A Tavola Kemang : Italian? Definitely (Maybe).

I've heard of praises prior to coming here, but it all tears down the soonest I enter the place on Sunday afternoon and find no patrons there. There were only one waitress to do all the job, including printing bills from behind the till. (Hey that rhymes!)

Few scenarios run in my head. I pulled out my occasional not-so-sure-about-your-place-but-I-wanna-see-what-you-have trick.

"May I have a look at your menu first?" 

A quick glance, still with doubts, but I say to myself : no harm in trying. My usual drill in an Italian restaurant is to order the two dish that represent the country the most: Pizza and Pasta. Lucky my friends are all with me and everyone picked a different menu.

Here's what was on our table:

Pizza Con Pepperoni (60k)
Shameful. Not only that the bread was hard to chew, when we let it air for 10-15 minutes it slowly deteriorates into something close to biscuit. Let's not go to the meat and cheese shall we? They are equally uninteresting as the bread.

Chicken Cordon Blu (Pardon me, forgot the price)
This saved my friends' belly from more pizza torture. A decent roll of meat, served warm, enough creamy sauce. Not something worth of honorary mention though. By the way, I'd appreciate if you could tone down the grated cheese. As you'll notice along the way, they are a little too serious in showing of their cheese to the point of almost ruining the taste. Because everything taste similar now.

Spaghetti Al Pesto (28k)
I personally would recommend this. Cooked al dente with the complementing basil & pine sauce, I needed nothing more to satisfy my tastebuds. Simplicity at its best.

Beef Lasagna (55k)
Another promising menu saved by the beef. But distracted by the cheese (again).

Fettuccine Con Prosciutto (40k)
Well cooked pasta. Cream based sauce was fascinating as well. I have no complains but the unnecessary reappearance of the grated cheese (again for the third time!).

Torta Di Cioccolato (30k)
Thank God they didn't pour cheese on this one. Probably the best thing that happened that afternoon. Not the best warm chocolate cake in town though. What makes it inferior to the one at Spageddies is probably the choice of chocolate. I just like their richness better.

At the end of the day, I probably should have listened to this review instead, or pay more attention to my gut feeling. I have no disappointment though. The meal was a lot more enjoyable with good friends around, they made it worth the while.

This is also a lesson to you Biters. If you have been coming to this site, lets not forget the written review while mesmerized by the photos. Read it paragraph by paragraph. Not everything that looks good is delectable. Same with food, same with women.

Cheers,

Fellexandro Ruby
Food & Travel Photographer / Storyteller


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A Tavola
Jl. Kemang Selatan Raya No. 125
Jakarta.
Ph: 021-71793580

Casa Kemang : A Home Away From Home

Imagine an intimate space resembling your living room, with the complimentary comfort of lounge sofa and eye-pleasing Herman Miller chairs. A home away from home. A place where I could sit at one of relaxing corner, and simply read, write, and get inspired. Come here in the afternoon nearing sunset and you'll get what I mean.

Casa at the top floor of Aksara Kemang has started to hold a special place in my heart after a few visit. Not only because of the creative wavelength that it conveys for photographers and writers like me, but also the selection of food that it caters. Rarely do I meet a foodplace that serves a range of culinary treat from local nasi goreng to Italian pasta and present it equally well. 

At this particular occasion, I happened to taste a variety of flavor which I find quite satisfactory. For those who love details like I do, let me take you through it. For quickie fetished, I wouldn't mind you simply drooling over the pictures. ;) 

The very first two menu that always came to my mind is their Javanese Oxtail Fried Rice (IDR 65.000) and Baked Nachos with Guacamole & Jalapeno (IDR 45.000). The earlier because of its flavorsome fried rice served at the right warmth. The grilled oxtail easily complement the rice with each bites. While with the latter, it is a perfect snacking devices while having conversation about whatever with your food safari partner. 

Javanese Oxtail Fried Rice (IDR 65.000)

Baked Nachos with Jalapeno & Guacamole (IDR 45.000)

Ice Lychee Tea

On the runner up list are Salmon Teriyaki (IDR 75.000) and Banana Pannenkoek (IDR 45.000). As a dessert, something this sweet rarely fails me, the only set back if there was any probably was the cushy texture of the pancake and the banana that makes it rather one-dimensional on the tongue. However, if you ever only needed one dessert, I would surely recommend you their Chocolate Fondant  (IDR 45000) instead. Dip in the soft choux in the depth of melted chocolate, shatter in the sugar powder. As diabetic as it might sound, it is that good. 

Salmon Teriyaki with Rice (IDR 75.000)

Banana Pannenkoek (IDR 45.000)

Chocolate Fondant (IDR 45.000)

Bitten-proved by W! 

Here goes lazy reader, to sum up: inspiration-inducing ambience, great variety of food, good music and a lot of sunlight. Happiness is that simple. Take a visit, and tweet me what you think @Wanderbites. 

Cheers, 

Fellexandro Ruby 

Food Storyteller & Photographer

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CASA

Jalan Kemang Raya No. 8B 

Ph: 021-7199289

info@casajakarta.com

Twitter: @casa_kemang

Antipodean Kemang - Reminiscing Life Down Under

There's something compelling about this place that I couldn't explain. Maybe its the name? Or the simple yet inviting design? Well, what I can definitely say is that being here in Antipodean transported me back to the year I spent in the world down under, Australia.

Runs only by one man behind the kitchen, and one staff to wait on the patrons, Antipodean resembles many of the likewise cafe in Sydney suburbs where customers are expected to self serve. Tiny joint, nine tables inside and two outside. It's a perfect place to have all-day-breakfast in solitude, or for afternoon light reading. With the amount of foreigners visiting this place, I felt even more "out-of-Indonesia" especially when having people conversing in English in the background.

Lovely.

At this particular occasion, I had Eggs with Salmon and Toast, also Sweet Paprika Chicken with Chickpea Salad. 

Sweet Paprika Chicken w/ Chickpea Salad (50k)

Scrambled Egg w/ Salmon & Toast (60k)

Both are equally delightful for my tastebuds. Chickpea is a new thing for me, therefore it added a good dose of excitement into the meal. The chicken is well cooked, not to dry, although I find it boring after several bites. Probably because the marinade they use is very similar to that of kalasan fried chicken. The eggs melt just right with the salmon, I enjoyed the play of flavor between the two while the toast added a good portion of texture.

To fill in the thirst in between the gap, I had Hot Lemon Honey and Original Lassi. I favor the earlier as it's unlike most lemon honey I tasted before. It used a particular type of honey. I couldn't recall what it was, but I reckon it's not local. That makes all the difference. While the lassi is just as what you could expect from any place that serve lassi.

Hot Honey Lemon (20k)

Original Lassi (25k)

There's still so much I'd like to explore from Antipodean. There's the coffee! Oh, and I haven't tasted their Carrot cakes which I believe is one of the favorite. One lady took away two slices. Another table had one slice. And that's it, they ran out of Carrot cakes.


I'd come back just to fulfill my curiosity. And also whenever I feel like recreating the experience in a small cafe in Surry Hills, Paddington, or Leichhardt. If the owner of the foodplace really meant Antipodean as what some people call Australia and New Zealand, then she has accomplished that I suppose. Well done, mate!

You've successfully made me all teary and nostalgic. Man, I miss Sydney!

Cheers,

Fellexandro Ruby
Food Conversationalist & Photographer

Snack on my Tweets @Wanderbites

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Antipodean
Jl. Kemang Selatan I (Hero Kemang Complex)
Jakarta, Indonesia
Ph: +6221 7192364
www.antipodeancoffee.com