The Goods Dept Take 2

I've been back to The Goods Dept at Plaza Indonesia since my first visit there a few months ago. I would usually have my go to Coffee Rub Burger sans bacon, and one of their mixed fruit slushies; my favorite! Another time, I remember having their bagel, and mushroom fries... not good not good. I don't exactly remember how the Nasi Goreng Buntut tastes like, but I think it was not excellent enough to be memorable.

The Goods Dept Plaza Indonesia has now moved to Pacific Place. I have never tried any of their food at the new branch.

Berry Ginger... Pomegranate?

Nasi Goreng Buntut

Apple Cucumber Tea

You can take a look at my previous review of The Goods Dept. here

Brunch at Cork and Screw Plaza Indonesia

Not that excited about this post. All I can say is, Cork & Screw Plaza Indonesia serves really bad brunch. Or at least what I ordered were BAD! Food, both the Full Breakfast and the Panini, was bland and most importantly, the strawberries they served were rotten if not fresh!

To be fair, however, I recall having a decent brunch at Cork & Screw Plaza Indonesia 1-2 years ago. If I had remembered correctly, I had their steak with hashbrowns, or something similiar to that. It was not bad, really. But, it's a pity that a restaurant with such reputation as Cork & Screw is willing to screw up its image just to save a penny or two on strawberries -_-!

Full Breakfast

Panini

Rotten Strawberries

I really can't say anything good about my brunch experience at Cork & Screw Plaza Indonesia. To be honest, none of their food (brunch/lunch/dinner) was impressive enough for me to want to go back there. Except, maybe, their duck confit salad.

Address:

Plaza Indonesia
1st Floor #127-AD
Jl. M. H. Thamrin 28-30

Telephone:
021-3199 6659

The Hardware Societe

The Hardware Societe, hands down the BEST, I say... THE BEST! the best Brunch I've ever had (as far as I remember) in my life so far. I had to wait for a good 45 minutes to get a seat, but it was worth the leg-sores!

I'm not sure if you can make a reservation in advance, but I recommend you to do that if you can. This is a must-go place when you're visiting Melbourne!

The Hardware Societe, Melbourne

Le Brunch Menu @ The Hardware Societe

Pastries display. Looks like their pastries are out-sourced

Delish Lamb!

Chicken Terrine. Was good, but not my favorite.

Scallops with chorizos and balsamic dressing. NOM!

Come and eat here! Great flavour, tasty, fresh stuff... Did I mention super delicious? I'm not exaggerating!

Address:
The Hardware Societe
118  - 120 Hardware St
Melbourne, VIC 3000

Telephone:
03 9078 5992

The GOODS Dept at Plaza Indonesia

I have been REALLY skeptical about this not so new restaurant located right down at Plaza Indonesia, @theGOODSdept, which I will simply type as The Goods Dept from now on. Combining a bistro/cafe and a boutique, The Goods Dept brings dining experience to whole new level. 

Yes I was skeptical. A cafe and a shop? How good can the food be? However, after hearing some ravenous reviews about the burger at The Goods Dept, I finally decided to try 'em out for my own. It felt weird initially, at least to me, having the feeling that people were window shopping not only at the goods sold, but also at me who happens to be chilling (and man handling the burger) with some of my friends at the cafe. But, once I got a bite at the coffee rub burger, I somehow didn't care if people were watching me at all! Yes, it's that good! It's tasty, juicy, tender yet firm, and just the right thickness for my mouth to bite into!

Since my first visit to The Goods Dept, I've been back for a few other times to try out some of their other foods and drinks.. And as this is my first post on The Goods Dept, I will make a review and have the pictures of the food I had at The Goods Dept on another post.

Ciao for now!

Passionfruit Iced Tea

Coffee Rub Burger

JUICY!

I'm coming back for sure!

Address:
The Goods Dept
Plaza Indonesia Extension, 4th Fl

Phone:
(021) 2992 3628

Mart 130 - Brunch by the Tram Stop

I remember this was the first place Anzela took me to for a sunny lovely brunch on the day I arrived Melbourne. Unlike other restaurants, Mart 130 is interestingly located right by a Tram stop somewhere in Melbourne, near a beach I reckon. 

I had poached egg with chorizos in tomato sauce... Ermm, kind of similar to a Spanish dish, Huevos Rancheros I believe? Although my dish came out to look quite tantalizing for my tastebuds, it didn't really taste that exceptional... Or maybe I was just experiencing jet lag at that time? Hence my tastebuds were not functioning properly as ordered by my biological clock that I was supposed to still be sleeping at that time?

Aside from the food, Mart 130 has, in my opinion, an almost fantastic view overlooking patches of greens and blue skies at their outdoor dining area. Perfect spot to hang around in your sunnies on a lazy sunday afternoon, sipping a cup of coffee accompanied by good friends or simply a good book :)

Oh and... OZ food is SUPER EXPENSIVE! I curbed on ordering fancy drinks to make up for my hearty dishes!

Address:

Mart 130

107A Canterbury Road, Middle Park, Melbourne

Victoria, Australia

Union Plaza Senayan

Wonderful day! T'was sunny out and I was filled with just amount of adrenaline to excite myself. I was very hungry that afternoon, and the fact that I managed to get a table at Union restaurant at Plaza Senayan, ahh... just made my day! I mean, it's been the rage of the town lately and it seems that I was the only one who has not yet tried out their infamous Red Velvet Cake.

So here goes what I had that day

Fresh Lime Juice

Boston Chowder

Soft Shell Crab Salad

Snapper

Mini Wagyu Burger

Red Velvet Cake

Okay... To be fair, the wonderful atmosphere at Union got me a little bit high at that time... Hence, whatever I had that day seemed so delish and perfect. But to be honest, if I am really listening to my tastebuds, I would say that the food was good, but not great. Since my first visit to Union, I've made several more trips here just to try out the other menu they offer, and I think that there are other dishes on their menu that taste better than whatever I had during my first visit to Union.

 And yep, you bet, the best part has got to be Union's Red Velvet Cake. HEAVENLY!

Address:
Union
Plaza Senayan, 1st Fl Unit Sogo (Beside Starbucks)
Jl. Asia Afrika no. 8, Jakarta

Phone: (021) 5790 5861-3

Pacific Diner Plaza Senayan

Pacific Diner, 

Trattoria @ Mega Kuningan

Trattoria at Mega Kuningan... What can I say, I was only here for less than 30 mins, barely finished an order of pizza and beer, and was served by a rude waitress... I doubt all of these points would provide me a basis to give an impartial review on this Italian restaurant.

Location wise, Trattoria is located at The East Building, Mega Kuningan. Relatively easy to find, in my opinion. Once I entered the restaurant, it sort of gave me a really nice cosy and warm feeling. It's very spacious, and the atmosphere was perfect for a chit-chat, some tid-bits and a glass of cocktail. Yea.. I guess SS must've read my mind; I was forced to get a beer.

As we just had Carl Jr's earlier that night, we were still pretty stuffed to order anything more than a pizza. This visit was purely intentional, really; to satisfy our curiosity after reading Jen'z Corner who was very pleased with Trattoria. And when we called the restaurant, the host mentioned that the non-smoking area was fully booked, which only furthered our intention to try this eats.

Prosciutto e Funghi Pizza @ IDR 59.000

Despite being full, I still managed to gobble almost 3 slices of pizza, which  could only imply that the pizza was good ;P. Or maybe I was just greedy... On the pizza, it was sophisticated and light. Unlike many other pizzas which have tons of cheese and toppings on them, Trattoria's pizza was thin crisp and topped with "just" amount of condiments, cheese and meat/veggie. I wouldn't say that Trattoria is stingy this way, but it's probably more of the philosophical side that they believe in. For me, at least, it was perfect :)

I think I would visit Trattoria again in the future. Next time, with an empty stomach.

Address:

The East Building, Lobby Ground Floor #1-10

Jl. Lingkar Mega Kuningan kav. E.3.2

Tel: (021) 5793 8574

Kihana

I am so glad DD  brought me to Kihana some nights ago. Strategically located at Plaza Indonesia, Kihana is a Japanese restaurant (if it isn't obvious enough from its name) that offers both the good food and also the cosy atmosphere.

Along the entrance corridor of the dimly lit restaurant lye lies a number of round tables that are pleasantly separated with extravagant draperies to give that exclusive oomph to the restaurant. Yea the tables are kind of nice, but I think I would feel weird as anyone who enters Kihana would surely, for a second or two, lay an eye on people sitting at the round tables. So, DD and I decided to sit right by the sushi train.

Unlike most other restaurants, Kihana provides warmers for certain food on the sushi train! Kudos to Kihana! Also, I have to say that Kihana's dishes are much more superior in taste/freshness compared to other more common and popular restaurants like Sushi Tei or Kiyadon, which serve plainly bad food (bland and stale). Although eating at Kihana would cost a little bit more than dining at Sushi Tei/Kiyadon, I think that it is really worth the premium :D

What we ordered

Volcano Sushi

I kinda forgot what's inside of this volcano. But I remember not liking it as much because there was just too much rice in it =_=

We loved this sushi! Baked Salmon with a dollop of Mentaiko and Mayonnaise ^ 3 ^

This pasta was our favorite! 

Pikachu Roll

Pikachu Roll was the worst. Now I'm wondering why did we even get this considering the name of the food is, if not obviously, effy enough...

All in all, I was very satisfied with Kihana! I mean, the food isn't that superb... But maybe it's the warm ambience plus the fact that Kihana serves REAL food, not the freeze-thaw kind of food like Sushi Tei has :p

Or maybe I was starving hence the food tasted twice as good? In any case, I went back to Kihana not long after my first visit and ordered a couple of different dishes, and the food was just as awesome! :D

Just FYI, during my second visit, I ordered Kihana Set Menu, Seafood Pasta and Tempura Soba. Mom, my brother and I loved everything! EVERYTHING! I will try to post the pics soon!

Adress:

Plaza Indonesia, 1st Floor
Jl. M.H. Thamrin Kav. 28-30
Jakarta Pusat
Tel. (62 21) 3107596

Fish and Co

I LOVE FISH AND CO.... I think they put some kind of spell on me. Or maybe I was just starving? Or.. Maybe Fish And Co is just that good. What my sister and I had at Fish and Co Taman Anggrek...

I believe almost everyone would have heard of Fish and Co, and would have probably dined here once or twice; I mean, it's all over the shopping malls. So I don't think I'll blab too much here.

First reaction when this came to our table "WHOAaa". There was just so much going on! YUMMY! Everything, EVERYTHING, on this platter was really yummy ^_^

Seafood Platter for 1

The salmon was superb although we did not fancy the veggies... bland and tough.. ugh..

Baked Salmon

We paid only IDR 139.000 for both! (excluding beverage) HAHAHA... victory! My sister used her Bank Mega credit card which was having this "buy one get one" thing @ Fish and Co.

Okonomi Dining EN

Yum-O! I am not sure if I were just too hungry or if the food at Okonomi Dining EN was indeed very delish. Delicious. Delicioso. Umae! ENAK. Sedaap.. tres delicieux! I mean... I couldn't even stop eating the rice! Yes, plain rice without anything somebody, someone had to stop me! =_= Why?! Why???! I barely eat rice everyday.. and rarely eat rice this good... T^T AND, this is not an exaggeration. This is a fact! Okonomi Dining En serves GREAT steamed rice :D

Okonomi Dining En, like many other authentic Japanese restaurants in Jakarta, does not own a grand entrance; it shares the same humble building with other Japanese restaurants/businesses. Nevertheless, one should never judge a book by its cover, right? 

The stairs leading to Okonomi Dining En might seem a little bit sketchy, but once you enter the restaurant, you will have a whole new different feel of the place :D. Now, it's kinda hard to describe the restaurant precisely... You just have to get there to see what it's like. But overall, I loved the atmosphere of the restaurant! I felt cosy, warm, happy and exclusive :D 

Okonomi Dining En has SOOO MANNYY dishes to offer that I took quite some time studying each and every item on the menu list. All of them were appealing to me, I have to say. Or maybe I was just greedy in that sense? But they really do have that Drool Factor! On top of Japanese food items, I think Okonomi Dining En offers a variety of Korean dishes as well. I would really like to try their Pork Kimchi next time!

What we had...

Tenderloin Tonkatsu Set

The steamed rice, imho, was the STAR!

There should really be a picture of the okonomiyaki we ordered here... But H was just too greedy to let me take a picture of it... T^T.

Strawberry Parfait

I prefer the Green Tea parfait to this!

Okonomi Dining En, obviously is my new favorite Japanese restaurant here in Jakarta :D. Okonomi Dining En is located around the Blok M / Melawai area at Jakarta Selatan. There are a few other Japanese restaurants around this area! I can't wait to try more of Okonomi Dining EN's dishes!!!!

Adress:

Kamome Building, 2nd Fl

Jl. Melawai Raya 189B

Jakarta Selatan

99 Restaurant (Ranch Market)

Already my second visit this time! I think I am fond of this place, hehehe ^_^. And by that, I mean I would rather have a chit-chat and munch-much at 99 Restaurant rather than Social House, which by the way, I think is overrated!

How do I even begin  describing this restaurant, it consists of various parts that give off different feelings/impressions. Sometimes you'll feel like you are in a jungle/garden, at home, at a nice cosy cafe... Oh man, I guess you would just have to visit 99 Restaurant to find out :p One obvious feature would be that unlike many other restaurants you see in a shopping mall, 99 Restaurant does not enclose all of its dining space. Yes, please beware of people-watching people outside the restaurants :p (I sometimes people-watch when I'm bored...).

The menu itself consists of many, MANY, kinds of food to choose from. What do you feel like eating today? Japanese? Italian? American? or Indonesian? They seem to serve almost everything you could possibly are craving for. World-food, eh? Not to mention the dessert and beverage, they have tons to choose from! This is definitely an advantage! I mean, not many restaurants actually have this many varieties of food. And even if they do, chances are the food sucks... Not the case with 99 Restaurant though!

As I was not particularly hungry that night, I decided that I'd order something that I could share with; luckily one of my friends was on a diet and he agreed (He ate 6 slices of pizza though... so much for going on a diet :p). We loved the pizza. Love Love. My other friends ordered Indonesian fried rice. Huge HUGE portion! In addition to the fried rice are a fried chicken thigh, two satays, a fried egg, a couple of kerupuk and... I guess that's it..? Or maybe there's something else, but I forgot :p The fried rice looked really delish.. yea it looked delish cos I was too full to have a bite :(

Beefeater Pizza; IDR 79.000

This Brownie Layer Cake is good... good... yum....my...!

Brownie Layer Cake; IDR 30.000++?

I couldn't get a nice picture of the drinks. But I have to tell you that their signature drinks are great! Between the mango and pomegranate drink, mango wins! :D

Overall, I think that 99 Restaurant is somewhat similar to Gourmet World at Kemang. Both serve great food and they definitely offer a good space/atmosphere for me to hang around ^_^ comfortably, happily!

Address: 

Grand Indonesia Shopping Town

East Mall, LG Floor

Jl. M.H. Thamrin Kav. I

Jakarta Pusat

Tel: (021) 2358 1199

Website:

99 Restaurant