ICHIRO JAKARTA

I'm craving for Japanese!! The first thing that comes to mind is to try this new Japanese restaurant in the neighborhood of West Jakarta, Pesanggrahan. There's been a major movement in West Jakarta lately, especially around Puri Indah and its surroundings (remember our review for the FCTRY bistro and bar?). The growth in demand and cultural development have driven more F&B business to open, and despite having worse traffic congestion, it's still an interesting thing to have as more restaurants and places are expecting to open for business!

The both of us came here for lunch and the interior concept is quite interesting! Wooden interior is a classic traditional element of Japan, although the execution, in my opinion, wasn't really well-paired with adequate flooring and ornaments, such as the lamps and their pick of material for the tables.

This place is actually really spacious! Since we came at non-peak hour, we don't know how crowded this place could turn into! Seems interesting as this is a pretty potential restaurant, don't you agree?

The 2nd floor wasn't used though, maybe because there wasn't much crowd when we came. But let's not take the interior too seriously, despite my interest in architecture and interior design, taste is still the main thing in a food blog and I want to keep it at that, especially that I'm soon going to blow your mind in the tasting phase!

I like how they provide a complete set of condiments with descriptions to each one. Some people might not know what they are and detailed information like these should be appreciated.

Moving on to the tasting parade! We tried 2 of 3 ramen types they offer: the soup ramen and the yaki ramen. The other one is tsukemen, where you dip the noodle into a thick soup.

AKAO RAMEN IDR 54K

First up is ramen! You can tell how spicy it is just by looking! The taste was so good as you can see how perfect the noodle texture is made. However, the half-boiled egg yolk is just a little bit overcooked. So close! The broth and the toppings: minced pork, charsiu, and the mushroom were great, I really liked the overall taste as the grilled chili aroma was so good and spicy! By the way, the broth didn't use any sort of milk so the soup is just clear and spicy. The shortcoming is that it might taste too oily.

KARE YAKI RAMEN IDR 54.5K

Sizzled CURRY ramen in a teppan! The slight disappointment for the boiled egg before just vanished right after seeing the melting red yolk! The choice of meat I ordered was chicken and they also have vegetables, which emanated a great aroma when the dish arrived on our table. The taste of this one is super delicious, and I'm telling you that I'm not exaggerating at all! Fantastic work!

Up close: THE melting yolk I was talking about. My saliva gland is reacting again as my mind replays the taste of it while I'm writing...my goodness!

YAKI BUTA CHARSIU IDR 50K

We didn't have enough charsiu so we ordered another plate! Let me tell you that their charsiu is SO good! Really, they're so soft, and the spice was so perfectly complimenting the aromatic grilled charsiu that was undoubtedly dealt with adequate cooking skill. Respect to the cook! 

NABEYAKI UDON IDR 59.5 K

Another great dish. Nabe-style udon in a hotpot with prawn and pork. I can't actually describe how nabe tastes: nabemono is a direct translation of "hotpot dish", which makes this a hotpot of many ingredients, where all of their essence is absorbed by the soup of broth: a combined aroma of meat, seafood, vegetables, and spices. It takes you to a warm paradise where you can taste a full orchestra of ingredients!

MEAT LOVER CURRY RICE IDR 56.5 K
Now it's curry time! I'm a big fan of Japanese curry rice, and this one comes in a complete package! Comes with chicken katsu, grilled sausages, fried chicken, and pork charsiu slices! I don't have to confirm to you that this dish, despite its simple display, was actually really good as well! Gosh, there wasn't any dish of this place that disappointed me! The curry was rich in flavor and the topping was fried in a proper way. Perfect.

Oh, I remember one unpleasant thing though: since I was having too much fun taking the photos, the rice was a bit hardened when I start eating it. I'm not sure whether they didn't cook it properly or it was just me taking too long to finish.

ICHIRO ROLL IDR 59.5 K
Not particularly satisfied yet with all those dishes, especially because all of them were really delicious, we decided to order their sushi rolls! Starting with the signature dish, Ichiro Roll, where they put their own brand at stake to this one: it's an original creation where the sushi rice is battered and deep fried into golden perfection, filled with cucumber and raw salmon, topped with grilled salmon WITH mentai sauce and sesame! Needless to say, the idea and concept of the ingredients itself were already genius. Wonderful!

ANACONDA ROLL IDR 89.5 K
I've got to admit that we went binge eating to a frenzy level! Introducing you the anaconda roll, the longest serve of sushi roll I've ever tried! It's got a combination of taste in itself as you could see multiple toppings here: unagi, tuna belly, and avocado on each piece, combined with different types of fish eggs such as ebiko, wasabi-caviar, and tobiko! The filling were the same though, crabsticks and tempura crunch. Delishhh!

There's this one thing that caught my curiosity: this Mame Do! They haven't had anything to sell though: so I'm expecting a new upcoming brand to launch in this place anytime soon!

So, do you need a finalization here? This place was so impressive in term of taste. Perfect place for having a meal at anytime of the day! This place is highly recommended for its taste and fair price. Expecting to come here again some other time!

Ichiro Jakarta
JL Pesanggrahan Raya no 9
Meruya/ Kebun Jeruk, Jakarta Barat
(021) 58903684

Opening Hours :
Everyday : 10:00 am - 10:00 pm

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MOMO RESTAURANT & BAR

And AGAIN! The ever popular Senopati has earned themselves another strong member... This time it's a Japanese army. Located right beside Three Buns, it's MOMO. Their soft opening is held at 17th Mei 2014 and I went there at the exact date! Sadly, we were given 1 and a ½ hours time limit, they said it was because we didn't book first. (Well, I didn't know that...)

It was 5 pm when we arrived, which means the lighting is a bit dim, even after seated near the glass window. So many people came to their first opening and I think most of them are friends of the owner... Most... Not everyone though, since there's still us, who's a stranger to them... :P

Momo has 3 floors; on the top floor, there's a VIP room with glass walls and some other metal tables. The middle floor was where I sat, you can find the bar and kitchen here. The bottom floor has a wine rack, but when I came it was still empty, maybe cause it's still the soft opening. Though it's not too spacey, they have beautiful painting decorations, like an underground hideout, there's also an semi-outdoor which is covered with glass.

MOCHI CHEESE SPRING ROLL IDR 55K

Mochi and cream cheese filled spring roll, drizzled with honey.

I really wasn't expecting it to be like this. It actually looked like a spring roll no matter how you look at it, but it's like a mochi when you took a bite!! The perfect blending of sweet and savory!! Just imagine the crunchy texture, the cheesy filling, and the unique sweetness of the honey combined into one bite.... You'll surely be craving for more!

SALMON DASHI TEA RICE IDR 55K
Salmon and furikake rice with dashi tea broth.

You've heard of chicken broth, beef broth, and more... But have you heard of a TEA broth?? Well, it was a first to me, that's for sure, and I definitely liked it. Love the sweet-scent produced by the tea and how fresh the salmon is! The tea broth actually tastes like miso soup but it looks exactly like tea. By the way, 1 portion of this, won't even be enough for 1 person.. Seriously, it's sooo small..

TRUFFLE PRIME BEEF BOWL IDR 120K

Thin sliced prime beef with truffle sauce, served with rice, topped with poached egg.

I just love half-boiled eggs, the creamier the egg yolk the better! So when they give me delicious tender meat with perfect egg yolks and good amount of truffle sauce, I just went to heaven and back... The only downside of this is that with the almost choking price, the portion was unfortunately small..

BENGBENG CAKE WITH VANILLA ICE CREAM IDR 50K

I just love how people innovate desserts these days, from you're everyday snack into something extra ordinary and simply scrumptious! If you like to munch on chocolate bars, the name 'BengBeng' certainly isn't unfamiliar, right? That was my childhood favorite snack.. And now, it's made into a CAKE with ICE CREAM!! Yes, please!!!! It's SUPER sweet, with layers and layers of caramels!! Yet, some other foodies said that it's not that sweet... Maybe since it's still the soft opening, the taste is not consistent yet??

CHAMOMILE HERBAL TEA IDR 25K

How about something healthy to savor all those fattening dishes?? A soothing chamomile tea is a perfect company to help you feel less guilty...

BLACKCURRANT FLAVORED TEA IDR 32,5K

Or would you prefer something fresh to help clench your thirst after all the rich heavy flavor? This is another good choice to go with.

This is the top floor, which is just a few steps higher..

This is the cool edgy VIP room!

Since this was their soft opening, I do hope that there'll be improvements in the portioning.. I mean, come on... Are they supporting a diet system or something?? We went here to have chow down, not food testing, but that's the impression I had when I saw the amount of food on the bowl...

Nevertheless, this place just made in to my recommendation list, cause there's no lying that the taste is good and I had an awesome dessert! As long as I had a good dessert, I'm content... Lol!


MOMO Restaurant & Bar
Jl. Senopati Raya No. 92
Kebayoran Baru
Jakarta Selatan 12190
021-7397459/087889808005

Opening Hours :
Everyday : 11:00 am - 11:00 pm

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