Mixed Feelings

It's been a busy, mellow, stressful, exciting, productive, lazy, hyper weeks in Jakarta. One day I'll be a busy bumble bee working and tomorrow is a slow sunny afternoon sipping ice tea doing tik-tok on with my laptop, 95% is work related. My everyday is always a mixed of things and feelings. Still, gastronomy is on the top of my list.

Here's an edition of a mix of everything:

Nanny's Pavillon

Jl. R.E. Martadinata No. 112

(6222) 4271537
Bandung, Indonesia

sausage pancake and sandwiches were mediocre
 

Poste Kitchen

The East Building Ground Floor

Jl. Lingkar Mega Kuningan E.3.2 No.1

(62-21) 2554 2707

Jakarta, Indonesia

buttery escargot

vodka fish and chips

 lobster pasta

Bubur Ayam Mangga Besar
Jl. Taman Pluit Kencana No. 5
(6221) 661 3805 
Pluit, North Jakarta, Indonesia

 my favorite place for congee with cakwe

 tofu goodness

 the best boiled and grilled chicken. uber tasty!

Shake Shack - The Lines Don't Lie

shack stack. cheeseburger and 'shroom burger topped with lettuce, tomatoes, and shack sauce.

When it comes to burger, I pretty much have an In-N-Out burger standard, simple and fresh ingredients. In NY, Shake Shack has similar concept, simple burger with more fun. Their Shack Stack burger is addicting! Bun + lettuce/tomato + deep fried mushroom filled with cheese + more cheese + beef patty = crack. If you have some room, try some frozen custard, their jolly way of milk shake.

It's a tough call to compare Shake Shack with In-N-Out, but as far as their regular burger and fries, obviously I-N-O is the winner. The only thing so special about this burger hut is the Shack Stack and their beautiful open air location. But when you see those super long lines at SS with freezing or raining NY weather, I'll pass.

fries. So disappointed with these. In-N-Out's so much better!

frozen custards

shack burger and shack stack.

Shake Shack

Madison Square Park
E 23rd St & Madison Ave
New York, NY 10010
(212) 889-6600 

www.shakeshacknyc.com

Houston's - Guilty Pleasure

Normally, I'm hardly obsessed with food from chain restaurants. But, I would go nuts for Houston's two particular things...

Spinach and artichoke dip. creamy and rich. dipped with hot tortilla chips.

 

Barbeque ribs. Slow-cooked, fall-off-the-bone pork ribs, with hand-cut French fries and coleslaw

 Houston's

10250 Santa Monica Blvd
Ste 45
Los Angeles, CA 90067
(310) 557-1285

Skratch - Healthy Never Tasted So Good

slow braised pulled pork sandwich - fig & white grape compote. green apples, organic baby field greens. topped with truffle oil vinaigrette.

Organic, healthy, fast, top-notch ingredients, cheap! wait, cheap is included in making those sandwiches taste awesome? yup. Welcome to Skratch where you have fine selection of healthy alternative of fast food! Yummy? don't ask...

Skratch

3867 Hughes Avenue
Culver City, CA 90232
(310) 558-3400

www.skratchbasics.com

♡ Happy Turkey Day ♡

It's that time of the year again when 46 millions of turkey are consumed, commercial flights face their busiest travel week, and massive Black Friday lines are formed in front of your favorite stores. This year, my friends and I celebrated Thanksgiving with huge appetite and the mood of packing some major calories.

Three main chefs + the rest playing sous chefs and we got ourselves a cook fest! Hours of preparation and putting together the perfect thanksgiving meals were paid off. Every single dish was perfectly cooked and seasoned. Butter and heavy cream play significant roles in making the meals memorable and everyone was oblivious of the nutrition fact's existence.

Honey baked ham

Sauteed mushrooms

Mac and Cheese

Corn de la crème

Mashed potatoes

Enormous turkey

Cinnamon apple pies

At the end of the night we all feel it was a successful stuffy dinner and a heartwarming affair to remember. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Joan's On Third - Gourmet Marketplace

Whoever Joan is, she's a smart cookie - between the ready made food depot, cupcake and desserts, sandwiches, pastries, cheese station, and mini market - everything looks delightful and requires more than one visit to pass my final verdict.

This place is crowded hence parking and seating were obviously crappy. Once we order on any of the cashier's stations, we find ourselves a table. Indoor and outdoor seating are available but patio seems to be the popular one. Don't be surprised if celebrity popped into Joan's, we got our own celeb sighting :D

Apricot glazed ham & brie with mustard caper sauce

 Frutti de Bosco

Being indecisive on their lunch menu, I got myself apricot glazed ham & brie with mustard caper sauce sandwich and frutti de bosco. The sandwich was excellent with high quality and tasty ham, cheese and perfect dressing on soft baguette. But I wasn't so excited with the dessert - it was unexceptional. I heard good things about their cupcakes, but don't have the heart to gain extra calories for their thick icing. Oh well, maybe another day another time....

Joan's On Third

8346 W 3rd St
Los Angeles, CA 90048
(323) 655-2285

www.joansonthird.com 

Baby Blues BBQ - Bad To The Bone

Unfortunately, it's a literal meaning -bad to the bones-....Baby Blues BBQ didn't seem to deliver the hypes people been talking. There are hits and misses about this place, but definitely not worth the comparison to Phil's BBQ in San Diego. First of all, the ribs were not fall off the bone and not meaty. I prepare to eat a cow and all I got was a calf, the ribs was just not as juicy and succulent as I expected to be.

The hits:

Memphis Ribs - better than the baby back ribs. Still, we could use more meat rather than fat.

The porno sauce XXX hot!

Not your average dry gin, it's their top notch vinegar

Misses:

Where should I start? The corn bread isn't worth mentioning, the baby back ribs is dry and lacking of meat, the only good thing was the side: pulled pork and beans.

Beef brisket - Although well seasoned, this is a bowl full of chewy meat, no good!

Even though this BBQ pit was well reviewed on Yelp as well as Food Network as the best BBQ in LA, I'll say just drive to San Diego and get the real deal.

I feel ya, poor bastards...

Baby Blues BBQ

444 Lincoln Blvd
Venice, CA 90291
(310) 396-7675

www.babybluesvenice.com

Blu Jam Cafè - Sweet Escapade

 Blu Toast

Being a sweet tooth, brunch is all about the pancake, crepe, and french toast. Finding the perfect french toast is never easy, but clearly Brioche Blu Toast is super scrumptious. French toast with blackberry jam, cream cheese in between two slices of battered brioche slices, and complimented with fresh strawberry, blueberry, bananas, powdery sugar on top, and maple syrup on the side. The cream cheese part might sound so over the top, but everything combined is a sweet escapade.

 Hangover Burrito

On a savory note, we ordered Hangover Burrito - Eggs scrambled with beef chorizo, jalapeños, smoked chipotle, black beans, cheddar and cilantro, inside a large grilled flour tortilla, served with potatoes and side of sour cream. This thing is the best breakfast burrito ever! Spicy and zesty at the same time.

One of the thing that always draws me back to Blu Jam is the service and the atmosphere. The owner always hangs around to make sure all is satisfactory.  Despite this place is located in Melrose, there's nothing Hollywood about this place - simply modest and cozy...

Blu Jam Cafè
7371 Melrose Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90046
(323) 951-9191

www.blujamcafe.com

Damon & Pythias - Love Stinks

 LA Cheese Steak + Garlic Fries

After so many failed attempts on eating healthy during weekdays, I surrendered once again to carbs galore. There are too much to love when it comes to Damon & Pythias, a sandwich gem in Westwood area where I've been food hunting a lot lately. First of all, I'm a fries fanatic - you can hand me french fries, sweet potato fries, or any kind of fries - I will go to my own little corner and shut up. Damon & Pythias has the best curly GARLIC fries with garlic aioli that will leave your mouth stink for days!

I could not even say no to their LA Cheese Steak sandwich, they have the right ingredients - balsamic-spice marinated angus flank steak, blue cheese dressing, country onions, mixed baby greens, roma tomatoes on grilled foccacia bread. Just make sure you order the steak in medium unless you are going to end up like a crazy carnivore trying so hard to get a bite off of your sandwich.

PS: Whether with a date or not, chewing gum after your garlicky experience is strongly recommended!

Damon & Pythias
1061 Broxton Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90024
(310) 824-8777

Uhhh Mami

Classic bottle of coke [check]
Oil drippin' onion rings [check]
Succulent, juicy, meaty gourmet burgers [check] 
Greasy everything [check]
Small portion, overpriced burgers [check]
Slow service [check]

Well, I have to say Umami Burgers might be a love & hate thing for me. I love how the truffle burger gave me a foodgasmic experience. The buttery soft fresh buns and meat-packing juicy succulent patty with a slice of cheese made it the best burger I've ever enjoyed in my life. But the best thing in life comes in a price of its own - $11 and Oh don't get me started on how greasy every single thing they serve here. The oil drippin from the buns, patties, and even onion rings was a major turn off. Prepare for extra napkins!

Pork Belly Burger of fresh ground pork and bacon with spicy aioli is one unique great combo not found at any other burger joint.

 Truffle Burger - Couldn't say no to this one. A perfect blend of subtle and savory flavors.  The Truffle Burger's crowning glory was a spatter of truffle cheese and the patty was covered in truffle glaze.

 Root Beer Float - Sluuuuuuurp!

Malt Liquor Tempura Onion Rings - crispy, salty, and of course oily!

Umami definitely brings a manly side of me to eat burgers like a real man! And I suggest every vegetarian not to get near this place as Umami Burger might swift your taste buds.

Umami Burger
850 S La Brea Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90036
(323) 931-3000

www.umamiburger.com

Johnnie's Pastrami - "Bun"dle of Joy

During weekdays or when I'm conscious of what I'm eating, I would care more about calories and healthy diet. That being said, when I was bit under the influence of alcohol, I was unconcerned with what I eat. Not only is Johnnie's Pastrami a good hangover remedy, but it's so devilishly delicious that I can chow down a piece of it on any given day.

The to die for French dipped hot pastrami is best enjoyed with extra secret dip on the side. Before you make that bite of your life, dip dip dip, put it into your mouth, and grab the yellow pepper to add an extra UMPHH. Repeat as necessary!

Okay so I have to admit I split the pastrami because meat is generously piled high and Oh I'm saving some space for the chili cheese fries. Have I mention the chili cheese fries? Gosh I'm not saying they have the best chili cheese fries but "Hello?!"...when I know that this is the day to ruin my diet, might as well just make a hot mess.

To make things even better, this place open late night. Make some excuses to eat dinner early so you can have midnight snacking!

My love for Johnnie wouldn't change just because their pastrami cost me $11 bucks and it's cash only. Yep it's quite steep for a sandwich, but it's one hell of a sandwich that will make you and your tummy get a good night sleep.

Johnnie's Pastrami
4017 Sepulveda Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90230
(310) 397-6654