Sunday, July 29, 2018

Vallee Neuf

Sounded like unfamiliar language? Well, we’re in the same shoes if you just nodded your head. Trying to browse a little bit, I figured out Vallee Neuf was a phrase in French meant New Valley. It’s quite peculiar, yet attractive enough, just that it’s kinda hard for me to remember the name as the language wasn’t that oftenly heard by myself. It’s kinda funny as I kept having to browse for the name when I was about to go there. For sure not funny when the driver asked where I wanna go and I said I didn’t know ;)





Currently you might find it not available yet on any online map application, but fortunately they wrote the address on the Instagram profile. I then figured out it’s the infamous Ruko New Jasmine, where lately many new cafes in Gading Serpong area resided. It was getting more and more packed since the last time I was here I guessed, with cafes and restaurants sitting next to each other in that single alley. The competition seemed to play stronger now!



Occupying a shophouse, Vallee Neuf was actually not that gigantic cafe, yet spacious enough and quite accommodating as it provided both indoor and outdoor area. As the outdoor space reserved the back side of the venue, it wasn’t that hot to sit there. The theme carried was simple enough with monochromatic colors dominated by grey and light brown. 





The bar table as, which was also the order point was doubtlessly the center of attention, since that’s where all the gorgeous-looking desserts were displayed. Yes, this was surely my kind of paradise as they did focus on pampering sweet tooth like me! Cookies, cakes, pastries, tarts, just name it <3



Chocolate Mint Charlotte (IDR 38k)


The most tempting one for my sight as chocolate lover was this beautiful slice of cake. I knew I wasn’t that much into mint, but yeah my gut just said why not giving it a try. It served mousse-alike texture, with milk chocolate taste. It’s okay-ish for me, being neither too bold for the chocolate but neither too milky as well. At first I thought the edge would be crispy like pie, but turned out it’s more into soft one, kinda similar to the texture of lady finger. You needn’t worry if you weren’t a mint guy just like me, as I could barely taste the mint flavor as well. Overall, not bad to be tried :)

Paris Brest (IDR 36k)


Paris Brest always captured my attention with its classy look. That cream layer in between was always the most attractive and I was quite happy that Vallee Neuf’s came in quite petite version so I could save some space for trying more from the display! If I could rank my 3 orders, this would win the runner-up in terms of taste. The choux was fluffy and the praline cream was quite pleasant despite I wouldn’t call it best of a kind. Non-dessert lover could surely have it since it’s pretty light and not going extreme with the sweetness. 

Amandine (IDR 33k)


I was the one fell for this at first time since its glossy look made it become so irresistible. I even initially thought it’s dummy just for display since the look seemed to be too good to be true. Turning from just being additional order, actually this Amandine won the number one podium from all of my orders. The almond and butter scent could be strongly felt once it melted in the mouth! The combination of texture from the crispy pie and the moist filling was an impressive and addictive duo. Even my sister who mostly said no to almond loved it to bits!

Hot Cappuccino (IDR 37k)


The mandatory drink didn’t take absent even this time. Being the nice buddy to the sweets fellas, it tasted not bad with its medium body and low acidity. The aroma was where I wished to get something stronger though. The presentation? It's my top of mind; but not because of the latte art but the uber cute saucer, which I thought I'd never met elsewhere before.


Butter beer (IDR 42k) 


Moving to the more interesting one, when I spotted Butter Beer was served there, I knew I shouldn’t miss the chance to try it. It just made me realize how I missed sipping this drink while strolling around Universal Studio, the place that introduced me to this awesome drink for the first time. Vallee Neuf version was pretty pleasing and played great role in curing my craving, so do take this as a call for you who’s as much as myself into the drink! Not to forget, thanks to the house for the complimentary cookies and nuts, being perfect companion to my butter beer! I felt like watching movies having this set on my hand!


After my delightful experience in the premiere visit, I could only say that I was excited waiting for the upcoming one, trying more from the shelf, and who knows if they would invent more innovative recipes to spoil my taste bud? ;)


Taste: 7/10
Place: 7/10
Service: 8.5/10
Price: 7.5/10


Thanks for reading! :)


VALLEE NEUF
Address: Ruko New Jasmine HA 16 No. 23, Gading Serpong, Tangerang
Phone: (+62 21) 5568 4129
Operating Hours: Tue - Sun 10am - 6pm


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Saturday, July 28, 2018

Piknik at Arif Inn

The tagline of #butuhpiknik seemed to be booming lately, yeah prolly aligned to the hype of vuca world where everything was so unstable, unpredictable, highly dynamic- and simply said it meant require you to be much energetic and way more agile than you’d ever been earlier! Holiday has become one of the essential elements people craved for the most, some indeed for stress relief, while some might also be for social recognition. OK, cut it short, people just want that chillin’ vacay badly or in more iconic Indonesian word, #butuhpiknik!




Awesome news, Piknik Cafe has tried visualizing this into reality by establishing its uber cute summer-themed cafe, which made me once again felt the hype of such-concept in Canggu got more and more flourishing in our J-town. You might have the right picture already in your imagination with the Instagenic flamingo decoration, green plants covering most corners, catchy pink walls, and unquestionably the mandatory pool at the center completed with the cute floaties! YES..YES..YES..nothing went too far from those checklists!!



One unique fact, Piknik was actually taking place in an inn residing at South Jakarta. Well, for sure great news for the inn guests as they could enjoy kind of point of attraction, which was still within ‘the empire’ of their place of stay. For those who were more into ‘North or West kid’, this area might go too South and too rarely be touched. Nonetheless, for those staying in Tangerang just like me, well it’s not that close to home but strategic enough to be reached. Let’s not mention the traffic to shoo away the bad mood ;)





Feeling like singing Cabeo’s Havana, I started skimming the menu to trigger the excitement for my tummy. Kinda disappointing honestly, because most menu I wanna go for wasn’t available. I was even kinda confused as I thought there were more dishes not available than available ones. IMHO, if they’re indeed not ready yet, better not mentioning the dishes on the menu or at least temporarily covered them just to avoid the guests for over expecting. 


Japanese Tuna Salad Bowl (IDR 45k)


Matching the summer theme, there came the Hawaiian poke bowl. Not that much into rice, I opted for the salad version with main protein of tuna. It’s quite pocket-friendly price compared to similar ones, but I couldn’t deny that some of the veggies and the tuna weren’t that fresh. The variation in the bowl was pretty rich with lettuce, cherry tomatoes, onions, fried garlic, and olive. The dressing was luckily not bad as well, so I could still enjoy the overall taste despite I wouldn’t call it able to trigger me having my next one. 

Cenil Rainbow Ice (IDR 45k)


Cenil rainbow ice without the cenil itself; might sound weird, yet that’s the ugly truth I finally went for because other desserts were not there. This colorful shaved ice featured some toppings underneath, including fermented cassava, black sticky rice, mung bean, and kidney bean; like what we probably more familiar to call as Es Campur. Quite simple dessert, okay-ish for the palate and perhaps perfect choice to quench the thirst in the middle of the super hot sunny day. 


Mangosteen Probiotik (IDR 27k)



As recommended by the waiter, I tried this healthy drink, which was claimed as not having additional sweetener besides the natural sweetness coming from the ingredients itself. It looked and tasted more like dragon fruit than mangosteen for me, and seemed like there’s a hint of mint as well but I wasn’t really sure. Overall it’s refreshing enough, might be interesting to be tried if you’re with me in the highly curious boat. 

Purple Lemonade (IDR 32.5k)
How it looked was best described by how it was called as it’s literally purple. I loved the presentation and the play of colors as they simply looked adorable and kinda anti-mainstream. The lemon sorbet was lovely and peculiar at the same time, catching my attention at the first place! It might be debatable as my sister said it had strong leaf scent, but for me it’s actually not bad. 


All in all, I guessed the place was kinda nice for first-timer like me, especially hunting those ‘hot photo spots’! It might be bit hot in the afternoon especially if it’s a sunny day, but luckily they had the indoor space as well. The improvement that might be required was on the foods and availability. Well, stocking wouldn’t be harmful, would it? ;)
Taste: 6/10
Place: 6.5/10
Service: 6/10
Price: 6.5/10

Thanks for reading! :)


PIKNIK AT ARIF INN
Address: Arif Inn, Jl. Pertanian Raya No. 53, Jakarta
Phone: (+62 21) 7692 305
Operating Hours: Mon - Sun 12pm - 10pm


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Kedai Kokoho

Wow! Time flies like light speed!! I kept procrastinating writing this blogpost till I realized it’s already months since the visit and I still hadn’t even put a single word into the article. 



Sorry for keep you waiting for those who’ve been waiting for new post especially those excited to know more about this (not so) new coffee shop in Alam Sutera. Hmm, thinking for awhile, I did think calling it coffee shop might be not that suitable since the place looked more like one-stop shop for noodles and toast. 




Yes, the main dishes carried out by Kokoho were both the infamous Indonesian instant noodles - Indomie and the recently trending Roti Nogat. Glad news, both of them were available to be personalized as you desired, to the extent that you could add or change the toppings as you loved. 

Like a simple humble cafe, the design was pretty classic, taking more to hawker style. Nonetheless, the second floor came with the air-conditioned space as well as more sizable outdoor area. Order point would great you first after the entrance where you could see the simple menu.

Indomie Goreng Kokoh (IDR 16k) + Corned Beef (IDR 5k)


Being pretty mainstream, I went for the top ones of Kokoho’s trending chart. Starting with the savory menu, I preferred the noodles to the toast as I wanted it for the sweet doze later. A quite satisfying portion, serving 2 packs of fried instant noodles with scrambled egg and veggies. I’ve always been in love with Indomie that’s being sautéed together with extra toppings added to it, since it made the whole ingredients flavors infused into the whole dish. Moreover, I would never miss adding the extra ‘heaven’ of corned beef, my favorite since elementary and what my taste bud always perceived as best buddy for fried noodles. Paying IDR 5k additional and you would get generous portion of this happiness. Summing up what’s paid, might sound slightly pricey, but still worth the delicacy for sure. 

Roti Gempal Kombinasi Manis (IDR 28k)
+IDR 3k for wheat bread



Those loving to do culinary trip in Bandung for sure would be very familiar with Roti Gempal. Yes, that traditional big loaf, cut right at the middle, stuffed with various toppings, and got toasted. Actually Kokoho did try to fulfill the desire of all type of taste buds by serving both savory and sweet versions. Being a dessert craze, I doubtlessly went for the latter. Well, it also complemented my earlier savory main course for sure! ;)


As the name told you, it was a combination of toppings so you could choose different ones to be stuffed at the center of the loaf. It’s half choco-cheese and half nougat, yep the classic one combined with the recently trending mind-blowing topping that’s too hard to resist! As I’d had my personal favorite for this particular type of dish (I’m sure you know whom I refer to), I had high benchmark for this menu. Surprise surprise, it went WAAAAYYY better than my initial expectation, being so fluffy and showered by uber generous toppings. Great thing, to make you felt less sinful you could opt for the wheat bread by adding IDR 3k. The nougat itself was just right, not overly sweet and became great companion to the bread. It’s such a great job executed by Kokoho as it proved it played the game seriously regardless not being a first-comer. 


Es Alpukat (IDR 24k) + Espresso shot (IDR 3k)
Another trending item, but if earlier was food, this was the beverage. For me this drink was such nostalgic one as it’s my number one option to go for every time I dined outside. Yeah, good old days when my tummy size seemed to be unlimited. Simply said, it’s a mix of avocado juice, chocolate condensed milk, and abundant chocolate powder on top. 



It’s awesome to know that I could add extra espresso shot just by adding IDR 3k. I loved how the chocolate balanced the slight bitterness from the coffee and enriched the overall taste of the drink itself. Beware of getting full as the drink was indeed pretty thick - making it worth the price paid. 


Thanks for giving me one more option for yummy breakie, which was at the same time ‘so-me’! One wish, please open more outlets and make the next one at BSD (wishful but hopeful)





Taste: 7.5/10
Place: 7/10
Service: 8/10
Price: 7.5/10


Thanks for reading! :)


KEDAI KOKOHO
Address: Ruko Jalur Sutera Kav. 29D no. 23 Alam Sutera, Tangerang
Phone: (+62 21) 3005 2369
Operating Hours: Mon - Sun 7.30am - 7.30pm


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