Jason Pirelli Tandean (IG: @jasontandean)

I was after a quick lunch as I was in a hurry, and came across this place due to their Lunch Special. I guess cities everywhere are the same, plenty of restos are opening their doors to office patrons and workers who have the privilege of normal civilized working hours and luring them in with Lunch Special promos. 

@thepeoplescafe by @ismaya group is one of them, conveniently located in one of the popular shopping mall in Surabaya. I opted for their Nasi Goreng Gila (fried rice with sausage pieces and whatever in it, I'm too hungry to care about them) with iced tea package. 

They are very concerned about and obeyed the current Health Protocol, being contactless right from when you seated until you finish your session and decided to leave the restaurant. Simply scan the barcode to access their menu and you can place your order until close your bill right on your phone. Interesting. 

Cutleries were nowhere to be found, turns out they give it to you in that big brown envelope. Proof that they really love their customers despite the hardships they may face nowadays. And yeah, sealed for your protection and safety. From restaurateur point of view, this is another extra expense post which means less profit for the business, yet they took such a measure to ensure the safety of their patrons. 

Fried rice was okay, to be honest nothing special. Rice could be a tad more dry as there were clumps of soggy rice on my dish. Overall an okay dish for you who are after a quick meal. Still edible. 

Food was okay, but the post-pandemic dining experience was the big thing I'm after and adore. Hopefully you guys could recover soon and open your doors to more foodies.

Back in Surabaya, and the first meal that I had was this. Green Chilli Ox-Tongue Pasta. Basically your old trusty plain spaghetti tossed in green chilli sauce with chunks of juicy and soft ox-tongue, topped with fried garlic chips. By @pancious.id Surabaya @pancioussby 

To accompany this dish, I ordered a glass of lemon tea. JK. It's their Lemon Beer, with Bir Bintang as their base beer and some lemon flavouring. Refreshing and delightful at the same time. It tastes better than @birbintangindonesia 's Lemon Radler, I guess they added some squeeze of lemon juice into the OG Bintang Pilsner, hence the stronger lemon-y flavour. 

Pasta was cooked Al Dente, just as I liked it to be done. Spaghetti was my pasta of choice as I don't really like penne or fettuccine, always go for spaghetti. The green chilli sauce has a bit heat from those chillis, but not crazy hot as bird's eye chilli. The heat was just there to remind you this is Indonesia, we love hot and spicy food. The sauce tastes dominantly salty and a tad savoury, the sprinkles of garlic chips on top added a bit of texture and lots of aroma and nuttyness. 

The ox-tongue. Not everywhere could I find places that serve chunky ox-tongue, most of them are sliced thinly or a tad thicker. To find the ox-tongues here are diced into chunks, made me happy and fall in love with it over and over again. These chunks were cooked perfectly, not too dry, slightly juicy. Simply elevated the dish to next level. Look at how glorious those ox-tongue chunks on slide 2. 

For you who feels like having non-mainstream pasta, this place is worth a visit. They still have some more pasta dishes, classic and fusion.

First dinner of the week and we already went big on it. @bumbusatujkt was our pick and despite its Indonesian name, they are serving Korean cuisine and by far was the most proper and authentic Korean Restaurant I've had. 

Pork trotters/feet, grilled marinated eel, marinated octopus, blood sausage/sun dae, and beef soup was the menu that we ordered, and was surprised that it can feed more than 4 people. Portions are big here so if you're after a restaurant that could host your big family/circle of friends, this is one of the place. 

Side dishes flowed out generously, making my table pretty and colourful. Each of them tastes great, I personally liked the pajeon and kimchi. The table setting was on point, love it 👌 you don't have to wait for too long for your orders to be served, enjoy a bit of their side dishes then your orders will be delivered smoothly. Ours took around 5 minutes after the side dishes are served. 

The beef soup was light and hearty, you can taste the beefiness in the broth, yet it's not being overpowered. Season it with salt to your liking as it's served unsalted. 

The blood sausage tastes nicer than I thought. It's like eating vermicelli rolls with chewier wrapper, and the blood tastes kinda grainy. It sounds weird in words, have a taste yourself and you'll understand what I mean. 

The marinated octopus and eel, loved this. Octopus was still juicy and not tough like a piece of rubber. The marinated eel was too ginger-y for me, but I don't mind, it took the fishyness away and was cooked too perfection, giving you delicious plump juicy eel to enjoy. 

The pork feet. Served 2 ways, hot and cold. Served in slices, Both of them are equally good, a tad chewy from the collagens. Have them with those pickled banchans (side dishes) and all to reduce its gaminess. Dip them into the sauces provided as well to elevate its flavour, and alternate between dishes to entertain your tastebuds.

Welcoming monday means go home earlier and preparing myself for the coming day. Good meal and some free times in my hands are what I need for this session. 

Meet Kwetiau Akang. Yes, GoFood driver helped me lay my hands on these babies. Thank God for those ride-hailing/food delivery apps. Legend said this restaurant is one of the best Kwetiau restaurant in Jakarta, a must have for tourists. We have a well-known Kwetiau restaurant here in Surabaya, being told that Akang Jakarta tastes better, off I went to place my orders. 

Kwetiau is basically flat rice noodles, commonly stir fried, boiled in broth, or served as dry noodles with its condiments on the side (like Bakso Sapi Akiaw, a few posts before). Akang was famous for its Kwetiau Goreng (Stir-Fried Kwetiau) and its Fried Rice. Me and @chrisongkoo grabbed the most flavourful topping option, the special (all toppings from chicken, pork, seafood. A bit of everything). Just when I thought it was enough for a meal for 2, there comes another surprise, a portion of fried dumplings/Kuo Tie. An interesting twist of that night's dinner story. 

Kwetiau Goreng and Nasi Goreng tastes yummy. Balanced proportion of carbs and proteins, look at those cute crab claws and pork sausages. That charred parts on those carbs, oh yum. Wok Hei is the name of the game and this place is a professional. You can sense the charred flavour and aroma in every scoop of your meal, pair them with those house-made pickled onions. Sweet, tangy, and refreshing for your palate so you can keep on sending scoops and scoops of those amazing stir fried rice and kwetiau to your mouth. Don't forget some drops of sambal, too. 

The fried dumplings are crusty and have juicy pork fillings. Having just a piece would be a sin, and we regret that we only ordered a portion of it. Enjoy it with the Sambal and/or the dumpling sauce, makes it yummier.

Being stranded in the northern part of Jakarta, in the area of PIK/Pantai Indah Kapuk, the lovely couple @gideonseputra @aktalisa took us to @orbitgelato , to try and enjoy gelato like we never had in Surabaya and boy, what a decision. 

The gelato was served in a small tub/jar. Yeah folks, not those classic paper cups we usually use to enjoy our gelato with, Orbit Gelato serves their house-made special gelatos in a jar. Interesting, and to be honest for me, I like my gelatos served this way. Feels grippier and firmer than those paper cups. We got the 2 flavours portion to share, 1 jar for 2 people each. Price wise is affordable for us Surabayans, let alone for Jakartans folks. We ordered Rum Raisin and Dark Chocolate -> this was the bomb and couldn't find it anywhere else. 

Rum raisin was alright, I like it but I wish they put real Rum in it. You know, make it boozy. Maybe I gotta fly to Bali to enjoy some boozy treats, as the authorities in Java island are a bit strict regarding alcoholic drinks. Rum raisin ice creams here in Java, Indonesia are just sweet and raisin-y with a hint of rum flavour essence. 

The Dark Chocolate Gelato, oh wow. Divine. The tastes itself was rich and chocolate-y, a tad bitter. To make it better, they added some cocoa nibs into their gelato, giving you a tad of crunchy textures for your enjoyment. I have never found it anywhere else, I wish gelato parlours in Surabaya could serve dark chocolate gelato as good as Orbit's. 

Combine the two in 1 jar together, they felt like Yin and Yang, black and white, complementing and lifting each other up. Looks comforting, black and white in a cup, and tastes great as they could balance each other. The sweetness of the rum raisin, countered and balanced out with the gentle bitterness of the dark chocolate, and the little crunches was a nice addition to the party in your mouth.

It's pork o'clock.

Meet Nasi Campur Pontianak (Pontianak style Pork Rice). A plate of fluffy steamed rice served with a plateful of cuts of pork and chicken meat, bbq and roasted. We got an extra serve of crispy roasted pork because, why not? Liang Teh/house made iced tea is a special here, so it's obvious and mandatory for us to have a sip on it. 

Rice has nice texture, and according to @randyadianto who has been to Pontianak in person, those 2 bowls provided for us on slide 4, the metal and ceramic bowl, has its own role. The metal bowl with its thicker broth consistency, is meant to be enjoyed with the rice. Throw them on that bed of rice for your enjoyment. The broth on the ceramic bowl, the runnier one, on the other hand, is for you to sip once in a while when you feel like you need it. With this newly acquired knowledge, I started eating the rice and broth because honestly, I thought the metal bowl was Kobokan (a water filled bowl for you to quickly dip and wash your hands, commonly found in traditional Indonesian food stalls). 

The pork tasted a tad dry, overall. This is where those 2 bowls of broth came in handy. Have the bbq and roasted pork been juicier, our meal would be perfect. Hopefully the next time I visit this place, those pigs are friendlier to my tastebuds. Roast pork still have its crunchy skin and a tad creaminess from the rendered fat, the bbq pork and chicken still tastes like they should be although a tad dry. Those 2 bottles of sauce? Lifesaver. The green one is green chilli sauce, tastes rather bland with a kick of green chilli flavour. The red one is house made sambal/chilli sauce. Have no idea what they put in it, but it tastes wonderful, salty, aromatic, a tad pungent. I finished like 5 tablespoons of that sambal by myself. Love it.

Back to @bebinigelati , now with the 3 VIPs from Malang, who were very excited to have a staycation at Surabaya. Not saying that a city is better than another, but we all can't deny that sometimes a city seems like they have everything yet still lack a small stuff that we're looking for right? 

I tried the Chocolate Affogato, thinking that it was a normal affogato with chocolate ice cream. Upon reading the description clearer, it said (1 scoop gelato + dark chocolate shot), no mention of espresso shot whatsoever. I asked the barista to scoop me the best gelato flavour for my affogato, and boy. It did come without any espresso/coffee, pure chocolate and chocolate. 

The gelato is very chocolatey, love the flavour and texture. We already knew gelatos are lovely, and Bebini took their gelatos seriously, but I wish I discovered this flavour earlier. The dark chocolate shot, on its own, taste very chocolatey and strong, not overly sweet. Even slightly bitter, just the way I like my hot chocolates. Pour the shot onto the gelato and let them elevate each other up, it's like Yin and Yang in a cup, only no colour combo here, just the combo of texture and flavour. Imagine chocolate gelato with a soup of dark chocolate liquid, Chocolate bliss. Now this is a drink I'd happily pay IDR 40k for. Worth every single dime spent. No more words needed. You gotta try it yourself, the sensation of cold gelato and the warmth of concentrated hot chocolate, the cold and warm sensation tingling in your mouth, pure bliss. 

Bebini actually have some more interesting items such as sorbet-tea, original affogato, coffee float, basically drinks + sorbet/gelato combined into a single glass/cup to brighten your gloomy day up. If you need more options, go to their display fridge and try to have all of their gelato flavours, I'd say you won't grow sick of them.

Alrighty until my next visit then, folks ;). 

#surabaya #malang #holiday #vacation #platter #gelato #dessert #affogato #tea #chocolate #plating #instafood #foodie #foodiesofinstagram #foodporn #foodphotography #instadaily #foodgraphy #foodgram #indonesia #spices #foodhunter #foodblogger #foodlover #foodstagram #foodaholic #foodinspiration

The Malang folks would love to satisfy their craving of authentic Nasi Padang by Rumah Makan Padang Sederhana. So tricky finding the appropriate IG account of this restaurant, I'll just leave the pinpoint for you guys then. Gotta tell you, this is the best Padang Sederhana in town. Plenty of other Sederhana franchise in town, but the one in Jl. Kertajaya is the best tasting Sederhana I've had. 

You can go 2 ways here while you're having your meal: order everything on the display and have the server stack those plates on their arms (we are talking about 7-10 plates in a go, kinda embarassed me and my 4 plates-carrying skill) and serve them all on your table. Before pandemic, this is the norm. Even before you decided to choose what you'd like to have, the server will serve you a buffet of gorgeous yummy menu items for you to get hypnotized and trying each and everyone of them. After pandemic, now, they cling wrapped every single dish plates so no contaminations. Good move. 

The second way was to go directly and order Nasi Campur, as in steamed rice and a dish of your choice, veggies included. I went for Nasi Rendang, since my favourite Nasi Kikil (kikil = tendon-y part of the feet of a beef/cow. Gelatinous and delicious, again, not everyone's cup of tea). We didn't go the buffet way simply because it's too late (around 8.30 pm) and we just want to eat what we have in our minds. 

Don't forget the mandatory side dish: beef cracklings/beef skin puff(crackers) smothered in curry sauce. Looks simple yet it has such a complex flavour and ability to elevate your overall dining experience. If you haven't tried this combo then you're missing out a chunk of happiness in your life. Seriously, have a go at it and thank universe for allowing someone to craft such a genius combo. 

The mix veggie curry and poached cassava leaves + sambal are there for you regular fibre intake. Enjoy 😉 

#surabaya #padang #sederhana #holiday #vacation #rendang #halalfood #curry #vegetarian #plating #instafood #foodie #foodiesofinstagram #foodporn #foodphotography #instadaily #foodgraphy #foodgram #indonesia #spices #foodhunter #foodblogger #foodlover #foodstagram #foodaholic #foodinspiration

Snacks/munchies are mandatories for us, so here we took the benefit of being in Jakarta, to lay our hands on @martabakgadingpecenongan 78, idk if I tagged the correct account but you guys know what I mean. Order them via food delivery services so you don't have to deal with Jakarta's awesome traffic, and get both variants of the classic crust and thin + crispy (TipKer/Tipis Kering). 

Now on to the stars, Martabak Manis. Those neighbouring countries of Indonesia try to claim it as their culinary icons, but have a shot here and you'll see who deserves to have the title of the OG, Indonesia or those claim-overs. It's an oversized sweet, fragrant and fluffy pancake topped with various toppings, folded and cut into pieces. 

We got the choco peanut and cheese topping, drizzled with condensed milk. Awesome. No need to worry about the calories. There's no way a normal person could finish a whole box in one go, so I put the remaining in the fridge and have them over next few days. Without reheating them, they still taste as good as new (a tad exaggerating, but for sure they tasted damn good). 

The thin and crispy version was equally gorgeous, crispy and slightly chewy with comforting filling. Have this with a cup of black coffee or strong tea and have your arvo teatime sorted. Once you put a piece in your mouth, it's very hard to stop nibbling on it. My only regret was I only ordered 1 portion of it, should have ordered more :(