Ferdy Kurniawan

Haidilao is renowned worldwide for their hot pot, I have personally been recommended to try haidilao by many of my friends. Hence, this is my first visit and experience dining in haidilao Gancit. During this visit, we ordered 1 Ma La soup, 1 Mushroom Soup, and 2 plain water. We decided to only ordered 2 out of 4 pots of soups as there are only 3 of us, would be a waste if we fill up the whole hot pot. For the toppings, we ordered some Beef Shortplate, Pork Samcan, chikuwa, lotus root, kangkung, and shitake mushrooms. 

I was quite surprised that the portion for the beef, pork, and vegies were quite big. Bigger than what I had expected. The quality of the beef and pork are top notch, juicy and tender, and it doesn't have that meaty raw taste even when cooked rare. Meanwhile for the soups, the Ma La is quite good, we ordered it to be less spicy, but still have that unique Ma La numbing spicyness. I would recommend ordering at least 1 Ma La soup for dipping with the meats. Meanwhile the mushroom is soup is very rich and umami. It's a light soup, perfect to be sipped after you've boiled everything in it. Additionally the plain water base soup is not actually plain, as they do give some chinese herbal ingredients within it, and is actually quite useful if you'd find the Ma La is too spicy, perfect for washing/rinsing some of the Ma La oils. 

For the service, I would also say it's very top notch. Super friendly and helpful staffs, as it is our first time in haidilao, they would assists and recommends us on what and how to order. Additionally, there are free mineral water, and the staff would be very attentive and refill our glass once it looks empty. 

For the restaurant itself, it's quite spacious inside, plenty of space between the tables so even if it's crowded, its not cramped. The tables are quite huge as well, the bigger tables could fit up to 8 people (but maybe only 6 during these times). 

I've  got multiple recommendations of dragot hot pot from my friends and family who lived in Melbourne as they said dragon hot pot is one of the must eat restaurant over there. So I head out to try, and at a first glance, the concept is quite interesting. You would be paying per gram of the food that you choose. Be it sliced beef, seafood, noodle, vegies, or tofu, everything is priced equally at Rp 30K per 100g, with minimum of 250g. 

During my visit, I had a mix of beef, vegies, noodle, kembang tahu, and shirataki noodles, totalling at 400g. I chose the Ma La broth with mild spicyness. When my number was then called, I was given a big bowl of everything that I had picked. To be honest, the broth itself is quite good, albeit not that spicy. There is a hint of Ma La spicyness (the numbning spicy kind), but it's not overpowering the soup or the toppings. The overall taste for the broth is still enjoyable, has that rich creamy feel to it, with a slight spicyness. I would recommend more than mild if you are used to Ma La spicyness. 

For the toppings that I had chosen, it was well cooked, although the beef is slightly overcooked for my taste (I like it rare), but otherwise, no complaints. However I would suggest not choosing shirataki noodle as it is heavier than the other noodle choices. It's the only wet noodle, while the other noodle options are dry noodles. 

Since you've been given a big bowl for the Ma La soup+topping, you could share the content with one other people, as I saw what other guests are doing. So 1 bowl of maincourse, and two smaller bowls for rice. Additionally, the ice tea is free refill, and I'd suggest getting a drink since your meal would be very spicy. 

For the service, the waiters and waitresses are very friendly and helpful during my visit. I was given a brief explanation of how it works as it is my first time visiting, and the waiter behind the drink+food bar is very friendly and helpful. 

For the restaurant itself, there are plenty of spaces within the restaurant, I would say it would not be cramped if it were to be crowded. I had visited during a weekday lunch period, and it's quite empty. 

Seirock-ya Tori Paitan Extreme ramen broth is honestly one of the best ramen broth out there. Despite being a chicken broth, it is comparable to the best Tonkotsu/Hakkata based broth. It’s super rich in flavour, have a pleasantly thick broth taste to it, every sip of the broth is just pure bliss. I’ve tried their niko-mori, regular, and ajitama version, I would recommend the niku-mori if you are looking for more meat. The chicken chasiu is wonderful as well as it is not dry at all despite being breast meat. The Chicken Chasiu complements the broth very well. 

Furthermore, I would consider their ramen noodle to be one of the best, both the curly and thick option. The noodle texture could easily absorbs the broth, and it is not floury, or having that raw flour taste to it unlike in some other ramen restaurants. The texture itself is very chewy (I ordered it regularly cooked), an overall great texture and mouthfeel that complements the broth and chicken chasiu. 

Meanwhile for the service, excellent japanese service standard. The waitresses are super friendly and helpful, and the ramen was served relatively quickly. 

The restaurants itself was kept very clean, and there was adequate space between the tables. Social distancing was kept within the restaurants and the staff is quite very strict about it, which is nice. 

Finally got the chance to try yakiniku like after being recommended by everyone. At a glance, their offering looks like a menu from kintan. But actually, the taste/price ratio is quite high. 

I took advantage of an on-going promotion during my visit, 45K for 100g of karubi set (incl rice, salad/kimchi, drink/miso), or 75K for 200g. I chose the 200g one. The karubis that was served looked to be a good cut of karubi, unlike the mix cut that you would get in Kintan. The taste of the karubi itself is less fatty, and more meaty. Personally I like to combine the cooked karubi with the garlic+spicy miso sauce. Additionally, you could choose the amount of rice that you'd get, 150g, 200g, or 250g for no additional charge (seems to be). The quality of the rice itself is quite good, a good japanese rice. 

During this covid and psbb period, this restaurant have utilised contactless ordering service to the fullest. First you have to checkin through the QR code showned in the entrance. Then you would get another QR code for both the menu and ordering. After the order have been placed through the link, my ordered was served within 3 minutes as advertised. Lastly, I could also choose to pay through online payments such as Gopay, Ovo, and CC. 

The space within the restaurant itself is quite spacious. There are space given between the seats for social distancing, but even without social distancing, the table arrangement doesnt feel cramped. 

Disclaimer: This review only covers the coffee and pastry, and does not represent the food/main course. 

Came here during a monday morning, the location itself is in the corner of hang tuah and senayan, a bit secluded, but you don't have to turn around if you came from senayan. The parking lot is relatively spacious, there are spaces for 5+ cars, and valet service is available on premise. During my visit, it's not particularly crowded, only me and 2 other guests at the time. 

The interior can be summarised as cosy, it was designed around the old building style itself. The space between walls could be a bit cramped in some area, but the lighting and table arrangement helps in creating a more spacious feeling. The ambiance is comfortable enough for working hours on end inside, although during my visit, I did not pay attention to the availabilities of electricity plugs around the tables. 

I ordered their canele, and a doubleshot espresso, each costing 35K and 37K respectively. First the canele, it was reheated/baked again, and served with a dollop of caramel. Personally I quite like baked canele, making it quite soft and chewy. The texture is very soft inside and outside, hence its a bit hard to sliced in half without squishing it. However, the taste is exquisite, sweet and creamy, especially when eaten together with the caramel. The caramel complements the creamyness of the canele very nicely. 

However, their espresso is mediocre at best. I ordered a double shot, but at a glance what they served me looks like a lungo. The espresso itself is quite sweet in the beginning, but have a quite overpowering bitterness finish. It is very chocolaty, but sadly lacking in body. I supposed the taste is similar to their parent's coffee shop, Giyanti. Personally I think the espresso would taste better with milk cappucino or latte. 

Price wise, personally I find the espresso is too overpriced. 37K for a mediocre espresso is asking too much, but then again this place was set up to be a restaurant/eatery first, then coffee shop, so the price would be slightly understandable. Meanwhile for the canele, 35K for a good canele is acceptable. 

The service is quite good, the staff is quite attentive in serving the customers. My ordered was served relatively quickly, and I was asked about how was the espresso by the barista, which is a nice gesture. 

In summary, Mikkro Espresso is quite cozy, a nice redesign of an retro/old building with spacious seating arrangement for working. However, the coffee is mediocre for the price point, while the canele is quite good. 

Came here in a saturday evening, and I have already booked earlier in the week. During my visit it's quite full, so booking is always recommended, additionally better to park in BlokM Plaza rather than near Yuki, it's hard to get a parking space, and hard to get out of the area as well. 

The restaurant itself is located on the 2nd floor, the inside is quite spacious and designed nicely with an acceptable japanese decor. As I had already booked my table, I was given the private room with tatami seating. The private room itself is quite nice, you could easily talk and chat with your friends without worrying too much about the noise you make. 

In this visit, I ordered their Otoro Chirashi Don, and chicken gyoza to share. First the otoro chirashi don, personally I felt it's too cheap to be true, only 75K, but then after tasting it, well it's acceptable for the price. To be honest tasted more like regular maguro, with slighly more fat. The taste itself is not that fresh, I could feel a slight fishyness to it, but still acceptable for the price. The sushi rice is quite good, perfectly cooked. 

For the gyoza, it is served on a hot pan, and with the skin still attached to the bottom side, a nice presentation to it. The gyoza itself is filled to the brimm, there is no wasted space inside the gyoza without chicken filling. The filling is quite nice as well, especially when eaten with the gyoza sauce. I would recommend the gyoza to share!

The service is mediocre, while the food was served relatively fast, it's quite hard to get the attention of the waiter/waitress eventhough there is already a bell inside our private room. We had to ring the bell a few times just to start our order. But other than that, its quite acceptable. Getting our reservation was not a hasle as well. 

Sudah sering saya kesini buat ngopi, walaupun bukan mahasiswa untar, overall coffee beans yang digunakan disini itu sebanding dengan pemain-pemain roaster besar, dengan harga yang cukup ekonomis. 

Biasanya saya pesan V60, terakhir saya pesan Tolu Batak dan Flores Tiba tebing, kedua beans tersebut memiliki rasa yang sangat unik. Tolu Batak memiliki aroma yang sangat seperti vanilla dan terasa manis dilidah, berbeda dengan batak lainnya yang biasanya seperti cengkeh atau tembakau, bodynya sangat light dan memiliki clean finish. 

Untuk makanan, spageti carbonara ditempat ini bisa dibilang standar, tetapi mengingat harganya yang hanya 30k, bisa dibilang okelah.

Secara tempat sendiri sebenarnya sempit, dan saya biasanya duduk di area bar. Untuk seating dibawah, terdapat banyak colokan buat yang ingin bekerja dengan laptop. Dibawah ada sekitar 2 meja dan 5 kursi tinggi untuk meja bar. 

Pelayanan disini super friendly, kesini terasa seperti ke rumah, dan penyajian minuman pun juga cepat, kecuali ya kalau lagi penuh, karena biasanya cuma ada 1 barista.