Showing posts with label eatandtreats. Show all posts
Showing posts with label eatandtreats. Show all posts

VALENTINE'S DINNER JAKARTA 2016: ROMANTIC RESTAURANTS JAKARTA

OMG it's that day again! Two weeks from now the whole world is about to celebrate another round of what could be the happiest or the saddest day in their life. It's FREAKING VALENTINE'S DAY!

I don't know about you, but I am like VERY single and I did have that sad moments where I really want to have someone who love me and vice versa, especially when I am travelling solo, but you know what, I don't wanna stress about it anymore, and I think staying busy and have a lot in your plate can really distract you from thinking about it, well that works for me!

I love saying this to you: the idea of being single is totally underrated, when you really think about it, there are actually a lot of things that I can freely do when I am single, for example travelling anytime or with my best friens, or short to say, living my life to the fullest, what I am trying to say is that just because you're not in a relationship doesn't mean you are literally alone. Look to your left and right and there has to be at least one person, a friend or a family members that's there for you, or maybe, myself? ;)

A quick recap to the restaurants opening in 2015, I looked at my blog archive and actually scrolled down my Instagram feed until like 30 weeks ago (stopped at 30 hands tired leh) and noticed that most of the new places are casual cafes or casual restaurants, not much of the romantic and fancy places and I personally need that for Valentine's Day, so a few names on this list are the ones who have appeared on my Valentine's Dinner list years before. Normally I would give all of my favorite restaurants recommendations but now I just want to give my personal favorites of the most romantic restaurants in Jakarta, and as usual, this is NOT a ranking list! List is sorted on an alphabetical order, and click on the name of the restaurants for the full review.

1945
Fairmont Hotel 3rd fl. (Across Sapori Deli)
Jalan Asia Afrika No. 8
GBK Senayan, Jakarta Selatan 10270
021 - 2903 9179
Opening Hours: 11:30 AM - 10 PM

WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM

Average spending: $$$ - IDR 1 mil for two
Credit cards and cash accepted
Dresscode: smart casual


1945 is probably the only Indonesian restaurant on this list and it deserves to be here! A fine dining restaurant in a classy setting serving customers who want to be catered with fine Indonesian food in Rijstafel style serving, where guests are pleased to choose the courses and the traditionally dressed waiters will be in line to serve you personally. 1945 is the brainchild of Sari Rasa Group which heads some of Jakarta's most famous restaurants like Sate Khas Senayan and Tesate. Their Lobster Thermidor is one of the must haves here.


AKIRA BACK
MD Place Building/Penthouse, Level 12
Jl. Setiabudi Selatan No. 7 (near to Four Seasons Jakarta)
Setiabudi, South Jakarta
021 - 2904 0777 / 0857 7778 8777
Pricing: $$$$ - IDR 2 mil for two
Dresscode: smart attire
Akira Back is on my list of everything! I have fallen deeply for it since that very first bite of Tuna Pizza and their short ribs, which make them my personal must try recommendation for you guys, or to be honest, every single dish on their finely curated menu, This  restaurant setting is fancy, and a bit of a hefty price tag, but they can assure you that you'll get a nice dining experience here. Akira Back is GOOD.

Giving you guys the preview of their Valentine’s dinner set menu that I had earlier today and will be yours when you dine here for V-day! Intentionally kept this article unpublished for this one cause it’s totally worth it! Everything you’re about to see is FABULOSO FANTASTICO, big zero negative thing to say, just perfect. Come book your seats here! See more on my Snapchat and Instagram!




Office Park Thamrin City Block AA-01
Jl. Thamrin Boulevard
Central Jakarta
Ph. +6221 29625878
Pricing: $$$ - IDR 400k for two
Dresscode: Smart casual
Avec Moi means “with me” in English, and boy damn right you gotta dine with them! Avec Moi is the perfect option if you’re looking for an awesome & affordable French dining experience. You just can’t miss their “Salade Avec Moi” with their signature Sesame dressing that’s so damn good, they’re quite popular for their pastas, and their steaks, I've tried like 70% of the menus here and none is disappointing! Avec Moi might not be the biggest on the social media, but the word of mouth of this French bistro spreads like virus, fully booked tables during weekends are something they’re used to, if you wanna dine here, I suggest fast & early bookings!

Menara Rajawali, 1st fl.
Jl. Dr. Ide Anak Agung Gde Agung LOT #5.1
Kawasan Lingkar Mega Kuningan
Jakarta Selatan 12950
021 - 2902 3418


Pricing: $$$ - IDR 1,5 mil for two
Dresscode: smart casual
I have been raving so much about E&O to the point that everyone knows I do! E&O is that kind of restaurant that's out of most restaurant's league. There's something so good about it and in a sense you kinda feel the humbleness to it that reflects well on their food. Asian fusion dishes made beautiful for most people's palate! Will Meyrick is a champ when it comes to seasonings and pork! Their pork belly is too crazy to miss, and your fabulous dinner with their signature and best selling Durian Pannacotta or the peanut butter chocolate dessert with honeycomb on top!



Sampoerna Strategic Square
South Tower, GF Unit 7-8
Jl. Jendral Sudirman Kav. 45-46
Jakarta Selatan 12950
021 - 5795 3300
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM
Pricing: $$$ - IDR 500k for two

Dresscode: smart casual
GIA is well –known for having good Italian cuisine, even more for the fact that it’s located at the Sampoerna Strategic Square, hence the look must be pretty! GIA rings fancy, but in some ways, humble at the same time. The head chef here is Chef Tomasso, who used to head the Pepenero Bali kitchen for around 4 years and Safehouse Kuningan. I’ve been to GIA twice, the food here is quite decent, even though personally not my favorite favorite, but I guess when you’re looking for a beautiful restaurant which can occupy big seating, have good Italian cuisine and in the same time, has that romantic value to it. GIA it is! 

JAVANEGRA
Jalan Pela Raya No. 212
Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan 12140
021 - 2905 4899
Opening hours: 8 AM-11 PM
Average spending for two: IDR 600k
Dresscode: sporty casual

Recently, I had lunch with a good friend of mine at the restaurant which she highly recommended called Javanegra. This restaurant had no signage in front of its building, but it’s located at Jalan Kramat Pela and if you make your way from Panglima Polim, keep straight until you see the “Jalan Kramat Pela” signage and it’s located PRECISELY BESIDE THE SIGNAGE. When I would say that Javanegra looks and feels more like a family restaurant, but I can still imagine two people having a romantic dinner here. The food here is nothing really fancy, typical home cook but ones where it’s perfectly executed! Don’t forget to try their fabulous steaks, seafood dishes and the angel hair dish with sea urchin! BOMB! Javanegra is definitely a freaking hidden gem I’m more than happy to discover! 

Jl. Gunawarman No. 34
Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta
021 - 7278 8001

WEBSITE

Pricing: $$$ - IDR 500k for two

Dresscode: smart casual
You can't just mention "romantic restaurants in Jakarta" and not mention Le Quartier in your list. To cut things short, Le Quartier is one of the restaurants that Jakarta should be proud of having. Amazing food with good (somehow more to the formal) service, it's like a well-mannered feast here! What to order? Pan Seared Barramundi and obviously their steaks!

Hotel Mulia Senayan Jakarta
Jalan Asia Afrika Senayan
Jakarta Selatan 10270
021 - 574 7777
email: info@hotelmulia.com

WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM
Pricing: $$$ - IDR 1 mil for two
Dresscode: sporty casual
If you’re looking for something grand, in terms of venue, food and ambiance with very classy and expensive feeling to it, I suggest look no further to either Chateau Blanc or Orient 8. Orient 8 is made for the eye, tummy and Instagram (LOL). The food in Orient 8 is nothing to worry about, because when you know that a brand as magestic as Mulia is backing you up, you can rule the world. Won’t say much.

The Plaza Tower, 46th fl.
Jl. M.H. Thamrin Kav. 28-30
Jakarta 10350
Opening Hours: 11 AM - 11 PM
Average spending for two: IDR 1,5 mil for two
Dresscode: sporty casual
Vue 46 is a newly opened French fine dining restaurant located in the 46thfloor of The Plaza tower and brought to Indonesia by the people behind Les Amis group. Vue 46 is one of the big players in the F&B biz at the moment, as from the first day it opened for public, tickets to their lunch and dinner have been sold and packed. The menu may vary depending of what they have to offer, but I guarantee that your meals at Vue 46 won’t be disappointing. Make sure to check out their fabulous “Cold Truffled Angel Hair With Caviar”, top notch!
I really want to put several names inside the list such as Amuz, Emilie GAIA, Salt Grill and Valentino on the list, but the thing is, I haven’t been to these restaurants for quite some time so I really have no clue about their menu and all, but I believe they must be good or else they are not surviving, especially Valentino, because I never tried it, but I heard they serve good food and the ambiance is pretty romantic. Gotta check that out sometime!

I am taking this moment to say goodbye and wishing Chateau Blanc a good rest in peace. You were special.

Well, I hope this list could help you in deciding where to go on this year's Valentine's day. I gave you the best of the best options some might be very pricey and will cost you a little fortune, but that's not the point of this post, I want you to always remember that you need to be real and stay true to yourself, don't poor yourself just for the sake of making your favorite person happy, Valentine specifically or love in general is beyond that and hopefully you're with someone who wants to stick with you for what you are.


WARUNK UPNORMAL JAKARTA

How many of you guys actually aware that the highly famous WARUNK UPNORMAL originated in Bandung is finally coming to Jakarta! Approximately a month ago as this post is written, they opened its first outlet in BSD, last week I made a visit with a few friends to their newest outlet in Cempaka Putih, as well as their first outlet in Jakarta.

This particular Cempaka Putih outlet is located in Jalan Cempaka Putih Raya (North Jakarta) and it’s this two-stories building in black color located not too far from Nasi Goreng Mafia, which is owned by the same owner. The design of the interior was pretty simple, not much going on with the details and deco, just some earthy elements such as wood for the furnitue and bricky layering the wall, and somehow that simplicity appeal to me as it created that proper and cozy space as an eatery for you to hang out with friends while having what they’re most famous for: INDOMIE CREATIONS!
You can talk with me about Indomie forever and we won’t stop. Indomie and I have this incredible connection and we’re officially affectionate towards one another, maybe that’s love HAHA, but seriously how many of you tryna deny how much you love Indomie. As Indonesian as it can be and without exxagerating, Indomie is one of the things that I seriously can’t live without.
Asumming that Warunk Upnormal is designed and concepted to cater the laid-back feeling to the customers and therefore they prepared magazines and little games to add in more fun, and not to mention: WIFI! We had our own little UNO moment here.

So what exactly really “upnormal” about the Indomie here? It’s the way they present the dish! While most people would have the good old Indomie with egg and veggies, they’re trying to elevate the uniqueness of the serving with their creativity. Somehow cafes bringing Indomie as the highlight has become of the most rapid growing F&B trend in town at the moment.
Their Indomie creations are sold in a very affordable price (around IDR 13k-20k) and aside from catering the good old classic, they also have several unique creations such as Indomie Upnormal with cheese sauce, Indomie Goreng Bolognaise, Black Indomie (with additional homemade chili mix), Indomie Sambal Matah, Indomie Goreng Saus Telur Asin and many more. Ok enough yakking let’s dig in to the food we had for lunch that day!
Snapped all the menu so again, if you don’t want to miss anything follow me on Snapchat: STANISLAUSHANS
You can complete your favorite meal with various toppings they have here like eggs, sausages, cheese, kikil (spicy and lenggang kikil), cornef beef and corned beef egg.
Indomie Upnormal – IDR 13,5k
Indomie Upnormal happens to be one of their best sellers here, a classic Indomie with beef ham with a twist from the cheese sauce adding in that extra salty-savory flavor and a hint of creaminess texture to the soup, perfect for rainy days.
Indomie Gokil (Goreng Kikil) – IDR 14,5k
If you’re a virgin to “kikil”, it’s actually the beef cartilage from the leg and commonly used in Indonesian food as a aprt of the cooking ingredient. Here they sauteed the kikil and serve it fresh with the dry green chili Indomie. If you’re used to having kikil, I think you’ll be pretty bias as kikil pretty much goes with everything. They perfectly cook the kikil to have this jiggly, soft and tender texture.

Indomie Goreng Sambal Matah – IDR 14,5k
This is my personal favorite from their Indomie series simply for two reasons: first, I bloddy love Sambal Matah (traditional Balinese chili), secondly, because they managed to make a VERY GOOD one where it’s spicy and well-seasoned!

Besides Indomie, they also have good variety of rice dishes, toasts, desserts and refreshing cute drinks! I noticed they have this rice dish named “Nasi Tanggal Tua” basically dedicated to college kids or office workers who really want to save up at the end of the month. It’s an economical dish consisting of rice and two eggs your way!

Nasi Wagyu Saus Mushroom + Telor – IDR 26,5k
100 grams of wagyu, marinated and thin sliced, and served with their homemade mushroom sauce and one sunny side up. FYI you can totally customize and request how you want your eggs to be cooked. The wagyu was all tender, but I did expect the mushroom sauce to have this more savory flavor.

Nasi Beef Chili – IDR 24,5k
Dice-cut beef cooked in their signature cabai bawang (shallot chili), and again presented with the fried egg. I love the level of spiciness of this dish, it’s biting just a little bit, but altogether a delicious dish with nice seasoning.

Various drinks (starts at IDR 13,5k)
The following thirst quenchers are mostly fun and simple, not exactly artisan drinks, they’re creamy without being overly milky. I personally like the taro and green tea drink, the banana beverage had the potential to taste better if it’s richer.
Ice Lychee Upnormal IDR 13.5k // Banana Latte IDR 14.5k // Ice Jeruk Upnormal IDR 13.5k // Ice Green Tea Latte IDR 14.5k//Ice Anggur Upnormal IDR 13.5k // Taro Latte IDR 14.5k
For the toasts, we had the Half&Half bread, what it means is the combination of two different toppings at your liking on a serving. We had the half-half green tea & Nutella (IDR 17,5k) and half-half taro & banana (IDR 15,5k). The green tea, taro and banana came in powder topping and dressed in condensed milk. Toast starts from IDR 13,5k



Some of their best selling desserts are their ice desserts and grilled banana, if you’re into the classic grilled banana, then I would suggest having their “Pisang Bakar Keju Brown Sugar (IDR 15,5k)” where you can experience the beautiful blend of sweet and savory flavor from the brown sugar and the grated cheddar cheese. They have the more modern grilled banana creation with their “Pisang bakar Es Krim Green Tea (IDR 19,5k)”, technically the same grilled banana base, only with green tea ice cream topping.

Their ice desserts are mostly the tweak of the common Taiwanese desserts we’re seeing in most cafes at the moment, but one thing I notice that they’re using “mochi” a lot in their ice desserts. The mochi might not be my favorite for the mushy and gooey texture, but overall they’re pretty easy and simple to have. My favorite from this serie is the “Green Tea Lover (IDR 27,5k)”, green tea dessert topped with taro pudding and green tea ice cream topping.
Green Tea Lover (IDR 27,5k)
Vanilla Treasure (IDR 27,5k)
Lemon Cheese Godzilla (IDR 27,5k)
What NOT TO MISS here is their Alpukat Milo Kerok (IDR 24k) – scraped avocado served with milo and condensed milk, it might sound simple, but it’s DA BOMB here. They’re using good quality avocado where it’s sweet and gooey just how I love it.

Either you love it or hate it, Warunk Upnormal will stay long and age gracefully. It’s already a brilliant idea that they serve indomie as their main menu here because Indonesians can’t stay too far from it. Probably another reason why they already have so many outlets spread around Bandung and areas nearby, and probably more coming? It’s the kind of place that I will go back again and again with friends if we’re having that sudden Indomie craving and want to chill somewhere without having to spend so much #indomietherapy #happinessisaffordable, and don’t you guys think that Indomie tastes better when someone else’s made it for us? ;)
Warunk Upnormal
Jalan Cempaka Putih Raya No. 102
Cempaka Putih, Jakarta Utara 10510
0817 - 4976 - 565
Opening hours: 10 AM-12 AM
Dresscode: casual
Average spending for two: IDR 60k


Map for Warunk Upnormal