had me on the first bite. The only downfall is brunch might be quite pricey, mean to be enjoyed occasionally. The thing is having it occasionally make me loving it even more, looking forward every weekend to have one good brunch to start the day.

Waffles, pancakes, and any kind of bread are always my priorities when it comes to brunch. I do not really fancy meat, steak, and anything heavy on my brunch. Thing that always on my consideration is croque madame and croque monsieur. I really love how the all the ingredients blend on my palate. Quick info, croque monsieur is actually baked or fried boiled ham with cheese sandwich. Add the fried egg on top, and here comes the croque madame.

I've tried some croque madame and monsieur in some brunch places, concluded that these 3 places served the best croque, at least for me!

ps: I am a fan of soft bread with gooey and thick cheese filling, Using thing and crispy bread for this favorite dish of mine can't turn me on ;)

1. Maple and Oak 

De Ritz building, Jl. HOS Cokroaminoto no 91, Menteng, Central Jakarta

full review here
IDR 83k

The best croque monsieur in town so far, even my brother agree with me! Baked thick sourdough filled with beef pastrami, red cheddar, and thick mornay sauce. I really love love love the thick sauce with its dominating flavour, sink in every cell of the bread, enrich the taste. Cheese is so generous with pretty and messy mozarella on top. Bonus of fries on side really make me happier, too! Writing about it right now really making me drool!

2. Koultura

Jl, Taman Ratu Indah no 33, Grenville, West Jakarta
IDR70k

Never thought their croque madame would be one of my favorite before, but theirs is surely worth the calories. Sourdough toast, bacon jam, mozarella, and bechamel sauce is surely good dancing partner on the palate, but adding the crackling pork ham on the bottom of the bread is real genius! Imagine the crackling tasty sound with deep scrumptious combination of all those ingredients. Koultura, you have me at hello!

3. Crematology

PX Pavilion, Jl. Puri Indah Boulevard blok U1, West Jakarta
IDR 78k

Favorite coffee spot on my neighborhood, not to mention the cool instagenic place and very attentive staff here. Their coffee is one of my favorite and their brunch menu is quite wide. Their croque monsieur, with generous smoked ham and generous cheese could easily stole my heart. The twist is they're using this onion jam, sweet touch aftertaste to make it unique. Have it with fries and salad, too!

So here is the list of my favorite croque monsieur / madame in Jakarta. Tell me what's yours!

Best regards,

Jessica Christy Limanjaya

@jechristy

TESATE RESTAURANT with SABABAY WINERY: wine pairing session

Wine is widely known as a good complimentary after you have a good dinner, fancy dinner to be exact. Western food is one perfect match, especially the one that serves good steak. Tender beef, is one great companion to be eaten with good old wine. Good thing is, our local restaurant invent something new. Since we have this high quality flavor in Indonesian cuisine, why don't we have our own wine pairing, with our own Indonesian food? Well, Tesate Restaurant, gonna bring you this.

A brief explanation about Sababay, a local wine company together with Tesate Restaurant, bring you the goodness of art in pairing local wine with Indonesian food. Based on Gianyar, Bali, this winery has their dedication to help the life of grape farmers in Bali, pushing them to have a better life, increasing their quality of life. By having Sababay, apart from the proud of using local wine, we help the life of Balinese grape farmer. Very touching.

Lesson learned from this wine tasting: you pair heavy food with heavy wine, fruity food with fruity wine, high fat food with high powered wine. Dramatic bold curry will only make one light delicate wine taste like water, make sense enough.

So basically Sababay offer 4 kinds of wine for this wine pairing: Ludisia, Reserve Red, White Velvet, and Moscato D'Bali.

LUDISIA

pair it with: sate ayam ponorogo, sate sapi maranggi, rendang. tahu udang berontak, serabi solo.

Ludisia is the first wine I try in this wine pairing session. Quite strong fragrant is greeting my olfactory bulbs when I am getting my first sip. Mixture of fruity things is kinda dominating, with a tip of sweet taste at the end. It's quite light actually. Turn out is contains cherry and dates. I really enjoy this one with my favorite sate ayam ponorogo and rendang  from Tesate. Their peanut sauce is surely my all time favorite, not to mention their super tender beef rendang. While their food in undoubtedly good, Ludisia is enhancing the goodness in local flavors.

RESERVE RED

pair it with: sate sapi makassar, sate kambing

This one is bolder, remind me of cherries, forest, old oak. The first sip is giving me a jolt of kick, while my second sip greets warmly, I am getting used to it. Remember the rules: matching heaving with something bold. That's why this sate sapi makassar, which is bold and has its own heavy sauce, make Reserve Red taste better. Reserved Red is also a good match for something with tomato based food and one with heavy sauces. Having it with sate kambing? Sure no worries!

write's note: their sate kambing is da bomb! I am no fan of this kind of skewer, but theirs is super, super tender. I am one happy kid!

WHITE VELVET

pair it with sate padang, ikan bakar dabu-dabu, cumi telur bakar

White velvet is something between light and bold for me. It is pleasing, with hints of lime, apple, and, grapefruit. Those things surely make this glass of wine taste something fruity and fun, in vibrant way. Something tropical, I must say. White velvet goes very well with something with curry-based, something creamy, and seafood. I have one with this ikan bakar dabu-dabu, which is a good match because for me seafood is something in between too! Not too bold nor too light.

MOSCATO D'BALI

pair it with: kerapu bakar jimbaran, rujak pengantin salad, gule sengkel. tahu udang berontak, sate padang, serabi solo

This one, my friend, is my favorite! Sweet, fun, young, and very pleasing taste is dominating my palate after having the first sip. Peach and lime is those two ingredients having its responsibility in the making of this wine, and they do succeed! I can imagine myself having Moscato d'bali with my girlfriends, enjoying this super tasty dessert called serabi solo, which is humble and amaze me in the same time, making me realize that our local food really can be an amazing one once they serve it right.

Another hint, for their kerapu bakar jimbaran also taste great! Grilled in well seasoned spices, I really enjoy it with my Moscato!

Overall, I do impress with all of these flavorful local foods that go well with our local wine. Everything is good match, taste good, once we play in wine-pairing rule. If I have to choose, my favorite pairs is Moscato d'bali with serabi and ikan bakar Jimbaran. A perfect companion for each other!

Anyway you can have this wine pairing session every Friday and Saturday, 6-10pm at Tesate Restaurant.

TESATE RESTAURANT

JL. Samratulangi No. 39, Menteng

Central Jakarta

(021) 5725356

Best regards,

Jessica Christy Limanjaya

@jechristy