Negiya Donburi -Citiwalk Sudirman

Negiya Donburi

Growing up in Jakarta, we are familiar to Japanese food. Japanese restaurants used to be this fancy, wear-your-Sunday-best-outfit, and maybe twice a year feast thing. Nowadays, Japanese restaurants are for common people who like to wear their sandals and t-shirts trying to get their belly filled.

Negiya Donburi restaurant is an established franchise from Melbourne making its debut in Jakarta. Donburi literally means ‘bowl’ and in Japanese, it referes to savory stews, katsu curry or yakiniku over rice. Located at City Walk Sudirman, Negiya has Menya Gyutan Don as their signature dish. For those Gyutan lovers out there (for those acquired taste) it is a special treat! 

The décor is minimally designed with red and light oak wood dominating the furnishings. Ordering the food starts by making your way to the cashier before you seat yourself and food will be served at the table. The staffs were patient enough to guide you through the ordering of the food; from favorite menu to additional toppings you can add on your Donburi.

Giving you a peek of what I had ordered

Chicken katsu don with egg topping (IDR 48K)

My favorite of the food I ordered was the Chicken Katsu Donburi. The chicken is tender, moist and slightly creamy from the egg makes it extra delicious. The signature sauce gives the extra boost that propels the dish into a must-try when you visit this place. One additional note about this dish is that it only comes in Large portion, but fret not, I have a hunch that even those that eats little might finish that large portioned bowl of yummy goodness!

Menya Gyutan Don (IDR 60K for R and 110K for set menu)

The set menu comes with Japanese salad and miso soup with the portion that they mentioned to be 25% bigger than the regular menu.

As the server came with my Gyutan order at the table, my mouth waters with anticipation. Just as delicious as it looked, the Gyutan is tender, thickness to its perfection, seasoned in an umami effect and unmistakably spiced. It was not a disappointment.

However, the rice was problematic for me, Japanese rice has a distinct flavor (I feel that I’m experienced enough to recognize the taste of Japanese rice) and the rice on that Gyutan bowl was not Japanese rice that I’m accustomed to; it almost actually taste bland. The blandness when eaten together with the tasty Gyutan dragged the Gyutan bowl into mediocreness, and that is a huge dismay. I hope that in the near future they fix the little glitch.

With that mediocrity of Gyutan Don that has been claimed their most requested/signature dish from the menu, I personally prefers the Chicken Katsu bowl. There I said it.

Grilled salmon miso set menu (IDR 79K)

The Grilled Salmon miso set menu comes with Japanese rice salad and miso soup. The salmon tasted fresh and cooked perfectly. The sauce comes in two flavors, the sweet savory teriyaki sauce and salty miso sauce with sesame seed.

I personally would choose the salty miso sauce over the sweet teriyaki sauce (I heard miso is a healthier choice) I would also recommend the Grilled Salmon miso set menu, it is my second choice after the winning Chicken katsu bowl.

Negiya Donburi

Citiwalk Sudirman

Ground Floor

Jl. KH Mas Mansyur Kav 121

Sudirman, Jakarta 10220

021-29704051

Opening hours   : 10.00 AM- 10.00 PM

Payment              : cash/card

Instagram            : @NEGIYADONBURI

Follow @whats_up_jakarta for more updates

 

FROM Italy to Jakarta , My favorite GELATO

What’s up, Jakarta?!

Today I want to share with you what Italian has sworn by and perfected from many ages ago, their Gelatos. Grom, which recently make Jakarta their new home on the 1^st floor of Pacific place, do know their gelatos. Grom has a slogan “IL GELATO COME UNA VOLTA”, which would roughly translate to “like it used to be made”. They vow to make Gelato like their ancestors used to make, how Gelato taste should be.

People at Grom are not messing around on how they make their Gelatos. They use only the finest and absolute highest quality of raw materials; fresh fruits from the chosen consortium in Italy and their own bio-diverse organic farm Mura Mura. Grom’s gelato uses fresh milk and free-range chicken eggs (means happy chickens, awesome eggs), sorbets with 50% fruit, water only from Sparea springs and white cane sugar.

I did my time once working at an Ice cream industry and know my icy dessert; there is a huge difference between Gelato and Ice cream. Gelato has lesser fat than ice cream as it uses fresh milk instead of cream that is a basis for making ice cream. Gelato also has a warmer temperature to ice cream, which is set more or less at -10 degree Celsius.

I would add one crucial point, that Gelato is more forgiving on your waistline than ice cream. One of the perks of Grom’s gelato is that it contains 9% less fat than normal gelato which is around 14% fat and 0% on its sorbets, remembering again how kind it is of Grom to remember our waistline. In addition to having less fat or no fat, Grom has no preservatives, flavorings, emulsifiers nor coloring, and that is being kind to our body.

Grom now serves 70 branches worldwide from its hometown Italy to Dubai, Los Angeles, New York, Paris and now making its way to South East Asia, Jakarta.

There are 4 types of serving portion whether you have it in a cup or on a cone:

Small size, 2 flavors – IDR 48K

Medium size, 3 flavors – IDR 60K

Large size, 3 flavors – IDR 72K

Extra large size in a cup with a maximum of up to 4 flavors – IDR 85K

Remembering how low fat or zero fat Grom is I tried 6 different flavors to taste, just because I could.

The flavors I tried were Crema di Grom, Bacio, Triple choco, Double choco, Lemon sorbet and last but not least Pear sorbet.

Crema di Grom is their well-known signature flavor; it is tested and do lift up to the expectation. It is based of egg cream gelato with corn biscuit and Colombian Teyuna choco chips. A definite must try! Or at least try a sample of it when you visit Grom.

I must recommend pairing Crema di Grom with the Pear sorbet. You might think of nothing out of the ordinary from a Pear sorbet. However, let me convince you wrong, it is actually quite a little delight flavor! It exactly taste like pear, soft and sweet smelling yet it is chilled! Let it surprise you!

Crema di Grom with Pear Sorbet

Another recommended pairing is the Bacio (choco hazelnut) and Double choco; bacio on its own tends to be sweet, with the double choco that has a more bitter dark chocolate flavor, it makes a perfect pairing. If double choco is not enough dark for your taste bud do opt for the choco instead, it has a more prominent dark chocolate taste and does not contain milk.

Other flavors I tried have their own unique taste. The lemon sorbet has a strong flavor of sourness. Their nocciola has a smooth and light hazelnut flavor compare to Bacio. But overall their gelato blows my mind away .

Nocciola flavor

extra dark choco with lemon sorbet on top

Being a self-professed die-hard foodie, I have tried many Gelatos in my lifetime. What makes Grom stands out from the rest is that it has unforgettable and unique flavors and refined gelato finish. Do not forget to put your Gelato in its crunchy cone; it completes the Gelato experience, in my personal opinion. One thing that I do have to mention the fact that it is au naturale, Grom Gelato has a rapid time of melting. So do eat them in a jiff and might as well order for your second serving right away!

Have your own Grom experience, peeps and do let me know your favorite flavor!

GROOM Gelato II Come Una Volta

Pacific Place Mall 1^st floor #70-72

Jalan Jendral Sudirman Kav 52-53, Kebayoran Baru

Jakarta Selatan 12190

Opening hrs : 10.00 AM- 10.00 PM

Instagram : @grom_indo

Payment : cash/card

Follow @whats_up_jakarta for more updates

PAPAJO EATERY - A cozy Café In West Jakarta

What’s up, Jakarta!

It has been rediscovered that west Jakarta is the new “IT” spot for hangouts, perfect place to spend your weekend. Located in the heart of Puri Indah area along the side of already established restaurants such as Trattoria, The Fctry and Crematology nearby. This newly populated restaurants and café seemed to be drawing more and more crowds from outside the west area, willingly making a trip to do some restaurant and café hopping.  

 

In recent days a crowd has been seen and spotted to flock the cozy little café called PAPAJO Eatery. As for PAPAJO eatery, the facade and cute logo might pique your interest.

As you enter the eatery, you are greeted by an insta-genic décor with its pastel-colored themed; meaning that in every corner of this café, you would point your camera for your instagram feed, it will look good. As for the ambience, the café itself exudes coziness and warmth that entice you to spend a day in this place having chitchats while dining their scrumptious food.

The second floor has a slight different décor (more insta-genic photo spot!), the floor is definitely a winner, and the combination of white and black tiles is quite distinct and catchy for photo ops. This whole second floor area can be reserved for private functions and events.

The sunlight from the many windows makes the café bright and gives off a warm and clean feeling; it somehow makes you feel welcomed.

Moving on to the dishes this café offers, surprisingly they served Asian themed dishes rather than western dishes that you would typically find in cafes like these.

Spicy Crispy Garlic Noodle (IDR 42K)

 

The sautéed spicy garlic noodle sauce served along with shrimp dumplings looked dry and spicy, it was my least favorite dish. I felt that there are room for improvements for this dish, in terms of taste and presentation. It tasted a little bit bland for my taste and the chilly oil to make it spicy made the whole dish very oily. The shrimp dumplings were sadly also on the bland side; it lacks depth and the umami feel that you are looking for.

Nasi Goreng Babi Rica (IDR 48K)

This spicy fried rice with chunks of diced-cut pork meat is a hearty dish, it satisfy your hunger and cravings all at once. The perk of this dish is the decently priced and portioned, quite a satisfying dish overall.

The crispy pork loin over butter rice (IDR 52K)

One of my more favorite dishes from this café; the butter rice was moist and gives off an mouth watering fragrance. The pork was cooked crispy on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside as you bite to it. The black pepper sauce completes the dish by adding mouth-watering flavor.

In summary, the ambiance and decently priced homey food in west Jakarta will make me want to come back for more. I wish them success and to keep evolving into a staple café in this side of town.