dr. B's Journal

Lost in Europe 2017 : Paris

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 27 Sep 2017 16:36:00 +0000

Next destination of my Euro trip is.... PARIS!!!

Paris has always been a place I wanted to visit for a long time, the romantic city with all its pretty streets, who doesn't love Paris?

From Amsterdam, I took a Thalys train from Amsterdaam Central to Gare Du Nord Station in Paris. The train trip took around 3 hours, crossing Belgium and France countryside. First, the Thalys train. It's a high speed direct train from Amsterdam to Paris. Basically the European version of Shinkansen. IMO, the Shinkansen ride was better. Smoother and definitely cleaner train than the Thalys. I bought the ticket online, cost €35 one way. Not too expensive (at least to European standard), train was on time, quite comfortable but not as comfy as the one in Japan.

From the Gare du Nord station in Paris, I went straight to hotel, Midnight Paris Hotel. Picked it because it's close location to the train station, around 5-10 minutes walking. The train station is bigger and more crowded than the one in Amsterdam (not to mention less secure). The area around Gare du Nord is somehow dangerous. Lots of suspicious and dangerous looking people (mostly immigrants) who hangs out along the street and looks like thug (sorry for the racist tone but that is seriously how I felt at that time) I don't recommend the area unless you are a brave one.

The hotel itself was nice and quite affordable. The room is small but adequate, nice simple decor, no breakfast tho. It's pretty cozy and would be the right choice for budget traveler who prefer modern feel hotel. It is very easy to use public transport since the hotel is in the middle of 2 big train station (with only 5 minutes walk) and lots of bus stops. The place also has many restaurants, many middle eastern food, I think because it is an area where many immigrants live.

On the first day, after a short break at the hotel, I decided to grab an authentic french food! So I googled and found this place called Buillon Chartier. Using google maps, I took 2 metro ride from Gare de l'Est Station and get off at Grand Boulevards station then a short walk. The place is huge yet packed. The place was kinda old school, service is good and fast but could be more polite. Speedy service doesn't have to be rude. These are what I had

Bread Basket

I forget whether this one is complimentary or charged. It's weird that most of the restaurants charge us for bread, around €2 and served without butter

Escargot

The escargot was just okay, lots of herb but not that buttery. My taste for escargot got destroyed by Union, theirs was sooo good, any other escargot I tried tastes like shit

Foie Gras

My first time trying Foie Gras. For you guys who doesn't know, Foie Gras is basically goose liver. Made into a block of butter like shape, it tastes smooth and creamy like butter. I love it but still love butter more :) The sweet cranberry paste is a perfect combination to lessen that overly creamy flavor.

Confit de Canard Pommes Grenailles

Roasted duck leg served with roasted potatoes. When it first came, I was rather confused. My image of french food is pretty but this is farrrr from pretty. It's sauceless and only has a small amount of chives as garnish. But when I taste the duck, well it tastes a LOT better than it looks. The duck was tender and packed with flavours. The duck fat is perfectly rendered so when u bite it, you'll still tastes that gorgeous fat but not overwhelming.

Steak and fries

I forget what the menu called but hey, it's steak and fries. The meat was cooked perfectly medium and served with a delicious gravy. The meat is not as tender as I expected but still edible. Well couldn't say it was delicious but just okay

The next day, the plan is to visit Versailles Palace. The super famous super fancy palace, maybe the most over the top in the world. It's around 45 minutes train ride from Gare de l'Est. I took Metro 4 then change to Rer C train at Saint Michel-Notre Dame. I suggest buying the ticket from the ticket booth since I think the usual carnet ticket (will explain later bout this) doesn't work for train trip this far. It's on the countryside of Paris so we could see another beautiful side of Paris.

First breakfast in Paris, the croissant was so fucking good!

After getting off the train, all you have to do is follow the flow of people, then you'll arrive at Chateu de Versailles or The Palace of Versailles. To get into the palace, you need to pay entrance fee and wait in line (the line is quite long, probably 30 mins) The palace was maginificent!!! Can't believe that such luxury exists in that time, the artwork was amazing (and I don't even understand art at all) The place was huge, has many many lavishly decorated rooms. After spending around 1 hour inside the palace, the next part is the garden. Damn it was hugeeee. At the back of the palace it was like a whole other world, acres of garden and fountains and lakes. Seriously, no wonder they revolt back then. We can walk to the gardens and lake. I took a small trip to visit the Marie Antoinette's palace, a smaller villa where the legendary Marie Antoinette lived. All is accesible by foot, just prepare to be tired of walking.

Visiting Versailles was certainly one of the highlight of my Euro trip so this is a must visit place when u visit Paris. Take your time and spend half a day here before returning back to Paris, the weather is nice, lots of place to hang out and enjoy the country side.

Beautiful fountain at the back of Versailles

Had lunch in a restaurant in the middle of the garden, forgot the name but the food was okay. Moderately priced, around 15-20 Euro per dish

Later that day, after getting back to Paris, We stopped by another Paris landmark, the Notre Dame Cathedral. How to get there? Just get off at the Saint Michel Notre Dame station when using RER C, one way trip from Versailles. Then Google Maps your way to the famous cathedral. I didn't go inside the cathedral, just taking pictures. Not too interested in going inside since it's a church, there will be a lot more churches to visit in Europe.

In the front of the cathedral, there's a flock of pigeons. So we decided to see the pigeons. Suddenly this old lady offers us some seeds to feed the pigeons, then she threw the seeds over my head and I instantly attacked by the pigeons! Damn it hurts when birds eat off your head --" Thought this is some kind of old lonely lady playing with pigeons but it's not. After taking pictures with the pigeon, she asked for money, for the pigeon food. Zzzz Forgot that nothing is free in this world. Well, 10 euro well spent

Pigeon Attack in front of Notre Dame Cathedral

The next day, the agenda is to find a famous boulangerie and try another croissant. So I googled and found a place called Des Gateaux et du Pain, said that they serve award winning croissant. How to get there? Again... Google Maps comes to the rescue, pick the location that is not too far from my next destination, Sacre Coeur

Seriously, I didn't understand why the pastries in Paris could be that fucking good. Even the random one on the streets tastes better than the ones in expensive cafe here in Jakarta

Apple Pastry

Buttery, Flaky and still warm. A piece of heaven!

Chocolate Pastry

Not far from Des Gateux et du Pain, I found another bucket list of my Euro trip, trying Pierre Hermes Macaroons.

Pierre Hermes serves some seriously delicious macaroons. The flavors were bold and refreshing, texture is soft yet crispy on the surface but sticky and sweet in the middle. I could finish the whole box and I'm not even a fan of macaroons.

After enjoying some french goodness, I headed to the famous church on a hill, the Sacre Coeur. To get to Sacre Coeur, you need to take many many stairs, it was super tiring that I need to take a break in the middle (blame in on the weight).

Sacre Coeur is this white (probably made of marble?) huge church on a hill, the style is very french (delicate and pretty) compared to the church in the UK or Italy. I just walked inside and take around 30 minutes inside, well it is a church so nothing special inside. A pretty and nice church, probably the prettiest ever :)

There was a super unpleasant experience here in Sacre Coeur. So in order to get to the church, we have to climb like a million stairs (I think there was a kind of elevator available but I couldn't find it). On the stairs there was many African guys selling souvenirs (they are roaming the streets of Paris, beware). When we climb up, we successfully escape them but when we were going down, my friend got captured and held by one of the African guys. They forcefully put a "friendship" bracelet made of threads, after that they force us to pay for the bracelet. They know we were indonesian and keep saying "Indonesia help Africa" over and over again, I managed to yell at them and told them to get off us but then more African guys came and surrounded us. Started yelling and such, It was kinda horrifying since they were quite rude, fucking thugs! At that time, there wasn't any security guards or police in the area, it was quite scary. Finally I gave 20 Euros (they ask for "two zero") after the first 10 Euro I gave them the first time. Well, so much for safety in a developed country. Beware of scammers and thugs in Paris, it is the most unsafe place I visited during the whole Europe trip.

After the tragedy, the next stop is Louvre! I forgot how to get to Louvre, just follow the instruction on google maps. The metro station is next the complex. It's like a 3 minutes walk to get to the entrance of the museum. We didn't exactly get inside the museum.. Why? Well because I am not that into museums, there will be many more museums to visit and at that time I already visited The British Museum and Rijskmuseum so I had my fair share of museum. We just hang out at the Louvre Pyramid area and wait till it was dark. Well it was super cool!!! How the modern pyramid clash against the classic building surrounding it, only in Paris. Unforgettable. Visiting and taking pics in this place is definitely a must do in Paris

After 3 nights, we moved to another hotel, the Pullman Paris Tour Eiffel Hotel. The hotel was super nice, located steps away from the icon of Paris, the Eiffel Tower. This is the BEST and most expensive hotel on our entire trip in Europe but it definitely the highlight of the trip. The room was nice (5 star standard), the view was magnificent, service was superb and the breakfast.. had the best omelette I've ever tasted in my life, so fucking delicious!!

First things first, lunch. Grab lunch at a nearby cafe and had some decent french food. The food was okay and yes kinda pricey. After all the neighborhood around Eiffel is a tourist trap, expect nothing cheap here.

Penne with ham, oh the ham is sooo gooodd

The chicken is just plain, well seasoned but what do u expect from a roast chicken

Spent the afternoon walking around Eiffel and the Trocadero. The place was super packed with tourists and locals, they were having picnic at the park enjoying the spring sunny day. Finding the perfect photo spot is kinda hard, the best one of course is at the Trocadero across the Eiffel Tower. After taking many pics there, we move to Arc de Triomphe. Just take the metro behind the Trocadero (again following instructions from Google Maps)

Arc de Triomphe is a monument in the center of Paris, it's like Bundaran HI but on a larger scale. The roundabout is very crowded and is connected to the famous Champs-Elysees

Then we go shoppingggg. Champs-Elysees is probably the most famous Shopping street in the world. International and high end brands filled this place. Well it was kinda fun, window shopping (although I was successful in acquiring discounted items in Celio) after all, shopping is the best therapy right? The rest of the evening is spent in the hotel with a bottle of champagne and the view of Eiffel Tower. It was living the dream, sipping champagne in Paris, forgetting every horrible things back home and just enjoying the moment.

The morning, woke up at 8.30 and went straight to the breakfast area. As I mentioned earlier, the breakfast was soooo goodddd. Not as lavish as I expected, the variety of food served is limited but the quality is great!

Meat Galore

The most delicious place of breakfast I've ever had

Love the waffle, dense yet fluffy

Then it's time to leave Paris. Heading to Orly Airport using taxi for 50 Euro (I guess, forget the exact price but around that) Since using bus is also quite expensive, so decided to splurge a little and grabbed a taxi. Next is... ROME baby!!!!!!!!

Extras : Some of the food we had in Paris

Creamy and half cooked omelette with eggs still running wild on the plate

Grilled chicken

Fish and Chips at the Airport, mediocre

Another airport food. Burger

It's a place called Leon, many branches across Paris serving seafood. LOVE it!!! Fresh and light, huge portion and quite affordable

Also from Leon, ordered steak since I was in the mood for some meat

It's a main dish and dessert package. The waffle was rather light and crunchy

Take outs from restaurants near Midnight Hotel, it was quite easy finding halal food in Paris since there are many middle eastern restaurant here. I don't like it though, the beef smells like lamb, wonder why?? The chinese food on the side is delicious! Bought them every night for supper, yummm

Lost in Europe 2017 : Amsterdam

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 18 Jun 2017 13:45:00 +0000

Hello Amsterdam!!!!

Yessss, abis dari London, next destination gw adalah... AMSTERDAM!!!

Dari London ke Amsterdam gw naek EasyJet dari Gatwick Airport en sampe nya di Schiphol Airport. The plane ride was good (yah setype sama Air Asia gitu dehh, beda nya muka bule semua flight attendant nya) Turun di Schiphol Airport, first thing to do adalah memikirkan bagaimana nyari jalan ke BnB ZOH, tempat tinggal selama 4 malam di Amsterdam.

Sebelum pergi, as always gw sibuk google sana sini demi mendalami public transport system di tempat tempat yang bakal gw kunjungi dan menurut gw di Belanda, Amsterdam khususnya, sistem nya cukup membingungkan. Mungkin penjelasan dari website nya yang agak sulit dimengerti padahal setelah dijalanin sih mudah, nyaman en lebih bagus daripada Paris atau Roma. Sama kaya di London, disini kudu beli transport card yang nama nya OV Chipkaart, kartunya warna kuning dan bisa dibeli di mesin atau counter (beli aja di counter daripada bingung liatin mesin). In general, semua public transport di Amsterdam bisa diakses pake si kartu ini. Jadi boleh lah isi agak banyak kalo bakal muter2 pake kereta atau bus di Amsterdam. REMEMBER! Jangan lupa tap in dan juga tap out naek apa aja. Gara-gara lupa tap out pas naek kereta regional gitu, ilang deh 20 Euro. Kalo naek kereta regional (bukan metro) ketika lo tap in, bakal di potong 20 Euro langsung, jadi make sure ada saldo minimal 20 Euro di kartu kalau mau naik kereta, setelah tap out maka saldo akan dikembalikan setelah dikurangi biaya perjalanan nya. Sementara nyebelin nya, ketika transfer antara kereta dan metro (ada stasiun yang transfer nya ga lewatin gerbang alias cuma ganti peron doank) kadang ga keliatan itu mesin buat tap kartu ada dimana. Kalo dipisah gerbang kan pasti otomatis kita tap kan kartu nya, jadi ini perlu kesadaran penuh ketika pindah pindah kereta.

Nah dari Schiphol Airport ke Hotel gw itu lumayan jauh, jadi dari Schiphol naek sprinter/intercity train (si regional train yang gw bilang tadi) trus pindah naek M50 (metro) ke arah Gein dan turun di Bullewijk Station. Dari Bullewijk Station, keluar station trus muter ke arah kanan, jalan kaki dikit sekitar 100 meter, nyebrang jalan dan akan keliatan kompleks apartment yang warna warni gitu. Nah puterin ke dalem nya, di area apartment yang paling kanan akan ada pintu yang menandakan reception nya si BnB ZOH ini.

Gw suka banget tempat ini! Emank tempat nya agak jauh dari city, kaya 7/8 station naek Metro kalo mau ke Amsterdam Centraal tapi suasana nya asik gitu. Jadi konon tempat ini adalah tempat nya para seniman dan anak muda yang artsy gitu, jd agak hipster gimanaaa gitu. Trus karena ini emank residential area, jd sepi dan tenang. Ya dibandingkan kota kota Eropa laennya, IMO Amsterdam ini emank enak banget sih buat hidup, kaya life is slower dan hidup lebih menyenangkan. Nah kamar nya ini juga decor nya keren dengan lantai hitam yang disemen doank ga pake tile trus ada dapur kecil dan balkon. Kamar mandi nya sih share sama 1 apartment lain tp tidak menganggu lah karena cuma di depan pintu lokasi nya. Harga juga bersahabat, kalo ga salah inget semalem sekitar 1.3 Mill IDR. Lalu kalo mau cari makan deket2 situ, bisa naek Metro 1 station ke arah Amsterdam Centraal dan turun di Amsterdam Bijlmer Arena Station. Disana kaya ada plaza, office en taman2 gitu. Yah commercial area nya gitu dehhh. On the first day, malem malem gw ksana dan membabi buta di KFC hahahaha

Okay let's begin exploring Amsterdam. First destination adalah Keukenhof.

How to get there : Intinya adalah kita harus ke Schiphol Airport dulu, nah disana beli tiket combi bus + masuk ke Keukenhof nya (kalo ga salah harga tiket nya 20 Euro an) Gw beli di semacem toko buku/koran gitu di dalem nya Schiphol Plaza tapi kayanya bisa juga beli tiket itu di tempat nunggu bus nya, ada counter nya gitu. Nah buat naek bus nya, kita jalan kaki di depan nya Schiphol Plaza ke ujung, nanti ada counter en antrian buat nunggu bus nya. Tanya orang aja di sana, pasti ditunjukkin arah nya kemana.

Tips: Pergi kesana jangan siang-siang karena bakal rame dan lebih panas. Ntar susah foto2nya karena rebutan sama turis cina yang super rusuh!!!

Perjalanan naek bus nya kurang lebih 40 menit, tp nyaman dan pemandangan nya bagus, yah Europe gitu yaaaa, kayanya semua nya juga keliatan bagus hahaha. Nah sampe di sana, tu taman dah rame jd langsung lah masuk dan muter2in tu taman. Sebenernya apa sih yang diliat disana? Yah disana ngeliatin tulip tentunyaaa. 1 hal yang gw agak kurang suka adalah tamannya ini kan emank man made gitu ya, ga kaya taman di Jepang yang natural look gitu. Nah kalo di Keukenhof ini, di taman segede gitu, tulip berbagai jenis dan warna ditanam dan disusun dengan sangat amat rapih dan indah. Tulip nya sih baguuuusss banget, warna nya cerah dan ngejreng, dah kaya dicat gitu. Trus karena disusun jadi nya hamparan bunga nya bermacam macam kombinasi warna dan bentuk. Semua spot nya instagenic deh, siap siap aja foto teruusss. Nah selaen taman tulip itu, ada beberapa area kaya rumah kecil yang showcase bunga bunga laen, menarik juga buat diexplore sih.

Nah ini enak nya kalo pergi sendiri dan ga pake tour, you set your own pace. Jadi mau duduk duduk dulu di cafe nya atau enjoying the view, it's all up to you. Mau spend the whole day disini juga monggo, di dalem nya ada resto juga jd bisa makan disana. I spent around 3 hours there, quite tiring coz the garden is quite big.

Latte + Apple Pie (€7)

Gila ini apple pie nya manis abissssss, gw ampe ga abis saking manis nya.

Sepulang nya dari Keukenhof, gw balik ke Schiphol Airport trus bingung mau kemana. Akhirnya, diputuskan ke Museumplein. Buka google maps dulu trus cari nomor bus yang ke arah Museumplein. Naek bus sekitar 20 menit, turun lah di depan nya Van Gogh Museum. Karena laper akhirnya makan duyuuuuu. Di perempatan deket Van Gogh Museum ada restoran yang nama nya Small Talk, typical european cafe gitu deh, ada outside seating area nya di pinggir jalan kaya di film film (sumpah norak abis I know) Jadiiii walaupun angin kenceng dan dingin, tetep maksa mau duduk di depan. Ceritanya karena first proper meal di Europe (di London makan pas bfast doank, sisa nya take away meal) jadi agak hedon, pesen langsung steak donk! And it was damn good!! Emank ya beda kalo makan makanan bule di negara bule, everything tastes better (atau kelaperan gw juga ga jelas)

Warm cup of cappucino to fight the breezy wind

Maksud hati mau bergaya, apa daya tu gelas kayanya kecilllll bener di tangan gw

Entrecote with Dutch Butter Sauce

The steak was greattt, cooked perfectly medium with spot on seasoning and creamy gravy served with a plate of fries. LOVE (cost around €20)

Pork Schnitzel (€18)

Delicious delicious delicious!

After the happy lunch, mengarah ke Rijksmuseum. Rijksmuseum ini tempat yang depannya ada tulisan I Am Amsterdam yang hits itu, sayang gw ga ktemu ni foto nya kemana, noooooo. Agak repot sih foto disini, secara tulisannya gede banget dan rame, jadi mau dari angle mana aja kepotong dan banyak orang.

Nah menyebalkannya di Amsterdam adalah banyak museum tapi semua nya bayar dan mahal! Masuk Rijksmuseum ini bayar €17.50 per orang, mahal kannn. Buat gw yg otak nya ga sophisticated sih mahal ya, mending buat makan hahaha Karena mahal jadilah gw pilih museum yang konon paling besar dan paling terkenal di Amsterdam. Emank beda ya kalo museum di sini, tempatnya bagus, rapih bersih dan informatif. Walopun gw kaga ngerti kenapa benda benda ini segitu berharganya tapi ya dinikmati aja. Museum nya gede bangetttt dan yang paling bagus tentu saja di lantai paling atas nya. Ada beberapa lukisan super gede yang gw bingung gimana tu orang zaman dulu ngelukis nya dan apa sih yang membedakan 1 lukisan ini sangat berharga dan lukisan lain kurang berharga. Anyway... Just enjoy the art and expand our knowledge lah yaaa.

Sepulangnya dari Rijksmuseum, kita jalan kaki mencari stasiun kereta besar yang ada counter nya karena OV Chipkaart nya bermasalah karena lupa tap seperti yg gw ceritakan di atas. Jadilah dari situ kita jalan beberapa kilometer (ampe kaki encok mau dicopot rasanya) The bright side is, kita bisa ngeliat suasana Amsterdam yang romantis2 gimana gitu, ada canal canal kaya di film The Fault in Our Stars, orang orang naek sepeda atau bawa anjing jalan jalan, life is so good here deh pokok nya.

Setelah beresin urusan OV Chipkaart, next destination adalah Dam Square. Dam Square ini adalah salah satu area yang rame buat shopping en makan makan, jadi kalo bingung mau ngapain di Amsterdam, ksini aja and live like locals. Sebelum kesana, buka lagi google maps dan cari Metro yang ke arah Dam Square dari Amsterdam Zuid Station, Naek M51 lalu turun di Nieuwmarkt Station. Nah dari situ jalan kaki aja dikit ikutin google maps. Sebenernya di Dam Square ini ga ada sesuatu yang khusus sih, just exploring the city sekalian cari makan. Setelah jajan jajan sana sini dan muter2 daerah sini, akirnya pulang naek M54 dari Nieuwmarkt Station.

The next day, tujuan nya adalah liat kincir angin di.. Zaanse Schans!!!

How to get there: Kali ini arahnya adalah ke Amsterdam Centraal Station, dari sana cari bus stop nya di belakang stasiun yang menghadap ke arah laut lalu cari deh bustop nya. Naek bus 391 lalu turun di Zaanse Schans, itu udah pas di depannya. Perjalanan naek bus kira-kira 45 menit karena Zaanse Schans ini di pinggiran kota.

Zaanse Schans ini sebenernya semacam desa tua yang dijadikan tempat wisata. Ada banyak kincir angin disana yang fungsinya macem-macem sesuai kebutuhan. Ada yang buat motong kayu, buat tekstil dsb. Tempat nya bagus buat foto-foto juga tapi gw ga masuk ke dalem kincir nya karena bayar (maklum pelit lagian di dalem mau liat apa, ujung2nya liat kayu tua) Nah disini, ada visitor centre nya dimana kita bisa beli makanan makanan lucu seperti hot chocolate yang racik sendiri en beli roti pake keju khas belanda.

For me, the place is just okay, not a huge fans of windmills but I really like the ambiance of small dutch village, serene and peaceful even when tourists are everywhere.

Sepulang nya dari Zaanse Schans, make time to visit Eye Museum and admire the cutting edge architecture. Dari bus stop di Amsterdam Centraal tinggal turun trus cari ferry gratis buat nyebrang. Nah si Eye Museum ini udah keliatan. Bangunan nya keren banget, okelah buat foto2 sekalian nyobain naik ferry di Amsterdam :)

Dalam keadaan kelaparan, agenda berikutnya adalah muter-muter area Amsterdam Centraal. Nah gw sebenernya rada lupa itinerary gw sih muter kemana dlu tapi ya sudahlah yaaa. Nah daerah Amsterdam Centraal ini kaya pusat kota nya, rame banget sama turis en locals. Gw dah niatin mau nyari kentang goreng ala Belanda yg famous, nama nya Manneken Pis. Dari Amsterdam Centraal tinggal lurus doank ke arah yang rame sama turis jalan2, pasti ketemu. Tempat nya kecil cuma bisa take away tapi antriannya donkkk, panjangggg. Mesen obelix portion yang guede banget dan abis lho. Kentang gorengnya ini potongan nya gede en tebel2 tapi tetep garing trus disirem sama saus yang banyak pilihan nya. Gw nyoba yang original sesuai rekomen orang nya, pake mayones yang aga sedikit manis, enakkkkk!!! Padahal cuma kentang goreng ya tapi adiktif abisss.

Abis makan itu, muter2 ke dalem dan lagi lagi menemukan antrian panjang buat beli ice cream cone. Ice cream cone nya vanilla doank trus dikasi whip cream banyak gitu, itu juga enakkk banget. Creamy milky tp ga bikin eneg, sayang gw lupa namanya, saking napsu nya ngabisin tu eskrim hahaha.

Nah setelah itu, di deket situ banyak yang nawarin canal tour, karena ga ada agenda lain, akirnya gw naek deh tu Amsterdam Canal Tour, lumayan buat ngabisin waktu en experiencing Amsterdam's canal. Bayar nya kayanya 1 orang €10 an deh, apa €15 ya, ga tralu mahal (ingat jangan dikurs! anggep aja sekali makan disana) buat cruise selama 1 jam. Ga usa repot, tinggal datengin aja salah satu counter di pinggir canal nya ada berbagai merk dan bentuk perahu, cari aja yang rame jd ga nyeremin. Beli tiket trus naek deh. Kita diajak muter sambil diliatin Anne Frank House, rumah rumah perahu di Amsterdam en Gereja/Menara yang bersejarah di Amsterdam. Seru sih ya karena beda point of view sama kalo jalan kaki, jadi jangan lupa dicoba kalo ke Amsterdam yaaa.

Ohya, di daerah sini kan banyak banget tuh jual makanan en kue2, cobain kalo liat yang jual churros, enak bangettttt. Churos nya masi anget, gendut2 trus disirem coklat cair, makan ampe belepotan parah. Dah gitu beli stroopwaffle buat oleh oleh dan dimakan sendiri, kalo beli yang packed kan generic banget, jadi nya gw beli yang ala ala di bakery gitu, sebungkus sekitar €5

Berikutnya, kita ke.. Volendam!!!

Volendam ini kaya kota kecil pinggir laut di pinggiran Amsterdam. Tempat ini populer banget terutama buat turis Indonesia karena bisa foto foto pake baju tradisional Holland.

How to get there: Ke Amsterdam Centraal trus ke bus stop nya kaya ke Zaanse Schans cuma cari Bus yang ke Volendam atau ke Edam (ke Edam bakal ngelewatin Volendam juga) Nah begitu naek bus, tanya aja sama driver nya kalo mau ke Volendam turun dimana, atau ikuti petunjuk Google Maps. Perjalanan nya kurang lebih 45 menit.

Begitu sampe di Volendam, get lost aja, santeeee kotanya kecil jd kemungkinan nyasar minimal. Ikutin aja arah orang berjalan karena semua orang bakal mengarah ke pinggir lautnya secara di situ pusat hiburan nya. Dari bus stop kurang lebih jalan kaki 10 menit dan sampe deehhh ke pinggir lautnya.

What's so interesting bout this place? As I said before, suasana di Amsterdam ini laid back banget, nah ini kota kecil nya, jadi lebih santai lagiii. Enjoy the cool sea breeze and old buildings. Puterin pantai nya sambil foto foto lautnya yang banyak yacht gitu, bagus banget!!

Oh ya, buat yg hobi kuliner kaya gw, Volendam ini surga banget! Di sepanjang jalan banyak banget jual makanan belanda tradisional kaya pickled herring (anggep aja sashimi ala Belanda) trus seafood yang digoreng (cumi, udang dan pasti nya ikan!) trus banyak juga yang jualan waffle atau sweet treats lainnya. Grab a bite with a view of Holland's sea, unforgettable!

Tentunya main attraction disini adalah foto ala noni noni Belanda. You know what, ini super popular di kalangan turis Indo, sampe display tempat foto nya aja isinya celeb en orang orang terkenal Indonesia (Bu Mega, Pak Gusdur, etc) Pas gw ke sana buat foto (1 orang sekitar €25) yang masuk adalah group tour dari Indonesia juga, malah gw ga liat turis negara laen. Oh ya, tempat foto nya ada banyak en kayanya hasil nya mirip2 aja jadi pilih aja yang ga tralu rame biar ga lama nunggu nya. Foto jadi kurang lebih 1 jam, nah sambil nunggu foto, nongkrong nongkrong asik di pinggir laut mantapppssss.

Balik dari Volendam, next destination adalah... Red Light District!

Tapi karena lapar, jadilah cari makan dulu. Udah ga tahan lagi kangen sama nasi jadi nya nyari chinese resto yang pasti nya ada nasi. Ada yang recommend resto nama nya New King dan lokasi nya ga jauh dari Red Light District, jadilah kesanaa. Dari Amsterdam Centraal naek M53 turun di Nieuwmarkt Station, trus jalan kaki ikutin Google Maps. Lokasi nya di Chinatown nya Amsterdam jadi banyak resto resto chinese food/asian food lainnya

Gw lupa nama nya apa, beef in something sauce deh. Rasa nya asin gurih trus sedikit pedes. Harga nya sekitar €15 dan termasuk 1 porsi nasi (nasi nya buanyak, pasti kenyanggg). Rasa nya enak! Typical chinese food yang kebarat-baratan tapi enak, dagingnya empuk pula

Mix Grill include rice (€12.50)

Oh my good, ini superrr banget! I really love the duck, it was tender and juicy. Trus babi nya juga empuk tp garing. I admit rasa nya sih kalah lah sama model tradisional di Indo apalagi yang di Hongkong ya tapi makan ini sih napsuin abis

Setelah kekenyangan di New King, mulailah kita berkelana melihat-lihat kaya apa sih Red Light District. Basically, ini area commercial biasa, ada resto, bar atau cafe as usual. Cuma banyak juga tempat prostitusi yang legal. Bentuknya kaya ruko gitu trus di jendela-jendela nya tertutup gorden warna merah. Nah kalau itu gorden lagi kebuka dan ada perempuan berbaju minimalis mejeng, nahh dia lagi jualan berati. Pas gw dateng, ga tau kenapa dikit banget yang jualan, jadi udah jalan kaki ampe pegel muter2 cuma liat 1/2 doank, jadi kurang maksimal nih experiencenya. Secaraaa ga minat juga nyari perek di Amsterdam, ya sudah lah ujung2nya muter2 sambil foto-foto di jalanan Amsterdam yang cantik itu.

So that's all about my trip in Amsterdam, next destination is.. Paris!!!

Amsterdam Travel Tips:
1. Jangan lupa beli OV Chipkaart, kalo nanti meninggalkan Amsterdam bisa direfund kok asal saldo tidak melebihi €30, gw refund di Amsterdaam Central di pojok kanan ada counter yang melayani pembelian tiket, nah bisa refund disana

2. Kalo jalan di Amsterdam, sediain banyak waktu buat bersantai dan nikmati suasana nya, super cozy and relaxing.

3. Makan! Menurut gw makanannya enak dan cocok di lidah dibandingin Roma, London atau Paris. Porsi besar dengan harga yang masih terjangkau. Don't miss the Holland Fries and Stroopwaffle, yum!!!

4. Get on the canal cruise, Amsterdam has even more canals than Venice, so it is not to be missed.

My meal on the train to Paris, sandwich with brie and cucumber, yum!

Lost in Europe 2017 : London (Part 1)

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 31 May 2017 14:57:00 +0000

Holaaaaa

I just got back from 18 days trip to Europe (London, Amsterdam, Paris and Rome) and super excited to share with you guys! This trip was planned from like a million years ago and my savings got hit big time but well it is all worth it!!!

First of all, I'll share some general info about my euro vacation and tips for travelling to Europe.

1. I booked Garuda Indonesia CGK - LHR - CGK economy class seat and 30 KG baggage allowance for 8.5 mill IDR per person. Booked it on August 2016 so around 10 months before the date. The CGK - LHR flight is a transit flight in Changi Airport for around 45 minutes but the LHR - CGK flight was a direct flight. Garuda's service is great, food is good and entertainment is more than enough to accompany you in the 14 hours flight.

2. For accommodation, I mostly chose 2/3 star hotels instead of Air BnB since the price is not that much different (not like in Japan where Air BnB is far more affordable than hotels). My AirBnB experience is so much different than the ones in Japan (both Tokyo and Osaka). The first part of my London trip, I picked AirBnB, renting a room in the host's house in Stockwell area. Room was not clean, lots of dog hair on the bed (I'm slightly allergic to dog's hair) and the room condition was far from what I expected from a developed country housing complex. Host is nice and friendly but don't expect impeccable service and cleanliness like Japan host.

3. To travel across Europe, mostly I chose plane instead of train. Only used train once from Amsterdam Centraal to Paris Gare du Nord on Thallys Trains for around 3 hours. The rest of the city/country hopping I use Easyjet, a budget airline from UK which IMO is quite good. Taking the plane was a good choice since the cost of the ticket is not much expensive than train tickets, you'll save a lot of time compared train journey and you don't have to worry about storing your luggage. On my Thallys train journey to Paris, I find it hard to stow your luggage unless you board the train as fast as you can since luggage space is super limited. Just be careful when booking your plane tickets, pay attention to the airport location since budget airlines often use secondary airport instead of the main airport of the city so maybe the transportation to airport is more limited.

4. Make sure you prepare all the documents (passports, visa and the tickets/hotel) long before the departure date since the visa takes forever. I applied for 2 visa and it took me almost 2 months before I got them all, kinda nervous since around 2 weeks before the departure date I hadn't got the schengen visa.

5. Make sure to get small denomination when exchanging your currency. My 100 euro bill is not that easy to use since ticket machines doesn't accept note that big and every time I use the 100 Euro bank notes, it has to be checked using a machine. For Pounds, prepare 50 Pounds notes or smaller since tickets machine only accept 20 Pounds note at max. Prepare credit card since it can be used to purchased everything in Europe and make sure you notify the bank before you take it to Europe. ATMs are everywhere but I don't really know what the exchange rate is so maybe it's useful for emergency cash withdrawing.

6. Prepare internet connection. I rented wifi from wi2fly. The signal is good in London but on and off in some spots around Europe such as Florence, Rome and Paris. They will deliver the wifi 1/2 days before your departure date and pick the wifi again 1/2 days after you are back in Jakarta. Go to the website for more info.

7. And last... Be careful, Europe is not the safest place. Hard to believe that I feel safer in Bangkok or Jakarta than in Europe. Especially Paris! Will tell you guys about it later...

Now let's start with the the first part of my London trip!!

The flight from Jakarta is around 7 A.M and arrived in London around 7 P.M London Time. After that long journey, I arrived at Heathrow Airport, both excited and confused. Well first thing to do is finding where the train/subway station is. After getting my luggage and passport control, getting to the train station area takes around 10-15 minutes nonstop walking. REMEMBER, PURCHASE THE OYSTER CARD. Oyster Card is a card for public transportation in London, same like Pasmo/Suica in Japan or Octopus in Hongkong. It can be bought on vending machines at the entrance of the Heathrow Underground Station using credit card or coins or bank notes. It's so easy to buy it, just follow the instruction on the screen. I took the Piccadilly Underground Line and got of at Green Park Underground Station then I took the Victoria Line and got off at Stockwell Station. All info is by the magical Google Maps :)

First bite in London, a Sandwich from supermarket just outside Stockwell Station. At first, I was kinda surprised that a sandwich as simple as that cost 3 pounds (around 50K IDR) and didn't taste good, welcome to London I guess..

So the next day, early morning we wake up and head straight to Hyde Park. Got up really early, maybe around 7 A.M already got out of the house and finding our way to the famous Hyde Park. My body clock is still in Jakarta time, 7 A.M London is 1 P.M Jakarta. Apparently Sunday morning in London is quite slow... The huge park was empty. We only found some joggers and cyclist and failed miserably in finding anything interesting about the park. Well it is huge but not pretty, just a big ass park in central London. We wondered around and making our way to the Buckingham Palace

Mandatory London Photo with the Red Phone Booth

Buckingham Palace was grand and elegant. It exuded everything royal and British, was lucky enough to witness the guard exchange at the palace. I couldn't say much about the experience since it is a photo spot only, we couldn't enter the palace.

After taking some pictures, we walked to find.. FOOD. Super hungry!!! So decided to find our way to the London Eye and hopefully found a place to get some breakfast. Using Google Maps, we walked for around 15 minutes then found this small cafe that serves breakfast called Bon Gusto. Here's what we had

Toast with butter (complimentary)

Eggs Royale (£9.40)

Smoked salmon on top of toasted sourdough with two poached eggs. At first, I got into the bread shock syndrome. Suddenly bread is not beautiful anymore and I want nasi uduk desperately for breakfast LOL

English Breakfast (£9.40)

When in London, have English Breakfast. I love how the ham is smokey and rich, pointing itself as the star of the dish

When in England, drink tea. Well the coffee kinda sucks so maybe this is the right statement.

After finishing the food in London chilly morning, we continued our morning walk to the parliament square. The place is magnificent, first we found Westminster Abbey, the place where the royals got married. It was a beautiful church but full of tourist. Then, there's the Parliament and the Big Ben. With the bells ringing, somehow it's feels very British just standing there. All the buildings were historical and located at close proximity to each other, so this is a must visit when visiting London.

Go across the Westminster Bridge and you'll find London Eye at the left side. London Eye is situated at an entertainment complex which also housed Shrek London, The London Dungeon and Sea Life London Aquarium. There's a McD to satisfy your junk food crave too :) I only tried the London Eye (£26/person) which is a giant ferris wheel at the side of Thames River. The view was amazing, London's skyline is quite unique with the river thames in the middle and classic buildings along the river combined with modern architecture, giving a unique city view from the top.

After spending quite some time there (the queue is very long!) I headed to SoHo area, a commercial district with lots of shops and restaurant. From London Eye, go to Waterloo Underground Station, around 10 minutes walking away from the river then take Bakerloo Line to Piccadilly Circus. Shopping in London is not cheap but depends on what you buy you'll get a better bargain than Jakarta. Got a pair of Adidas NMD for £100/1,8 mill IDR, quite cheap compared to the price in Jakarta and how hard it is to find that pair of kicks.

Around SoHo, I found this asian food stall called Wok to Walk, a sort of fast food for take away. It made me so happy than I can finally have rice and noodle!!!! When you order, you have to pick a carb, egg noodle/rice/glass noodle etc. Then pick a protein, beef/pork/prawns/chicken, etc. Last, pick a sauce. The stir fry dish already include egg and veggies, cost around £6-£7 a box. Yummy!!!! Rice never fails :)

After a long day of walking and shopping, it's time to end the day, So heading back to Stockwell to prepare for the flight to Amsterdam.

Getting to Amsterdam was not hard, since I use Easyjet, the flight departed from Gatwick Airport. To get to Gatwick Airport, we can use the Gatwick Express from Victoria Station (just tap the Oyster Card with enough credit). The single journey cost around £18, quite expensive but fast and hassle free. In Gatwick Airport, Easyjet uses self check in machines so it's a bit tricky but the staffs are very helpful. All they do is check your visa before checking in your luggage. After that, just go to the boarding gates, so easy! Before boarding, had lunch at Wagamama, a British chain restaurant serving japanese food with british taste I guess

Chicken Katsu Curry by Wagamama

IMO tastes weird. The curry is a bit sweet and serving that kind of salad next to a curry?? Seriously...

I'll see you guys in my next post of Amsterdam!! Byeeee

Lost in Bangkok 2016: Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 15 Feb 2017 11:11:00 +0000

The next part of my Bangkok trip last June peopleeee

On this post I'll share some yummy bites I had when visiting Bangkok, including the best Thai food I've ever encountered ever

The place is called Paste, A posh restaurant located at Gaysorn Shopping Centre, near Chidlom BTS Station. Just a stone throw away from Central World and Four Faced Buddha Temple. Claiming to serve royal thai cuisine interpreted in a modern twist, this place got it all.

Amuse Bouche

A chicken curry dish which name I totally forgot :(

This is a super delicious pork soup, the broth is sooo rich and fragrant. Very light even though it's a pork broth, the cherry tomatoes add freshness to the heavy pork belly. The pork belly itself was fried/roasted first before put into the broth, it was succulent, juicy and tender. Seriously one of the tastiest pork I've ever had

Paste is the place where you can experience a fine dining Thai food experience in a western style ambiance. I love how the food tastes authentic and not pretentious yet classy and elegant. Totally recommended (prepare to burn your wallet though)

Late night situation at the four faced buddha shrine, walking distance from Paste. A very famous landmark in Bangkok

The view of Bankok from the famous Sky Bar at Lebua Tower Hotel. Featured in the movie Hangover 2, this is a must visit when visiting Bangkok. Yes it is pricey but worth every penny.

A green tea dessert set from Kyo Roll En, a famous dessert chain specializing in japanese dessert esp green tea. I'm not a huge fan of green tea so for me it was just okay

I guess that's all patients, see you on my next post :)

Lost in Bangkok 2016 - Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 22 Oct 2016 14:01:00 +0000

This is a VERY LATE post of my Bangkok trip in June 2016. Yes I'm back in Bangkok babyyyy

Bangkok is one of my favorite destination. First, it is quite affordable there. In some areas, it is cheaper than Jakarta. Transportation is cheap and easy, locals are very tourist friendly, hotel price is cheap and I loveee the food.

Long story short, let's begin the food parade...

First stop in Bangkok, Terminal 21

This pork satay (10 THB) is located on the basement near the main lobby. TO DIE FOR! Thai's pork satay is tender, flavorful and not the tiniest foul pork smell ever occured. Love love love

Oyster omellete, my favorite food court item in Bangkok. The best I've tried so far is the one at Platinum Fashion Mall food court. The watermelon juice (30 THB) is like drinking sugar water, SUPER SWEET yet no sugar was added, yummmm

This time, I stayed at Movenpick Hotel on Sukhumvit Soi 15. It was a very pleasant stay! I love the hotel. The room is spacious, modern yet homey. Location is great, along the super busy Sukhumvit Road and there's a shuttle to Terminal 21 (5 minutes walk). BTS Station is located at Terminal 21 so it's around 3-5 minutes on foot. The breakfast spread is quite good. Pastry station needs some improvement but Egg Station and Cheese/Salad Station was yummmm

Next stop is The Common. The Common is an open air/mini mal consisting of many many restaurants and bars. A very hip and cool place in Bangkok. Went there quite late and were very hungry. I took the BTS and get of at Thonglor Station. IMO, it was still a loooonggg walk. Tips: Stick to taxi not BTS. Just in front of Thonglor Soi 17 where The Common resides, there's a noodle stall. It was very tempting so I decided to give it a try, the right decision.

Noodle (50 THB) was warm and flavorful. Fragrant soup, umami bursting on every sip. Thin noodles with explosive soup, perfect.

I finally reached The Common and very confused, too many options. Decided to try Pepina, an italian restaurat recommended by many food blogger. Well, pasta and pizza never fails right?

The pizza dough was different than any other dough I've tasted before. It was rather chewy. Strangely, it goes well and tasted gooddd. Love the pancetta and the mozzarela and some other cheese which name I forgot.

The baked rigatoni was divine! Creamy silky gooey cheesy.... YUMMYLICIOUS!!!

SabX2 Wonton Noodle

A very famous noodle joint in Pratunam Area. U could easily search google maps and find its location. From Fashion Mall Platinum, go across the road (Petchaburi Soi 19) It's the small alley next to Shibuya Shopping Mall. Just ask around where Soi 19 is, walk for around 100 M, the restaurant is the one on your right. I found it strange since the place is full of tourist that the waiter can't communicate in English. Using hand gestures, I managed to order a bowl of noodle. The noodle is good, but nothing really special IMO. It's a hongkong style noodle, thin long yellowish noodle with many toppings (pork included) I just don't get the hype but well it is good and worth trying.

So that's all people, will tell you more on my next post... Hint: BEST authentic thai dish I've ever tried

The Duel - Crematology VS Tanamera Coffee VS St. Ali

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 12 Sep 2016 04:35:00 +0000

Let's have another duel!!! Or in this post, maybe a menage a trois ....

Coffee, especially hipster coffee shops are still one of Jakarta Foos Scene trending topics. Started in the southern part of Jakarta, nowadays it's been spreading to the suburbs of Jakarta. I am not a coffee geek, I don't understand how to describe coffee note or taste, whether it is fruity or nutty, hell I don't get it when a coffee geek said that this cup of coffee has medium acidity with chocolate note at the end (are we still talking bout coffee? Or chocolate?)

Well what I know is whether it is good or bad. period. Please don't kill me

Now, The first one is St. Ali

St. Ali is a famous coffee shop in Melbourne (maybe the place where all this coffee hype is coming from) Finally opened it's first outlet in Jakarta a couple of months ago, this place is flocked by Jakarta's A listers and coffee geeks.

I haven't visited this place for a very long time (aside from repeated visits to Tanamera, I rarely come twice to the same coffee shops) so I don't know if it's still opened only until around 6 PM. Weird huh?

The place is typical hipster coffee shops, bricks and woods, black and white dominated decor, bright white walls with the coffee bar as the main attraction. Simple small flower vase as the table centerpiece and that's it. Met a couple of celebs when I went there, lots of southern Jakarta crowds and less of those engkoh2 encik2 flocking the PIK/MK area coffee shops.

Coffee... Well it was nice and somehow similar to Common Grounds. The coffee is mild and mellow with a crisp aftertaste and a light nutty end. (I googled "how to describe coffee" before I wrote this) I like it!

I haven't had the chance to try the food. FYI, the food is expensive... Why do u guys have to sell expensive food on a place to enjoy coffee, come on...

Next! Crematology

Crematology is a household name. It's a very popular local coffee joint where many many coffee geeks come and grab a cup of coffee. The place is very cozy, a bit dark and masculine with all the heavy wooden furniture. The place has the exact opposite feel to St. Ali. If St Ali is a chic city girl, then crematology is your next door beautiful neighbour.

Crematology serves a nice coffee and great selections of foods. The coffee is not a crisp as St. Ali.. The coffee is has lower acidity and also has a burnt taste to it. Tried some of their snacks and toast, all is good. A great place to chill after a long day at work.

Last but not least... Tanamera Coffee!

I fell in love with this place since it first outlet in the middle of thamrin city. A small place that serves my favorite coffee in town. Well quality never fails and I heard they will open their next outlet in PIK, YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Their coffee is greattt, it just feels right. Medium body, bold flavor, chocolaty note and smooth as sin. The food, nothing disappoints (tried several of their cakes) service is good, casual but get you everything you need. The instagrammable red cup doesn't hurt too

Verdict: Out of the 3 places I mention earlier, Crematology and Tanamera are the only coffee shops which I made repeated visits to. all of them serves good coffee but my personal fave is Tanamera Coffee

Lost in Japan: Osaka - Part 4

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 28 Jun 2016 15:03:00 +0000

Back to another post of my Japan trip on March-April 2016 :) This post is about my last day in Osaka and the trip back to Tokyo. When this day came, I was kinda sad. Somehow, I fell in love with Osaka. No, Tokyo is still my fave place in Japan so far but Osaka is very comfortable. It's not as crowded as Tokyo, the food is nice and cheaper and most of all, it's more laid back compared to Tokyo.

Since the check out time from the apartment in 12 PM, we decided to get up earlier and visit Osaka Castle before taking the shinkansen back to Tokyo. We took the train and get off at Osakajokuen Station (again, just follow what hyperdia told you). The castle is just in front of the station. When we got there, it was raining boohooo, making it a bit harder to enjoy the beautiful scenery.

The Osaka Castle is one of the most beautiful place on my short trip there. It's HUGE. Gosh... First, entering the castle area from the gate until you find the castle will take you approx 15 minutes of leisurely walk. It's a huge complex consisting of restaurants, gardens, water canal and the castle itself. No wonder ancient people rides horse all the time --"

After we found the castle and snapped some pictures, we just walked pass the gate and didn't enter the castle since it was raining and we only have a short time. Then we just walked along the canal/river and take more photos. The sakura trees are blooming over the river, the weather is cloudy with light drizzle and a bit windy. Call me weird but I thought it was very romantic...

Decided to go back to apartment and guess what? Took us an hour or maybe more to get back to the train station. That place is HUGE!!! Don't miss it when you visit Osaka :)

The shinkansen back to Tokyo was 3.5 hours long and most of the time I fell asleep. This trip to Japan is quite tiring, we have to walk everytime and everywhere. So when there's spare time, sleeping is the answer.

Arriving in Tokyo Station, we went straight to the next Air BnB apartment. This property is owned by a charming japanese girl name Luna. She picked us up at Akasaka Station exit 6. It's a 3 minutes walk from the station to her apartment building. The place is small but very neat and clean. The apartment is in better condition then the one in Osaka but smaller. I'd recommend this place since it's affordable and close to the subway station. It's not crowded like Shinjuku or Shibuya but you can still find many many interesting places around the apartment.

We were kinda tired that day so we took a short break before continuing the journey to find dinner started. Decided to explore Shinjuku, a commercial area in Tokyo where the salaryman and salarywoman gathered. Shinjuku is also where the red light district of Tokyo resides *wink

After wandering aimlessly around Shinjuku, We decided to splurge and get a taste of authentic Japanese BBQ, all you can eat style! Woohoooo !!!!! Looking around and find this building where people line up. From the billboard, this building has like 10 restaurants in 10 different floors. The BBQ one is at the 9th floor I guesses. Judging from the queue of the elevator, I bed it was nice. So in we goo

The place is typical japanese restaurant in Tokyo. The place is quite big but the tables and seats are not as spacious as the restaurants in Jakarta. They don't have many waiters but the waiters work like really really fast.

The place serves beef obviously, don't know what kind of beef but I assume not the best kind of wagyu since after I converted it into IDR, costs around 400K per pax, not much of a different from Jakarta right?

I love the BBQ!!! The beef was oh so goooddd, go karubiiiii. It's not melt in your mouth kind of beef, you still need to chew the beef but that was the beauty of it. Damn... One of the best BBQ I've ever had. For 2500 JPY per pax, I wanna go backkk

That sums up my day. Next is the visit to the happiest place on earth :)

Lost in Japan : Osaka - Part 3

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 15 Jun 2016 14:06:00 +0000

Hello again! Please please don't be bored with my endless bragging of my Japan trip last April, it was soooo good I missed it already.

On the third day in Osaka, the itinerary is to spend the whole day in Kyoto. Kyoto is a short train ride from Osaka, just punch Kyoto Station in your Hyperdia and get on the train (shinkansen and local) using JR Pass or IC Card.

Upon arriving in Tokyo Station, we go straight to Arashiyama. Using the JR Sagano (or any other train to Arashiyama Station) you will arrive in a country side suburb of Kyoto. It was really nice and calm. I kinda love this small town vibe of Arashiyama, serene and beautiful.

You can get the Sagano Scenic Rail Train or Boat Tour (just go to the building behing train station) but it'll cost a fortune. So.. We look for a bike rental and rent a bike for 1000 JPY for the day. Arashiyama is not big, within less than 3 minutes of biking, we reached the main street. Man... It was packed! It's kinda hard to bikin the uphill slope full of tourist and busses but we made it! First stop.. Tenryuji Temple!

Tenryuji Temple is the biggest Zen temple in Arashiyama and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. As I've said before, I am not a temple kinda tourist. Just went there to find this huge empty building which was THE all glorious temple but found nothing interesting aside from the beautiful scenery.

Going uphill from Tenryuji Temple, you will find the entrance of Bamboo Forest. The path is small but very crowded. Note: You can bring your bike through the path. It was a short walk to the instafamous bamboo groove. I didn't find it beautiful but it is indeed very instagenic!! In the middle of the way to the Bamboo Groove, you'll find a small temple where you can write prayers on a small piece of wood. It's kinda cute, just like those manga or anime kinda thing.

Oh yes, rent a kimono!!!! Along the main street of Arashiyama, find stores that rent traditional japanese cloth. I think it cost me around 2500-3000 JPY for a complete head to toe transformation. Seriously guys, forget about how expensive it is, just do it. It's very cool and comfortable although the footwear (wooden clog) kinda hurts a bit when you walk. Take a picture in the kimono, super cool!!!

The scenery there is very beautiful. I walked towards the Togetsukyo Bridge (just go straight toward the mountains) in search of the Monkey Park but the clog hurts so much, I decided not to proceed. Just enjoy the cherry blossom along the bridge, take a lot of photos since every angle is so beautiful. I don't know why but any random pic in Japan is beautiful. Grab some snacks (tsurimi wraps, soft ice cream and yakitori) and be japanese :)

We headed back to Kyoto around 3 PM and managed to visit Fushimi Inari. It is located just in front of JR Inari station (use hyperdia app) Only one station from Kyoto Station. Fushimi Inari is a shrine with many Inari Gates, orange wooden gate place through hundreds of steps, climbing to a hill/mountain. Just went there and snapped some mandatory photos and went down. I didn't find it interesting at all (aside from the fact that it is very instagenic) The temples of Kyoto closes down around 5 PM so I didn't visit anymore temples. Went back to Osaka for last minute culinary exploring in Dotonbori area!

Back to Osaka, we couldn't decide what to eat so we wandered around Dotonbori and Namba area, hoping to find something interesting to eat. After a while, we found this restaurant called Yokozuna, serving Osaka's signatur kushikatsu and yaki soba.

Kushikatsu is a deep fried satay/skewer. They served everything from meat to veggies to meatballs, kushikatsu style. I also ordered yaki soba for carb loading. The kushikatsu was just okay (what do u expect from deep fried food?) but the Yaki Soba was awesome!!!!

The noodle was smooth and sweet, perfectly cooked and fried without losing it's moisture. The bonito flakes is so fragrang and somehow moving on it's own, blown away by the noodle's hot steam. Very appetizing. We also ordered omelette and it was creamy and soft, perfect!

Ended the journey that day with a midnight snack of instant noodle, discounted salmon teriyaki from a supermarket and beef burger from 7/11, yummmmmmm

Lost in Japan : Osaka - Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 05 Jun 2016 13:36:00 +0000

Astagaaaa dah bulan Juni ajeeee --" Setelah bersemangat update blog di April, gw mulai kembali dengan kemalasan tingkat dewa di bulan Mei. Well life kinda sucks at May :( Anyway, mari kita lanjutkan Japan travel post series nyaaa

Hari ke 2 di Osaka schedule nya adalah ke Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan dan ke Nara. Abis itu as usual kulineran ajee. Nah karena super pemalas, kita baru bangun jam 8 trus beres2 keluar apato jam 9 an. Ke Osaka Aquarium ini agak ribet dan cukup jauh, lokasi nya sih di pinggir laut gitu... Dari apato kita yang deket Shin Osaka Subway Station naek Midosuji Line turun di Hommachi trus ganti Chuo Line turun di Osakako Station. Perjalanan kurleb 25 menit naek subway. Abis itu jalan kaki yang lumayan jauh menurut gw ke Osaka Aquarium nya, lempeng doank sih dari Osakako Station itu dan ga bakal nyasar karena banyak sign dan rombongan orang-orang mengarah ke sana.

Begitu sampe ke ujung jalan baru deh keliatan itu gedung nya yang gede dan kerennnnn! Karena blm bfast, kita makan dulu di mal kecil sblm masuk ke aquarium nya. Yah, ada kaya food court gitu deh yang penuh sama turis2 yang mau ke aquarium. Pesen KFC dan seporsi katsudon. Berhubung foto KFC nya blur jadi tidak diupload yaaaa. Oh ya, tiap kali ke luar negeri, gw usahakan untuk makan KFC atau McD buat bahan perbandingan aja sama yang di Indo :p Norak ya? hahahah Anyway... KFC nya ga enak, enakkan indo jauh! Dan mahal, 1 paket 70-80 ribu

Nah begitu ampe depan Osaka Aquarium, langsung cari aja counter buat beli tiket masuk nya. Harga tiket nya 2300 JPY atau kurleb 300 ribu rupiah, agak mahal sih tp worth every penny! I do love this kind of place. Ga tau kenapa demen aja gitu ngeliat binatang, apakah itu aquarium atau kebon binatang.

Seperti aquarium laennya, masuk nya ada jalur nya dan kita bakal muterin exhibit sesuai area asalnya. Misal nya pas pertama-tama itu ada exhibit otter (berang-berang) yang area nya dibuat serupa aslinya. Trus masuk lagi ke dalem dan ada exhibit amerika utara misalnya, nahhh segala macem ikan yang aslinya dari sana ada di situ. Tempatnya sangat rapih (maklum deh ya Jepang gitu) dan info nya cukup jelas. Petugas2 yang ada juga cukup informatif dan full of smile. IMO lebih bagus dari S.E.A Aquarium nya Singapore. Service bagusan ini jauh, ukuran juga lebih gede dan somehow lebih menyenangkan gitu atmosfirnya.

Exhibit utama nya adalah tank super besar di tengah2 yang kalo diputerin mungkin tinggi nya ada kali 4 lantai. Isinya hiu-hiu, ikan gede gede, manta ray dan pari pari lainnya sama... Whale Shark! Yessss people, whale shark yang gede itu, so majestic. Hypnotizing kalo liat aquarium kaya gini tuh, kinda makes you realize that you are just a small person in this huge world :)

Oh ya, jangan lupa check out souvenir storenya, bagus2 dan ga tralu mahal kok hehehe

Next... Himeji!

Awalnya sebenernya gw pengen ke Nara, kan lucu ya liat2 rusa gitu... Tp akhirnya setelah ada info kalau di Nara kurang bagus, akirnya kita ke Himeji buat ngeliat the most beautiful castle in Japan. Jalan ke Shimeji... Cek aja hyperdia deh untuk tujuan Himeji Station, gw juga blindly follow hyperdia. Bisa naek local train bisa naek shinkansen. Waktu pergi nya sih gw naek local train sesuai arahan si hyperdia hehehe

Sampe di Himeji Station, udah keliatan di kejauhan tuh castlenya. Himeji sebenernya kota kecil yang relatif lebih damai dan tenang dibandingin Osaka apalagi Tokyo. Suasananya santaiii banget dan banyak turis yang mau ke Himeji Castle ini. Kita bisa jalan kaki lurus doank ke arah Himeji atau bisa naek bus yang muterin Himeji Castle dengan harga 100 JPY. Tentu saja kita naek bussss, pegellll Naek busnya tinggal liat aja deh dari depan stasiun nya byk halte bus, liat aja bus yang tulisannya Himeji Castle, busnya ga tralu gede dan keliatan kaya bus turis gitu.

As I mention earlier, gw ga suka ke castle atau kuil sebenernya, jadi tujuan utama ke sini adalah liat dan foto doank. Masuk ke dalem ada taman yang mengelilingi castle dan foto2 di lapangannya. Abis itu pulangggg :p

Bagus banget sih castle nya, putih gitu. Menurut info, castle ini awet dari zaman dulu karena tidak pernah kena serangan atau diancurin, jd utuh lah dia dari zaman dulu.. Banyak sakura blossom disini yang membuat view nya jadi makin bagus.. Kinda romantic seeing the white castle and the white-pink cherry blossom, only in Japan.

Pulang dari sana, kita jalan kaki karena mau santai2 aja.... Setelah jadwal yang cukup hectic dari tokyo, di Osaka lebih nyantai dan menikmati Jepang. Jalan-jalan eh nemu oma-oma jualan steam oyster yang satu nya 500 JPY. Behhhh enak benerrrrr, fresh seafood really is the best! Ternyata sepanjang jalan ke station itu byk toko toko kecil yang isi nya lucu lucu. Blm lagi banyak jajanan (ini yang paling penting) jd nya banyak stop nya ahahaahha Sampe sampe di station udah jam 6 sore dan langsung mengarah ke Osaka.

Bingung kan ya mau makan apa... pas ngelewatin Kobe, mikir apa mampir Kobe makan kobe beef... Dah lah ntar ntar aja mudah2an next bisa balik ke Jepang dan mampir Kobe :) The cool thing about travelling to Japan is u can hop off on every city and explore. Karena transport nya yang gampang dan murah, kalo mau pindah2 kota yang tinggal naek kereta apa. Bisa ke Kobe, Kyoto, Nara, Himeji atau ke kota-kota laen di deket2 Osaka, asik kannn. Coba di Jakarta... Mau ke Depok ato Bekasi gitu??? Keburu jenggotan baru nyampe

Terdamparlah kita akhirnya di Osaka Station. Osaka station atau Umeda ini adalah salah satu city centre nya Osaka selaen Dotonbori atau Namba. Jadi make sure to visit these two place when visiting Osaka. Umeda ini lebih kaya CBD area nya, byk high rise building dan mall. Jd turun dari Osaka Station kita bingung mau kemana, akirnya karena sudah cape dan dah malem juga, kita memutuskan masuk mall dan makan di resto di dalem aja. Mall di Jepang kan ga gede gede banget ya kaya Grand Indonesia tapiii lantai nya banyak. Bisa 10-20 lantai tergantung mall nya. Terus semua mall terhubung sama station, jd mabok gitu hadeh mau ke mall yang mana ya, dikelilingi mall kan bingung yaaa

Masuk lah kita ke salah satu mall di situ yang namanya gw dah lupa dan naik ke lantai berapa belas nya buat ke food area nya. Oh ya, biasa nya area restoran di mall ada di lantai atas dan 1 lantai isinya restoooo semua. Dan gila nyaa ngantriii semuaaa. Gw ga ngerti lagi deh sama orang Jepang, kok dimana mana ngantri gituuuu. Dan makanannya ga murah, rata-rata gw liat bisa 2000 JPY seorang... Setelah bingung makan apa akirnya kita makan buffet namanya Platinum kalo ga salah dan seorang kena 2500 JPY. Abis nya dah eneg banget sama japanese food, we need french fries asap!

Well that's the end of our second day in Osaka, see you againnn

Lost in Japan: Osaka - Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 17 May 2016 13:08:00 +0000

On the fourth day of my Japan Trip, we go to Osaka using Shinkansen.

Let me tell you a bit about Shinkansen. I used my JR Pass to go to Osaka using Shinkansen (more info HERE) We went to Tokyo Station and looking for the Shinkansen platform. If you are lost, just ask anybody and they will show you the direction. By using the JR Pass, all you need to do is show the pass at the maned gate and find the platform. Wait for the train to arrive and pick the empty seat on Car 1 - 5 (It is the unreserved seat car)

By using JR Pass, you can ride any Shinkansen except the Nozomi and Mizuho train. I don't really know the difference since I never ride on Nozomi trains but according to some websites/forum there is no difference about the condition of the car. The difference is the schedule, the Hikari train which we took has fewer schedule than Nozomi train and stops at more station than Nozomi train. In other words, using Nozomi train will get you to Osaka faster than using Hikari trains. Well, we are on vacation so 30 minutes difference is not a problem, so don't be a princess and use JR Pass.

Now, the shinkansen ride... It was AWESOME. Seriously man, it was wayyyyyyyyyyyy better than the Malaysia Airlines ride to Tokyo. The train was ultra clean, reclining seat (semi sleeping position), wide leg space, bigger chairs and better interior. Don't forget to buy food at the station to be eaten on the train, well my idea of killing time is munching on food, so u know.... :p

The trip from Tokyo to Osaka took approx 3 hours, not that long and the train ride was smooth. We arrived at the Shin-Osaka Station and went straight to the AirBnB apartment. The place I booked using AirBnB is a small apartment 3 minutes walking distance from the Shin Osaka Station. Perfect choice, saving us a lot of trouble dragging the luggage and not changing trains/subway. Recommended place if you are visiting Osaka. Minimarts are like 1 minutes away from the apartment, Midosuji Subway Line Shin Osaka Station 2 minutes walk, clean apartment, what else do you need.

After checking in to the apartment and get a rest (actualy resting approx 2 hours) we started exploring Osaka! Destination... Dotonbori!

From all the googling I did, Osaka doesn't have much to offer. Besides Dotonbori, there's Osaka Aquarium, Universal Studios and Osaka Castle, nothing much right? BUT let's try them all

To go to Dotonbori, I took a subway ride on the Midosuji Line and get off at Namba Station os Shinsaibashi Station. From there... Just get lost :) In every trip, I do a lot of planning. BUT when I arrive in a place, I purposely try to be lost. Somehow, being lost in a foreign place adds a certain thrill to the trip.

Shinsaibashi is a shopping area. Like many other shopping spot in Japan, the characteristic is many many stores in a no driving zone. It's like Pasar Baru in Jakarta, if you know what I mean. I didn't do much shopping so I didn't really pay much attention to the shops. Dotonbori is an area consists of many restaurants, some shops and clubs. It's the place where you can find the iconic Glico Man.

Some say that Osaka is the kitchen of Japan. It's THE place to enjoy Japan's best food. I can't say that I agree since IMO Tokyo's food is better than Osaka... Well maybe I didn't explore much in Osaka.

One of the place I tried is a famous Okonomiyaki place called Mizuno. Okonomiyaki is a pancake like dish, consist of cabbage, scallions, meat in a batter, pan fried and then topped with katsuiboshi (bonito flakes), mayo and tonkotsu sauce (kinda like bbq sauce but less tangy)

Waited for a bit over an hour (Japanese really loves to queue) then finally got to taste the damn thing. While waiting for the queue I wondered around the area and found this queue of takoyaki shop. Ordered this takoyaki with lots of scallion and soft boiled/raw egg. The takoyaki is very mushy, the scallion helps a lot with the raw egg. I found it kinda weird but kinda yummy too. It's gooey and creamy at the same time.

After the long wait, we finally got seats and ordered two dishes. One is called Yamaimoyaki, a yam based yaki dish with pork and scallop and the other is Mizunoyaki, a typical okonomiyaki with 6 toppings.

The dishes are prepared in front of us. First is the Yamaimoyaki. The cook kinda put everything on the hot pan and mixed all the ingredients together. When it is cooked, he put all the sauces and slide the "pancake" in front of us, provided a small iron spatula, just like the one he uses to cook the dish.

Tastewise... Yummmm. Well, it is not something you can find in Jakarta. It's authentic japanese and a yummy one. The proteins esp the scallops are cooked nicely. This dish looks like a mess, but addictive when eaten. The combination of the savory tonkotsu, the fragrant katsuiboshi, the creamy mayo and the gooey cake is yummmm.

Second dish is the Mizunoyaki, which in terms of taste kinda similar to the Yamaimo but softer and more creamy.

Continueing the journey that night, we tried another takoyaki which tastes even worse. I dunno, I think all the takoyaki are mushy, I like it a bit firm and dry, not crumply and gooey... From what I learned, that kind of consistency (mushy and gooey) is the best for takoyaki, so maybe it's just my personal preference. One thing that's funny is when I bought this takoyaki, the lady seller yells a lot, there was a yelling war with the adjacent takoyaki stall and the lady won! Damn, Japan is so overwhelming (and this comes from a trained Muara Karang residents with all the yelling medanese auntie)

Last, before we got back to the apartment, we stoppend by Doutor, a coffee shop chain which can easily found all over Tokyo and Osaka. The cake and coffee package cost around 400 JPY. The coffee is so light, tastes like milk with a drop of coffee (like any other coffee in Japan) The choux is YUMMMM!!! Ridiculously creamy but not too sweet, the puff was crispy and has the perfect bounciness, love love love!

On the way back, at the station I found this stall called Horai 551, I remembered seeing the stall in Tokyo too. I was curious and bought a pack of gyoza for around 200 JPY. Then, we bought some instant noodle at 7-11 and a packet of pork belly. Oh damn, seriously yummy!!!!

See you on the next post!!! Next is Osaka Aquarium...

Fctry Bistro & Bar

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 23 Apr 2016 11:54:00 +0000

Hey hey heyyyy

Agak bosen ya sama post Jepang melulu... Break sedikit, kali ini gw mau post review mengenai.... Fctry Bistro & Bar!!!

Sebenernya sih Fctry ini bukan pemain baru.. Cuma emank gw yang ketinggalan zaman aja (maklum blogger ga kondang jadi ga di invite media gathering) Nah setelah ini tempat muncul di berbagai blog dan insta nya orang-orang, akir nya penasaran juga deh ya bagaimana rasanya. Jadi.. di sebuah minggu yang cerah meluncurlah gw ke sana..

Tempat nya di Lippo Mall Puri, St Moritz. Lokasi nya yang di outer part of the mall sama decor nya yang banyak natural light dan agak rustic emank instagenic banget ya. Pantesan aja ini tempat hits..

Langsung aja ke yummy yummy nya.. Dimulai dengan yang gratis tentunya hahahaa

Complimentary bread

Roti nya lumayan sih (mgkn saya lapar...) yah decent lah, cuma mentega nya kurang banyak

Spaghetti Al Funghi (85K IDR)

Yummmm!!! Sebagai sebuah tempat yang bukan italian restaurant, pasta nya sih enak bener. Al dente, creamy mampus tp ga eneg dan porsi juga cukup besar. Enough herbs to neutralize the creaminess of the sauce and the mushrooms are so flavorful. Not to be missed!

Big Brunch (120K IDR)

Sepiring besar breakfast set (yang menurut gw ga besar besar amat) hihihi... Okay.. Sausage nice! Bacon NO, sedikit smelly, terlalu tebal dan ga crispy. Mushroom yes yes yes! Fluffy egg... Kenapa sih ga pake scrambled egg biasa aja.. dan si rosti nya super oily :(

Dopenuts (25K IDR)

This is so goooooddddd. Donut yang tengah nya ga bolong dan ga pake filling, atas nya pake black sea salt and honey cream, gila mantaps abis. Sweet as sin, smooth as silk and fluffy as cotton.

Will I come back? YES!

Rating: 7.5/10
Location: Lippo Mal Puri, Jakarta

Lost in Japan: Tokyo - Part 3

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 19 Apr 2016 15:07:00 +0000

Post kali ini pake Bahasa Indonesia aahhhh... Walaupun Bahasa Inggris gw pas pas an tp ga tau kenapa lebih demen aja ngeblog pake Bahasa Inggris.. Well coba dikomen plis enakan mana baca nya pake Bahasa Indonesia atau Bahasa Inggris

Post kali ini bakal ngebahas perjalanan keliling Tokyo Hari ke 3, tujuannya adalah ke Tsukiji Fish Market, Ginza dan Odaiba

Menurut hasil google sampe mata sepet, ke Tsukiji Fish Market tuh wajib hukumnya kalo ke Jepang, subuh subuh ngeliat tuna auction terus lanjut brekkie sushi di Sushi Dai atau Daiwa Sushi. Hmm... Ini liburan atau Ospek ya? --"

Gw dengan sukses bangun jam.... 8 (baca: delapan) bye bye tuna auction... Seperti biasa ritual kalo liburan adalah melek trus ngulet ngulet, buka hape, ngulet lagi, cari camilan pagi baru mandi. Yes people, camilan wajib hukum nya yaaa. Lalu karena rencana nya mau brekkie di Tsukiji, jadi nya gw cuma beli sandwich 1 di Lawson. L.A.P.E.R

Perjalanan ke Tsukiji dari hotel ga terlalu jauh. Tentunya dengan pake si app ajaib Hyperdia, langsung ketemu cara nya gimana kesana dan naek apa. Waktu itu gw keluar di Tsukiji Station (Hibiya Line), dari sana ikutin aja arus orang yang mau ke arah Tsukiji semua. Dari exit waktu itu gw nyebrang jalan trus belok kanan, lurussss terus sekitar 2/3 perempatan sampe dehh. Ga mgkn kelewatan lah secara pasar gituuu, tentu nya rame en padet. Nah pas balik, gw baru sadar kalo ada 1 station yang jauh lebih deket daripada si Tsukiji Station yaitu Tsukiji-Shijo Station (Oedo Line). Yah tergantung sama daerah asal kita kale ya deketan mana nya, kalo dari hotel gw emank deketan kalo keluarnya di Tsukiji Station

Masuk Tsukiji, pertama-tama gw ke tempat penitipan tas nya. Muter-muter bawa ransel isi jaket kan males juga ya secaraaa ini rame gituu. Oh ya... Di Jepang tuh banyak banget loker berbayar. Jadi ada loker besi yang dilengkapi dengan tempat koin di seluruh station dan tempat tempat tujuan wisata. Cukup mahal sih, untuk yang ukuran sedang bisa 500 JPY (60.000 IDR) tapi ya murah kali ya menurut orang Jepang secara 500 JPY tuh uang koin haahahah

Nah kemudian kita ngambil map nya dari information centre dan berbekal map itu muter2 lah... Hmm I am not impressed sih, ya apa yang mau dihebohin dari pasar ikan ya? Yah ini Muara Angke versi bersih dan bagus (dan mahal lahhh) Banyak orang wara wiri naek mobil2 golf atau truk pengangkut gitu. Di dalam pasar nya sih ya pasar... berantakan dan becek tapi kaga bau.

Yang seru sebenernya di Tsukiji adalah... JAJAN NYA!!!! Konon si resto sushi yang famous itu bisa antri 3 jam. Nah karena tentu saja gw males (kaki bisa putus dah antri 3 jam) gw milih random sushi bar di deket pasar nya... Ternyata sama ajaaaa, gw dah antri ampir sejam dan antrian cuma bergerak 3 orang. DAN di semua sushi restaurant, antriannya nguler. It's not about how good the food is, it's about supply is less than demand. Turis (domestik dan internasional) semua nya mau makan sushi yang konon fresh sementara semua resto sushi kecil kecil, gimana mau nampungggg

Setelah 1 jam, gw menyerah. BYE! Itinerary bisa rusak kelamaan di Tsukiji.. On the way back, lewat lah jalanan yang banyak jual Omellete en fresh seafood lainnya. Here we go...

Scallop in Soy Sauce (500 JPY/Tusuk)

Oh God, ini enak BANGETSSSSSS!!!! Scallop nya fresh banget, di blow torch sampe pinggir2nya charred sambil diolesin saus nya. Abis mateng, dicelup ke dalam sausnya lagi. MUST TRY! Kaya lagi makan laut gitu, enak bangettt

Ini gw agak bingung benda apaan. Di cangkang itu ada ikan, scallop sama sea urchin (dan dari denger2 orang pada ngomong disitu ada kantong sperma ikan apa gitu). Cara masak nya juga di blow torch tapi ga terlalu lama, jadi masi rada2 semi mentah. Untuk rasa nya lagi lagi serasa makan laut. Yummmmm

Nahhh karena gagal makan sushi, gw akhirnya beli sekotak ootoro dan tuna di warung pinggir jalan seharga 2000 JPY/6 Pcs. Gilaaaaa gw ga tau lagi deh, yang jual itu ya modelan kaya disini tuh abang2 jual ikan di pasar gitu lho, ga meyakinkan banget lah. Tapi tu sushi.. BEST TUNA I'VE EVER HAD. Bagaimana rasa nya klo gw sukses antri di Sushi Dai ya? Mungkin bisa terbang ke langit...

Di sampingnya itu ada omellete. Di sepanjang jalan Tsukiji, banyak banget yang jualan si omellete ini. Cobain aja satu satu (semua tempat ada testernya) Gw cuma foto 1 padahal ada kali gw nyoba 3 tempat berbeda hahahaha Dan lagi-lagi... SEMUA NYA ENAKKK... DIEEEE. Anget, manis en fluffy gitu. Pas banget buat perut gw yang melilit karena kelaperan

Setelah puas ngisi perut di jajanan road nya Tsukiji, kita pindah ke... Ginzaaa

Hmm sedikit mengenai Tokyo (hasil google mendalam sebelum pergi) Jadi Tokyo ini dibagi ke dalam beberapa ward, kalo ga salah 23 wards. Di dalam ward ini ada beberapa district.. Mgkn ward ini seperti kecamatan di Indonesia ya.. Lalu district itu kelurahan kali yaa. Nah Ginza ini adalah salah satu distrik di Chuo Ward. Ginza district ini cerita nya ada district hits dan mewah. Area mahal lah di Tokyo yang isi nya toko toko branded, cafe cafe hits dan mahal serta resto fine dining.

Tujuan gw ke Ginza selaen buat liat liat (iye iye ga mampu deh belanja di Ginza) adalah gw pengen nyari Henri Charpentier, sebuah cafe yang lumayan famous di Tokyo. Dari Tsukiji gw naek subway (seinget gw cuma pindah 1/2 station naek Hibiya Line) trus sampailah kita di Ginzaaa

Lumayan keren sih dan beda feel nya sama Shibuya. Kalo Shibuya lebih ramai, meriah en overwhelming, Ginza ini lebih elegant and sophisticated. Beda banget lah feel nya, jalan disini sesaat berasa rich and famous gitu hahahaha Pertama nyampe agak bengong sih, buset ni kaya ga ada orang susah yang lewat. Semua nya high fashion gitu gayanya, sementara gw kaya.... gembel..

Muter muter muter, laper deh.... Bingung mau makan apa karena ga kaya district lain, resto nya di gedung semua dan looks expensive. Eh lagi muter muter, nemu lah itu si Henri Charpentier (HOREEEEE) langsung decide cari makan di sekitaran situ aja biar gampang abis makan mau dessert di Henri Charpentier. Soooo masuklah gw ke sebuah resto di basement gedung kantoran..

Restonya looks exclusive, di basement dan 1 lantai dia semua. Gimmick nya si Edo style dining, jadi suasana jadul jadul gitu. Tempat nya terbagi2 booth yang private jd asumsi gw lumayan high end lah. Nah di Jepang ini kalo makan di resto, lunch nya tuh byk paket hemat, di Tofuro (nama restonya) ini juga begitu. Jadi byk set menu yang menurut gw cukup murah untuk Tokyo.

Set menu nya terdiri dari seporsi gyu tan alias lidah sapi yang di grill dan dibumbuin ala jepang. Dapet nasi, trus soup kerang dan sejenis benda lengket ga jelas yang gw cuma cicipin doank. Taste is good, si gyu tan nya tender and flavorful padahal modelannya ga menarik gitu, tipis dan kering. Tapi ternyata enak hahahaha

Set menu lainnya kaya begini modelnya, main course ikan bakar, pake 2 potong salmon sashimi dan 2 potong omellete. Gw baru inget, rasa nya serupa sama Ootoya di Jakarta (masi ada ga ya tu resto) Typical simple rasa nya, ga neko2 en somehow cukup mengenyangkan walaupun simpel

Nah jadi makan resto di Jepang ga harus mahal. Mengingat ini makannya di dalam gedung di Ginza dan harga 1 set menu nya sekitar 1000 JPY saja, cukup murah kannnn Blm lagi minum selalu gratis dan bisa refill yihaaa

Abis makan disana langsung lah gw meluncur ke Henri Charpentier...

Henri Charpentier itu semacam pattiserie/cafe ala perancis yang jualan utamanya adalah kue2 cantik. Pas masuk ke dalam, tempat nya sih keren ya, maklum soalnya si cabang Ginza ini semacam flagship store nya lah. Mewah dan very french lah, kue kue nya astaga... CAKEGASM!!!! Semuanya lucu lucu dan kaya nya enakkk semua nya. Disuruh tunggu lah sama enci enci jepun dan abis itu kita langsung dianter ke dining area nya di basement, ga pake antri. Ternyata di dalem nya suasana lebih homey dan hangat, full sama ibu ibu sosialita Tokyo dan businessman yang lagi meeting

Gw lupa apa nama kue ini tapi kalo ga salah si Napoleon Cake. Kue nya terdiri dari layer layer pastry tipis yang garing dan manis, diantara layer nya custard cream yang sangat lembut, manis nya halus dan aneh nya seger! Trus di luar nya dikasi roasted almond sehingga kalo digigit tuh ada beberapa tekstur crispy sekaligus di dalam mulut trus lidah langsung dibelai sama lembut nya custard cream yang soothing. Oh dear God.. This is how Heaven tastes..

Nah kue berikutnya yang gw coba sudah jelas donk kalo rasa nya green tea ya. Kalo yang ini kaya opera cake tapi rasa green tea. Seperti kue yang pertama, kue ini juga multi layer.. tapi bukan thin pastry layer, yang ini thin sponge cake. Nah itu sponge cake sama green tea paste berseling selingan, sehingga kalo dirasain rasa nya bergantian lembut manis dan empuk, lembut manis dan empuk, begitu terus ampe tu kue ketelen. Personally gw ga gitu suka sih (Not a big fan of gree tea) tapi ya tetep aja untuk ukuran kue mah ini tergolong yummy!

One of the highlight in my Japan trip is this place, so make sure not to miss it guys!

Dalam keadaan sangat sangat kenyang, mulai lah perjalanan menuju destinasi berikutnya.. Odaibaaa

Odaiba ini sebuah pulau/daratan hasil reklamasi. Jadiii lokasi nya tentu saja di pinggir laut dan tempat nya rapih abis (secara ya man made from scratch). Nah buat nyampe ke Odaiba ini gw naek Yurikamome, sebuah line kereta yang fully automated alias ga ada petugas nya. Ibaratnya kaya naek kereta-kerataan anak anak tp ini jauh gituuuu. Buat naek Yurikamome Line, kita harus ke Shinagawa Station dulu (use the Hyperdia app) trus keluar dari station nya en nyebrang ke station khusus Yurikamome (pas di depan nya Shinagawa Station) Buat naek Yurikamome bisa pake IC Card jd tap your Pasmo/Suica card away.

Nahhh trip menuju Odaiba lumayan keren, berasanya kaya naek kereta di taman hiburan gitu. Secara kita menuju man made island jadi semua nya bagus, rapih dan tertata lah. Nah sekarang problem nya adalah memutuskan mau turun dimana... Jadi kmrn ini gw turun di station ke 6 (gw lupa namanya tp yang jelas di depannya Decks Tokyo Beach. Actually ga usah bingung mau turun dimana karena semua station dan tempat di Odaiba terhubung 1 dengan yang lain. How to explain ya... Odaiba ini full of shopping malls, hotel en office. Nah di setiap gedung/shopping malls yang macem macem tema en bentuknya itu terkoneksi satu dengan yang lain tp bukan ground floor. Kaya ada second floor nya yang saling terhubung satu sama lain. Nah area ini yang bikin muter2 di Odaiba nyaman banget karena kemana mana ga usah pake nyebrang, tinggal masuk aja mau kemana. Kaya lapangan gede banget sementara di bawah nya kita itu jalan biasa. Keren yaaaaa, sangat dipikirkan kenyamanan dan kemudahan transport antar gedung padahal beda-beda gedung nya.

Ada beberapa tempat menarik di Odaiba antara lain pantai nya. Kayanya sih pantai ini man made alias buatan tp who cares, the view was awesome! Ada rainbow bridge yang kalo malem kelap kelip romantis gimanaaaaa gitu, ada area pantai yang rame sama anak-anak main, ada beach side cafe buat nongkrong2 pinggir pantai dan ada replika nya patung Liberty yang jadi spot foto favorit disini.

Kemudian buat mal-mal nya, I suggest puterin aja satu-satu. Gw cuma sempet ke Aqua City Odaiba, tidak ada alasan khusus cuma kebetulan abis dari Liberty trus deket sama pintu masuk nya Aqua City ini. Sampe sana pun ga muter2 banyak karena langsung masuk toko Onitsuka (don't miss it, very cheap Onitsuka Shoes di Jepang yaaa) dan gw belanja New Balance (Cheaper around 10-15% dibanding Jakarta, I checked). Mall nya biasa aja sih, enak lah buat muter2 ga terlalu crowded.

Next Destination nya adalah gw nyari patung Gundam! Lokasi nya ada di DiverCity Tokyo Plaza, jalan kaki aja lurus terus dari si Aqua City (di "second floor" nya) lalu bakalan nyampe deh. Keren bangettttt patung Gundam nya, dream comes true deh! Trus kalo malem, di deket patung Gundam nya ada short movie soal Gundam gitu di project ke dinding mal nya, awesomeeeeeee.

Kaki dah mulai encok tp dari jauh terlihat Ferris Wheel. We're in Tokyo, naek kaleeee. Hahahahha agak mahal seinget gw, 1 car nya 2000 JPY kalo ga salah dan muter sekitar 15 menit. Not scary kok asal jangan goyang goyang aja naek nya. Si Ferris Wheel ini merupakan salah satu yang terbesar di dunia lho. Oh ya, untuk menuju si Ferris Wheel ini gw ngelewatin Venus Fort (shopping mall yang theme nya Venezia) dan Toyota Mega Web (showroom and concept store nya Toyota)

Buat yang bawa anak, Odaiba is a must visit! Complete package deh... Spare one whole day here, sante-sante sambil maen di pantai trus ke mall liat2, main di amusement park nya, naek Ferris Wheel, liat museum2 keren dan Toyota Mega Web. Kaya future city gitu dahhh, nice! Kalo mau pulang, tanya aja orang stasiun yurikamome terdekat lalu naek aja menuju Shinagawa Station. Nah dari sana baru putuskan deh mau kemana :)

Pulang nya dari Odaiba, kaki mau putus, punggung encok dan perut laper. Berhubung udah di Shinagawa Station, jadi nya makan daerah situ aja sekalian exploring sedikit. Karena stamina dah abis akir nya makan di resto sushi yang ga terlalu jauh dari station.

That night dinner was at Sushi Zanmai. Sebuah sushi resto yang packed abis sama orang-orang Jepang (a sign of good food) Kalap jd asal mesen aja kemudian baru sadar kalo ni sushi ternyata tidak murah (padahal tempat nya biasa banget) Mesen ini itu kerusakan kira-kira 2000 JPY per orang

Bingung ya, kayanya semua sushi di Jepang tuh enakkkk. Padahal rasa nya sebenernya biasa aja cuma berasa banget kalo isi nya tuh fresh!

Akhirnya, our third night in Tokyo has ended. Tomorrow, Osaka!!!!

Lost in Japan: Tokyo - Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 13 Apr 2016 12:12:00 +0000

Another post from Tokyo!!!!!

Sleeping in Tokyo is so comfy. Maybe because I was too tired from all the walking the night before, or maybe the cool weather? One thing for sure I didn't get up until 9 A.M. Truthfully, I'm not those holiday-nazi (read: Dr Cakra) who wakes up early morning in a vacation for the sake of visiting all the places in the itineray. I'm more laid back, kinda lazy I might say LOL

So after a long process of waking up and taking a shower, I was ready for the first full day in Tokyo. Destination: Ueno Park - Hanami

But first... BREAKFAST!!!!!!

Deef fried chopped potatoes and rice balls with ham from Lawson

Just steps from Yanagibashi Hotel, we found this fast food kinda place (small joint, vending machine to order, cheap) that sells gyudon, curry and other japanese set menu. At first I thought it was some random personally owned restaurant, later I found out that it was Matsuya, a japanese fast food brand like Yoshinoya and Sukiya. Ordering here is pretty easy (my first time using japanese vending ordering machine), I'll jot down the steps below

1. Find the button to change the language into English.
2. Browse the menu first using the touchscreen interface. Every menu has a clear picture and short english description
3. Put your money into the machine (you can use coins and 1000 JPY note)
4. Choose the food by using the touchscreen interface.
5. After the machine make sure that correct payment has been made, it will give you the change and print out small tickets containing your order.
6. Give the ticket to the waiter

Let's get straight to the point. IMO Matsuya is yummm. Gyudon and curry quality is the same or maybe better than Sushi Tei in Jakarta. Waiting time is less than 10 minutes. Refillable water provided using jug. Food portion is big (If you are not that hungry or a girl with less apettite than me, I suggest you order the smallest possible portion)

One of Matsuya's best seller - Gyudon (stir fry sliced beef in soy sauce with onion, grated turnip, scallion and soft boiled egg) The flavor is well balanced, rice a bit mushy and need a bit more shoyu. Break the egg for some gooey goodness, mix well with the rice and meat. The messier the better.

Rice with minced meat in red sauce and a sunny side egg

The red sauce is a bit spicy, so so far from the chilies and sambals from Indonesia. IMO, the combination is off, I don't think I'll ever order this dish again.

After breakfast, we were rushing to Ueno Park for Cherry Blossoms viewing. From Asakusabashi station, we change twice using the JR Pass. First go to Akihabara Station using the Sobu Line (Yellow) and then take Yamanote Line to Ueno Station. All of the trip is covered by JR Pass so our super expensive JR Pass was very usefull. Ueno Park is located right in front of Ueno Station. All you need to do is exit to the gate and walk across the road.

By the time we arrived, Ueno Park was already crowded. Since it was also Japanese's holiday week, the place was super packed!! From grandmas and grandpas but also kids from Kindergarten to university students. The view is exactly what I've imagined from watching all those japanese anime, movie and manga. Lots of people are already sitting under the Sakura trees with some beers, snacks and bento boxes. This Hanami is really unique! Being a very clean and organized country, even though it was a mess and packed, there's no litter anywhere. The park's administration provides many many garbage dump site and categorized by the type of trash. Coollll

The sakura hasn't reached the full bloom when we went there. Many trees are still in their winter form, bald and dead. Fortunately, some spots has already bloomed, not bad for photos LOL I gotta admit, it was beautiful. Even though my first sakura encounter is not that impressive, I was still awed by the beauty. It's very Japan, the flower was delicate and beautiful, not eye catching like roses but more subtle and soft. It was magical...

Snack sold inside the park

Ueno Park is quite big.. There are paths lined with sakura trees, small shrine and some picnic area. There are also a medium sized temple near the park. Do remember to get the free Ueno Park Guide since it will help a lot during walking around the area.I think there are more than one museum in the area, if you guys have the time I think it'll be good. We had to choose between visiting the museum or visiting the zoo. Sorry museum, Zoo with Panda won us LOL

To visit the Panda, just go straight from the park entrance, at the end of the road you'll find the Ueno Zoo. The zoo is not that big but very well organized. The star of the zoo was the Pandassss. The first thing we do is find the Panda Exhibit and it was the first exhibit from the entrance. We had to queue to get closer to the exhibit. Worth the money and the wait... Not long after watching Kungfu Panda, we can see 2 real pandas at Ueno Zoo. Too bad the panda was sleeping when we visited but still the stupid pose Panda has when sleeping is soooo C.U.T.E

After Ueno Park, we went to visit the Meiji Jingu Shrine. Meiji Shrine is a shrine dedicated to the deified spirits of Meiji Emperor and the Empress Shoken. (Source: Japan Guide) We entered the shrine from the entrance closer to Yoyogi Station (use Hyperdia) It was the wrong decision... It was so far and the roads are not asphalt so it was very tiring. It took us around 20 minutes from the entrance to reach the main building. It only took us 5 minutes to get out through the north entrance near Meiji Jingu Station.

I am not a temple/shrine afficionado so I didn't find it that interesting. Compared to Hongkong's or Bangkok's temple, Japanese temple are rather simple. The interesting features are the Torii Gate (A mark to separate sacred grounds from profane world) and the purification trough (A sink like structure with water fountains and wooden/bamboo laddle, it was used to purify the hand and mouth of shrine visitors before entering the shrine's main building). Some shrines have big Ema (A hanger for wooden plates on which prayers are written) and also sells various amulets. The temple building itself is quite simple, maybe related to the different concept of Shinto-ism and Buddhism.

When we visited the Meiji Shrine, there are two wedding ceremonies happening at the same time. It was such a rare opportunities to watch a traditional wedding ceremony at the temple. For a moment there I felt "serene".

After taking a little walk around the shrine, we walk towards the north entrance.. Found this huge sake barrels. The Sake Barrels are offerings from various people and companies around Japan. The barrels were sooooo cool. Feels like living in an anime (please forgive the geek in me)

Next... Omotesando!!!!

Just outside the Meiji Jingu lies the great street of Omotesando. This part of Tokyo is my fave. Too bad I didn't much time here, If I have the chance to go back to Tokyo, I'll dedicate a whole day to explore this neighbourhood.

The streets are full with cafes, shops and department stores. People are everywhere and do pay attention to where you walk or you'll be hit. Let the food hunt begins!!!!

This is The Gindaco, a popular takoyaki (A ball shaped fried/grilled snack made of flour, eggs, octopus and topped with shaved dried bonito/katsuoboshi and mayo) joint around Japan. My first and best encounter of Takoyaki during the whole trip. The takoyaki is big and a bit crispy at the outside but gooey at the inside. What I love about their takoyaki is the takoyaki doesn't lose its shape when you eat or bite it. The other takoyaki kind of shrink after the first bite. LOVE!!!!

The other think we ordered was the Croyaki (A fish-shaped croissant/pastry with red bean filling) The croyaki was also gooodddd. Skin is crunchy and chewy, glazed but not too sweet and the red bean filling is sweet and smooth. I never like red bean paste in Jakarta but this one... me likey!!! The pastry was sweet and buttery, deadly combo.

We went for a walk for like 4 hours (my feet ached so muchh that day) and ended up in Shibuya. Shibuya is one of Tokyo's popular area consisting in mostly shops or shopping centres. The area is very hip and alive. This area has that ultra modern Tokyo feel, the neon lights, the giant screen, the people and the music are very overwhelming yet I feel in place.

Off all the travelling I've done till now, Tokyo is the first one that makes me overwhelmed. It's like damnnnn so many things to do, so many shops to check out yet so little time. Shibuya is my biggest regret... I should've spare one whole day to explore the Omotesando/Harajuku/Shibuya area since IMO it was my favorite part of Tokyo. Not like Indonesia, shopping in Tokyo means wandering around in a certain area, getting in and out shops on various small but medium high building and shopping malls. There are plenty of shopping malls but the size is relatively small compared to Jakarta's.. I think each shopping malls (or maybe department store is a better term) has different and unique item/brand, therefore checking them one by one is a must. Not to mention all the unique stores and also cute cafes around the area.. Seriously, do not repeat my mistake and spare more time to explore these areas.

One of my must try list in Tokyo is Maisen Tonkotsu, said to be the best tonkotsu place is Tokyo. As an avid pork fans, it has been my mission to experience yummy tonkotsu in Japan. After a long and thorough googling, we finally found Maisen Tonkotsu. We accidentaly got lost because we were confused of the result of Google Maps search and the info given by Ratu Lebah. Finally, we realized that Google Maps result and Ratu Lebah's direction is not the same place, it's 2 different branch. So STUPID --" We ended up at Shibuya branch of Tonkotsu Maisen at the Shibuya Hikarie Building.

The restaurant is located at the dining floor in the Shibuya Hikarie building. Place itself was small like any other place in Japan, service is good and attentive but staff's English skill could be better.

Kurobuta Pork Katsu (3000 JPY)

What's special here is the kurobuta pork. Kurobuta pork is the top pork in Japan, the meat was tender but not full of fat. No smell whatsoever and yes it was so tender. It feels like eating chicken breast but more tender. Downside, I find it lack of seasoning. IMO.... Katsusei's (a tonkotsu restaurant in Jakarta) actually tastes better!!!

Katsudon (1700 JPY)

Another menu we tried there is the Katsudon. I pick the second most expensive pork and cooked with egg and sauce... Yes it is good but again not special. I dunno if it was because I was too tired to enjoy the meal but the meal didn't leave an impression :(

Shibuya Crossing

On the way back to the hotel, we stopped by a coffee shop, 24/7 coffee roasters. I think I read somewhere that this coffee shop is nice. The interior is kinda dark but comfy. Simple yet homey, not pretentious or heavy on decor like some of Jakarta's coffee shop

Milk Coffee (400 JPY)

This is my first encounter with Japan coffe. First impression, their coffee is smooth and light. No acidity or overwhelming bitterness. Somehow it tastes "liquid" I am lacking vocabulary to describe coffee (please forgive me)

Hotcake with fresh strawberries, strawberry sauce and yoghurt sauce

Japanese pancake has different consistency than the usual american pancake we have at Pancious. It is thick but more heavy and dense yet smooth. Sometimes, when we have thick pancake it will be dry and hard to swallow. This pancake is dense but smooth like typical japanese cake. If only the toppings are a bit bolder, this pancake would be perfect.

Pigging (the act of becoming a pig) in Japan is quite easy. At the road leading to our hotel, we made the last stop for the day, a ramen store. I don't know the ramen restaurant name but it was steps away from the Asakusabashi Station. Just turn right after the exit and go across the road.

Seriously I couldn't even remember what I ordered. The first picture is the clear soup one. Ramen is cooked in front of us (and without the excessive yelling). Soup is light but salty, I don't really like it even though the soup is rich and flavorful but I just don't like it. The second pics was the aka ramen (spicy ramen). IT WAS YUMMMM!!!! The warm soup drove the chill of Tokyo night immediately. Love the heavy and spicy soup, the bamboo shoots and scallions give the soup some fresh and earthy flavors and the egg was cooked perfectly. Damn... how can a random ramen restaurant serves ramen this good. Seriously, way better than all those ramen restaurants flocking in Jakarta's malls...

That's the end of my second day in Japan. Next.. Tsukiji Fish Market!!!

Lost in Japan: Tokyo - Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 06 Apr 2016 13:59:00 +0000

Moshi moshi !!!!!

I'll be telling you more about my Japan trip throughout this post.

Well... After the long flight, I finally arrived in Japan around 6 P.M Tokyo Time (GMT +9). After the long immigration line, I finally manage to get my luggage and walk out the airport. First thing I did was looking for the Japan Rail (JR) Office to exchange my JR Pass voucher to the JR Pass. The line was soooo long it took about 20 minutes to reach the end of the line. When exchanging the voucher, we asked the officer to reserve a seat in the next Narita Express (the fastest train to Tokyo from Narita Express, covered by JR Pass). This is very important since we were already very tired from the long flight and queueing to reserve a seat on the ticket vending machine seems very tiring.

With the JR Pass, all you have to do is wave the JR Pass and the reserved seat ticket to the officers at the gate. To take the Narita Express, just walk straight across the JR Office to the JR tracks. Take escalator down and wait at the platform. Make sure that you are queueing at the correct line for the correct car (check the ticket).

The Narita Express was so cool. I think it's on par with a plane's business class. It took around an hour to reach Tokyo Station from Narita Airport. To reach Hotel Yanagibashi (Check my previous post) We have to go to the Asakusabashi Station. At the Tokyo Station, take the Yamanote Line (Green) or Keihin Tohoku Line (Blue) and go to Akihabara Station. Then take the Sobu Line (Yellow) and get off at Asakusabashi Station. It's not far, I think it only takes 15 minutes for all the train rides. What's hard is having to carry luggages up and down the stations...

From Asakusabashi Station, turn right and walk straight for approx 200 m, go across the street. Turn left at an alley between a sushi restaurant and a mini market, the hotel is located on the right side. The hotel is small but clean and quite comfy. The bed could be better though...

We were very hungry and that time so we decided to hop on the train to find food at Shinjuku. We took the subway (subway entrance is very close, around 50 m from the alley) and use hyperdia app and get off at Shinjuku Sanchome Subway Station. Ah it was goodd, seeing japan for the first time is very excited. We just walk around and around the area till we find an interestin ramen place called Kibou Ken. Entered Kibou Ken...

IMO, japanese shop/restaurant owners is very tourist friendly. They will help u to understand as much as they can. Ended up ordering 2 bowls of ramen and a gyoza, yummmmm

I think this is Angel Wing Gyoza (based on massive japanese cooking manga reading) It's a regular gyoza but in the process of frying it, the cook put some flour on the pan, producing a thin crispy layer like above.

The ramen was gooooddd. I prefer the darker soup ramen which taste a bit salty. The fresh (i dunno how but the scallions in Japan tastes so fresh) scallion gives extra crunch and a hint of spiciness to the monotone salty ramen. LOVE

The white colored soup is rather boring IMO. Yes it's good, better than most ramen I've tried in Jakarta but it lacks the kick and stay boring with hints of bamboo shoots smell.

After the super late dinner, I went back to the hotel Well, stay tune for more of my Japan trip stories! See yaaaa

Check out my tips on how to survive in Japan, HERE!

Lost in Japan : How To Survive in Japan

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 05 Apr 2016 14:31:00 +0000

Yes patients!!!! I just got back from Japan!!! Woohoooo B.E.S.T vacation ever!!!

So after almost a year preparing for this trip, I finally arrived in Japan in late March. After all these years being a manga and anime addict, I finally experience it myself.

Okay, I'll share a bit about my Japan vacation, I hope it'll be usefull to u guys.

Things to prepare:

1. Plane tickets
Since this is Cherry Blossom season, everything is more expensive. I bought the ticket of Economy Class Malaysia Airlines almost a year ago and it cost me 7.5 Million IDR. First flight from Jakarta's Soekarno Hatta at 4.30 A.M, transit at Kuala Lumpur International Airport for 2 hours then a 5.5 hours flight to Tokyo's Narita Airport. I hate long flights so I decided not to buy low cost airlines, hoping the flight to be more comfortable. Well, it's good... In flight entertainment was not bad, food was borderline horrible but the free flow juice and red wine helped a bit :p

2. Visa
I took care of the visa on my own, cost me around 300K IDR and voila, in 4 working days the visa is done. Not a hassle at all, just go the Japan Embassy website and follow the instructions there. Bring all the documents, wait in line and give all the documents the officers there. You will be given the receipt to take the visa after 4 working days. The visa was for 15 days.

3. Accomodation
I stayed for 8 nights, 3 nights in Tokyo, 3 nights in Osaka and 2 nights in Tokyo again. For the first 3 nights I stayed at Hotel Yanagibashi using booking.com Then for Osaka I use Air BnB for an apartmen and the last 2 night I also use Air BnB. I would like to recommend both the Air BnB apartements. Those apartments might be small (the hotel is small too) but both was clean, neat and comfy. The hosts was very informative and helpfull, love em both.

4. Transportation
If you are planning to travel to many cities, I would recommend getting a JR Pass. JR Pass is a magic card for foreign tourist, by which u can take a ride in every Japan Rail Trains and buses, and that includes the shinkansen. As we know the shinkansen ticket price is quite expensive but using the JR Pass, you just need to show your pass and take a ride. I bought my JR Pass at HIS Travel Jakarta and it costs around 3.5 Million IDR for 7 days pass. The JR Pass also includes the Narita Express (an express train bound to Tokyo from Narita Airport that costs around 400K IDR one way). I use the JR Pass to travel between Tokyo-Osaka, Osaka-Himeji and Osaka-Kyoto. Aside from those long trips, I also use the JR Pass to travel with the local trains whenever possible.

Now for the subway... Go get yourself an IC Card. IC Card is like Flazz or E-Money in Indonesia. It can be used for payments in mini marts and more importantly the subway or trains. Spare yourself from buying subway tickets from machines and just tap the IC card at the gates (just like in Transjakarta or Commuter Line) Don't worry, the machine to buy the IC Card is conviniently located in front of every station (subway or trains). Just go the machine and find the "english" button. The menu is quite easy to understand.

5. Food and drinks
Japan is very liveable I might say. There are literally mini marts everywhere. U can get drinks and food (and the food are yummmm), umbrellas and even shirts there! There are also many many vending machine in every corner of the street.

Now my tips on surviving in Japan
1. Google before going
Preparation is everything in a holiday, especially for first timers. Japan is a very big place and has MANY place to visit. Take some time and thoroughly plan your itinerary (I'll share mine in the next post) Take notes on where to go and the station located closest to it.

2. Download Hyperdia or open Hyperdia.Com
Hyperdia is a magical app that shows which train/transportation to take based on the stations. For example: You are now at Tokyo Station and wanting to go to Meiji Jingu Shrine. First, find the info which station is closest to Meiji Jingu Shrine (It's the Meiji-Jingumae Station). Now input the two stations to hyperdia and it will show you which train to take, the time needed, the time schedule, the tracks of the train, the transit needed and whether walking outside the station is needed. Don't be a smartass and try to look at the network map, believe in Hyperdia.

3. Bring bags or backpacks.
I know this seems useless but believe me, when you walk that much, having a backpack to carry drinks, snacks and jackets or your shopping items is a lifesaver.

4. Be adventurous
Japan is an ultra modern city with many hidden gems. Walk the alleys, go around the park, take a stroll along the river, go the shopping malls. Experience it all

5. Don't bring big luggage
Bring only essentials. Every place to stay provides towels and bath ammenities. AND it is Japan so it's not some cheap soaps, they provide more than decent bath ammenities. Travel light since I'm sure you'll shop a lot and carrying heavy luggage across the train stations is not fun.

6. Save up memory space
Bring extra memory card if you have to since it's so beautiful in Japan. The crowd, the neighbourhood, the food and even the hustling fish market is oh so instagenic!!

7. Prepare to burn your money there
Japan is not cheap but it is not crazy expensive too. Compared to Jakarta, of course Jakarta is way cheaper. BUT in terms of food, a meal for one cost around 500-1000 JPY per person, that's 120K IDR, not that expensive right? Eating in a decent restaurant in Jakarta cost more or less 100K IDR nowadays. The only difference is 200K IDR in Jakarta gets you those fancy/hip restaurant in malls but in Japan 120K IDR/1000 JPY get you a nice meal in an ordinary izakaya/ramen restaurant. BUT the food quality is the same or even better than those fancy cafe in Jakarta. Splurge a bit, try Japan's fancier place, try the heavenly yummy desserts, the fresh seafood and all the cute snacks there. TRY THEM ALL!!!!!!!!

Okay, I already rambled a lot, will be continued to the next post :) See yaaaa

Santai Malam 1001

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 18 Mar 2016 14:52:00 +0000

Helloooo ni haooooo #CinaModeOn

Hari ini mau coba post review pake bahasa Indonesia aaahhhh... Walaupun gw tau kalo bahasa Inggris gw tergolong pas pas an, tapi ga tau kenapa kalo nulis blog tuh enakan pake bahasa Inggris. Sindrom sok bule gitu dehh ahhahhaa Nahhh karena hari ini post nya adalah soal makanan Indonesia, gw mau nulis pake bahasa Indonesia aja :p

Resto bernama Santai Malam 1001 ini sebenernya pemain lama di dunia per kulineran ibukota. Seinget gw, dulu pas masih kecil (tapi tidak mungil) gw pernah makan di sini sama bokap en nyokap gw. Nahhhh secara yaaaaa dah lama banget, gw bahkan dah ga inget tu rasa makanannya kaya apa. One day, gw diajak sama colleague gw, Oma Cis buat dinner disana pas kita abis nengokin orang di Gading. Ehhhhh tau tau nya disana ketemu lah gw sama Ibu Putri Mahkota kantor gw #RezekiAnakSholeh long story short, gw ditraktir lah disitu yihaaaaaa

Nah karena kmrn pas ditraktir makannya agak sedikit jaim (males banget kan pergi makan sama bos trus gw nyedot nyedot kerang gitu,,,) gw makan lagi deh a couple of weeks after that. This is what I ordered

Jadi menu andalan nya adalah ikan bawal ini... Bilangnya sih kalo ga salah Saos Padang ya (apa saus tauco gitu deh) tapi nongolnya kok item beginiiiii. Well... Penampilan sih emank menipu, bentuknya item dekil gitu tp rasanya mantep cuyyy.

Jadi si saus item itu kaya campuran kecap manis dan tauco, dikasi potongan rawit yang maha banyak. Rasanya pedes manis tapi gurih, mantaps! Terus ikannya walaupun gede tp gorengnya kering kemudian disirem saus/kuah nya. Kuah nya yang banyak bikin tekstur ikan nya tidak terlalu crispy tapi ga lembek juga. U will get that beautiful combination of uneven texture and exploding spiciness of the chili padi. Yummylicious!

Selaen itu, si kerang ijo nya yang dimasak dengan nuansa rasa serupa juga enakkkk. Lagi-lagi trick yang dipakai ada deep fried raw materialnya kemudian disirem kuah super gurih nya itu. Another winner ladies and gentlemen.

Trakir pas mau ngembaliin menu nya ke waiter, ga sengaja gw ngeliat kalo tempat ini jual kerang nene!!!! I miss em sooo much jadilah pesen 1 porsi. Nah.... ini dia bencananya.. Saking napsu nya lupa kalo kuah nya pedes bgt, makan banyak dan besok nyaaa mencret --"

Anyway... Tempat nya ini rekomen banget! Great food and doesn't burn your wallet. FYI, dia sudah pindah dari tempat nya yang lama. Sekarang ada di ujung jalan nya Hay Thien (dari MOI, lurus sampe bunderan, ambil kanan lurus terus, ada sign nya di atas)

Very recommended buat yang lagi craving a different and unique taste of seafood like this, Santai Malam 1001 is the answer

Rating: 8/10
Location: Kelapa Gading

Olivier

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 12 Mar 2016 14:13:00 +0000

Hey guys, I bet by now all of Indonesia has already familiar with Olivier, thanks to the super sensational murder by poison case a while ago... Well, apart from the overnight sensation, Olivier has become one of my new favorite place to eat in 2015. Yes people, it's damn good!

Being a member of the same group with Loewy and Union, they share similar vibe. The vintage decor, the neat servers (and the rudeness too) and the upscale-ish ambiance which attracts Jakarta's trendiest to come running. With the concepts of serving an asian/france fusion casual fine dining, Olivier has a balance offering on both asian food and french food. Personally, I don't have high hopes in a place that serves fusion dish, let alone a restaurant that serves two types of dishes distinctively. Well, I was proven wrong.

Complimentary bread

Crispy crust, warm bread and such delightful spicy butter. Perfect

Roast Chicken with Ratatouille and Mashed Potato (125K IDR)

Hands down the best mashed potato ever! Silky smooth, creamy and buttery. Oh so so so damn good! Chicken is quite big, flavorful and juicy. Served on top oh some sort of juz? Another spot on cooking I might say... The chicken was fragrant, tender and I can really taste a combination of herbs from the chicken, nice..

Dory Meuniere A La Grenobloise, Sauteed French Beans and Cherry Tomatoes (130K IDR)

This dish is good but missing the oomph factor. Everything was spot on somehow forgetable. Maybe it's lacking seasoning?

Chicken Wings with Spicy Marinade (70K IDR)

Another nicely executed dish but lacking the oomph factor. Sure the chicken was crispy and the dips was good but I feel the dish lost the connection to the dips, resulting in a nice and crispy wings but lack in flavor.

After this visit, I came back to Oliver a couple of months ago. I tried the pork belly/pork knuckle for sharing and it was so good! Yummmmm The pork was super tender, skin falling of the meat like cray cray

Recommended place to grab a hearty meal and s chic place to hang out with your dearest. Price is a bit pricey but worth every penny. See you in another time patients

Rating: 8.5/10

Location: Grand Indonesia West Mall GF

Shabu Ghin

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 31 Jan 2016 13:42:00 +0000

One of the current trend in Jakarta culinary scene is all you can eat japanese shabu shabu. Shabu shabu is not a new item in Jakarta BUT the opening of Shaburi, which offers unlimited premium beef shabu with affordable price, really change the scene.

Meet Shabu Ghin, a late bloomer in Jakarta shabu shabu competition.

Like the hugely succesfull Shaburi, Shabu Ghin offers packages of all you can eat premium shabu beef. I tried the premium shabu beef package (168K IDR) with a 30% discount from Kesles (an android app) Yeah I know, what a bargain!!!

The strong point of Shabu Ghin is their delicious appetizer, dessert and drink bar. All of them are GOODDD!! The japchae (korean stir fry glass noodle) is off the hook. I really don't know and don't care why they serve a korean food in a japanese restaurant, all I know is that is one of the best japchae ever. Try their chicken karaage, a deep fried battered chicken thigh, dip it in the creamy nut shabu sauce, HEAVEN.

The beef, IMO is slightly better than shaburi. Somehow I feel em thicker and juicier. To enjoy the beef you will be given several choices of cooking soup, feel free to try different soup. I tried the original konbu, yummy.

Last, dessert and drink bar.... They have melon juice dispenser!! Oh the juice is a major help after the heavy beef shabu, totally in love. They also serve some soft cream, a rather yummy one compared to other all you can eat joint.

Overall, I really enjoyed my visit here, recommended

Rating: 7.5/10
Location: Wolter Monginsidi No 53, Jakarta

Lost in Bandung 2015: Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 26 Jan 2016 14:26:00 +0000

Another Bandung post ladies and gentlemen hehehehe

Ceritanya, Desember kemarin gw pergi ke Bandung LAGI. Maklum deh ya tamu2 kebesaran dari down under balik Indo, jadi nya kita... holiday bersamaaa yihaaaaa

I will not bore you with unimportant details about my holiday BUT I will share a lot of about the food we had.

Paikut goreng lada garam

Pokatiam is a rather small eatery in Pasirkaliki (Next to the infamous Sosis Baso Pasirkaliki) Serving casual chinese food with affordable price yet more than decent taste. Note: HARAM alert! They serve many many pork dishes and they are quite yummy

Nasi Goreng Lap Chiong

OH SO GOOD! Everything was spot on

Chasiu Madu

I didn't expect the roasted char siu with honey would be this good but I was surprised! The meat is tender and flavorful, yummmm

Pisang Coklat Keju

This snack is sold on a street cart outside Sosis Baso Pasirkaliki. The banana is deep fried then served with load of chocolate rice, condensed milk and cheese. So sinfully delicious! Stop counting the calories, just enjoy :p

Nasi Bebek

Hmm mediocre.... Well after all we come for the view and the experience, not the food

Nasi Timbel

Another menu from Dusun Bambu, mediocre

This is from Lawang Wangi Art Space. A very classy and artsy space for art exhibition. Actually the food here is not bad but then again, it is nothing special. Well executed, but not special

Lost in Bandung 2015 - Part 1

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 16 Nov 2015 12:08:00 +0000

Holaaaa

Let's cut the story short and go straight to yummy world! On this post I'd like to share some of Bandung's best culinary gems. Since my high school days, Bandung has always been THE place to go to when holiday comes. Although it is only a 2 hours trip from Jakarta, everytime I touch down at Bandung, my mind instantly relax and I got taken away by the laid back Bandung atmosphere. Not to mention, Bandung has many yummy places to enjoy. From street food to high end restaurants, cute coffee shops or romantic hillside restaurant, Bandung got it all.

Now let me take you for a ride through Bandung culinary gems

Roast Chicken by Burgundy

Burgundy is a high end restaurant in Jl Maribaya, Lembang. Located in a small hill, Burgundy is a very nice and romantic place to dine. The vintage main building, cool breeze and natural surroundings is more than enough reason to go here. The food.. Well... I don't think it's great but not disappointing. Price is on the high side so prepare your wallet patients.

Dorokdok and Yamin by Bakmi Maman

A street food specializing in Dorokdok and Yamin in Gardujati area. Noodles and the turnip based soup is the perfect dish in a cool Bandung night.

Nasi Campur Kelenteng

A mediocre and forgetable pork mixed rice in Jl Kelenteng. I think I tried the wrong Nasi Campur since after I finished eating there, I found a way more crowded place not far from this place.

Nasi Bancakan - Jl Trunojoyo

A place to experience affordable and authentic sundanese cuisine. I am never a fan of sundanese food. I found them bland and not too appetizing. Bancakan offers a rather bold sundanese food on a buffet style setting in a big house that somehow gives a feel of village ambiance. The food are worth to try, grab the black squid thingy, yum!

Nomz

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 28 Oct 2015 13:32:00 +0000

Wow... Life's been too hectic guys :( I think it's been 3 months since my last post, so sorry I couldn't post any new yummy entries for you guys.. hehehe

This post is about the hip and trendy restaurant by Masterchef Indonesia Judge, Chef Arnold Poernomo. I bet all of you knows this super popular tv personality. He is indeed a great guy, at my first visit he came to our table for small chit chat. So humble despite the great success he has accomplished in such young age.

Anyway, the place is called... NOMZ

Nomz is one of the many "hits" cafes in Grand Indonesia East Mall. Located across Publik Markette, just outside Central Department Store, it is very strategic. Decor wise, i don't think it's outstanding. Not too fancy, more elegant than rugged... Casual but trendy.

On my first visit, I had their Banh Mi (Couldn't find the pics) A rather soft rendition of this vietnamese sandwich. Chef Arnold told me that instead of using baguette like the authentic bahn mi, he choose a soft roll to make it easier to be eaten. I LOVE the pork belly, melt in your mouth kind of meat, with a dash of sourness from the sauce, the heavy bread becomes somehow lighter.

On another occasion, I tried several dishes. One of them is this Mushroom Linguine...

Personally, I prefer spaghetti. Linguine is somehow too smooth and less chewable... The mushroom linguine I had at Nomz that day was... Okay.. IMO, the cream sauce is too salty. A good cream sauce needs to be creamy yet light at the same time. Seasonings have to be just right since saltiness and creaminess is not best friend. Nomz's was too salty, making the whole dish one dimensional...

Next, I tried the Curry Barramundi

I understand that Nomz is not a restaurant specializing in a certain cuisine. Like many other places nowadays, it tries to deliver a personal taste of the chef, not restricted by any boundaries. A whole new generation of fusion food. For me... fusion food is just a trend, so I never appreciate it much. This curry barramundi... has the texture of japanese curry but the taste of indian curry and the sambal of Indonesia. A deconstructed (or nicely plated indonesian style dish) curry rice where the fish is pan fried and we are supposed to put the curry ON the fish or maybe mix the rice with it (seriously I don't understand it). Sorry Chef, I'm not happy with this..\

Last is the fried squid salad

Of all the dishes I tried there, this is the best. A perfectly fried squid (no fishy smell, not chewy, no burnt taste and seasoned balancely) mixed with arugula and balsamic dressing. Refreshing, fragrant and an appetizing appetizer. LOVE it

So.. My verdict is... Well, I don't think I will be coming back (maybe for their cakes?)

Rating: 6/10

Location: Grand Indonesia East Mall GF

PS: Don't forget, follow my instagram @aris100785 for daily updates of yummyness :)

Coco Curry Ichibanya

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 13 Aug 2015 14:10:00 +0000

Holaaa mina san, O genki desu ka?

This post is about one of my fave Japanese Food, curry! Ever since I met Japanese Curry, I fell in love with it. The smooth creamy thick brown liquid over a plate of warm steamed rice, oh so addictive! Japanase curry unique characteristics differs it from other curries aroun the world. Most of the world's curry comes in a more liquid consistency, less creamy and more spicy. Apart from it, I think japanese curry is an ultimate comfort food

Coco Curry Ichibanya is a place which main purpose is serving us the most delicious Japanese Curry. Since it's been a long time since I dine at Coco Curry Ichibanya, I will only go over some superficial detail

Starting from the tuna salad, the veggies are fresh, crunchy and not bitter at all. Putting some mayo tuna salad on top is brilliant. The dressing is basically thousand island with japanese touch, a bit sour and watery compared to the americe style thousand island dressing. I love how a bite of the salad will take u into a refreshing blast.

I ordered the breaded mince beef curry rice and it was a foul decision. The curry, yum! Perfect consistency, perfect heat and bits of cheese for some extra jolt of yumminess. IMO, not the best but surely tastes good. The curry lacks boldness. The minced beef is soggy and tasteless, not good :(

My sis ordered this gooey creamy omu rice and it was awesome!! Once u cut through that egg, the filling will ooze out, heavenly! I love how the omurice tastes creamy but not too creamy. The creaminess of the omellete amplifies the curry's creaminess.

Overall, I think Coco Curry Ichibanya is a place worth visiting. Since the price is quite affordable, I'm sure many high school or university students will find this place perfect for their weekend :)

Rating: 7/10
Location: Grand Indonesia, West Mall 4F

Noodle Diary: Part 2

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 02 Aug 2015 13:39:00 +0000

Holaaaaa let's do another noodle showdown, shall we?

First Contender is Bakmi Aloi

Bakmi Aloi is a typical Palembang style noodle. The noodle is thin and slighly chewy a bit sweet. Usually, the toppings are minced pork or chicken, chasiu pork and mushrooms with some beansprouts. I don't really like this type of noodle but Aloi is an exception. :)

Located in Muwardi Street, Grogol area, my first encounter with Aloi was back in college. I remember some of the girls in my college craved for Aloi for the sake of the handsome boss LOL. The place used to be small, consists only 5 or maybe 5 tables. Now the place is HUGE and they have many branches across town.

Aside from the noodle, Aloi serves yummy side dishes. My favorite is half portion of pig kidney and blood, heavenly delicious! Add some minced pork pork for 10K, worth every penny. Last, if u a deep fried addict, order the ngo hiong (pork roll in beancurd skin) YUMMY!

Next... Bakmi Aheng Mangga Besar/Bakmi Ahau

I know it's confusing but I'll try to explain...

I found this noodle in Mangga Besar back in my intern days in Husada Hospital. A friend introduced me to this small stall/carriage at an alley near Cucu Foto in Mangga Besar. It is super dirty but always packed with customers. Apparently, a similar stall appears every night at the same Mangga Besar Street near Lokasari area under a different name, Bakmi Ahau. I'm not really sure about the different name but let's focus on the noodle :)

This noodle is thick and chewy, typical mie karet. The topping is chasiu pork with some greens. Taste is mainly sweet, a bit savory. Noodle is super oily so practice your chopsticks skills folk

The highlight of this noodle is the fried meatball. It is so different from the other meatballs i found. Rather sweet and hard but addictive... The noodle, i don't really like it but combined with the meatballs, worth trying!

That's it folks, hope u guys drool :)

Follow my instagram doc_babi for daily updates on my culinary journey

Lost in Jogja : All in One

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 23 Jun 2015 14:42:00 +0000

Holaaaa

How you doin guys? This is the month of Ramadhan so happy fasting for all of my moslem friends :)

Today I'd like to inspire you guys when you are travelling to Jogja. The last time I went to Jogja is around 1.5 years ago... No worries, I bet the food will be as delish as I tasted. Here we goooo

Bebek Goreng Cak Koting

A famous fried chicken and fried duck stall in Jogja. Opened till late night everyday, not to be missed! The delicate and savoury deep fried poultry, a Jogjakarta icon.

Bakmi Ketandan

A legendary chinese food joint in the chinatown area of Jogjakarta. The fried rice is to die for! Small cubes of pork scattered on a bed of fragrant, dry and savoury fried rice. Perfecto. The veggie stir fry is a pleasant homemade-style dish that makes you miss home instantly

Gudeg Pawon

A unique gudeg place that serves their gudeg late at night, in front of their kitchen (pawon). A total tongue pleaser, warm and sweet. Gudeg is sweetened jackfruit stew and Gudeg Pawon has won my heart. All of the ingredients are locally produce, cooked traditionally according to the recipe of an ex palace chef. Love love love this place

Bale Raos

Bale Raos is a restaurant serving the favorite food of the kings (sultans) of Jogjakarta. Having been imperialised by the Dutch, many dishes here has major western/dutch twist. I find the food here a bit too pretty and safe (and also touristy). To cater to the milder palate of foreign tourist, the food here are rather bland IMO.

There are still many hidden culinary gem in Jogja but unfortunately I don't have that many pics :(

So long patients, LOVE INDONESIA!

The Duel: Monolog VS One Fifteenth

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 10 Jun 2015 14:30:00 +0000

It's time for another duel patients! Behold, the battle of hipster coffee shops. Actually, I don't have lots of pics about coffeeshops since I rarely visit them on daylights... Most of my pics are dark and blurry so pardon me for the limited photos :(

First is.. MONOLOG

There are 2 branches of Monolog in Jakarta, Plaza Senayan and Pondok Indah Mall. Serving good coffee, Monolog is always packed with coffee junkie from morning till midnight.

I am not and don't think will ever be a coffee expert. There is only two kinds of coffee for me, good one and bad one. I actually prefer the asian/indonesian style coffee of "kopi susu tubruk" where coarse coffee grounds is boiled with hot water and given sweet condensed milk to add the sweetness. Monolog's coffee or in this pic, cafe latte, is smoot but not velvety smooth. Balanced taste, low acidity and not too earthy.

The cheesy pastry is good, somehow I think it's a bit too sweet. I dunno whether they bake their own cakes or have some suppliers provide it for them but their cake is definitely worth trying.

I had this ox tongue fried rice in Monolog PIM 2, tastewise not good. Ugh... Seriously, don't order this ever.

Next is..ONE FIFTEENTH

1/15 is a super hip coffee shop in Gandaria area, not far from Gandaria City Mall. I've been drooling over the instagrams pics of "happening" people enjoying their coffee their --"

One day, I finally passing through the area and waste no time in finding the coffee shop. Place, chic and hip. Very instagenic. Service, a bit slow. Call me snobbish but I expect excellent, ass kissing, ego boosting kind of service when I pay that much money for coffee and cakes.

Coffee... Hmm... I'd say... Just okay (please don't kill me) Seriously, of all the places for coffee, I found 1/15 is just okay. Definitely not my fave, on par with Monolog. They have some snacks there and one of their specialty is Beau's Bombos. And... It is also just okay, nothing to brag about or worth a second order. So much for the stellar reviews :(

Well, for me... Monolog is the winner!!! Their place might not as comfy as 1/15 or as cool as 1/15 but I came to enjoy my coffee, my cakes and my me time. For that, fancy decor can't win against yummy cakes.

See you again patients :)

Follow my instagram @doc_babi for updates of my culinary journey

Monolog - Plaza Senayan GF/ PIM Street Gallery
One Fifteenth - Jl. Gandaria I No. 63