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Monday, December 31, 2012

Kitchenette @ PI


Passed by Kitchenette Plaza Indonesia for hundredth time but only this time, I made a time to try it on. Well, I recalled seeing the menu and didn't really fancy it. But since, my gal pal wanted to try this so I thought should gave it a shot.

Anyone passing by would be intrigued by the open design concept of this restaurant. It was one of the success stories of Ismaya group in the early days.

It was still packed even at 2-3 pm and the waiting staff showed us to a table that was not to our liking; afterward, she left us and we though of asking for other table. A guy came and asked us whether we wanted non-smoking or smoking area. Then, I overheard he told the girl who showed us the table to always ask the patron which area they prefer. So, he shifted us to the other side which facing the Bistro Baron.

The famous lemonade was not in stock for the day, so I ordered the Lychee Fruit Elixir; it was good though. I think Kitchenette has better drinks than their foods, well, unless, you are a big fan of pancakes.

Either they are shorthanded in staff which I hardly find in Jakarta or the staff were quite ignorant. Needed time to call or look for them.

I felt kinda full for lunch so I thought of ordering something light, quite surprised to see Ratatouille in the menu.

Well, after the experience, I don't think I wish to return here for a meal; for a drink and light pancake, yeah....perhaps.





Nice fittings

The open concept was the first that gained success in this mall
The menu
The Lychee Elixir..quite good!
Battered Fish Dory Fillet over sauteed garlic spinach and mediterranean sauce
Oven roasted barrramundi with ratatouille & sauted black olives...It was fresh and nicely balance, a tad too saltish but overall, quite good for this raosted barramundi


Kitchnette Restaurant and Creperie
Plaza Indonesia Extension Level 1 Unit E16
Jl. Thamrin Kav. 28-30
Tel: +62-21-2992-3580

Opens daily from 10 am to 10 pm 

http://www.ismaya.com/micro/read/kitchenette


Bistro Baron - Breakfast

Bistro Baron has a design which will surely catch your attention when passing by. It certainly fits the bill of a French restaurant with its so-oh-distinctive French restaurant design.

Somehow, I was not too keen when looking at their menu online as it wasn't not my palate of liking; so, we opted for Breakfast session. A good option if you are looking for breakfast around these malls as not many open so early.

Thought it may be crowded but turned out, it was empty when we reached there by 9 am. As usual, I was drawn to Breakfast Platter/Big Breakfast so all of us ordered same item.

Service was prompt and staff was able to recommend the popular drinks; she recommended me the Cabana Fresh and it was refreshing indeed.

All items on the platter were cooked well, it was fresh and good quality. It teased me well enough in thinking of having my lunch or dinner next time here.

I did attempt to book a table for dinner that day but too bad, there was a street festival went on New Year's Eve resulting in most of the restaurants/shops and these 2 malls (Plaza Indonesia and Grand Indonesia) closed earlier than dinner time. 

Before they informed me there is a possibility they closed early that day, the supervisor was kindly enough to offer me a couple seat which was a bit quiet, it was in the corner but by the window and next to oh-so-chic red curtain.

I would love to return here next round; a good venue for a couple.

Entrance to Bistro Baron, I was told that the tiles are from Javanese Tiles which made from cement and quite a fave option nowadays in Jakarta

A white linen table cloth with dark wood furniture
A Bar is a norm in every restaurants in Jakarta nowadays


The Simple A4 Menu



Cabana Fresh; Pear, Melon, Mint, Banana & Lemon Squeeze
Creamy Banana Mac Smoothie; Banana, Honey Roasted Macademia Nuts, Yoghurt, Oat Brand & Milk; quite a healthy mix
Breakfast Platter; 2 eggs in style of your choice on toasted bread, Crispy Bacon, Beef and Chicken Sausages, Roasted Potatoes & Tomatoes, Baked Beans, Rocket Salad and Sauteed Mushrooms.
This one was with Omellete
With Sunny Side-Up
With Fried Eggs
 
 
 
Bistro Baron
Plaza Indonesia Extension Level 1, Unit E 20-21
Jl. M.H.Thamrin Kav. 28-30
Tel: +62-21-299235-5/6
 
 
Opening Hours:
Breakfast from Monday to Friday from 7.30 am to 10 am
Brunch on Saturday and Sunday from 11 am to 4 pm
Lunch from Monday to Sunday from 7.30 am to 3 pm
High Tea from Monday to Friday from 3 pm to 6 pm
Dinner from Monday to Sunday from 6 pm to 10 pm


Sunday, December 30, 2012

Skye

Heard the hype on Skye few months ahead of my visit to Jakarta; heard how great the lounge outdoor design by local architect firm with a magnificent view to boot as it perches on top of Menara BCA 56th floor; heard how the youngster went crazy putting the Skye logo on their profile picture in Blackberry Messenger.

So, we went with a reservation for dinner and visit the lounge area, diner can roam around pre or after dinner from the adjacent dining area.

Yes, it was quite breathtaking, especially the view, seeing the CBD area from that angle. I think the design does fit the atmosphere with its modern open patio design, it did remind me of Ku De Ta in Seminyak though, with its on the floor cushion. As expected, group of girls were vying to take photo with the skyscrapers as background. Difficult to do so as the standing area is quite narrow.

The indoor seating of the lounge with its bar is another modern chic design that I do like; unfortunately after 2 snaps, the security officer tapped me on my shoulder prohibiting further photo taking. Perhaps the Ismaya Group (owner of the venue) is wary others will copy their restaurant design? I found it shouldn't be an issue as how many venue is able to secure such a height and a view in Thamrin area?

Anyway, we went to the adjacent dining area ushered by the reception lady in black (too many reception ladies in my opinion) We were seated next to the glass window panel (Yipeee...) with the long bench as seater and 2 seats facing the window.  But, there was 1 missing chair though, I looked around and noticed, the table next to us which seated an elderly couple, carrying a toddler whom made a fuss, few adults squeezed in and it did drag one of our chairs to seat these adults.

Once I saw this table, I knew Skye didn't have the correct patrons they aimed to be. The lady usher went to get a chair for us but I already noticed that on our plate; one plate missing all the cutleries, to my left - the plate missing a fork; which these were obviously happened as 2 tables next to our table, instead of Asking the staff for the Cutleries needed, they thought by grabbing unoccupied cutleries were better.

You do know when I said these patrons are certainly not the expected targeted patrons for a venue such as Skye.

The lady usher politely asked the crowded table with the toddler to return one of its chair, as it was supposed to be 5-seater table, with 2 adults seating at the bench but currently was occupied by 'grandma carrying toddler and a big baby bag'.... Sighhhh....

It did put off my appetite a bit seeing this, I didn't ask for cutleries replacement yet as at first, I wanna wait and see whether the staff noticed it. To my avail, he didn't after taking our order so I needed to ask for it.

The menu was limited and didn't find anything that appetizing, it was like Japanese and Western Fusion but we weren't so clear how the fusion works. Let me tell you, it was disappointing; the fusion was just wrong, it just cooked with no real expertise, it fitted more like for finger foods/snacks/sharing and not proper dinner (considering this is a proper dining area and not the lounge), the alcoholic drinks also a big letdown considering the price they charged.

And to my horror, my mocktail which supposed to be virgin, did contain some liqueur on the bottom; only to realize it after I felt light headed.

Could tell the staff was not trained as professionally as the one at Union Brasserie; come to think of it, I felt most of Ismaya Group establishments have similar service standard.

Dining area was packed by the time we were leaving but I could tell that the patrons were mostly those who heard the hype but did not use to come to this kind of venue.

Not going to return for dining here at anytime. Can consider the lounge/bar visit but again, to order drinks and finger foods with the poor quality and that pricing, it is a bit discouragement.

I felt Ismaya Group failed this time to assemble a nice dining venue this time; only the City View and Interior Design that impressed these patrons but the essential parts of a dining establishment which are the food, drink and service fell flat.

The famous Skye logo
An open seating area
Paper arts along the lift corridor to the reception area; to the left is the lounge and right is the dining area
The Bar


Transitioning to the Dining Area
View from behind our seat to Bundaran HI


Everyone agreed that the View was the only thing that awed us that night at Skye


Cheeky Drink Menu


Forget Me Not; it certainly made me not to forget this cocktails. It was supposed to be combo of Lime, Apple, Raspberry syrups but liqueur was on the bottom of the glass. I guess the bartender must had forgotten it was a virgin drink but too lazy to change the glass
Cheech N Chong, a smoky apple, olive, lime drink with bubbles; a so-so and not bubbly at all

This falls under Japanese, Sashimi of Salmon with scattered mandarin orange, garlic crisp and ponzu; This was not a sashimi, it's more like carpaccio. The shaving of salmon was so absurd and this was priced at Rp. 75,000 (!) All you could tasted was the garlic and cut chilli
As it was so limited, we also opted for Paella of prawn, chicken, squid, chorizo and saffron. It was not special and it was as if, just cooked and mixed together. This was supposed to be one of the 
Star Dishes
School prawns deep fried in red rice batter with a soy and mirin dipping sauce; this was a dish that I never thought looked so much different that what I imagined reading from the menu description and there was no special taste on the prawns either.

The night view before leaving




The restroom design was impressive but that's all I being impressed with Skye, only the view and design but other essential parts required of a dining venue fell flat


Skye Bistro and Bar
BCA Tower Lv 56
Jl. M.H. Thamrin No 1, Jakarta
Tel: +62-21-2358-6996

Opens daily:
For Restaurant from 10 am to 11 pm
For Bistro/Bar from 10 am to 1 am

B-Side Wakai Cafe

I found this cafe by accident when we were walking around Plaza Indonesia for a place to drink at 3 pm Sunday afternoon.

It certainly caught my attention with its black glass framing and those minimalist modern design, reminded me of Japanese style cafe. In a way, this is a 'Japanese' cafe as it is part of and next to Wakai Shoes brand shop. Even the name of the cafe suggested the type that Japs do like to use.

Perhaps it was time off for some of the staff as there was only 1 female staff; she was behind the counter, passed us the menu and asked us to take a seat while she would be coming later to take our order.

Again, what puzzled me always when dining in Jakarta was, no matter how small the venue is, there is always smoking and no-smoking section. I thought the smoking area may be the one facing the entrance but turned out, it was the one on the inside area facing the kitchen counter.

Looked through the menu, didn't expect quite a lot of option but it was decent enough, and it feels like Japanese fusion oriented. There are bento sets then more to side dishes and seemed like Specialized more on desserts. I picked the one that was quite not common, which was the Dutchess Potatoes. Interesting name, right?

Unfortunately, some of the drinks were not available so I just went with the normal green tea.

Made the payment at the counter and realized more staff came back for their shift hour.

If I had more time to spend leisuring around, I would be happy to return to B-Side Wakai Cafe for their dessert. It was really a good place to have a tea break but with no smokers for sure.


Cute name!
The Menu
The wooden create serving up as seats
The black framing glass that attracted me and the muted neutral colour of the decor


Totally getting the modern Zen vibe here
Cute and creative Xmas tree decor
This is the smoking area, it was in the inside...not a pleasant smell to walk thru to this cafe when they were smoker..


Typical of Japanese cafe...so eye-catching
The fried potatoes served with spicy mayo...quite a delish dish!
Another Japs cafe trademark


This was on the adjoining entrance to shop and around smoking area, maybe that's why they put the Osim here
Really cute counter...



B-Side Wakai

Plaza Indonesia Extension Lvl. 4

Jl. M. H. Thamrin Kav. 28-30, Jakarta PusatDKI 

Indonesia

Tel: +62 21 29923907

Opening Hours: Daily from 10 am to 10 pm