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!

Table8 - Savor The Dynasty

Pretty Flower Tea.

the tea master will bring long-nosed kettle and pours boiling water in mesmerizing acrobatic movements. the little herb bundle transformed to the pretty jasmine flower.

When I walked in, I was simply amused. Chinese dynasty interior, Pagodas embellishments, breathtaking chandeliers, and the large oriental paintings on the ceiling - talking 'bout top-notch decor. You don't come across many fine dining which offers Chinese cuisine, Table8 surely knows how to deliver regal presentation and flavor: focusing on Cantonese and Sichuanese dishes. Taste wise, dishes turned out to be delish, but as I expected, Table8 doesn't completely satisfy the authenticity point of view. 

Peking Duck Appetizer

Pan-fried Beef Steak with Red Wine and Black Pepper Sauce

Steamed Live Scallop with Enoki Mushroom and Black Bean Sauce

Stir-fried Minced Roasted Duck Meat with Lettuce

Steamed Chilean Sea Bass Fillet with Cumin Flavor Szechuan

Pan Fried Noodle With Vegetable, Egg, and Sausage

Table8

Hotel Mulia Senayan
Jl. Asia Afrika, Senayan
South Jakarta, Indonesia

(021)575-3278

www.thetable8.com

Singapore Quick Bite

A week before the Orchard Rd flood, I went to Singapore for a few days to visit some friends, get some good shopping bargains, share some good laughs, and doing what I do best - fill my tummy tank!

killiney kopitiam ice coffee

mee siam. sweet, sour, and tangy in a bowl 

mee rebus

Seafood galore at Newton Hawker Center:

fried squid

BBQ stingray with sambal sauce

oyster omelette

snacking at Takashimaya's food court. 

some fine sushi wouldn't hurt.

came across The Hand Burger at 313@Somerset. $8 for a gourmet burger, fries, and a drink? I'm in.

Boon Tong Kee's finest:

kangkung belacan

 

hainan chicken

 fried tofu

I'll be visiting Singapore more often for some food hunting. So, where should I eat next?

Newport Tan Cang Seafood - Asian Persuasion

I just cannot believe after countless time I went to Tan Cang, drove the crazy miles from West LA to San Gabriel and waited after the long lines - I never wrote a review about it. I must be loco. So does the house special lobster and everything else in Tan Cang. This restaurant is my favorite and apparently is also everyone else's - so prepare for a long wait during weekends. Although this place don't take reservation, on weekdays you may be seated right away.

Let's spin that glass table:

french beef loc lac - black pepper beef cube sauteed to tenderness, on top of chopped onions. The beef is super tender and juicy - the best beef dish in any Chinese restaurants I've ever tried. I never get enough of these, give me a plate for myself!!

 

please don't lick the screen. of course the house special lobster is a must. chopped, battered, and lightly fried together with scallions, black pepper, drenched with some oil. No need to make a mess, just fork out the tender lobster meat, dip it with the oil and green onions. it sure is special.

kangkung or water morning glory. stir fried with chopped garlic and shrimp paste. the aroma and taste are equally appetizing. super good. 

It may not be on the menu, but you can have two cooking ways of the fish. I'm not sure whether they charge differently or not but to add varieties to the table, I greatly recommend splitting the fish.  

 

first half of the fish: steamed tilapia with special sauce, ginger, and scallions. very delicate and buttery. 

second half of the fish: deep fried and drenched with sweet sour sauce. uber spicy delicious crispy skin and moist inside. 

Newport Tan Cang Seafood
518 W Las Tunas Dr
San Gabriel, CA 91776
www.newportseafood.com 

Buddakan - Not Your Average Chinese Delivery

hoisin glazed pork belly. spicy shallots, cabbage, steam buns. succulent pork belly with sweet glazed flavor.
 

Wow. Stunning decor, beautiful people and delicious food are rare combination but plentifully exist in New York. Especially if you expect that fancy Chinese fusion will turn out to be such a disaster, Buddakan presents a chic way to enjoy everything Asian that actually taste unbelievably yummy.

The place is also featured in Sex and The City The Movie when Carrie had her rehearsal dinner before the wedding. I'm such a fan of the medieval Asian meets modern romantic interior. Between the ancient giant door and dangling chandelier at the big dinning room, this place swept me off my feet.

edamame dumpling, shallot-sauternes broth. let's start with my least favorite dish on the table. Taste like mochi gone wrong, despite the great reviews. 

sizzling short ribs. mushroom chow fun, Asian pear. this one is amazingly cooked to tenderness and flavorful.

glazed Alaskan black cod. chili egg plant, black bean relish. very soft and moist.

pepper steak chow fun. Chinese broccoli and garlic chives. surprisingly delicious and reminds me of Thai's pad see ew.

chili rock shrimp, toasted ginger. perfectly fried to crispiness, spicy sauce adds a kick to it. yumm...

chinese sausage fried rice. sunny side up egg. another favorite of mine, unexpectedly it taste so similar with Indonesian fried rice. two thumbs up!

Buddakan

Neighborhoods: Meatpacking District, Chelsea 

75 9th Ave 

(between 15th St & 16th St)  

New York, NY 10011 

(212) 989-6699

www.buddakannyc.com

Koi Kei Bakery - Tart Delicacies

 

presenting: scrumptios Portuguese egg tart

If you have a chance to visit Macau, you have to get your hands on these babies!! They disappeared quickly before your eyes, due to high tourist demands. The warm filling is creamy and has silky texture, the outer crust is flaky and messy once you get your bite on - just they way they perfectly should be.

Surely, Koi Kei Bakery is always jam packed with tourist grabbing their almond cookies and pineapple pastry. but I only got my eyes on you, egg tart...

Koi Kei Bakery

Venitian Hotel &

City of Dream

Macau

Hutong - Location, Location, Location Is Not Always The Case

The huge array of bird cage and beautiful carved wood panel makes you feel instantly in vintage China era and makes you almost forget the breathtaking harbor views. The authentic atmosphere and one Michelin star Cantonese restaurant, however, fail to deliver some impressive dishes. Unsure with which dishes to choose, we trusted the "Hutong's signature dishes" all the way, from starter to main entrees. I've had taste better Cantonese cuisines before.

chili spiced bamboo clams steeped in chinese rose wine and chili sauce

beef tenderloin wok fried with scallions. plenty of scallions, as you can see. finding the tenderloin is like finding a needle among haystacks. The beef were perfectly seasoned and cooked.

sugar-cane prawns in lemongrass-chili sauce. we adore these pretty looking prawns, but not the taste. so bland was an understatement.

crispy boneless duck served with scallion sauce. my favorite dish among all. the so crispy skin, yet tender duck meat so scrumptious yet so never-ending, at least for the three of us girls. 

the view under the misty grey HK skies

night view sparkly lights midnight skies

Presentation wise, dishes look splendid. Location wise, flawless. However, I suggest just come here for the view, and go to the street down at Tsim Sha Tsui Nathan rd. for more delicious and cheap finds.

Hutong
28F, One Peking Rd.
Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon
www.aqua.com.hk

Mien Nghia - Tradition Remains

 wonton egg thin noodle with separate soup. topped with fried shallots, green onions, cilantro

Chinese noodle with separate soup is what my family eat for breakfast almost every morning back home. So, when my friend introduced me to Mien Nghia a year ago, I was hooked and have been a regular ever since. I always order the same thing which is wonton thin egg noodle with separate soup. I can't help the plentiful fried shallots, green onion, and cilantro toppings to compliments the dry noodle, the soup broth is really good. One more thing, the home made chili sauce is to die for! Seriously, I use half of the chili container for my noodle... yup, it's that good!

Mien Nghia

304 Ord St
Los Angeles, CA 90012
(213) 680-2411

Boiling Crab - No Utensils Allowed

 Dungeness Crab- finger-lickin good!!

Waking up after a food comma, I tried to remember what happened last night. All I know my hands smell like garlic...

Then I remembered we were driving on the 10 east highway bound for a long 40 minutes.
I remembered we were waiting our asses off for an hour, freezing outside the restaurant with my flip-flops on.
I remembered I was never been so excited wearing a bip looking like a true nerd.

 Shrimp + Corn smothered in The Whole Sha-Bang! 

I remembered we ordered 1 lbs of shrimp, 1 lbs of crawfish, 3 lbs of dungeness crab, all in the flavor of "The Whole Sha-Bang" medium spicy, 1 cajun fries, and 3 corns.
I also remembered three lovely ladies weren't in lady-like behavior after bags of plastics containing seafood treasures landed on our table. We turned into beasts eating and finger-lickin.
I remembered splatter of red sauce and seafood shells flying around the table and managed to pick some spots on my face.

Crawfish is pain! not worth the hassle for such tiny piece of meat.

We won't stop stop eating this cajun fries 'coz the flavor really pop pop!

I remembered we panicked when a waiter told us that it was last call, so we ordered 1 more lbs of shrimp, another basket of cajun fries, and 3 more corns. Ooohh greedy...
Boiling crab is BombASStic and "The Whole Sha-Bang" is bangin'!! After we were stuffed, we didn't stop laughing from the minute we pay our bills to our way back to the west bound. Yupp, we were so high on cholesterol...

The Boiling Crab
742 W Valley Boulevard
Alhambra, CA 91803
(626) 576-9368

www.theboilingcrab.com