Ramen 38 Sanpachi Bandung
Posted: December 17, 2013 Filed under: Asian Food, Bandung, Japanese | Tags: Bandung, food review, Japanese ramen in Bandung, Japanese restaurant, ramen, Ramen 38 Sanpachi, ramen 38 sanpachi bandung 2 CommentsRamen madness is now everywhere as there are so many new ramen shops all around the city. Those who live in Bandung must be pleased by the opening of Ramen 38 Sanpachi. This ramen shop is highly said as one of the top list when one’s craving for a bowl of ramen in Bandung. The Ramen 38 Sanpachi restaurant joints have been established in Jakarta for quite a long time but I have never tried it before. The new branch in Bandung has just opened in the beginning of this year and I’m curious to prove all of the chirps I heard about it.
Mapo Tofu
I always consider spices as a really good appetite enhancer and mapo tofu seems gonna do it right. The dish came in a regular-sized plate that fits for 2 or maximum 3 persons. The soft silken tofu cubes were generously added with acceptable amount of minced beef. The only con of mapo tofu was the mild spiciness since I really expected it would come in much more spicier level.
Yakisoba
Fried Japanese noodle-a.k.a Yakisoba was my bf’s choice for his main. I’m going to roll all of the essential aspect in Yakisoba : noodle texture, ticked! generous toppings, ticked! overflowing bonito (dried fish flakes), ticked! We both love the Yakisoba and not to mention the seasoning also so balance.
My typical kinda drinks in Japanese restaurant, hot or cold Ocha.
Ajitsuke Tamago
A perfectly cooked Ajitsuke Tamago is somehow really crucial for me when it comes to eating ramen. I was really pleased to see the Ajitama from Ramen 38 perfectly cooked, still runny, very inviting that I couldn’t resist to devour it fast. I love the Ajitama but it would be nicer if the egg was marinated a little bit longer so it’d be more flavorsome.
IDR – 10,000
Tonkatsu Ramen
The best part of this bowl was actually the noodle itself! It’s chewy and delightful, similar to the one from Ramen Ya in Melbourne that I really love. The broth was alright at first, it’s flavorful, thick and well seasoned but I found it became too filling and potentially sickening. It’s just too rich that you couldn’t eat too much. I was a little bit surprised to see the sliced Charsu being solitaire without any friends or pair. 🙂
Ogura and Vanilla Ice Cream
In a Japanese Restaurant, I normally hope they have a scrumptious Ogura ice cream rather than a falling apart red beans in grainy milky ice. It didn’t taste good to be honest but fortunately the Vanilla ice cream really covered our disappointment by its goodness.
IDR – 20,000
Overall impression, the foods were quite good even it’s considered a little bit pricy compared to the size. They have a quick and friendly service and comfy ambient.
Before leaving, we also got free treats as an additional dessert, two cubes fruity jelly. The jellies served cold and the fruity flavors rather freshened up the thick mouthfeel. A sweet treat is always sweet! 
Ramen 38 / Ramen Sanpachi is located at Mayfair Building, Jl. Sukajadi 228, Bandung
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Hurricanes Grill – Bondi Beach
Posted: November 29, 2013 Filed under: Australian Food, Sydney, Uncategorized, Western Food | Tags: Hurricanes Grill, Hurricanes Grill Bondi Beach, Hurricanes ribs, sculptures by the sea, sculptures by the sea bondi 1 CommentExperiencing the unfamous pork and lamb ribs at Hurricanes Grill seems to be one of the top list when you visiting Sydney and surrounds. The restaurant joints are located at several points in Sydney but my review would be talking about the Bondi Beach branch. I must say it was a totally beautiful day, for the super bright blue sky, fresh air and warm sunshine. A perfect beachy weather to grab a really really good food with my family.
Outdoor area
We arrived a little bit earlier before the buzzing lunch time. Lucky us!
The restaurant was quite silent at the moment we came in, a friendly waitress greeted and directed us to the table. It didn’t take us long to decide what to order, the fact is we knew already what we want, a full rack of pork ribs with chunky french fries, another full rack of lamb ribs with baked potato and a bowl of Caesar salad.
large-sized knife, you will know why you need such a size like this once the foods are served!
We got our orders pretty fast and offered to wear a bib (yes I’m talking about that baby’s eating attribute) around our neck before started digging. Well, I must say you really need one since you may be smeared by the overflow BBQ sauce all over your mouth and possibly on your clothes too. I bet you will end up using your hands instead of the cutleries, those meaty bitty ribs are just too finger-lickin’-good!
Caesar Salad
The salad came in a big bowl full of goodness. Caesar Salad is pretty basic and Hurricanes do it right of fresh crisp veggies, yummy crispy bacon, croutons and really good dressing. A not-so-salad-person like my dad could even say he loves it!
Full Rack Lamb
I was surprised by how big the size is but I couldn’t really stop eating once started. Rich and generous BBQ sauce smeared all over the ribs was so shiny, smoky-caramelized smell from the grilling are calling you to dig in quickly. Everyone just gave up using the cutlery and start pulling by hands! Tats, my favorite scene!
The thick, tender, juicy and very well-seasoned meat served along with baked potato and chives-sour cream. Sour cream was in a solid-butter form and it melted down beautifully when spread over the hot baked potato. Potato was perfectly smooth and chives-sour cream enhanced the flavor.
Half AU$31.90 or Full AU$42.90
Full Rack Pork Ribs
Pork ribs sized even bigger than the lamb and served with chunky crispy french fries. The pork meat was also tender and juicy but there was porky smell that not very pleasant for me. I don’t know if it’s just me since my brother seemed loving it so much.
No one can resist
Half AU$ 34.90 or Full AU$ 44.90
Overall I prefer the lamb ribs than the pork one and loving chunky french fries more than baked potato. Meat and fries are just never go wrong! We were fully satiated by the foods, happy with the attentive yet friendly service and ready to have another adventure on the beach. Keep reading and scrolling down to have a glimpse of it!
During the visit, one of the waiter told us about the ongoing event alongside of Bondi beach walk “Sculpture by The Sea”. Therefore we decided to sneak out after having lunch. In this post, I also want to share some of my favorite sculptures among the amazing masterpieces of great artists from all around the globe. Hope you enjoy!
The “entrance” and information centre. They sold the catalogue for $10 each.
Moon Buddha by Vince Vozzo
A Shared Weight by Elyssa Sykes-Smith
The beautiful Coral Collective by coral. Sculpture no. 13
Bubble no.5 by Qian Sihua. Sculpture no. 19
There’s many a Slip by Ken Unsworth
Diminish and Ascend by David Mc Cracken. Sculpture no. 46
The sculptures were placed on the sides of this pathway.
Concealed Craft by Kirsten Lewis. Sculpture no. 2
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Greek Food at Stalactites
Posted: November 27, 2013 Filed under: Greek Food, Melbourne, Uncategorized | Tags: 24/7 restaurant in melbourne, chicken and lamb giros, Greek Food, pita bread, stalactites greek food, stalactites in melbourne Leave a commentStalactites will come across Melburnians’ choices when it comes to Greek food in CBD. Located in the heart of Melbourne city, on the intersection of Lonsdale-Russel street and famous for the yummy souvlaki are enough saying why this restaurant is always packed. I went here on weekday before the lunch busy buzzing time and comfortably found it wasn’t very crowded.
Stalactites “hanging” on all over the ceiling
The nice and friendly waiter directed us to a nice corner seating close to the big window. We went simple and basic in Greek food selections, a platter of lamb and chicken giros, pita bread, Greek salad and mix dip platter.
Greek Garden Salad
A bowl of freshness full with mixed leaf lettuce, tomato, cucumber, red onion, thinly grated carrot, Greek feta cheese & kalamata olives also sprinkled with oregano and vinaigrette. 
Mixed Giros Platter
A platter of marinated spring lamb and chicken from the spit. I was expecting something spectacular more on the lamb than the chicken. However, it was a pygmallion effect happening since chicken giros did stand out all by itself. The lamb was somewhat dry and barely seasoned whilst the chicken very flavorsome and tender, really nice to have it with squeezed lemon juice and chopped herbs on top.
AU$ – 16.50 small, AU$ – 29.00 large *Small portion is perfect for two while large would fit up to 4 people.
AUS 1.70 eachDips
Besides eating the pita bread with giros and salad, we went for something really Greek style which was having it with variety of dips. The mix platter dips consists of tarama, melitzanosalata, tzatziki & hommus. Tarama is Stalactite’s homemade caviar & lemon dip, Melitzanosalata is eggplant & garlic dip, Tzatziki is yoghurt, garlic & cucumber dip and Hommus is chickpea & sesame dip. Which one tastes best? It really depends on everyone’s preference even so, I always like Tzatziki since forever. Like it for the freshness of cucumber balance the creamy texture of the dips. Major love.
left to right : Tzatziki, Melitzanosalata, Tarama and Hommus
AU$ 8.50 – Small, AU$ 11.50 – Large
**Place desired amount of vegetables and meat then whip your favorite dips on top of the pita bread, roll the bread and eat by hand. The nature and urgency of eating by hand is quite unbearable for such thing. But trust me, your tummy will thank you later! Ha!
Despite of the pros and cons I’ve ever heard about this place, I myself found my visit was pleasant. Nice ambient, attentive waiters, quick service and most importantly the foods were good too. It’s not pricey since we got appropriate portions for every single dish. Stalactites is a worth visited Greek eatery in Melbourne in any time since they are 24/7!
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Theic Tea Bar
Posted: November 25, 2013 Filed under: Melbourne, Sweet Treat, Tea | Tags: benifuuki latte, theic by chamellia, Theic Collingwood, Theic in Melbourne, theic tea bar, Wen Shan Bao Zhong Oolong 2 Comments
It was on a rainy Thursday afternoon when I came visiting Theic for the 3rd time. I never really like rain but I must say it was a really perfect weather to sit back and sip a cup (or maybe cups) of tea. My journal and books were waiting on the table, ready to accompany me throughout the tea time. 
Not my cup of tea, literally. It was somebody else’s but I really caught by the beautiful presentation and tea wares.
Benifuuki latte and chia porridge with granola started my escapade to be a full time tea-drunkard that day. Benifuuki has that bad-ass kick to keep a person stay wide awake and re-energized. The latte made with soy milk and panela sugar, had a strong kick of matcha flavor, silky texture and mild sweetness. It’s not the kind of green tea or matcha latte you may find in many other places that usually are strongly sweet and milky. I love how the teflon milk-jug and double walled glass have been very helpful keeping the temperature warm.
Benifuuki Latte – AU$ 5.50
I basically love chia seeds and use them for many purposes but never had a thought to make it into porridge! The chia porridge was served cold along with refreshingly sweet blueberries and grated toasted coconut with additional granola too. The taste was sensational. Every component stands out but also complement each other. The sweet-smooth yet crisp chia seeds, savory crunchy coconut, sweet and sour blueberries combined with crispy-sticky-sweety granola. Trust me healthy foods can be so good!
Chia porridge – AU$ 6.00 plus additional granola AU$ 2.00
I went for another tea after finishing my previous two treats, a pot of Japanese green yuzu. I enjoyed the moment of watching the tea was prepared in the right temperature, timing and later impeccably presented in front of me. This is a very pleasant selection from the refreshing aroma of citrus and tartness of yuzu in flavor while the green tea characteristic is still there too. The first infusion gave me sweet, sour flavor of yuzu combined with herbaceous profile from the green tea which was lovely. The second infusion told another story of thicker, silkier body, sweeter and stronger green tea profile instead of the citrusy flavor.
Major love for the wet leaves’ appearance. It’s just so vibrant in color!
Japanese Green Yuzu (2) – AU$ 6.50
I also got to try this Wen Shan Bao Zhong Oolong at that time. It was quite surprising when Kayla came to my table passing the glass on and opened the conversation “You said you like Wen Shan Bao Zhong yesterday, so this is for you..enjoy!” Well, it took me a while to remember that I just wrote on Instagram the day before about this and this is what I got. How can I not fall for this place? You tell me!
Floral aromatic, creamy, silky and sweet Wen Shan Bao Zhong has always been one of my favorite when it comes to Oolong! One of the lovely choice from Chamellia Reserve Selection teas.
I just heard that Theic is now having new menu selections already and I’m excited to know or read the reviews! I’m now thousand miles away from Melbourne and couldn’t help myself not to miss it too much. Hopefully I am going to make another visit and I believe there will be much more new delightful surprises of tea and healthy treat at Theic!
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Adriano Zumbo – Sydney
Posted: November 14, 2013 Filed under: Dessert, Sweet Treat, Sydney | Tags: adriano zumbo, adriano zumbo macaroon, macaroon, Pandan Sticky Rice, zumbarons, zumbo pattiserie 2 CommentsAfter his appearance on Masterchef Australia, Adriano Zumbo has become a dessert star in the Australia’s culinary world. His name is a blissful wind for any sweet tooth and dessert sucker. Zumbo just opened a new branch in Melbourne but I haven’t got the chance to make visit therefore my review is about his Sydney-The Star Casino Complex one.
The bright, candy-themed store that dominated by candy color like shocking pink and bright orange stands out by itself. Beautifully crafted cakes are sitting nicely on the individual cake display. However thing that brought me here was his phenomenal Zumbarons – or Zumbo macaroons. The main problem every time I am going to buy maccaron, I always have that too much confusion. I don’t know what to choose since all of them look inviting. Fascinating yet tricky names combined with lovely colors. Geez, what a kind of first world problem!
Well, at the end I bought the ½ dozen box and chose Yoghurt and Passionfruit, Pandan Sticky Rice, Salted Butter Popcorn, Apple Pie, Chocolate Fudge Brownie and Caramel.
left to right : caramel, apple pie, yoghurt&passion fruit, choco fudge brownie, salted butter popcorn, pandan sticky rice
Yoghurt & Passion fruit : It has the right crips-ness of macaroon, filled with creamy yoghurt in moderate sweet and sour. Pleasantly refreshing.
Pandan Sticky Rice : I must say this one successfully rose my curiosity at its best. It was medium-crisp, gooey-sweet and creamy filling with pandan aroma strike out. The best part of this one was small chop of rice in the filling.
Salted Butter Popcorn : It’s so pop-corn-y, yes you can tell by how it smells. Glad that the shell also tastes right like pop corn and the creamy butter filling enhancing the overall flavor. It’s kind of melted creamy butter with the right sweet and saltiness combination. My favorite one!
Apple Pie : The shell tastes like crusty pie-base, the creamy apple filling is sweet and slightly tart. Oh not to mention the sugar glazed shell is an awe too!
Chocolate Fudge Brownie : Gooey, fudgy chocolate macaroon but a little bit too sweet and filling.
Caramel : I had this recommended by the lady in the shop as one of the most favorite. Too bad it was not as crisp as the rest, it’s just too gooey, soft and sweet. Not my liking!
2 for $5 / 6 for $15 / 12 for $24 / $2.50 for each
Besides the famous dessert train and delectable macaroon selections, customers can find Zumbo’s baking mix powder and baking cook books too. Happy with my purchase and Zumbarons are tagged in a reasonable price. I’m kind of surprised as some ‘not-so-famous’ bakeries sell macaroons in more expensive price but taste mediocre. I have to come earlier in order to try the highly talked cronuts-Zonuts in my next visit!
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Theic Tea Bar Launching Night
Posted: October 10, 2013 Filed under: Melbourne, Sweet Treat, Tea, Uncategorized | Tags: Nathan Wakeford, tea bar in melbourne, tea blog, Theic, theic launching night, theic tea bar, theic tea bar launching Leave a commentI have the urge to (again) underline my excitement of living in Melbourne as the enthusiasm towards tea is (said) as the hippest in this continent! My excitement doesn’t stop here as there’s a new tea place in town, Theic Tea Bar by Chamellia. If you read my blog, you probably have been familiar with Chamellia by Somage since I made some blog posts about their teas previously. Located in the trendy suburbia of Collingwood , Theic is uniquely also merged with INSITU furniture design showroom.
Theic, means “tea drunkard; one prone to the immoderate consumption of tea“. As a tea-drunkard myself, I am so glad to attend the launching night on 30th September 2013 with many other drunkards. It was an amazing launching night with great people in a great place while enjoying great teas. Couldn’t ask for more.
Meet Nathan Wakeford, the man behind Theic, Chamellia and Somage Fine Foods. In addition he is also the current President of AASTA (Australasian Specialty Tea Association). Nathan uses the special H2O from Mount Donna Buang which he takes himself every single week in order to get all of the best any tea can taste!
Nathan had a “mini presentation” and opening speech which much showing his love, passion and dedication for tea!
All the guests were spoiled with some great selection of teas such as the refreshing iced tea, some Reserve selection brews and also the warming chai latte. I really enjoyed the white persimmon leaf from Korea and the Taiwan GABA Oolong.
The contemporary yet epic and attention-grabber tea bar area is ready to serve some of the very best teas!
For the bites, they serve raw, vegan and organic foods such as the famous snickers ball, fig&mesquite ball, savory muffin, chia porridge and Theic tasting (dips) platter.
top-bottom : fig& mesquite ball, snickers balll and mocha fudge brownie
Wishing all the best for the newly-opened Tea Bar and hopefully its presence would bring brighter and stronger tea atmospheric in town! Who knows there will be more people converted to be a theic, right? 🙂
I was well-sated (I might be drunk of tea), full of excitement and went home happily. On my way home, I knew already that I need to make another visit to Theic. So see you again, Theic! real soon I reckon…
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Proud Mary
Posted: October 9, 2013 Filed under: Breakfast and Brunch, Melbourne | Tags: Bagna cauda, brunch Proud Mary, food blogger, melbourne, Melbourne coffee, Proud Mary, Proud Mary coffee, Proud Mary Melbourne 2 CommentsA sudden brunch appointment made between me and my best food strolling partner, Celi. We were assuming it’d be a good time to visit Proud Mary on Monday and hoping it wouldn’t be too crowded.
We had to bite our fingers to the fact that this coffee shop located in Collingwood industrial complex was full house thus we had to wait for a while to get a table for two. Celi and I chose the outdoor area rather than sitting on the bar stools. The friendly and attentive waiters/waitress came down to our table with the menus and some explanation regarding the coffee selections. Coffee is really not my thing, but Celi is a sucker of good coffee. She normally has double shots espresso whenever we eating out.
Potato Hash was Celi’s brunch, homemade potato hash brown, grilled bacon, spinach, poached egg with bagna cauda sauce. Bagna cauda is creamy Italian style sauce of anchovy and garlic. The thinly grated potato hash was super lightly seasoned, but went very well with the salty yet strong bagna cauda sauce. We both really liked the sauce! The grilled bacon was a little bit too dry for me but Celi preferred it to be even crispier. Ha!
AU$ 16.50
I had Roasted Mushroom, which was medium to big size flat mushrooms and chipotle butter over a brioche, whipped goats cheese and a poached egg. For me the mushrooms were so perfect, nicely seasoned, tender and juicy combined with spiciness from chipotle butter. Chipotle butter really reminds me of Twiggy stick flavor (it’s a kind of salami stick). Another food-struck component on my plate was the aromatic goat cheese, I reckoned it was mixed with parsley, dill and lemon juice. The Fluffy and soft brioche, mushroom, goat cheese and runny poached egg on stack was a really beautiful combo in my mouth!
AU$ 16.50
Celi had 2 different espresso, the first one was Kenyan single origin and the other one was a missing story. We forgot to re-check as it’s not on the menu but from the ipad instead. She loved both of them but preferred the Kenyan one. Me myself, had a Chai Latte and still can’t believe that I’m now so in love with chai.
AU$ 3.50
AU$ 4.00
The hype of Proud Mary is not something overrated, it’s a kind of place that potentially visited in regular basis rather than a one time trying. Apart from the notorious coffees of theirs, I really enjoyed the all day breakfast and lunch here! So give it a go when you’re in Melbourne and let me know your thought!
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Sushi Hotaru
Posted: October 7, 2013 Filed under: Japanese, Melbourne | Tags: food blogger, melbourne, Melbourne restaurant review, restaurant review, scampi nigiri, sushi hotaru, sushi hotaru melbourne Leave a commentSushi Hotaru is a famous yet almost hidden Japanese restaurant on Bourke street. Its reputation as an “affordable and yummy” sushi place is well known especially to those living around Melbourne CBD. It was my first time visiting Hotaru and really fueled by the hype my friends gave about this place. The three of us managed 18 plates at the end, not bad huh?
When we arrived, there were some people sitting down at the regular tables area so we were directed to sit on the bar stools. I am not very keen on sitting at the bar area since forever but we had no choice. Later on we realized that those people sitting on the regular tables are the bosses (we reckoned) and some staffs having their break. Oh geez!
All the order are made using the provided touch-screen pad therefore we can order anything in anytime without calling the waiters. Efficient!
My favorite was the scampi nigiri sushi which came per 1 piece for each plate. The plating was interestingly incredible by putting the whole scampi over the nigiri. I love how fresh and sweet the scampi was with a pleasant chewy and smooth texture. This is worth to try and highly recommended!
Soft-shell crab hand roll was also our favorite and yes it was soooo good! My friends excitedly insisted to order this and I have to thank them that we did. Well seasoned and crunchy soft-shell crab rolled by rice and crispy nori was just perfecto! The size of the hand roll was quite big too, such a real deal for the AU$3 price!
Wagyu beef Tataki was the first plate that disappointed us. You can even see from the picture that those sliced wagyu were dry, not juicy and or even tender as we expected!
Scallop and salmon sushi was also a light up, divided into 4 sections and the burnt on top was the crucial touch that make the dish scrumptious.
Jelly fish sushi was quite good too in sweet-savory and refreshing after taste. The mix of crystal jelly noodle with the jelly fish was really nice to add more texture.
Agedashi Tofu and crispy soft shell crab was pretty nice. As Sushi Hotaru has a really good fried soft shell crab, the combination with fried silken white tofu served with tentsuyu sauce was a good match.
Who doesn’t love snacking crispy salmon skin? I myself is also a fan of salmon skin but if there is anything to add, I would like to have crispier and thinner salmon skin for sure! The salmon skins were really escalated because of the lemony soy sauce (shoyu).
The service at Sushi Hotaru can be considered prompt but not very friendly. I don’t really mind as long as they do the service quickly. I mean, for affordable eating where most of the menu merely cost you AU$ 3, good service is kinda bonus! Too bad we didn’t get that bonus from Sushi Hotaru though.
We spent around $60,00 for three people, sated and happy as we ate many different dishes. Everything is in balance regarding the price and what you get. If you are strolling in the city craving for affordable Japanese eatery OR if you are a student study around the CBD, this place is not a bad choice to dine in.
foodandteatraveller 