[Review] Hide Yamamoto

Hide Yamamoto, a renowned Japanese Chef, has cooked for 3 generations of US president, Reagen, Clinton and Bush. He has finally set sail and opened his sixth restaurant here in Lotte Shopping Avenue, less than a month ago. We were more than excited when we saw his name show up on the screen while browsing through the restaurant index.

The restaurant is divided in sections where patrons can chose where they would like to sit, namely Sushi, Robata, Teppanyaki and a dining area. Where you sit does not limit the food that you are allowed to order, it just gives a different vibe as they have chefs stationed at each section side for the dining area. 

The have 3 lunch set menu which they serve everyday, ranging from 200-350thousand; and a teppan set menu that they serve all day everyday at 300thousand. They also have an extensive a la carte menu for more choices. 

We went for 2 sets of the lunch set menu, where we selected different items for more variety.

 

First Course, salad and sesame paste tofu. Between the 2, we recommend going for the Tofu, the texture is denser than the regular tofu but it has a distinct taste that would make us come back for more.

Second Course, assorted sashimi & roll, and vegetable and tiger prawn tempura. Air flown sashimi from Japan's very own Tsujiki Market, with fresh wasabi; and a plate of good ol' tempura. Though choice, but personally we'd go for the tempura, their dipping sauce is different from the ones we get from anything we've ever had. It's light but still has that kick in it.

Third Course, mini soy based ramen and mini kaisen don. Hands down the kaisen don win this round, however the ramen is not to be missed as well. The ramen broth is made with chicken stock, yet it's milky thick which made us thought it was pork based. The ramen itself is the problem, so a little improvement on the noodle would made it much more delightful.

The perfect dessert to end the meal, raspberry and lemon sorbet.

Overall, we had a good hearty lunch. Though the price might seem a little steep, but given the reputation and quality it was definitely worth every cent. Their service is also one to take note off, which we totally appreciate.There will most definitely be second visit. Do stop by earlier to get the prime middle seat of each station.

Hide Yamamoto

Lotte Shopping Avenue

5th floor - 02

Jl. Prof. Dr. Satrio Kav 3-5

South Jakarta

Telephone : (021) 298 89500

Operating Hours :

Monday - Saturday : Lunch 11AM - 3PM // Dinner 6PM - 11PM

Sunday & Public Holiday : Lunch 11Am - 3PM // Dinner 5PM - 10PM 

(Last order is 30minutes before closing time)

[Take 2] Bibigo

As previously mentioned, we are back with our Take 2 edition on Bibigo! This time we were looking forward to their Bibimbap as we had heard nothing but raves about it.

Bibigo Salad - 49thousand

Fresh lettuce greens with tomato, orange, Nurungji (Korean crispy rice) and crispy chicken served with apple dressing. One thing that stands out was the leaves, as they look nothing like what we were used to having for salad, and they look nowhere close to lettuce. It had a dry texture to it, but it did go well with the dressing.

Soy Sauce Chicken Stew - 120thousand

Braised chicken with potato and carrots, served with sweet potato starch noodles. It may sound and look simple, almost like a homemade dish but they went perfectly well together. The chicken was marinated really well, and do beware of the chilli, they didn't remove the any of the seeds.

Spicy Soft Tofu Soup Bansang - 85thousand

Spicy soft tofu soup with seafood served with banchans.The most important thing about soft tofu soup, is obviously the tofu. Boy, were they authentic. They were rich in flavour, nothing like the ones you could get from supermarket. This dish however, ruined the night for Le Sister, it was too spicy for her, and she everything else she ate would taste spicy. So, if you have low tolerance for spiciness, do take note.

Bibimbap Bansang - 80thousand

Traditional mixed rice with assorted vegetables and char-grilled bulgogi. The whole dish went perfectly well together, but there really is nothing to particularly write home about. Especially after all the hype we've been hearing about, we weren't exactly disappointed, but it was more of "yeah~ it's okay".

Rice - Long Grin White Rice, Korean White Rice, Brown Rice, Black Rice
Topping - Char-grilled Bulgogi, Chicken Breast, Chicken Teriyaki, Tofu
Sauce - Kohot, Citron Soy, Sesame. Ssam

For the Bibimbap, Hot Stone Bibimbap and Bibigo Rice, the ingredients are customisable. There are 4 kinds of rice, topping and sauce to choose from. We opted for Korean white rice, with char-grilled Bulgogi and Kohot (gochujang/red pepper paste).

After dining at Bibigo twice, the final question would probably be - are we coming back? Probably not in the near future. When we're heading out for Korean, we would probably have a meal somewhere else. But if we happen to be at Pacific Place and wondering what to eat, it'll be on top of the list. 

Bibigo

Pacific Place Level 4

Jl. Jendral Sudirman Kav. 52-53

Sudirman Central Business District (SCBD)

Jakarta 12190

Telephone : (021) 5797 3011

Operation Hours:

Monday - Sunday : 10AM -10PM

[Review] Sakura

 

Our review on Kamogawa seems to be a big hit amongst the readers! This time we're back with another Japanese Restaurant that serves a pretty authentic taste, although with a more modern twist. They also have private rooms, tatami seating, karaoke (2 rooms), and reflexology! Talk about being a one-stop-shop. A good place to wind down with the family on a weekend.

Tuna Salad - 45thousand

Boiled tuna mixed with mayonnaise, a simple dish served with fonzu sauce.

Sakura Salad - 40thousand

Sliced smoked duck and salmon salad, served with sour and hot spicy dressing. We recommend this as starter out of the two salad , it was more flavourful and the duck was smoked really well. We think it's more bang for you buck. Though again the term 'hot spicy' term is lightly used here, Le Sister had no problems with it. If it's misused another time, we'd start thinking that Japanese have low tolerance for spicy food.

Cantik Maki - 100thousand

Avocado, eel and cucumber roll. A simple dish that is light on the taste buds, not to mention healthy too!

Volcano Roll - 55thousand

Sliced cucumber, avocado, crab meat roll served with mayonnaise and hot spicy sauce. We saw the table next to us devouring it, so we just had to try it too. It was ok, save for the 'lava'. There was too much mayo sauce on it that eating 2 piece would've been more than just enough.Oh! It's salty too, both the sauce and the roll itself. Not sure if it's just a one time mistake, or originally so.

Niku Udon - 60thousand

Udon served with sliced beef. The overall taste of this dish screams 'old school', the soup is light yet full of flavours at the same time, you could taste each ingredients. Though the beef was tad tough, and the udon wasn't as chewy as Marugame; we still enjoyed it. 

Yaki Gyoza - 42thousand 

Grilled pork and vegetables dumpling. Thin skin, juicy meat. 'Nuff said.

Kaisen Chirasi Don - 120thousand

Don means rice is Japanese. This particular one was served with sliced tuna, mackerel, prawn, salmon, octopus, and egg. If you're a fan of sashimi like Le Cousin J, do try this! She loved it.

Sanma Shioyaki Teishoku - 60thousand

Grilled sanma fish. It was fragrant, seasoned and grilled really well. Le Aunt P, and avid foodie too, mentioned it being one of the best she's tried, not a lot of places here in Jakarta does it this well.
We took away another 2 portion to bring home for Grandma. :)

Sake Kabuto Yaki - 50thousand

Grilled salmon head with salt, shoyu sauce and lemon. First off, it's huge! Huge. I can assure you it's definitely bigger than the one served in Sushi Tei and Edogin's buffet. We expected it to be around the same size, thinking it's the norm, boy were we wrong. Worth every penny I tell ya! It was fresh, juicy, fragrant and cooked to perfection.

Overall, we had a great meal. The food was great, we couldn't ask for more given the price. Will we back? Not in the near future, no. Not because of the food, but the location. They're located quite a distance from us, and including the traffic jam, it could take up up to 2 hours. No joke.

Sakura

Jl. R.A. Kartini (T.B. Simatupang) No. 09

Lebak Bulus

Jakarta 12440

Telephone : (021) 751 1193

Operation Hours

Monday - Sunday : 9AM - 11PM
(Last order at 10:30PM)
Reflexology : 12PM - 9PM

[Review] Yellowfin

Nestled nicely at a corner of Senopati area with Japanese lanterns hanging on the trees, it's not to be missed. We've passed by every time we're in the area but never seem to have time for it. On a Friday night we decided to give it a go. TGIF!
First off, we'd like to apologize for the picture, the place wasn't exactly dim, but we were seated at a corner; and we're depending on our phone camera. So, yeah ;)

Ebi Tempura Spicy Salad - 48thousand

Chopped shrimp tempura with lettuce served with creamy spicy sauce. The tempura was crispy and coated with cream sauce, while the lettuce was lightly drenched with teriyaki sauce, which goes really well, giving it a fresh burst, as opposed to what the name suggest, spicy.

Agedashi Tofu - 35thousand

Unlike the regular agedashi tofu, this was served in bite-sized cubes, which we appreciate, since it tends to be difficult to tear apart its' skin. We liked this dish as the skin was crispy, and the tofu is soft, together with sweet soba sauce. A classic Japanese appetizer.

Sisamo Yaki - 38thousand

Sisamo is a Japanese fish, with roe still intact in its' belly, giving it a grainy texture. Similar to tobiko, that is used often in sushi rolls, but in a drier consistency.




Volcano Roll - 45thousand
Deep fried shrimp roll with spicy mayonnaise sauce; not sure if Japanese have lower tolerance for spice, but this wasn't spicy as well, Le Sister could eat it just fine.

 

Soft Shell Crab Roll - 47thousand
Deep fried soft shell crab, with avocado and cucumber.



Tebasaki ( 3pcs ) - 25thousand
This was a letdown, coming from the Yakitori section of the menu, we expect it to be grilled, a reasonable assumption no? Even its description on the menu says 'grilled chicken wings', but they came out fried. As a fan of chicken wings, you could imagine the horror on our faces when this dish was placed on the table.



Hamachi Kama Teriyaki - 140thousand
A grilled yellowtail head with teriyaki sauce, it is bigger and has more meat as compared to a salmon head. This was well worth its price tag, it was super smooth and flavourful.



Gindara Saikyo Yaki - 165thousand
Another fish dish - grilled black cod marinated with saikyo miso. It is well marinated, but we recalled it being ever so slightly overcooked.



Beef Katsu Curry Rice - 118thousand
You can select your own spice levels for the curry, Le Dad had wanted the medium, but the waitress suggests low since they are spicy. True to their consistency, it wasn't spicy. There's nothing to write home about both the katsu and curry, just that they weren't piping hot. 



(L- R) Castle in the Sky, Spirited Away - 35thousand
Castle in the Sky is a concoction of peach puree, peach syrup, soda water and grape fruit, while Spirited Away is lychee syrup, lime, mint and soda water. Between the 2, we'd say go for Spirited Away. It comes with real lychee fruit, which could double up as dessert. ;)

Sojus and sakes filling the right side of the entrance, they are available for consumption. You could ask the server to recommend one to suit your taste. Pretty sure there's one for everyone, be it hot, cold, sweet, bitter, or dry.

Slightly unclear picture, as we were trying to capture it in action, but failed. At the end of the meal, we were given this, on one side white tablets, and water on the other. Simply place the tablets into the water, they'll expand and become wet tissues. It wasn't the first time we saw these tablets, but definitely a first we've experienced given out in a restaurant in town.

The dishes served were of  izakaya dining, which is supposed to focus more on drinks. So the portion tends to run smaller and pricier, which is common. They are however, not enough for Le Dad, thus the Curry Rice off the lunch menu. It is a good place to wind down with colleagues after a day in the office.

Yellowfin Sake Bar & Kitchen

Jl. Senopati I no. 42

Jakarta - 12110

Telephone : (021) 722 0394

Operation Hours:

Monday - Sunday : 11AM - 2AM 

Note: This is the 2nd time we're typing this out. Le Sister accidentally deleted it, so the opinion may be slightly affected, since it is almost 2 months since we dined.

[Review] Ocha & Bella

Even though it has been around for quite some time now, it's the first time we had a meal here. Under the same management as Moovina, in Plaza Indonesia, Ocha & Bella is located at the Morrisey Hotel. We came on Sunday for lunch, and the place is decorated for a luaua - a Hawaiian party.

 

The entrance, with an open kitchen on the right.

The view of the open kitchen from the other side, with the traditional pizza oven.

Indoor dining area.

Al fresco area.

The Peach Blossom Ice Tea! Le Sister decided to try this out compared to her default Strawberry Ice Tea, and she loved it! You can taste the peach really well, and there's a hint of cucumber, thus the cucumber as garnish. On the other hand, Le Cousin T had the Raspberry Lemon Tea, and it didn't taste like raspberry at all!

A regular ice tea already costs 20thousand, whereas the Peach Blossom Ice tea is 35thousand. So if you're planning on trying something new but safe, we recommend the Peach Blossom!

The Rock and Roll Salad from their Japanese Menu. Asides from the typical greens, they added fish flakes (the ones you'd normally eat with takoyaki), peas, and walnuts, topped with teriyaki dressing, refreshing but not overwhelming, giving it the hint of Japanese food.

Quattro Formaggi Pizza - which is basically pizza topped with 4 different kinds of Italian cheeses. The pizza served were of thin crust, which Le Sister prefers compared to the regular ones you would normally get at Pizza Hut.

Pappardelle e Salsiccia - pasta tossed with pork sausage and broccoli with cream sauce. Pasta was decent, nothing out of the norm,but it's probably best to share this dish, as eating it all at once the cream could be a little bit overwhelming.

Bistecca alla Fiorentina - grilled T-Bone served with mushroom sauce and garlic spinach on the sides. The average size of this dish is around 1kg, and the chef personally showed us the meat first before he proceed on grilling it. Although it was tad too red to Le Sister's liking, she enjoyed this dish alot! It was juicy and aromatic, everything you would want of a good steak!

At around 750thousand per dish, it'll costs around 200thousand per person, which we think is well worth it for this dish!

Ocha & Bella

Morrissey Hotel

Jl. K.H. Wahid Hasyim No. 79

Menteng, Jakarta

Indonesia

Telephone : (021) 310 5777

Fax : (021) 315 6777

Business Hour :

Weekdays : 11AM - 11PM

Weekend : 11AM - 12AM