Fresh Mango

Who hates cold creamy sweet delights? Probably one in a million people would. I love ice creams. I love frozen yogurts. I love ice cream cakes even more!  I just need them to be in-excessively sweetened coz I watch what I eat. :)

On one sunny day in Boston, I found this yogurt establishment behind Suffolk University Law School Building. Fresh Mango in Bromfield St. The place itself was simple. Not too bright though.. Although the place was painted Orange, Yellow, and white.




About their offerings - they serve froyos, shakes, lassi (what is this? Never heard of it. :) ), juices and smoothies. For their frozen yogurt.. they have four flavors daily. During my first visit, I ordered their nutella flavored froyo and I fell in love with it: the sweetness is just right.


The first day of autumn, they managed to have the Nutella flavor as well as mango, the original.. and.. pumpkin spiced yogurt. Okay. Never heard of that. Then, I decided to give it a try as a sample. However, the taste does not suit me. So... Another cup of nutella with kiwis and almonds please.


What is great about the toppings here (as you can see) is that they are not soaked in syrup. Some people might like the fact that the use of syrups makes the fruit tastes better... But I like them un-soaked in syrup. Fresh and Healthy. Yeah. One thing to note is that some establishments chose to use syrup in their toppings to preserve them longer in display. Salute to Fresh Mango to keep their fruit toppings fresh!  

Below are their price list, and the toppings they provide:


Fresh Mango on Urbanspoon

Major Changes.

To all my dearest readers,

Over the next couple of days, I am going to revamp the looks of The Food Gazette. I have decided to keep going on with the food blogging activity (yes!). The reason for me to keep on blogging was because of the fact that um.. I kinda fell in love with the food photography activity.. as well as pouring my thoughts into writing... Oh. What about the redesign? Well.. one reason: I want my blog to have a better flow so that it could be read easily without any headaches. First thing that I have changed is the layout in which all blog gadgets has been moved to the right. Secondly, I have added tabs below the header.

As of now, I am currently pursuing my bachelor degree in the city of Boston and I will be wandering around downtown Boston. So, expect me to fill up this blog with all things great of Boston culinary! I will also be going to New York once in a while... since I have a close relative living there!

Therefore, if you experienced any major glitches and mess over the blog, please do not hesitate to contact me. I would greatly appreciate your feedbacks and inputs.

Best, Raymond.

Bangka Island Food Trip - Martabak Acau, Seafood Mr. Asui, and Tung Tau

During a quarter break, I went to my Grandmother's hometown at the Island of Bangka. The Island of Bangka is SERIOUSLY HOT and they got REAL HOT FOOD (as in HOT FOOD) So.. you might wanna adjust your appetite or else you may miss the opportunity to try great foods available in the Island. Here's a list of the restaurants in which I find worth sharing when I was in the Island.

1. Martabak Acau



As one of the well known food that originates from this particular Island. You'd probably wanna try this one. But trust me, as you approach one of few martabak stalls in this Island, sooner or later, you may realize that you may find a Martabak seller from BEKASI! oh yeah.What a mood ruiner.




Is it any different from the Martabak they had in Jakarta? Not really. But this one has less grease on it.. and it has less sugar too (my tastebuds said so). Therefore, in my opinion, this Martabak tastes not as rich as the one in Jakarta, but of course, due to the less grease, this IS the healthier option!


They also had Martabak Telor in which... has the same problem as their sweet ones - their taste aren't just as rich as the ones I had in Jakarta and the meat inside is just too little. So.... those who had moved from Bangka to settle in the Urban areas must've add MORE grease to make it EVEN BETTER.

2. Seafood Mr. Asui


Ask one of the locals about Bangka's must eat and I believe that most of them will recommend you to this place: Mr. Asui's Seafood Restaurant. YES. THE RESTAURANT NAME IS "SEAFOOD MISTER ASUI". The long name: SEAFOOD KAMPUNG BINTANG MISTER ASUI.

As a seafood restaurant, it has a decent place - the floor's kinda slippery. For people like my mom who has a dog nose, you may find the place a bit fishy - and it may surely ruin your eating experience here at the establishment.

Apologies in advance for the picture quality. I was in a rush since these are shared food and at that time everyone is getting REAL hungry so I did not realize that I have set the ISO way too high. Forgive me.

Buntut Ikan Tenggiri / Baked Tenggiri Tail

Indonesians must've known this fish as it is mainly used in Bangkanese dishes, Palembang dishes, and in other areas too. At Asui's, their famous cut and menu is this. The fish itself is just baked only with salt. But in the end, it doesn't taste salty at all, and not fishy. The taste of the fish itself is just rich and tasty. Fresh!

Ikan Kerisi / Kerisi fish
The cooking method of this fish is the same as the Tenggiri's tail but this time, they bake you the whole small fish with a hint of lemon zest. My great grandmother used to love this fish - despite the amount of bones it has and she even ate it during her last days. Now I get it why she loves this fish. It's just rich like the tenggiri, but different in its own way. The lemon zest just made it better actually - because without it, it's not fishy at all.

Ikan Kerapu Tim / Steamed Garoupa
I probably talked too much about the freshness of the fish they served at Asui's so I'm not going to discuss it again. Visually, it may not look appetizing due to its white appearance (for me, an appetizing steamed fish must be cooked Hong Kong style a.k.a with black soy sauce). But never judge a book by its cover because the way they steam their fish is just DELICIOUS and UNIQUE because I never had anything like this back home! its garlicky!

Some of the other dishes we ordered at that time worth sharing as well:
Kepiting Saus Padang (Crabs cooked in Padang style sauce)

Cumi goreng Mentega (Sautéed squid in Butter sauce)

Gurame Tahu Tausi (Fried Gouramy with tofu cooked in Black bean Sauce)

If you are planning to visit Mr. Asui, just put one thing in your head: Everything's fresh so the taste shall be delicious enough for your tastebuds.

3. Tung Tau


For my daily snacking (well not literally everyday when I was there, but most of the time), we head to Tung Tau for our daily snacking, as well for breakfast. So, Tung Tau is basically a kopitiam or a Warung Kopi (you can say that!). It has been around since 1938. I ate Tung Tau at Jl. Muhidin, which is their first store ever and they serve roti panggang (toasts!) with a variety of fillings to choose:


Cheers to the hot weather with a serving of Marquisa and a glass of Milk Soda!



Here are their breads:


Yes. It looks appetizing. Unlike any ordinary kopitiams - they use a special cut that looks like this on their menu. (yes their fillings are PRESERVATIVE FREE!)


Ate their breads on a very hot sunny day and I wanted more despite the HOT breads. Their peanut butter toast and their kaya is a must try! The cheese one is also good though - I believe they don't make their own cheese - its gotta be kraft(r)!

You may have realized one thing is missing. Why is there no Mie Bangka?! Well I don't get the chance to eat em if you ask. Sorry.

It's the end of another post from me.
I'm currently in Boston, MA. and I miss most of the moments I had outside Java.

Raymond.

Pontianak Food Trip - Chai Kue, Nasi Campur Akit, Es Krim Petrus, and more!

To fill up my empty schedule over the summer break, Fels invited me to go with her back home to her hometown in the city of Pontianak in West Kalimantan with her family. So here we go using this small plane of Garuda Indonesia - a Boeing 737-500.  These days I seemed to be interested in the world of aviation!


Before Arrival: Garuda's one of a kind.

"Hey sir.. today we have egg noodles and beef! What would you like to drink?"
Yeap. I got one interesting meal onboard worth discussing.




You see? Airline meal has probably never been this greasy. But it was nice. Or is it me that is hungry? Idk. This is one of the best meal I had in Garuda. Probably due to the grease? Idk. haha.

1. Chai Kue (Near Singkawang)

Upon my arrival, we ate the Pontianak Chai Kue or what most people called Choi Pan. We ate Chai
Kues a few time, but the one we had best was this one shown below in Singkawang in a small hut.





There's 200 pieces of them (I think?) and we all finished them like literally FAST.

It is interesting to see how Chai Kue are served here because in the city of Pontianak, all establishments are likely to serve em 'HOT with generous amount of garlic on top.... unlike in Jakarta. The bengkoang (Mexican Turnip) is just crisp and awesome, and the one with Kucai (chives) are also good. And when you are in Pontianak, try the taro and the soy ones. EAT em with chilli. AH HEAVEN!

2. Bakmi Ou Kie - Sibu

CRAB NOODLES! My favorite kind of noodles! To me, the best crab noodles in Jakarta is in Bakmi Ou Kie in Sunter. But.... trust me that the Ou Kie in Pontianak is FAR BY DELICIOUS. Filled with minced pork, shreds of crab meat, fishcakes, fried fishcakes and small fishballs, this is one dish not to be missed. The seasoning is just right once it is given to you.


Take a few and I fell in love with this dish. Looking at how I ate these noodles, Fels directly stopped me and ask me to put a spoon of chilli and pepper. GOD! THIS DISH BECOMES A DISH FROM HEAVEN!

Note: Look at the bun up above my bowl of noodles, I bought a bun filled with dry shrimp (ebi) and it is awesome! It's literally bread and dry shrimp! That's it.

3. Nasi Campur A Kit.

Not far from the hotel I stayed is a mixed rice restaurant that sells a mixed rice (Nasi Campur) like the one below:



Its another dish from heaven. It's freakingly good. Even though it may look greasy, I don't care much when eating this. It's not really grease though... its like a thick clear soup and it made the rice a bit hot and soupy - making it like a Chinese Risotto. The portion itself is just right - the right amount of rice, paired with crispy pork and char siu pork with lettuce on the side.. this is another food that is a must eat from Pontianak.

4. Es Krim Petrus

Across from the school where Fels' mom used to go to lies a crowded house filled with people eating ice cream. Fels' mom calls it Es Krim Petrus because the school she went to is called 'Santu Petrus'. However, at  the time of visit, there's only vanilla and chocolate flavored ice cream. So... the chocolate has to be the obvious choice.

First I thought that this is just gonna be an ordinary home made ice cream stall. Turns out, its something special!


Yeap. It's served in a coconut with red beans on the side.

The ice cream itself is chocolatey rice. As someone who didn't eat sweets that often, I find the ice cream delicious enough and satisfying to my tastebuds. The red bean on the side made it even better and shreds of coconuts are just perfect to make this ice cream.. healthier!

5. Gajah Mada Restaurant

I sadly don't have the picture for the dishes I ate here.. It's basically a Chinese restaurant owned by Fels' family. I am not biased... but their Sup Ikan Lais is awesome. Give them a try when you are in Pontianak.

It's the end of another post. Sadly. So.. here's another picture of a Boeing 737-500, taken at Supadio Airport.


**This post would not have been made if my best bud Fels did not bring me with her family to her hometown in Pontianak. So a huge big thanks to Fels and her generous family members (Her mom, her bro, her dad, her grandma, her aunt) and all the members at Gajah Mada Restaurant and everyone whom I can't mention one by one!**

N.B: I was not paid in any matter. This is purely my review based on my tastebuds. PERIOD. THE END. END OF DISCUSSION.

The battle of the Holycows! Holycow Steakhouse VS. Steak Hotel by Holycow!


Steak. My favorite kind of dish when I talk about red meat. As a meat lover,  I am a big fan of beef. Just don't gimme their innards coz i hate those heart, lungs, intestines, brains, nose, and even their ****.

BUT.. Lets make one thing clear: I am a huge fan of Holycow! . Ever since its opening in 2010 in Radio Dalam... I fell in love on how they serve steaks. It was juicy and flavourful and their sauces has tons and tons of flavor in it. Their steaks was also one of the most affordable... at least its okay for me on a highschooler budget. It's not like... some other steak houses in Jakarta (I don't have to mention the name~) that requires mami and papi 's company or else... it will come at a cost of the majority of my monthly allowance.

One day. I heard about the so-called divorce of the two Holycows. It started to feel awkward when the two branches has different exclusives. At that time, One branch was offering ribs! But the other branch.. is serving something else that I forgot. (sorry!)

One sunny day during a hectic month.. a friend asked me: "Ray, there are two holycows?" I said yes. "Hah? So confusing yaa.. so.. which one is better?" (korean accent). Due to the recent confusion that:

  1.  many people have asked me AND
  2. the way the two holycows get mentioned from many customers about one menu that is not available on the other establishment AND 
  3.  the notable strengths and weaknesses each now-'divorced' establishment... AND
  4. the fact that Holycow is an amazing alternative if you and I at one point had no cash or isn't willing to cover the prices of Ang** House or The Steak House at **** Seasons or maybe ***back or even Tony's while you are actually craving or gonna crave for one portion of steak..

I think this post is necessary to be out there in the web. Just to make things clear.
                                                      
Personally, I was confused back then when they announced that they have split the business into two entities and both entities currently wrote that they are not affiliated with one another. Both entities made sure that logo 'A' is for the 'A' correspondent while logo 'B' is for correspondent 'B'. okay. the way I talk is getting confusing. Cut to the chase.

Logos are owned by their respective owners. Note that.

There are two different holycows in Jakarta. One is called Steak Hotel by Holycow! and is owned by Wynda Mardio. The other one.. is Holycow Steakhouse and is owned by Lucy Wiryono and his husband Afit. Therefore, (ahem) for this assessment I will be giving both holycows an assessment that are based on six different criterions that includes...

A. Restaurant Atmosphere and Ambiance                  
B. Food Quality and Taste
C. Desserts
D. Service and Extras

Assessments are based on a random visit on the two different Holycows.
> Steak Hotel by Holycow! : Mainly Graded based on TKP Kemang or TEAM HOTEL. As I call them.
> Holycow! Steak House : Mainly Graded based on Camp Senopati or TEAM HOUSE. As I call them. 
References from other branches will also be mentioned within the post.


N.B: Like what I wrote in my disclaimer (down) this post is made based on my personal experience. I am no way affiliated or biased to the two Holycows. Finally... you may have different interpretation of each of the criterion I assessed. My blog.. is only for your reference to excite your journey in dining out!

next, forgive me for the random picture quality. At some visit, I was using my sister's iphone. At the other visit, I used my Samsung. At one visit.. There goes the digital camera.

A. Restaurant Atmosphere and Ambiance
Started as a popup restaurant outside a car garage... Now.. Since the two has divorced.. Currently each of the Holycows has three branches each.
  1. Steak Hotel by Holycow! - Available at Radal, Kemang, Sabang
  2. Holycow! Steak House - Available at Senopati, Gading, Kebon Jeruk
Now lets go with each.
Steak Hotel's branches are all comfy. As the one in Kemang.. Despite the small venue.. I love their dark-black industrial design concept. At least.. It was decorated properly and I loved it. I can stay there for a bit longer and chit chat with the gang whilst enjoying my steak.

Wooden Stools that are um... Quite comfy. At least. 




Two Favorite Quotes!

Meanwhile...




First thing first. Camping tables? Uh. I almost fell of these benches once because my phone fell down and I was moving too much at that time. no more explanation. You can see how better Holycow TKP Kemang was. Even if I compare them with their Camp Kelapa Gading Branch.. in their Kelapa Gading branch, the interior was a bit more worse especially in the second floor where they used... those stools in Chinese noodle bars. TKP Radal as a homey place, but cramped in the first floor. (I have not visited their Kebon Jeruk Branch and Sabang Branch respectively.)

ATMOSPHERE & AMBIANCE Winner: Steak Hotel with their Kemang Branch. 
(Even if I compare the four branches that I have visited.. Team Hotel's outlet was more.. properly decorated and the seats are way more comfortable)

B. Food Quality and Taste

To be honest, this may be the most important thing for our tummies and tongue right? TASTE! Before that.... You guys shall see their menus.

first page 

second page

Ah. The different specialties. You can see how team Steak Hotel deals with their menus. Each branch has their own exclusives. To be honest, I have not had the opportunity to try their ribs... What I ordered during the visit of the assessment is...

The Holysteak part one. Cooked to Medium-well. 

YES. ahh. The Holysteak Part one. Juicy. Tender. That's it. It's sooo gooood! It's also a best buy. Noting the fact that it only costs me 89.000 for this while the juiciness.. can reassemble the juiciness of their wagyu.  My food partner which happened to be my sis ordered

The prime rib-eye.  Cooked to medium-well.

Wagyu Tenderloin (Taken at TKP Radal). Cooked to Medium well. 


Team Steak Hotel also has add-ons in their menus. Below is the mushroom but their bacon was also nice. 

Mushroom Sautee

Next, lets see what I've got for Team Steak House.


Yes. If you their menu... Team Steak House's emphasis is on the different choice of meats. Sadly. I should note that the CABs or their Certified Angus Beef is always out-of-stock these past weeks. Note that they also have a sauce that Team Steak Hotel did not have... which is the W Sauce. (Said to be an Indonesian Pesto)

Wagyu Rib-eye. Cooked to Medium well.

Sirloin CAB cooked to Medium Well. 

Wagyu Tenderloin 


Now lets do the talking. Team Steak Hotel.. when you observe them.. their steak was always charred. That kinda makes it feels overcooked on the outside. On the other hand... Steak House did not have any burns on their meat. Talking about variety... Hotel has more varieties of Holysteak and Ribs while House has their variety on different meats. If we were to compare the same type of steak with the same cut.. Team Hotel's Wagyu Tenderloin was a bit rougher on the outside due to the chars.. but still maintained its juiciness and tenderness. Team House's Tenderloin.. was fine with no complaint at ALL!

Talking about sauce.. Is there any difference rayns? The answer is YES. THERE IS. Comparing them with my favorite Buddy's sauce... (Observe all the pictures. ALL of them except my sister's order are all accompanied with Buddy's sauce.) The one on Team Hotel was better. It tasted like it was ever  before in the past when these two entities were still together. The one on Team House.. I say now that their Buddy's Sauce has become less salty and more creamy. My sister also agrees that Team Hotel wins for their sauce because it has more taste in it and is more.. peppery. 

Mash Potatoes: No notable differences.

Add-ons?: No add ons in Team House's Outlets.

Rayns... Spinach or Beans? I love them both.

Food Quality and Taste Winner: FAIR.

C. Desserts!
Tiramisu and free desserts has become a huge deal since both offered free tiramisu everytime someone tweet and mentioned em. But which one is more delicious?



At my assessment visit.. Sadly they ran out of Tiramisu and gave me and my sis these cupcakes instead. It is made by Cupcakes Company. I like it because it was not too sweet. However? What flavor is this again?

But then.. If we are talking about Team Hotel's Twitramisu.. I like them. Less sweet could have been better tho. Also.. Cupcakes Company's Red Velvet.. I love them!


     

On the other hand.. for Team Steak House... Ever since they changed their tiramisu supplier to WeMisu.. I think it became sweeter. Even sweeter than the previous unbranded tiramisu. They also have other flavors. Check my Loobie post. Texture was okay. Ever since they are divorced.. No more red velvet. Except Cake in a Cup.


The Cake in a cups are supplied by Mini Love Bites. Even though the Cake Cups are good. For me they suffered from being waay too sweet.

Desserts Winner - Fair.
Why Fair? I don't want to be biased just because I hate the sweetness of the desserts provided by Team House. I may made Team Hotel as a personal winner though. But.. lets play fair because eventhough they are too sweet for me... They are still good. 


D. Service and Extras
While I have not enjoyed the extras that these two contenders offered. Team Hotel's service was better. They are friendly. And get my name spelled right ALL-THE-TIME. When I visited Team House.. I say rayns that wrote me as rain the korean actor and singer. I say raymond they wrote me raimen and even ramen. But they are friendly - actually.

Extras wise.. Do you know that Team Hotel has a weekly Molecular Gastronomy giveout ? The foods are said to be maid by Namaaz dining. :) . Es Teh Dingin? Edible Soap Bar? Recently Team Hotel is also giving out free CDs.

Service and Extras Winner - Team Hotel. (Not because my name spell.. but because of the Molecular Gastronomy and the CD giveaways.)

THE OVERALLS
After having their food assessed as well as their restaurant ambience graded.. From my grading it was obvious that Team Hotel is the clear winner with 1 criterion ahead which was the atmosphere and ambiance factor.. They offered more extras and the food is good too. Despite the draw result in the taste Criterion.. It all comes back to the issue of accessibility.. and preference. You shall note in Criterion B that the steaks in Team Hotel was kinda charred. Some people might not prefer this. (It's okay for me tho.)  In terms of accessibility, Team Hotel only has outlets in Radio Dalam, Kemang and Sabang while their counterpart has their outlets in Senopati, Kelapa Gading and Kebun Jeruk. The closest to my house.. was Team House's CAMP Kelapa Gading.

In the end.... Don't get caught up by their kind-of ridiculous posters that say that the other branches is out of their connection. (Might suggest copying or whatever - they are actually.. DIVORCED restaurants.) As customers and food a food lover.. pick the one that suits you based on your NEEDS and WANTS.

Oh yeah. They are also competiting in the realms of.. cakes! Cupcakes Company... and Mini Love Bites. I have ordered cupcakes from Cupcakes Company and have some pics. Shall I... call Mini Love Bites?