Dondonya - HK

Hey guys.. Sorry for not posting at all during the month of January. I was super busy with my University applications and my CAS stuffs. So yeah. During the four day break given by my school, I went to Hong Kong (again) for some university tour and well.. leisure stuffs.

One memorable food I ate during the trip.. happens to be this one. As I was walkin around the mall... with my Mom, my Sis, and my Dad shopping... We found this establishment somewhere near the makeup alley.

So yeah. This Japanese establishment serves everything Japanese - except Sushis and scrumptious desserts. Just observe their name: Dondonya. Roughly translated into Bowl-bowl house (thanks Calv) But hey! Their food are superb! Like.. totally awesome~ So.. during the writing of this post I checked out their website and checked their webpage and I found lots of interesting facts about their establishment. First, they claimed that they only used premium Akita-komachi short grain rice. In which I believe.. that particular rice is a rice with excellent quality.

Ahem. As we entered the restaurant.. We were greeted nicely and was brought to the edge of the restaurant. The interior itself was nice. It was not too traditional but more casual-looking. As I came into ordering.. we were automatically given a bowl of egg.. and a serving of chili pepper.

We ordered quite a lot indeed. I myself... ordered their BBQ Beef Rice Bowl. Looks superb and tastes excellent. The cut was generous.. and the rice itself was full of fragrance and rich in terms of its taste.

BBQ Beef Rice Bowl 

Meanwhile.. my sis had the Garlic Pork with Egg Rice Bowl. The same.. The cut was right for me.. and the taste was nice as well. Wish there's a restaurant in Indo that could serve a bowl like this..

Garlic Pork with Egg Rice Bowl

Last but not least.. my dad. He ordered the star dish here.. Judging by the fact that this particular menu was shown quite often at a large size in their menus.. as well has their promotion board up front by the entrance. Here goes.. the Deep Fried Pork with Egg Rice Bowl.

Deep Fried Pork with Egg and Miso Sauce Rice Bowl 

Yeah.. I gotta censor some of the pic. I believe you would not wanna see my Dad's fatty stomach. Haha.
Of course.. we ordered a sukiyaki as well for our lunch. Trust me. It was cold in HK at the time of visit and we needed something piping hot!

While it may look like an ordinary Sukiyaki while it was being cooked.. This one is Wagyu. What amuses me.. Is how they serve the raw beef on a plate. Sooo tantalizing.

Saga Wagyu Sukiyaki x2

And you know.. I don't think there's any restaurant in Indo that would cut a meat like this....

One thing to note.. the assistant manager was cooking for us at that time. She cooked everything so neatly. She boiled the meat one by one to not let it overcook.

And all the extra egg... she soft boiled em. perfecto~

Overall. The meal I had was very nice. I guess the price was worth it. Well.. My dad doesn't seem to mind at all paying HKD $1.379 for all of this. Excellent food. Excellent service. No communication issues as well.


Dondonya Honten Japanese Restaurant
Elements, 1 Austin Road
Kowloon, Hong Kong

Teritorri - Teriyaki Experience

Okay. I have to admit that it is just five weeks since the start of a new school year. As a twelfth grader, things are sure tough as I have to keep my grades up for the first quarter of the academic year for the sake of my predicted grades. Oh my...

Whatever. The first day of Lebaran break, I went to Pondok Indah Mall to try Teritorri. I've been always wanting to try Teritorri since I've read an article from a free-to-grab magazine reviewing this establishment when I gathered with some friends at a cafe in Senayan.

And yeah. Sorry for the pic if it does not look really nice - i forgot to bring my camera that day.

So as their tagline mentioned: They are here to offer its guests a quality teriyaki experience. Located in the cozy Area 51 of PIM 1... I think I'm gonna have a nice lunch here at Teritorri.

Their specialty - of course Teriyaki-style cooked dishes. With two signature sauces: Original Teriyaki and Spicy Teriyaki.

So bla-bla-bla. I ordered.. My sis ordered.. And my mom too. However.. Apologize for only showcasing you my readers three dishes. I need to use the restroom when the dishes arrived... And mom and sis.. well.. already ruined the presentation of the dish.

 

So for me, I decide to have the N.Z Rib Eye with their Original Teriyaki sauce. Grilled to Medium well... This baby's juicy and tender.. And yes. I love their teriyaki sauce.

Next up.. Is the Teritorri Roll - a fusion sushi filled with teriyaki beef and topped with sliced unagi and avocado. Another nice teriyaki dish. Delicious. 

Not to forget.. I also ordered some Yakitoris for myself. Two skewers of Garlic.. And Two skewers of Beef Enoki. And.. Very Nice. 

Since they specialize in the so-called Teriyaki sauce.. I do have to comment on their teriyaki sauce. I love the fact that their teriyaki sauce tastes different from what other establishments has to offer. While some establishment only serves its customers teriyaki sauces that are only sweet, For me Teritorri serves me a delicious teriyaki sauce. It is not too sweet, yet I love the smell of the sake. Just strong enough to make you want for more. :D The spicy sauce? Well for me its nice to have an addition of a hot sauce.. but I guess the original will do just fine for me.



Overall, Nice food. Nice Sauce. Nice Ambience.

Teritorri
Area 51
Pondok Indah Mall 1

Sushi One, HK

First of all, I would like to apologize for any delays that occur during the baking process of this post. Apparently, a rival ISP has cut down my internet cable the other day.. turning my connection off for four days. And now.. here I am with everything working juust fine.

PS: Here's the thing. If you missed me, follow my twitter at @foodgazette, or checkout my Instagram at rayns8. Got it?

Okay. Lets get back to the point. shall we?

Seeing this kind of crowd the other night makes me curious about this establishment not far from where I am staying in Hong Kong. Well.. the last time I've been to Hong Kong was.. Seven years ago? Things have changed a lot for sure.

 
So after all the craziness (not thrill) I had in Disneyland.. I then head to the same Sushi One during a late lunch. Therefore... The place was nearly empty. But there's some customers with us as well. Ah. Finally! A peaceful lunch.

Once me and my family was fitted in... We then filled out our orders on our own.. and you know what? It was really puzzling (I borrowed this from someone) filling out all these sheets. Seriously. The writing was too small for my parents to read... and there was just too much forms to see and fill.

And yeah. As a family, we took a very long time sorting out all our orders. But as the foods arrive.. yaaay!

So from left to right: Inari, Sashimi and Shrimp Sushi is okay..
                                     The Beef Roll: Something that I have never tasted in any Sushi joints in Indo.. and
                                     this one's actually unique! But this one's raw. So mum dislikes it.
                                     Tempura Roll: The same said so.
                                     Hiroshima Oyster with Cheese: I love the idea.. :)
                                     Seared Supreme Wagyu Beef: One word.. Delicious. Comes in a heavy price tag
                                     tho.. 1 portion = 1 roll.

The order does not end there.. we also ordered:

The said-to-be bite-sized Tonkatsu.
 

Agedashi Tofu. To be truthfully honest.. I like this tofu. I don't know why.. I used to not really like Agedashi Tofu.. But this one's okay. And its nice.. With not too much soy sauce all-over it, it tasted just fine. Not too salty.. and most importantly, no katsuobushi. I like katsuobushi.. but sometimes.. these bushes can get really annoying. SERIOUSLY. Some joints in JKT does annoy me -___-

Enough with the Katsuobushi.. I also ordered these sizzling dishes:

Left: Hotplate Scallop (Hotate) Right: Skewed Mushroom and Bacon & Asparagus Skewer

And lastly, I've got three more sushis that I wanted to share! (The pictures. And how it taste. Not the sushi :D). There's a saying.. Save the best for last! And these are the three dishes that I love the most.

From left to right:
So first, we got the Shrimp Tempura Roll. My favorite. I'll definitely order this kind of sushi at any establishment and this has been one of the best.
Next up.. is the Salmon and Inari Roll. Love it. The salmon is thin enough. And its okay.
Lastly.. is the is the Crab stick with Cheese and Crab Roe. Y-U-M. My mistake with the plastic cover. I finished this one quite fast.. so.. you know why.

To wrap-up, I love Sushi One. It has offered me a new Sushi experience from what I have been experiencing in Jakarta. Despite the um.. menu issue.. Now I understand why this place is crowded by lots of pedestrians the other night. The sushi's quite nice.. (CRAB STICK WITH CHEESE AND CRAB ROE AND THE WAGYU THINGY IS A TWO THUMBS UP) and The ambience's okay. I'll be sure to visit this joint again when I revisit HK some other time.

Sushi One
Cameron Road
Tsim Sha Tsui
Hong Kong

Santouka Ramen

Ah! Another ramen establishment in town is now open in Plaza Indonesia. After having well.. four of em tasted... (you can check em out here) Let's try this one down. This one.. is named Santouka. This post.. is totally fresh. I visited them just the day after their soft opening. 

To be honest, I arrived there quite late. Well.. not late to be exact.. It's just 11.15. Which means, they have just opened for 15 minutes that day. And well.. they're lined up already! Woww!

With this kind of queue, I waited for around like.. 30 minutes. patiently. with mum. :D

Their facade - showing replicas of their menus

After a while then we are offered seats by the captain. Well we shared seats with some other Japanese expats. Well sorry. My stomach can't just wait any longer for comfy seats. I WANNA EAT! As I place my butt on the chair, we are given this cold iced water. To me, its just tap water I guess. So I didn't touch em. Mum didn't touch em as well. After a sip then my mum and I ordered for our food. So here they've got four kinds of broth: Shio (Salty), Shoyu (Soy-sauce), Miso, and Kara-Miso (A spicy version of the miso, I guess.) Too bad that they didn't have the pork sides ready at the time of the visit!

Inside their ramen joint. Small and Squishy.

Dressings Available - just powdered chilli and pepper. On the right is the complimentary iced water I commented above. 

After waiting for sometime, here comes my fooood! Ta-dah!!

Small Shoyu Ramen

For me, its delicious :) but there's a few things I would like to say. First, The ramen less milky compared to other Ramen contenders like Marutama. Secondly, umm.. more chashu please? I paid 70k for it yo.

Small Shio Ramen

Mom said this one's okay. No more comments. She didn't really get it why an Umeboshi should be there...

For the sides, Yes. It's too bad that we cannot have the pork cheeks. We ordered Tori Kara-age instead. Its okay. But nothing special. To make even more delicious.. you definitely need to sprinkle some pepper.

In Conclusion, this new joint is delicious. But if I have to talk about the economic side.. I still prefer Marutama's. For me, its kinda overpriced for a small bowl of ramen. You can get a better value elsewhere. You can get more chashu in Ramen X and even... You can get a complimentary jelly in Ramen Y. and you can get a more milky broth as well in Ramen X. But the taste, well this place can offer you the original Japanese taste. I like their noodles though. Despite the long queue, I also got two vouchers. I'll definitely pay you guys another visit for the pork cheeks!

 

Your Brother in Food,
Rayns Raymond
@foodgazette

Santouka Hokkaido Ramen
Plaza Indonesia
Jalan MH Thamrin
Jakarta

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.