Killiney - Pluit Mas

It wasn't long ago that I tried the original Killiney Kopitiam on Killiney Rd, Singapore. If you stay around Orchard, go there at least once for breakfast. The atmosphere around isn't that comfortable, but the food is really good. On a weekday morning, you'll the see the tables full of office workers grabbing a bite and sipping warm coffee O.

I think it was only a few years ago these kopitiam franchises start penetrating to the Indonesian market. Oh well, whatever sells in Singapore doesn't mean it will sell well in Indonesia. Having a history of almost 100 years doesn't mean you'll sell well here.

Having a couple of friends living in the area of Pluit Mas, there is no way I could miss out on the not-so-recently-opened Killiney shop located near the entrance gate. The view from the outside seems like a typical neighborhood kopitiam but I was more interested in the food and coffee rather than the atmosphere. When I thought the food could at least be similar to the one I enjoyed very much in Singapore, my friend could give me a kick for introducing something not worth writing in the blog. But, but I try to be rational this time.





So we arrived at the shop around 7pm, the first floor is almost full, so we decided to go to the 2nd floor. Heck, the air-con wasn't turned on, and the windows and door were all closed, so there's a slight stuffy feeling you get when there isn't much air flowing through your head. You see, though I can understand that electricity bill isn't cheap here, but restaurants are service-operated businesses. You're not only selling your food, but service and atmosphere as well. The balcony was another option, but it's meant for smoking area. It was only after 10 minutes or so, the air on the 2nd floor started to freshen up.



What do you have to order when you mentioned kopitiam? The Teh Tarik and the Kaya Toast of course! We ordered a hot and a warm tea, and the conclusion; cold is always better. I'm not sure how it tastes like in Singapore, but the one I had here is not bad at all, wasn't very sweet like in any other kopitiam, and the milk to tea ratio is just nicely propotioned.



Then everything started spiraling down. First was the Kaya Toast. If I were to compare the original with this one, it's like comparing a 2011 Honda Jazz to an 2004 Made-in-China Chery QQ with manual transmission and no power steering (No other insult intended, but you get my point). In the Killiney Indonesia website, they boast about having their kaya jam produced daily in their shop, then having the best butter, and bread that's heavier than the ones in the market and made in their own bakery. I don't believe in any of these.

The toast served to us was so thin and crispy I thought I was only munching on the break crusts when it's supposed to be crusty on the outside and tender on the inside. The kaya jam were OK, but it's spread very thinly like as if they were margarine. So no oozing whatsoever like mentioned in the website. Of course last is the butter; no need for more complaints needed. When you realized if the bread is at the same thickness as the butter, it's no longer a toast (lost for words to describe).



The Mee Rebus we ordered was far from the original, lacks the ingredients, taste and everything else. For a dish that's been decorating the tables on Killiney Singapore, it's so disappointing how it turned out here. The noodles used was cheewy, the sauce was too watery and warm (Not hot!), and the tofu is cold.



And when we thought the next dish is hopefully better, it wasn't going to be. The 30 minutes spent waiting for the Singapore Laksa Fried Rice isn't worth it. I'd go for the Nasi Goreng TekTek across the road. It's our mistake to order such unique dish in the first place. The fried rice is seasoned with laksa sauce, so there's this soury, salty fried rice that's just off-balanced. Accompanying the fried rice are few pieces of chicken, an egg, 3 prawn cracker, and some garnish. Whoever is stationed to decorate the dish must not have a sense of aesthetics.



Though their prices are cheaper than other kopitiams, I really hope they could improve on the quality of food as well as the service.

Restaurant info;
Killiney Kopitiam - Pluit Mas Ruko Blok EE no. 11
Ph: 021 - 6681511

Prices as of 16 May 2011;
Hot Teah Tarik - 18k
Cold Teh Tarik - 20k
Kaya Toast - 16k
Mee Rebus - 28k
Laksa Fried Rice - 27k

May Star - Central Park

Choosing this restaurant for a meeting with a friend whom I've not met since a couple of years ago was the easiest task I could ever remember. Not really foreign to a lot of the Chinese-Jakartans, May Star definitely has become one of the top-rated restaurants well-known for its BBQ duck, DimSum, and of course its Coconut Pudding. The restaurant chain is rumoured to have been established by a group of people of the Fujian-ethnicity. (READ: Orang Medan)

Probably the best location for the owners to decide to open their chain is this one in Central Park. Location-wise, it's quite 'central' Jakarta, though its location is really the North. Since Central Park is quite a new mall, to have at least May Star as one of its tenant is precious, as it's never run out of patrons, even on a weekday. Though there were many other High-end Chinese restaurant in the mall, May Star is a definite winner. The most recent chain is the one in Gandaria City and I heard is catered for non-pork eaters. A very good strategy considering more and more non-pork eaters are starting to dine in Chinese restaurants.

Prior to have booked the restaurant that afternoon, there is no wasting time in queuing. To have to say "excuse me" to all the people swarming the restaurant entrance is a sign of achievement, with just a phone call. A friend overheard another guest asking the manager when will they get a table for four, the manager just shook her head. So, please do book the restaurant (even on weekdays) before your grandma kicks you in the butt for making her queue.

A friend once gave me tips on what to order and what not. The first one he said was if you don't come with your parents / elderly, don't order fish and other luxurious Chinese delicacy (Sharks Fin Soup, Sea Cucumber, Lobsters, etc). Even your credit card will scream its lungs out. But even without ordering those, May Star is May Star and it is indeed expensive. The seven of us didn't bother to check out the prices before ordering, let's conclude it's a lesson learnt. (The menu pictures are just so tempting)

So each of us ordered a dish, and we concluded to exclude those dishes listed above. The first dish is the BBQ Combination. Perhaps, most families who came in numbers order this one. It's a combination of 5 mini dishes, BBQ Pork, BBQ Duck, Chicken in soy sauce, Stewed beef and jellyfish. All of them taste average, especially the beef and chicken. And there were 3 types of sauces served; Soy sauce, Chilly sauce and a type I don't know what sauce. They should have served the typical Hongkie sauces; Chilly oil, Duck Sauce, and Plum Sauce.



Then we ordered the Prawn in Salted Egg. I didn't like it that much. First it's still shelled and the salted is covering the prawn shell, so there isn't much salted egg after de-shelling the prawns. Nobody can blame me for eating the whole prawn, with its shell, minus the head and tail. The worse thing about this is actually it's quite greasy and you can't enjoy the crisp of fresh prawn meat.



Next is another seafood, Deep fried Squid XO Style. It's very appetizing! Just a few years ago I realized XO sauce doesn't involve the XO liquor as I thought before. Check this out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/XO_sauce. It's just based on naming method. The squid is fried perfectly, doesn't get rubbery as it just snaps when bitten. Then the dry XO aroma is just so pleasantly flirting with your sense of smell.



Time for a meat dish, we ordered the ever-famous Beef in Black Pepper Sauce. It's served with blanched Kailan and a piece of fried papadum. I still have no idea on why they served a papadum, but who cares, the overall dish is without doubt, a winner. Starting with the chunks of beef, cooked to an inch perfect, they just breaks off in your mouth when chewed and the strong black pepper sauce seems to have penetrated to the core. Amazing! Though the Kailan is just average, I think this dish is a must-order.



Then we ordered the Imported Broccoli. Again this is very ordinary, even homey I'd say. It's probably blanched for a while then showered with some oyster-sauce.



Lastly, a friend recommended this Sapo Tofu. It's a dish where the tofu is weirdly stewed in some thick sauce but taste surprisingly quite nice. The thick sauce taste very light and the additional mushroom matches the whole dish.



So one thing that makes people keep coming back to May Star is probably the complementary whole BBQ Duck when the order is more then Rp500k (or Panin Bank CC holder -> 25 - 30% discount). And we did forget the duck almost until the end. Honestly this is not the first time I had the duck, but the quality seems to have dropped by a little wee bit. The duck skin is still crisps, but the meat is not as tender as it was 2 years ago, and it's becoming more salty lately.



Just when you think it's over, a trip to May Star is never complete without the Coconut Pudding. The pioneer of this dessert, there are many restaurants trying to imitate, but haven't so far found any that can match this masterpiece. The pudding is made from imported Thai coconut, and the sweetness and the jelly-like texture is just perfectly harmonized. A Thai friend whom had tried the pudding even praised it's better than the one in Thailand, he even went for a second serving.



Though I did complained about the prices in the beginning, and some people argue that there are other restaurants offering similar dishes at more affordable prices, May Star somehow managed to pull back customers with new creative dishes and more promotions (The most recent one is winning a car).

Restaurant Info:
Hotel LE GRANDEUR Lt.3
Jl Mangga Dua Raya
Jakarta
Phone: +62 21 6127880

Emporium Pluit Mall Lt.4
Jl Pluit Selatan Raya
Jakarta
Phone: +62 21 66676280

Central park mall LG Floor NO. 103-103A
Jl. Letjend S Parman Kav.28
Jakarta
Phone: +62 21 56985422

Gandaria City GF-Main Street NO.M-G38 & M-G39
Jl. Sultan Iskandar Muda (Arteri Pondok Indah)
Gandaria - Kebayoran Lama
Jakarta
Phone : +62 21 29052922

Prices as of 5 February 2011 in Central Park:

BBQ Combination - Rp148k
Prawn in Salted Egg - Rp144k
Fried Squid XO Style - Rp87k
Beef in Black Pepper Sauce - Rp192k
Broccoli - Rp87k
Sapo Tofu - Rp78k
BBQ Duck - Rp100 (Promo)
Coconut Pudding - Rp42.8k

Lau's Kopitiam - Emporium Pluit

One lonely lonely Saturday afternoon, nothing to do, no one asked me out, asked no one out, and there we have, sitting down alone in a four-chaired-table, among other couples, families, staring at me (and probably gossiping) for taking snaps at food. Anyway, Liu's kopitiam is well-known for YaKunKaya-kindoff-toast. Of course, being a fool sometimes, I got to try other things.



For a hot Saturday afternoon, what's better than chilled ice-milk-tea with jelly (Actually there are better drinks than this). It was very diluted, but sweet, not much tea flavour. And the jelly's too soft.



For entree, I tried the Fried shrimp-roll (READ: Lumpia goreng). Honestly, it's not bad at all. The chilly sauce accompanying is a must. The skin is crispy, not too oily, and you can taste the shrimp meat. And there isn't any fishy smell like the other shrimp rolls in cheap restaurants. In the picture below, the shrimp-roll seems to be neatly arranged, it was not like that initially! I got to arrange them nicely so it will look at least presentable in the blog. Of course it was followed by stares from aunts and uncles in front.



The waitress recommended the fried flat rice noodle with beef (READ:Kwetiaw Goreng Sapi). Seriously, I had considered asking for a refund after being served this kind of flat rice noodle. It was really bad. Considering they had printed the picture in the menu, they had to at least know how to cook properly. First, it was tasteless, not even a bit of saltiness. Then the rice noodle is so so soft (in a negative way). I expected the chef's trying to save his own arse by putting more flavour in the dish after messing up in boiling the noodle, but it was really bad. Then the beef was chewy. Yes, it's chewy, obviously from being over-cooked. In a usual Chinese dish, the beef is usually deep fried, then added to the half-cooked dish, but it's unlikely like this in here. The small portion is next. I know it's not expensive and all, but the serving is a real shame.



Restaurant Info:
Lau's Kopitiam - Emporium Pluit Mall Lv.4 - 07

Prices as of 12 FEb 2011
Ice Milk Tea with Jelly - 12k
Fried Shrimp Roll - 14k
Fried Flat Noodle with Beef - 20k

Canton Bay - Puri Indah Mall

Our family was just hanging around in a mall we seldom go to a couple of weeks ago and we realized we were craving for some light simple Chinese food. And voila, here we were browsing at the Canton Bay restaurant menu and who knows it's so tempting looking at the pictures.



So without much consideration, we went in and ordered a few looking-great-in-the-menu food.

I had the most craving in porridge in ages and I HAD to order the well-recommended HongKong style porridge (with scallops) in here. It was very very hongkie, but a little too salty, though the scallops isn't as fresh, but the overall smooth texture of the over-cooked rice is pretty nice. The young ginger sprinkled on top just makes it more hongkie. Of course HongKong porridge is not complete without the deep-fried chinese doughnuts.



Then we ordered the Seafood Ifu Mie. Just like a typical ifu mie sold in school canteen, this was definitely the most disappointing menu. It was too crispy, the choice of egg noodles was too thin, and thus making the noodles just to crispy when deep-fried. The seafood and vege condiments were over-cooked and the sauce is too thick. Bad bad choice.



For the soup, we ordered the duck (I forgot the name) soup. Also, doesn't live up to the expectations. It was like eating soup cooked with left-overs from yesterday. Don't bother trying. It just wasn't our day.



Then we came across the so-tempting Beancurd hotplate Szechuan Style. Oh wow, this was very good. We opted for a change from Japanese silk tofu to just normal tofu. The mince pork (or chicken) coated in the Szechuan sauce was probably the best taste in all of the dishes.



For vege, we ordered cai miaw cooked in garlic. Surprisingly well-cooked. Not too over-done, the stem and the leaf is still crispy when you bite it, and the fried diced garlic make the dish less "vegi".



Though we ordered this last dish first, it came last. The 3 combination BBQ; BBQ Duck, Beef, and jellyfish. All I can say about the dish is, 4/10. Firstly, the jellyfish is not fresh, too spicy and too salty. The duck isn't tender as it looks, and the beef, was the worst. It's topped with some garlic-hoisin sauce and taste just as bad.



Overall, disappointing.

For more info, visit: http://cantonbay.com/index.php

Grandma's Birthday Bash

Yesterday was grandma's 84th birthday. We had been celebrating her birthday since 2007, and it was always a different day in the year because she uses the lunar calendar to set the date. To her, there is nothing more more important than family gatherings. And any typical Chinese families, family gatherings without food is not considered one.

Our feast hadn't been changed since some donkey years ago. Maybe some dishes had been ditched to a new one, but mostly are just the same one every year. No matter how often our family had been munching the same dish every year, there is very little sign of monotony. For her grandchildren, we had been eating her food since we could ever remember, so our taste buds have been so accustomed to it.

So let's start introducing the feast with the "Tan family" cuisines.

Typically, we start the dinner with meatball. They are made of ground pork, ground shrimp, dried shrimp, plain flour and potato starch. Then they are made into balls and deep-fried. The good thing about these is they're always better the next day and even better the next. No re-frying needed, just put them in the oven.



Then, we have the seasoned jelly-fish. It's always made the day before, and the amount of vinegar, sugar and chilly is essential.



The next dish is universally Chinese, it's the "Lap Cheong" or Chinese sausages. They simply steamed, and used some minced garlic, vinegar, and chilly for the dipping.



A chicken dish is next. We had the boiled chicken, with stir-fried scallions and garlic as the seasonings (READ: Pak Cham Kee). In our family, we are very very strict about eating only free-range chicken. And there is no better way to cook them than this method (Not even KFC, or Ayam Bakar Babeh). Free-range chicken is less-fatty, less-chemically-enhanced, and the taste is incomparable than their cousins in the cages.



The next dish is kinda new to us. It's a combination of grilled sweet corn, some mixed nuts, ground pork and dried scallops. It's was really weird at first, but as you chew the corn and mixed nuts, the sweet corn juice makes the dish totally refreshing.



Then, next is stewed sea cucumbers with pork meat, shiitake mushrooms and cuttlefish. Very distinct Chinese dish, each Chinese ethnic groups have different cooking method, ours is a typical Hakka dish.



Not much seafood? wait for the next one. It's fried garoupa fish (I think). Very simple friend fish with sweet and sour sauce sprinkled on top.



For soup, we have the usual fish-ball soup. We didn't actually make the fish-ball ourselves, got them from a nearby market.



Of course this wouldn't be a a birthday bash if there weren't any noodle dish. This one very very messy dish is the highlight of the meal. Our noodle is stir-fried with ground pork, shrimps, cuttlefish, fish-ball, chicken gizzards, bean sprouts and garlic chives.



We had Tamarillo mocktail for desert, but I forgot to snap a picture. It's blended tamarillo fruits mixed with a wee bit of tamarillo syrup and Sprite. The perfect desert after such a hearty meal.