HAI DI LAO JAKARTA, GANDARIA CITY

OMGMGMGMGMG FINALLY THE RESTAURANT I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR TO OPEN IS FINALLY HERE!!! SO. HAPPY. GOSH. GOD. I've been waiting for months ever since seeing their logo at Mall Taman Anggrek, and apparently their first branch opened at GANDARIA CITY! It literally just opened yesterday: November 1st 2019 and I'm such a HUGE fan of this place that I just went right away! In case you didn't know, this place is one of my favorites in Singapore (knock-knock! Have you read Sindi in Sinjiapo? There you go!) for they don't only boast taste, but also the wonderful service (they literally changed my phone's screen guard. Read the full article on that link for my full testimony!)

Ok! Since I've tried the one in Singapore so I automatically compare EVERYTHING I tried here from that wonderful experience THERE. The expectation was sky high since it's my personal favorite (imagine me being too full YET still going there every single time I visit Singapore just because it's that worth it!) In SG it'll cost you around 100 SGD per person but I assure you it's worth every penny. So how about Jakarta's branch? Let's start!

SINDI IN SINJIAPO SINGAPORE'S BEST FOOD AND BOBA JOURNAL

FINALLY cleaning up cobs of spiders' web in this blog! Sheesh! A round of applause for this update please uwu WKWKWWK! Since I'm a lone ranger who works personally as a freelance as well, it's sometimes really tough to find a time to post my blog. 24 hours a day aren't enough, don't you think? I do spend a lot of time to get my butt to the gym (compensating the foodie calorie! Remember, health is the best investment!) work, quality time with my inner circle, and.... my boyfriend. He he he. Different from the Instagram, I have a lot of stories to tell here!

Nah, this article would specifically talk about my personal list of recommendation for best food and boba in one of our favorite short getaway destinations (other than Bali, ya ya ya): SINGAPORE! You can see it on my Instagram highlight, but as usual, here's the overall experience and review!

Buckle up ah~!

WHAT TO EAT IN SEMARANG, SOLO, SALATIGA

Hi guys! Cindy is high in blogging spirit! Since the holy month is approaching and some of you might be considering a short escape, let me give you an unusual recommendation! This one is actually for mainly people in Jakarta who are up for a Central Java road trip (Semarang-Solo-Salatiga), which is kinda uncommon since it's a further drive from Bandung, yet there aren't much information about this compared to Bromo in East Java, Bandung culinary, or Borobudur in Yogyakarta. Anyway, thanks to the netijen's demand for me to write about this, the post is on! Ok NOT thanks to them, because most of the polls were for highlights. Well I did put it on my highlight, but for those of you who'd like to know the details of the journey as I also enjoy to tell the story, here's it! Hope it helps and enjoy reading!

SEMARANG CULINARY TRIP

1. NASI AYAM BU PINI (GANG PINGGIR)

The food here are crazy cheap, and if you're from Jakarta you'd be as impressed! This Nasi Ayam was IDR 10,000 a portion ckckck. Portion is not that gigantic, but mind you this is not Nasi Kucing either, so for me it was good enough! Default consists of half egg, rice, shredded chicken, tofu, and lodeh with squash. Central Java is mainly about sweet flavor, a bit like Yogyakarta as this is the local taste, so if you're into savory, this might stretch your comfort zone! Place doesn't have AC, of course, and you get to pick all kind of satay on your table such as clams, skins, etc!

BROWN SUGAR BOBA JAKARTA REVIEW

QUEEN B (ok let's not anger the Beyhive, B stands for BOBA) SPEAKING! The brown sugar boba craze is happening everywhere despite it having been around forever (remember Hop-Hop and Quickly? They were pioneers!) Now with a groundbreaking (not so) ingredient: Brown Sugar! It's not a country wide hype, but it goes deep into the Asian culture. If the western culture has coffee, we've got BOBA! The pioneers of this BobaBoom would be Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Thailand to name a few, that even my friend who lives outside Asia is aware of it yet told me that the visuals don't look convincing and horrified with the fact that I drink these so often LOLLL! But let's see!! 

This'll be quick and condensed since there are still lots of other brand I haven't tried yet! Thanks to netijen's demand to KNOW which one is the CHAMP, let me give you my personal ranking! Anyway, this list is completely personal and HONEST, because no brand pays me for writing this review AT ALL. Awas lo julid komen endorse2 WKWKWKWK kidding, hope our taste matches!

LAND OF CHRISTIAN PILGRIM: EGYPT - ISRAEL - JORDAN

 I'm PSYCHED to finally be able to share more about travel again after a while. WOOT! You must've been dying to know all about it, haven't you? There, there, everything will be revealed HERE! An end to the unanswered DMs so that all of you will read through this blog post! So first of allll, it's my first time doing solo traveling! Alright, not totally solo because I joined a tour, again, but yes, I was by myself and the rest of the group are strangers I only came to know during the travel. The others are also mainly family, and my main concern would of course be the photographer. Who'd be taking my photos?! So I had to muster my courage and ask for anyone to do it. It was a lot of trouble because I had to do heavy editing on each pic, but everything turned out fine thanks to technology! Also, later on I found out that my tour leader's first impression of me was this freak who's up for a pilgrim alone! Meanie, but I did want to go to Egypt so bad! All in all, the bucket list is checkedd!!

Alright, let's start one by one! So in this trip I went to 3 countries: EGYPT, ISRAEL, JORDAN, in a total of 12 days including the flight. I just knew Egypt is included in Africa, so I have in a kind of way been to Africa (outskirts)! I flew with Oman Air. Jakarta - Muscat (Oman) for transit - Cairo. Total time spent in flight would be 12 hours, excluding transit time that differs on each trip. Brace yourselves!

COLLIN'S GRILL INDONESIA

It's open for public today! Congratulations! I got the privilege to experience it firsthand and if you're looking for a great place for Christmas dinner / lunch, this one is recommended! Especially that this place is freshly new and just arrived from Singapore! Its first establishment is located in PIM Street Gallery 1st floor. It's called Collin's Grill, and although I've never tried it in Singapore, the class is comparable to TGIFridays I guess? Their menu varies from salad, soup, baked rice, all day brunch, seafood, pasta, steak, pizza, dessert.. What a feast of variety! 

KOHICHA CAFE KELAPA GADING

There's a new coffee shop opening in Kelapa Gading! It's at Ruko Gading Kirana and, well, just use GPS HAHAHA! Honestly, it's my first time visiting this complex, and Kohicha is the only coffee shop standing in this vicinity. Freshly opened just last Saturday, you can hit the hype at @kohichacafe!

FOOD IN CHRISTMAS MARKET EUROPE

SO this is what is called Christmas market. I think this is such a norm in Europe, since they hold one in every city, even in small towns. 1 town can even have several Christmas markets! I think because the majority of society in Europe are Christians, and hence the reason some of the stalls sell pork! I really love these Christmas markets because they sell local, traditional F&B that is unique of each country. Authentic! Even more so, they also sell local merchandises for Christmas decoration, and usually are open since the end of November! This is my first time visiting these markets and I'm way impressed. It's a total decoration of festive mood, and for a temporary pop up market, this looks already like a fixed, permanent market. THAT dedicated!

The opening hours of the markets in each city varies a lot, but usually they're open since lunch time until the evening. You can check their availability from google, just type "opening hours for Christmas market in X city", then they'll even come up with some official websites. Here's an example. The nuance is also contrasting between noon and night, although they're equally beautiful! I suggest to come in the afternoon and see it to the evening, where you can take a good food pic in the afternoon and then enjoy the evening lights. In this article, I'll talk about the Christmas markets in 5 cities that I love: Budapest, Cesky, Nuremberg, Prague, and Banska Bystrica.

HALUU HOW ARE YOU?

Jadi,

Kapan nikah?

HAHAHA! NO It's NOT Bridestory's exhibition where only lovey-dovey couples can go to! It's the HALUU WORLD! Open for public 15th of December 2018, which isss TODAY!

Before we start, here's my wisdom time:

• HTM weekend IDR 110k
• HTM weekdays IDR 90k
• You can book through @bookmyshowid but it's subject to tax and service.
• Located in 5th floor of Plaza Indonesia
• It'll be a one way journey, just as MOJA, you can't go back to previous installation
• There's a time limit on each installation. SNAP SNAP OUT OF IT!
• I suggest you to wear slippers/slip on, some requires you to put your shoes off!

BERKAH DATANG DARI YANG BERSIH

WOOT WOOT! Do you have any idea what we're going to have this time? If you, like most Indonesians, love spices, you must've tried one of these fine specimens:

AYAM GEPREK!

DINING WITH THE STAR - RASA RESTAURANT AND BLUE TERRACE AT AYANA JAKARTA

Dining with the Star series is coming to an end and it would be a sad parting for me as I have been pampered with such mind blowing culinary experience every time I come! Ayana Jakarta has proven themselves to deliver the best as they have 2 venues: Rasa Restaurant with True Aussie's beef and Blue Terrace for its lamb selection! Let's start with Rasa!

DINING WITH THE STAR - BENGAWAN RESTAURANT AT KERATON JAKARTA

Still on the series of mouthwatering courses with these executive chefs! This time it's Keraton's Indonesian specialty at Bengawan Restaurant by Chef Rafa!

DINING WITH THE STAR - C'S JAKARTA AT GRAND HYATT HOTEL JAKARTA

Back again at Dining with the Star! If you've read my previous post at Ritz Carlton Pacific Place, you'd also be interested at this one since I just tried True Aussie's Lamb at C's Steak and Seafood Restaurant (Grand Hyatt Jakarta)!

DINING WITH THE STAR - PA SO LA AT THE RITZ CARLTON HOTEL PACIFIC PLACE

It's time to dine with the star! A full course meal at Pa So La Ritz Carlton Pacific Place was a night to remember. This time, True Aussie Beef and Lamb presented its luscious Angus Beef Tenderloin in the masterful hands of 5-stars chefs in 4 different hotels! Our first itinerary was to experience Pa So La's interpretation of the dish by Chef Sean MacDougall. Chop chop!

PIKNIK AT ARIF INN JAKARTA

Sooo who does #ButuhPiknik during the Ramadan holiday yet is unable to go out of Jakarta?? Because I'm one of them!! I wanted to go traveling again but since it's high season, practically everything is pricey. SO SAD HUH?! Anyway, I spent the holiday in Jakarta, and fortunately, there's a place that satisfied my wanderlust for quite a bit, called Pinik at Arif Inn!

TRULY ELEGANT INDONESIAN CUISINE - PLATARAN MENTENG JAKARTA

Did you know that there's such a hidden paradise called Plataran Menteng?? I had no idea why haven't I ever visited this place despite the place having been opened for 2 years. I felt like missing out! When you see its exterior, you wouldn't imagine that the place would be this spacious. It's a house that's gotten major interior makeover. 3 stories. Let's take a tour!

ONNI TANJUNG DUREN - JAKARTA

Aren't you tired of me telling you that there's yet another new place? The development of retail and F&B in Jakarta is just insane! This place in Tanjung Duren is called Onni House. A hidden paradise missed by the eyes of passerbys! Anyway, the place isn't exactly located in the main road, so just look it up on your GPS! Parking was a bit of a challenge since it's located near KFC Tanjung Duren. They have been doing this florist-restaurant concept, but since the place already looks like a garden, I guess everyone assumed they're just a florist! There should have been writings stating that they have seats available, because what they're doing is ground breaking. 

THE GARDEN PANTAI INDAH KAPUK - JAKARTA

There's always something new in PIK!! This one's crazy and I was SUPER excited to go to this place!! Why, you'd ask? BECAUSE THE PLACE IS JUST SO PRETTY! Gosh I'm flabbergasting! Look at this! Living up to its name, The Garden holds an entirely new concept of interior to the saturated, industrial and minimalist restaurants in Jakarta. This one is festive, but put in a good order.

It's located so close to Kanpai! So if you're headed from Puri area, the place will be on your left. Anyway, it's not really a secret that the owner of this place is also... the owner of Kanpai and Sushi Hiro. Talk about a brand portfolio! Anyway, have you set your bar up high? Because that's what they've done in their past projects, so did I expect for this! Let's find out! 

ONE DIMSUM PLUIT

I'm not sure what's up with Pluit, but here's yet another new dimsum place where it truly belongs! It's called One Dimsum, located in parallel with Wing Heng, its level competitor that hoards great taste and open 24hrs! Let's hope this one meets the expectation as well, how about we find out! Before we start, this location is already located in your GPS, so it's easy to find. tap tap!

SEOUL YUMMY LIPPO MALL KEMANG

A new new place for K-poppers in South Jakarta! Let me present to you, Seoul Yummy at Lippo Mall Kemang, directly franchised from Singapore! Their numerous outlets in Singapore are just a dawwn for another expansion, this time to Jakarta. It's so fresh as this place is newly opened, a week before the fasting month began. Fresh!