Recent Visit to Collage, Pullman Central Park

One hungry evening, my mum (my most loyal foodhunting partner) decides to have dinner at Collage Restaurant with me at the 4-5 months old Pullman Central Park (Correct me if I'm wrong). Before proceeding, I have to say.. this is gonna be a one long post. So, embrace yourselves!

 This visit was.. Wierd. At the time of visit: my mom and I are the only guest dining in! We was alone for at least.. 1 hour until some other guests came by. J-town's traffic condition getting worse huh? But that's okay. Despite the loneliness, I love the ambience offered here in Collage. It is modern, and just artsy. At first I was expecting some of the food offered like what some friends reviewed back then, but only some was there. The rest were some other menus. Now, to the food offered during my visit!

A cracker section:

 Seafood Offerings:

The Salad Bar with its dressings available for your salad:

                          Some eastern delights: Mini Donburis, Udon, and some fusion sushis:

Some eastern selections my mum took:

Center-left: Grilled Peking Duck, Top: Lumpia with Tofu Skin and Bottom-right: Grilled Chicken

Next, Sambal lovers will definitely enjoy this view! The various kinds of sambal offered here in Collage! (Me? I ain't touchin em' - me not a big fan of these stuffs~)

Some western delights my mum ate as well:

Left: Grilled Beef - Center Top: John Dory - Right: Lasagna!

My mom said the lasagna and the dory was nice. But the grilled beef? She said it was okay. (Mum likes beef grilled to perfection - this one is medium well) I said it was nice.

Next, Home made pastas! Yum!

Left: Black Carbonara Pasta - Right: Red Aglio Olio Pasta - I like this. :D

Vegetable Flan (Right) and Polenta Chips (Left)

Grilled Beef

This, is Lamb right? I wanted to grab these.. but i was too full already!

Collage also has traditional crackers up for grabs:

And a quite an organized view in the breads section!

Now... Desserts!

Overall, what an interesting experience here I had in Collage. With many selections of food offered here in Collage, I should dine here with my friends so I could get more opinions towards the taste of the food itself because there are some stuffs that I did not get a chance to taste due to stomach capacity limitations!

Collage at Pullman Jakarta Central Park
Ground Floor
Jalan Let.Jend.S.Parman
Jakarta

Your Brother in food,
Rayns Raymond.
Dedicated Twitter for food at @foodgazette << soon to be piled with tweets about food!

Four Ramen Bars Compared

Hiya Friends!
How's your week going so far? :)

As you might have realized -  our beloved J-town is now a home to various ramen bars!
These Japanese chicken/pork noodle soup though... has attracted my attention, and i decided to write a combined review on some hearty ramen I've tried.

1. Ramen Sanpachi
Probably the first ramen chain to provide ramen with hearty pork/chicken broth unlike the previous contenders that has entered the market in the first place.

What I like about Ramen Sanpachi is that they have the most variety of menus - from snacks, ramen flavors and sides. Their Curry Rice is also delicious, by the way. Despite being the first chain to offer hearty soup - I don't find their broth to be as interesting as the other rivals as now - I have comparisons to make.  But the curry rice and the varieties of menu.. definitely will make me want to revisit Sanpachi again.

2. Ramen Ikkousha
Here goes nothing - Okay. Ramen Ikkousha has been having crazy long queues from the moment they opened their doors in Pluit. The same long queues repeats all over again in their second branch in Kelapa Gading.

What I like about Ikkousha is that their broth is amazing! It seems to have the strongest and the boldest taste of all compared to all their rivals. However, as I tasted them for like... the fourth time, I seemed to taste traces of MSG inside their broth.

3. Marutama Ramen
Hmm.. Marutama Ramen seems to be the most mysterious ramen ever due to their secret location in Sentral Senayan. To go to their first branch, you have to enter The Foodhall in Plaza Senayan to the Warung Pojok Area, and from there, just go straight pass by the security check and voila! Welcome to Marutama Ramen.

 

What I liked about Marutama Ramen is their broth. Its not too strong, and not too bold as well. The consistency is just right and their Yaki Charsiu is a must-try (UPDATE APR 22, 2012 BELOW).  as well as their Tori Dango (above). The cons for Marutama is that it wasnt really location-friendly for me. :)

4. Yamagoya Ramen
Yamagoya Ramen, it just open its door recently isnt it? I don't have much to say but.. They're located in the Thamrin Nine - the same office tower that houses South Beauty, Tony Romas and Pesto, as well as others. 

What I liked about Yamagoya Ramen is that their noodle - seems to be best out of all the contenders since they are chewy! The others? I would say.. they're okay. Their broth is also hearty and consistent as they are not to strong/bold, but for the broth... I prefer Marutama's

5. Santouka Ramen
You can check em out here

In Conclusion,

Hmm... for me, I would say Marutama Ramen seems to be my favorite due to their consistency, and the taste of the sides as well. But then, that doesn't mean that Marutama is an exact winner for everyone... It might be for me, but not for you! So.. I encourage you guys to try them one by one! Here is a consideration for you guys to consider when you... are confused by ramen.  

Therefore,
For a strong ramen taste and delicious sides like Gyoza, visit Ikkousha.
For a consistent ramen broth and delicious sides like Yaki Charsiu, visit Marutama.
For a variety of flavors and fusions of ramen, visit Sanpachi Instead.
For a noodle that's chewy, visit Yamagoya Ramen

Ramen Sanpachi
EJIP Center
Cikarang

Ramen Ikkousha
Jalan Muara Karang Raya
Jakarta

Marutama Ramen
Sentral Senayan 1 Office Tower
Jalan Asia Afrika
Jakarta

Yamagoya Ramen
Thamrin Nine UOB Basement
Jalan M.H Thamrin
Jakarta

Your brother in food,
Rayns Raymond.

Taipan Seafood World

Without any further delays, I present you... My first review post!


MARCH 2012 - After all the Chinese food boredom where we ate 'The Duck Queen' (Name Modified, thanks to Bro Kev for the idea) almost twice every single weekend since February, my dad decides to raise his hand up to to take the whole family to Taipan for dimsum. At first, i growled. "I AM TRULY SICK OF CHINESE FOOD DAD! I'VE HAD ENOUGH!". However, as we arrived an after grabbing something and some other small sized meals to eat, I end up having a very pleasant meal, despite my chinese food boredom.


No More Long Explanations - from the early times when they are still in ITC Mangga Dua and until they relocated to a cozier premises in WTC Mangga Dua, Taipan has been a favorite restaurant for dimsum for many, including our family.

As we are directed to our tables and know what number our tables is, we head to 'The DimSum Gallery' (I made it up myself, the name.) where they displayed small-sized foods from one end to another - up till a hundred (if im not mistaken) food choices available. Woohoo!  this is colours to my eyes!

                                                              From Fried Dim Sum

                                                                           to soups,
                which my dad said that the 'Snake Soup' is a must try, which I didn't end up wanting to try

                                                            and to the noodles section

                                                   and finally, Desserts! Look at these~! 


After walking through the displays and have some waiters bring up trays of steamed and fried dimsums,
we ended up having:

                              
                                 Congee:  Not-to Thick, Served warm, with bits of century egg.
                             Siew Mai: Unlike what most establishments offer, this has lotsa prawn!

                                                                    Fried Yam Cake

Steamed Ribs with Garlic: Its okay. But at the time of the review, I DIDN'T GET ANY... MY SIS ATE EM ALL UP....

         
       Xiao Lung Bao: One of the best Xiao Lung Bao in town I have to say because the skin is not too
                 thick.That's what I consider very important in judging whether a XLB is delicious or not.

                    Tahu Telur Goreng?: not sure whether this is the proper name for the dish.. haha

 

                  
                                              Char Liong with Prawn and Mayonaisse 

and Durian Pancakes for Dessert where I'd say that the skin on this one is at the right thickness, and the
scent and taste of the Durian is just right for me. Not to strong or weak..


And some other as well that my parents and my sis ate very fast as they
arrived at our seats. As I was busy taking some pictures.. Sadly, they were all gone... :(
Overall, I love the meal I had here in Taipan. Its just so exciting!


Pros: There's just many delicious selections over at one place!
Cons: Better dine here with your ma or your dad, if u have a big appetite like me :D
Overall Experience: 4.5/5

Taipan Seafood World
WTC Mangga Dua Lt. 6
Jl. Gunung Sahari
Jakarta

The Start of Something New

Err.. I myself has been wanting to have my own blog. A blog where I could share what I like to people that share the same interests with me, and to help others as well with.. choosing what they want to eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner :D, as well as sharing delicious pictures of food!

Growing as a big kid, it is my mom who plays an important role of creating my obsessive feeling towards food. (Yes, as a mom, she cares about me, feed me well... with good tasting foods of course!). I myself has been called the 'one-stop information center for food' - by 90% of the people around me. With this gift that I was given, here I am - sharin' to you all what I have been enjoyin.

Before I went further though, there is this one thing I wanted to point out.  I am not a professional critique, nor a professional photographer. This bloggin' thing - is relatively new for me. You can just call me.. a rookie on these kinds of stuffs. So, accept my early apologies and I promise that I will improve as time goes by.

Enjoy what I have been preparing so far for this blog! Enjoy reading the Food Gazette!
Rayns Raymond.