JAPAN CULINARY ADVENTURES: NAGOYA

Note: All the Culinary Adventures posts on this blog are merely reports, not reviews. These adventures serve as "research" or "areas of learning" for the author (which is me, duh).

Now people have been asking why my family and I decided to pick Nagoya as our next destination. Well, the answer is pretty simple: my dad loves cars and would like to visit the Toyota Automobile Museum, and since he's financially responsible for the trip, we can't say no (peace, dad). However, the trip to Nagoya turned out to be more pleasant than what I pictured. Nagoya turned out to be a heavily metropolitan city of skyscrapers and lights and wide roads.

Oh, and CHICKEN WINGS (which are local culinary trademarks of Nagoya).

 Above are pictures of the miso-covered chicken wings. They tasted kinda sweet, but still crispy, nonetheless.

These ones are covered in salt and pepper. Damn, you can really feel the pepper up in your throat! 

Personally, I like these ones better than the miso-covered ones.

 You might be wondering what these blobs of brown are. They're actually pork meat skewered to form a satay, which were coated in crispy crumbs and then covered by miso after frying. They're delish!

The picture explains it all - salmon sashimi salad dressed in authentic wafu dressing. OMG the ingredients were so fresh I CAN'T EVEN.

This was the place that I had the chicken wings. Yamachan is in fact the pioneer of Nagoya chicken wings!

Below are pictures of foods that I tried at the Nagoya train station. 

Warning: Ramen porn ahead.

Shio (salt-based) soup, succulent pork slices, mushroom, seaweed, menma (bamboo shoot), green onions and al dente noodles? YAS.

 Shoyu (soy sauce) soup base, green onions, fish cake, pork slice, seaweed, menma (bamboo shoot), al dente noodles and hard-boiled egg? DOUBLE YAS.

Miso (sweet fermented paste) soup base, fishcake, green onions, pork slices, al dente noodles, extra drizzle of miso paste? TRIPLE YAS.

THE SUPERSTAR (MY PERSONAL FAVE) - Tonkotsu (pork bone-based) soup, al dente noodles, green onions, seaweed, pork slices, hard-boiled egg? QUADRUPLE YAS.

These are sushi rice topped with ebi tempura. Match made from heaven.

Yes, another picture of the miso-covered pork satays, because they are amazing.

I decided to add this picture to the post. Above is the matcha lava cake I had at Toyota Automobile Museum's cafe, which tasted sooooo good! Just the right amount of sweet. 

MATCHA AND RILAKKUMA FTW!

Nagoya isn't bad at all - in fact, foodies should and take a taste on the local dishes! I swear, the chicken wings are superb and worth a try! If you plan on visiting Japan, remember to stop by and have a bite!

See you guys on my next Culinary Adventures post! There's so much more to come :)

LOCAL TASTE ID

HELLO GUYS! I'M BACK!!!!!!!!!

I seriously am VERY VERY ULTRA MEGA DUPER sorry for my super loooooongg hiatus. I placed 100% blame on my 2-months-long AS Level exams.

I really miss blogging, to be honest.

Anyways, my exams are over now, probably around a week ago. In order to celebrate the end of the dark, energy-draining and suspenseful period of assessments, my good girlfriends and I decided to join the hype of Lippo Mall Puri's POP UP PLAYGROUND - CULINARY FESTIVAL. The words "Culinary Festival" popped my ears and sparked my excitement. THERE'S GONNA BE A LOT OF FOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Take a look at the place.

My friend Tania, a fellow foodie, joined me on the food-buying frenzy. After only 10 minutes being at the festival, we already placed 3 orders of food!

Here's all the food that we bought that day.

Geram's Ramen Burger, Rp. 35k

I'VE FINALLY FOUND A RAMEN BURGER IN JAKARTAAAAAA!!!!! However, my excitement soon washed away when I took my first bite; oil covered my whole mouth! The ramen bun and beef patty were oily. Also, the burger would've been much better if the cheese used was other than Kraft Singles, which unfortunately did not complement the burger. Plus points for the taste and moisture of the beef patty though.

OMG Meatballs, Rp. 40k

My bud and I selected original meatballs with black pepper sauce and garlic rice as our pick.

This one is a flat-square winner of all the food that we tried that day. Juicy and packed-with-flavor meatballs? Check. Mildly spicy and savory black pepper sauce that perfectly fit the meatball's taste? Check. Fragrant and not-too-overwhelming garlic rice? Check. All the components tasted great, really. Even the bread stick.

Cheese Sausage Corn Dog, Rp. 20k

This one isn't bad for its price. The corn dog batter was fluffy and lovely, although the sausage was just simply store-bought frozen processed sausage. It's a decent treat.

Mom Milk's Taro Cookie and Green Tea, Rp. 20k (each for Regular size)

For all those who are wondering what this drink is, it's actually just milk fashioned with various flavors and toppings. No peeps, not milk tea.

Taro cookie flavor was at the right level of sweetness. It was creamy and smoothie-like, with addition to what I suspect are Oreo cookie crumbs.

Green tea flavor, on the other hand, is not as sweet as I'd like it to be. It also had the texture of a latte instead of a smoothie. Also, the green tea taste was not as prominent as its color.

Jennabel's Caramel Baileys, Rp. 35k

To be honest, I loooove cakes in jars - they look super adorable. This particular one though, had too much cream cheese in it. I know that many people think that adding cream cheese to food will elevate the taste instantly, but not for this one dessert. It would be better if the amount of the actual cake to cream cheese ratio was different. Although the cake was moist, the baileys did not stand out and the cream cheese overshadowed everything.

All in all, the LOCAL TASTE experience was unforgettable, definitely entertaining and mind-refreshing. Like, what's better than chilling out with good food and good music? Oh, did I mention about the band playing at the festival? They sure had incredible talent!

And did I mention the pop-up fashion booth from LOCAL BRAND?

RAN, a group of three renowned musical prodigies performed that night, around 8 p.m. Their performance was lovely, marking the day even more. I unfortunately did not take any pictures of them that are suitable for this blog (yes, they're in very bad quality because it was dark out and people formed a crowd in front of the stage). The atmosphere was indescribably lovely - music playing, kids playing at the pop-up playground (a ping-pong table as one of the provided entertainment accommodation), and food kiosks selling carnival food. It was certainly a day and night to remember.

Lippo Mall Puri @ The St. Moritz

Jl. Puri Indah Boulevard  Blok U 1

Puri Indah CBD

Jakarta Barat

Donburi Ichiya at Lippo Mall Puri

WASSUP GUYS?!

Okay I know I haven't posted in like, forever, so I'm sorry for that. I got too caught up with things.
Not gonna make a lengthy intro for a post this time; I am aware that [maybe] most of you guys prefer me talking less about me and more on the reviewed subject. So without further ado, let me introduce you to this brand new Japanese eatery at the also freshly opened shopping centre, Lippo Mall Puri - Donburi Ichiya.

What it looks like from the outside:

Something draws me to the decor of the restaurant, and it is the creative posting of various Japanese posters on the walls; they give me the sense of an authentic Japanese restaurant.

Like the name already suggests, the restaurant specializes in selling donburi (4 types: gyu don, yakitori don, kaarage don and salmon don) topped with different sauces (such as soy honey and spicy mayo) and toppings (like kimchi or corn). The menu variation didn't end right there though - the place also serves tempuras of for example, quail's egg. Tonight I picked the sweet potato tempura for my extra.

Sweet Potato Tempura, Rp. 7k

Sweet potato is cooked to tenderness, thin coating of tempura fried to crunchiness. Texture wise, it hit the right spot. Flavor is a bit bland though; a dip of the tempura sauce is strongly advised.

And the main course.....

Kimchi Gyu Don (soy honey sauce), Rp. 54k

Beef was succulent, kimchi tasted sweet and sour (like it's supposed to). The soy honey taste cannot be distinguished that well, mainly because the beef is already sweet enough it didn't need any more extra sweetness from the sauce. FYI, the sauce pick was recommended by the server.

 Salmon Don (with wasabi mayo sauce), Rp. 45k

I'm [almost] in love with this. How can a person not like a slightly torched chop of salmon flesh topped with a little bit of season? There's one factor in this dish however; the wasabi mayo did not pair up well with the salmon. Again another unsatisfactory pick from the server, phew. Also, in my opinion, for a dish of that price the salmon's portion must be increased or it may come to be way too overpriced.

                                

Yakitori Don (with garlic butter sauce), Rp. 36k

Now I've got some complaints for this one; chicken didn't taste as if it has been seasoned, and the garlic butter is lacking in portion. But for once, the server did a decent job of picking a sauce.

Kaarage Don with Melted Cheese (with soy honey sauce), 43k

Kaarage was crispy and cheese was enjoyable, but the dish lacked overall taste. It failed to make any obvious statement. Nevertheless, crunch and cheese can never actually fail.

I know this review is kinda short, but I think there's not much to say except that the food is decent and it's worth a try. There's one thing you need to keep in mind however - don't rely 100% on the servers on picking your sauces. It is more advisable to create your own combination of donburi and sauce. Will I come back here? Of course. But for sure, I'll be making different choices, and those of my own.

P.S: The torching of the food was veeeeerrrryyyyy interesting to watch.

Donburi Ichaya 

Lippo Mall Puri @ The St. Moritz, LG-80

Jln. Puri Indah Boulevard Blok U No. 1

Jakarta Barat

(021) 29111006

Curry House at Papaya

HULLO! On the first day of the second week of July, I'll post my second and last review on a few of the Surabayan eateries I had had the chance to visit last month. This one post will be about my absolute Surabayan food place, Curry House.

Curry House, like the name already suggested, only sells Japanese Curry. Variants of the menu range from curry poured over different kinds of katsu until the incorporation of curry with other food elements that elevates the eating experience.

There's one peculiar thing from this restaurant, and it's the adorable eating utensils used. They are made of wood and carved into cute, toy-looking utensils that actually function! Take a look.

As I've said, every single one main course on the menu involves curry, so non-curry eaters, this isn't the place for you. Japanese curry lovers, on the other hand, I can assure you that this is your heaven. Check out the food!

Boiled Potatoes, 20k

This is what I had for appetizer. Lightly seasoned, this perfectly cooked potatoes were a treat to the tongue.

Pork Combustion Curry (Regular), 100k

Man is this amazing! Tender pork belly chunks? Check. Creamy curry sauce in every grain of rice? Check. Generous melted cheese on top, drizzled with mayonnaise? Check. Seriously there is nothing can be done to make this dish any better.

 Seafoodmix Combustion Curry (Regular), 100k

Taste-wise, it's not much different from the pork belly combustion curry. The only thing varying it from the dish on top is of course, the meat. Seafoods from fish until clams are spread out evenly through the casserole.

Chicken Cutlet Curry (Small), 60k

The curry sauce is gorgeous. Like what Japanese curries should be, the smell of the spices was not overpowering, but distinguishable. The savory (with a tinge of sweetness) curry sauce was perfectly seasoned. The chicken cutlets, served on top of warm rice, were a bit dry though, even if the bread crumbs couldn't be any crunchier. Oh an the mayonnaise-coated lettuce salad on the side? Delicious.

Pork Cutlet Curry with Vegetables (Small), 69k

Let me start by saying that the pork cutlets were soooooooooo moist and tender! In addition to the crispy coat nd slight flavor to the meat, every bite will force you to take another! Vegetables were perfectly cooked. The curry sauce? Amazing as always. By the way, this dish is one from the DIY menus.

Curry House also provides spiciness levels for the dishes. There are seven levels, and descriptions are below on the picture:

Japanese curry lovers, this is one place you must visit before you die. I highly recommend this place, not only to curry enthusiasts, but to other foodies as well. Seriously guys, I can't say more words; just check this place out.

Curry House

Papaya Fresh Gallery, 2nd floor

Jl. Raya Darmo Permai Selatan No. 3

Surabaya

031-7326291

PASSIONATE LACE AFFAIR

Hey hey hey! 

I've been planning on doing another "ootd" post like last time, and this time I feel like doing a look with a sense of chic,  girly and a tinge of glamour. You know, casual with a little bit of sophistication? That's what I'm talking about. 

Without further ado, here's the look that I came up with today! 

Dress: Material Girl by Madonna

Bag: TOD'S

This kind of look is the one that you can most appropriately pull off when attending a friend's fancy birthday party or a special date. The one where you dress to impress without attracting waaaaayyy too much attention. 

Heels: Carla Boutique

Choker: Topshop

I seriously love my eye makeup. It's sultry, smokey, yet not too overwhelming.   A bazillion thanks to my friend, Evelyn Clarissa, once more! I can't thank you enough <3

Ring: P.L.O

And now, for a few more photos just because ;) 

Thank you so much for scrolling 'till the end, and for checking my "ootd" post! Also to my other two friends who were also there in the making, Octaviana Halim and Tania Hambali!

I hope you find this look inspiring in any way and enjoyed yourselves in the process! Once again, merci beaucoup lovelies <3

Until my next post. Bye!