Prosperous Brunch at Spanky’s Ribs and Martini

What comes into your mind when you firstly hear the word Spanky’s? At first, I honestly admit that I have no idea what this word means. It just sounds catchy and very easy to be remembered. I then try to ask for help from uncle Google then find out that the word “Spank” actually has similar meaning to “Slap”. So, are you ready to be “slapped” with the scrumptious dishes? LOL!

Just giving you one interesting fact, which I also know after accessing Spanky’s website, the name of this restaurant is actually a character from an oldies TV show “The Little Rascals” or “The Gang”. The gang in this movie basically consisted of boys and girls who came from different races but made friends and treated each other equally. Thus, this restaurant actually wants to say that it serves anyone with various types of appetite. Sounds fascinating, isn’t it? Besides, I guess the friendly service from the waiters, waitresses, and the owners might also reflect the meaning of the restaurant’s name.

 

Located at Kemang area, Spanky’s actually not a new comer. It’s a quite spacious 2-storey building, which is mostly dominated with American-style design. Claiming itself as the best provider of Ribs and Martini in Jakarta, actually Spanky’s serves much more dishes besides those two. 

Last weekend, I attended a foodie gathering event held by Spanky’s and Abra Resto. It was a quite distinctive one as I didn’t only enjoy tons of foods served, but also joined the martini-innovation challenge. So basically, the joiners were given basic training on how to create martini, then we were given lots of ingredients for us to invent a new martini menu. Curious to know what my creation was and whether I win? Let’s ‘eat’ first!

 

Bitterballen

  
I believe most of you have been very familiar with this finger food. For you who doesn’t know this or maybe have seen but don’t know the name or the taste, Bitterballen is basically Dutch croquettes filled with beef ragout. It’s crispy outside as it’s breaded, but quite smooth inside as it’s mainly made of potatoes. The taste is okay, but I prefer it to be less salty and I enjoy it more without the mustard sauce.

Cassava Fries

Fried cassava! Who on earth doesn’t love it? Okay, might be revised a little bit. Who in Indonesia doesn’t love it? It’s just like one of the simplest yet best homemade finger food! It’s been one of my most favorite snacks for years and I’ve always requested my mom to make it for afternoon snacks. So how does it turn when it comes to restaurant-version? Definitely as good as it uses to be, crunchy and perfectly seasoned! Uniquely served with cheese dip, it’s even yummier!

Mini Pork Sandwich

If you think this one’s the first main course, you’re wrong as we’re still at appetizer part. Yes, this one’s appetizer! Stuffing delicious pulled pork between petite moist buns, this lovely mini sandwich is surely the best among the three I had on that day!

Chicken Aloha Benedict

As mentioned by the name, yes, it’s Eggs Benedict. For this dish, you’ll have your poached eggs served on top of crusted bread, chicken, and parmesan. Similar to any common eggs benedict, it’s served with hollandaise sauce. Despite the slightly too salty sauce and chicken, this dish is actually superb! The poached eggs are exceptional as the egg yolks are perfectly runny. As additional information, you can also replace the chicken with pork if you desire.

Mac & Cheese Original (IDR 65k)

Mac & Cheese Bacon Mushroom (IDR 79k)

Next is one of the classic brunch menus you commonly find in any American restaurants, Mac & Cheese. If I may say, the sample of ultimate sophistication delivered by simplicity is this one. The dish just mainly consists of macaroni and melted cheese, but this simple combination is indeed able to pamper my taste bud very well. Though the original version of the Mac & Cheese is already very good, you’re still given the option to deliver extra happiness for your taste bud, by adding bacon and mushroom to the dish. So how’s the taste after that? Irresistible!

Spanky’s Breakfast Burrito

 

Moving on to the next menu, breakfast burrito. For you who fancy heavy breakfast, this one totally suits you. Just by looking at the picture, I believe you might have been able to guess how fulfilling the portion is. Bringing the combination of pork chorizo, scrambled egg, cheese, and home-style fries wrapped together in a burrito and then served with pork chile verde; you don’t need to put any single doubt on the satisfaction you’ll gain from this dish. All ingredients are so generously given that your burrito looks super super fat! Coming to taste, one word, mind-blowing!

Olive Fried Rice (IDR 69k)

As the owner understands Indonesian very well, Spanky’s does provide rice. This fried rice is even adjusted to Asian’s preference as it mixes chicken with quite many seasonings; including chopped olives, basil, garlic, and coriander. Just like any typical Asian-style fried rice, this one also comes with fried egg. So are you wondering how’s the flavor of Asian food served in an American restaurant? Surprisingly, it’s quite good! Just one important advice, enjoy it while hot to get the best taste :)

Spanky’s Loco Moco (IDR 75k)

As an American restaurant, serving Hawaiian dish can be said as a must. So here’s Loco Moco, served in Spanky’s style. For you who think that this dish sounds new, it’s actually a dish consisting of white rice topped with grilled onions, hamburger patty, fried egg, matchstick fries, and brown gravy. Somehow, it looked like a burger, whose buns are replaced by rice. Not only perfect for Hawaiian, I guess this one is also flawless for an Indonesian, especially if you hear that the beef patty is so tender and juicy, and the brown gravy is succulent. Accompanied by the half-done sunny side up with runny egg yolk, which impeccably suits my palate, this Loco Moco deserves to be awarded as the star of the day!

Baby Back Pork Ribs (IDR 185k for half slab / IDR 325k for full slab)

 
So here’s the one I believe most of you’ve been waiting for, the Baby Back Pork Ribs! Since one of Spanky’s specialization is Ribs, everyone certainly expects this to be awesome. For this signature dish, Spanky’s provides 3 choices of sauce; Tangy Mango Chili, Spicy Alabama, and Indonesian Barbeque.

I don’t know whether this is good or bad news for you, but unfortunately I haven’t tried this dish. Maybe it’s good because I can’t make you envy; nonetheless it’s bad as I cannot give any inputs on this one. So sorry for this, but I promise that I’ll provide the update as soon as I have my next visit on Spanky’s.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls (IDR 49k)

Already very full? Can’t get some more? Yes, no room left for main course, but definitely huge space for desserts! Any chocolate or peanut-butter lover here? If you just nod your head to either one or both of them, then this first dessert is of course a huge temptation for you. Presentation wise, it might look like there’s nothing special with this dessert. But when it comes to taste, I can say that these balls are addictive! I even can’t hold myself from having some more and even after having more, I still wish I could bring them home LOL. They’re just too good to be true as they faultlessly combine sweet flavor from the chocolate shell with slightly salty flavor from the peanut butter filling. Finger lickin’ good!

Key Lime Pie (IDR 55k)

 

However, if your palate is more into something fresh, then you should go for this Key Lime Pie. It’s pretty refreshing as the sour taste is more dominant than the sweet taste. The blend of texture within this cake is also lovely as the pie crust is crunchy, while the topping is soft and moist.

Lindt Chocolate Truffle Cake with Sea Salt (IDR 55k)

Yes I know. This cake is indeed the most gorgeous, and among all desserts, it's the one making me drooling the most as I'm indeed a chocolate addict. Poorly I don't have the chance to taste it as it's not served on my table :( 

Finishing the super prosperous brunch, now it’s time to announce my martini invention. So actually, the major ingredients I use for my ‘innovative’ Martini are cranberry, orange, and passion fruit. Sadly, it turned out quite awkward and I myself did not really enjoy the taste, so no wonder I did not win LOL. Nevertheless, it’s still a memorable and maybe once-in-a-lifetime experience.

 

 
All in all, Spanky’s is worth to try as you can enjoy its cozy venue while indulging your tummy with its mouth-watering dishes :)

Taste: 8/10

Place: 8.5/10

Service: 8.5/10

Price: 8.5/10

Thanks for Reading! :)

SPANKY’S RIBS AND MARTINI

Address: Jl. Kemang Raya No. 24A

Phone: (021) 718 2876

Operating Hours: Mon – Sun 10am – 00am

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More than Just Matcha at Matchafuku

Located at Citra Garden area, Matcha Fuku is like a hard-to-reached treasure for me. Yeah, it’s far far far away from my place. Okay, apologize for being too exaggerating, but yes I just try to be honest. I’ve been looking at people’s postings on Matcha Fuku and I can only end up staring at those super tempting Japanese desserts pictures on my phone screen. Nevertheless, I finally manage to visit this dessert café, which has been my long-waiting place to go!

Inspired by their experience visiting Japan, the owners, who’re also a young couple, then decided to establish Matcha Fuku. The name itself is basically derived from Matcha, which means green tea, and Fuku, which means luck. So, if you’re wondering the same thing as me, whether this one is similar to Fuku Matcha Thailand or not, they’re actually different.

This quite petite dessert shop is located at the second floor of a 2-storey building, right above MeaterS. As Matchafuku actually doesn’t sell any main courses, so you might go for them at Meaters before enjoying your desserts time (I haven’t tried MeaterS though so I can’t give any suggestions yet :p ). The venue is separated into two areas, indoor and outdoor, and based on my wild guess it can accommodate up to 20 – 25 people. As always, lighting at outdoor is indeed better so my friends and I prefer to sit in this area. Since we were there at noon, so it’s quite hot but still at acceptable level for me. Anyway, you needn’t worry though it’s raining, because they do provide transparent plastic cover to protect the venue from getting wet.

Telling you in prior, what you’ll see real soon are their best-selling menus. Why a lot? Because yes, the customers indeed have various preference! So let’s check out which one might suit you.

Popcorn Chicken with Barbeque Flavor (IDR 25k)

Though heavy courses are unavailable, but Matcha Fuku do serve light bites for you to enjoy with their desserts or as kick-start before the desserts. First one we had was Popcorn Chicken. It’s actually available in 3 flavors; Barbeque, Seaweed, and Chicken; but this time we had the first one. It’s a nice opening as the chicken size was just right, the seasoning was precise, and the portion was generous enough.

Shaker Fries with Seaweed Flavor (IDR 20k)

  Another snack was this Shaker Fries, which one of my friends really really loves. She even couldn’t hold herself from keep munching this one. I do love it as it’s not greasy, it’s well-seasoned, and the seaweed flavor was simply yummy.

Matcha Cake Parfait (IDR 29k)

 

Moving on to the desserts, the Matcha Cake Parfait perfectly opened the transition. If you’re into milky Matcha, just like me, I believe you surely would fall in love with their Matcha soft ice cream. It’d indeed slightly milkier compared to other Matcha soft ice cream offered by other happening Japanese dessert cafes. According to the owners, they’ve received some inputs mentioning that their ice cream needed to be made slightly sweeter. I guessed that’s the reason they came up with this version. Fortunately, it did suit my palate and I was in love with it. Combined with the toppings of matcha soft cake, shiratama balls, red bean, cornflakes, and matcha kanten; this parfait was surely a taste-bud pamperer for me. Just one input, I thought the green tea taste of the matcha kanten needed to be a little bit stronger to turn this into perfection.

Strawberry Parfait (IDR 29k)

 

If you’re not into matcha and you fancy something fresh a lot more, then you definitely don’t want to miss this Strawberry Parfait. However, it doesn’t mean that if you love their matcha then you will not get addicted to this one. The clear proof was me. I really enjoyed their Matcha, but then when I tried this one, I found that I also loved loved loved it, and even like too much! Combining vanilla soft cream with refreshing toppings like strawberry, fruit mochi, strawberry sauce, cornflakes, and matcha kanten; this dessert is surely a flawless one to have, especially to accompany you fighting against the super-hot weather.

Matcha Oreo Frappe (IDR 25k)

Not only desserts, Matcha Fuku do serve Matcha-based beverages. One of the signatures is this Matcha Oreo Frappe, whose name can definitely reflect what the contents of the drink are. It’s not as thick as common frappe and the taste was pretty refreshing. Different from the matcha soft ice cream, this one was less milky, so it might suit anyone who was not into too-milky beverages. If a little bit sugar could be added into this drink, I guessed it would be an awesome one for me.

Matcha Red Bean Float (IDR 27k)

  
Looking at the ingredients blended in the glass, I can just say one sentence “What can ever go wrong when matcha meets red bean?” These two are indeed similar to ebony and ivory, which by nature, are always suitable to be partner. This time, their combination even comes in unique version as they’re served as float by adding matcha soft ice cream. Though the texture is quite thick and therefore it becomes a quite fulfilling drink, I just can’t resist myself from sipping some more.

Matcha Anmitsu (IDR 39k)

If previously I mentioned that those who loved milky dessert should go for Matcha Cake Parfait, while those who loved something fresh should opt for Strawberry Parfait; then I could say this Matcha Anmitsu is the total solution to all preferences. You can get both the fresh and the milky elements right at the same time as the toppings are mostly refreshing since it uses fruits like banana, orange, and strawberry; but the base itself, which is the soft ice cream, as well as the additional extra happiness of condensed milk are milky.

Chocolate Explosion (IDR 40k)

As said by the name, EXPLOSION! So once a spoon of this dessert entered your mouth, BOOM! Explosions would certainly happen, both literally and in connotation. Literally as the choco bomb or more commonly known as Nutella bomb, which was basically Nutella-filled mochi (glutinous ball), would of course explode causing the Nutella to burst out once you bit it. While explosion in connotation showed how terrific this dessert was! Different from the common Chocolate Explosion you might have seen in some other “happening” dessert spots, this one provided you with far richer ingredients. It brought out the combination of quite many components; featuring vanilla soft ice cream, choco bomb, chocolate syrup, milo, oreo, and sliced almonds. Surprisingly, this one turned out to be my most favorite dessert from Matcha Fuku and I would doubtlessly go back here for this one! The owner did mention that many of the guests were also in the same boat with me, so I guessed even though you were not a chocolate-craze, there’s nothing wrong with giving this a try.

Based on my great experience, I highly recommended Matcha Fuku to any of you who’re in love with Japanese desserts. They’ve proven that they don’t only sell stunning presentation, but also impressive taste. So, you can enrich your gallery while having your tummy gets prosperous :).

Taste: 8.5/10

Place: 7.5/10

Service: 9/10

Price: 9/10

Thanks for Reading! :)

MATCHA FUKU

Address: Ruko Citra Garden 6, J5A No 12, Cengkareng

Operating Hours: Mon – Sun 10am – 9pm

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