Seed

You might now picture a greenhouse-alike cafe, or garden-concept one as you heard the word ‘SEED’. Well, I wouldn’t deny that same thing happened to me at the first place. However, the real place turned out telling different story. 

Taking place at the well-known Plaza Kemang, I bet it’s super easy to find the spot. Ohhh, feeling like the good old days, spending the slow weekend at Kemang, enjoying awesome brunch and having coffee rally, jumping from one cafe to another one till late. Nowadays it’s just felt kinda far away from home and I needed reap the leftover energy. But yeahhh, there I was, being back to get myself indulged!

As usual, I still haven’t gotten bored of clean white interior, up till this second. It just seemed to offer the ultimate peaceful ambiance that let your mind get recharged. Hence, though the space wasn’t that gigantic, it’s a comfy one for me to spend long hours. 

Iced Lemon Sorbet Tea (IDR 50k)

Opting for freezing one as I felt like melting in the midst of this hot capital city, this peculiar one got me hitched. Well, I guessed you knew what I meant when you read the drink’s name. The picture did tell you that the name literally described what it featured. Lemon sorbet dipped into ice tea, which for me was interesting idea to transform the simple ice lemon tea into more inventive presentation. If you wondered how it tasted, I would be blunt to say it’s just similar to general ice lemon tea, so indeed the concept and the appearance sold itself best. 

Hot Honey and Lemon (IDR 35k)

If you belonged to the ‘hot gang’, you did have the quite uncommon option. Not meant to say it’s not familiar, just that you wouldn’t easily meet it in every place like either ice tea or ice coffee. As expected, it was like comfort drink you could go for, especially if you’re demanding natural sweetness. 

Creamy Truffled Carbonara (IDR 110k)

Hold on fellas... don’t get emotional with the picture! I did drool again when posting this picture, imagining my ‘first meeting’ with the dish. As much as I loved truffle and creamy carbonara, that pretty much described my engagement toward the dish. It surely had me blown away with its hypnotizing truffle scent. When the appearance was undeniably irresistible, the taste wasn’t less addictive! Though I wished the spaghetti could be cooked slightly longer to make it become al dente, the creamy sauce was so rich and flavorful, and the truffle mushrooms as well as bacon bits turned it into perfection. Though it might look a bit pricey, the generous toppings made it worth the pennies paid. 

Miko’s Lava Ube (IDR 60k)

A fan of lava cake? If you just nodded your head, my next question would be how many flavors of it have you ever had? If it’s just chocolate, you might wanna ‘catch-up’ guys ;). For you who said you’ve had more than one flavor, perhaps your other one would be either green tea, vanilla, or white chocolate. How about ube? YES UBE, that purple yam, which some people commonly called as either taro or sweet potato. If you’re first timer looking at such dish, you’re not alone as so did I. Being a fan of molten lava cake, for sure I was so curious to try this version. Beautifully presented in the peculiar purple color, besides containing the runny ube filling, it was also accompanied by yummy vodka sauce. As the filling was thicker, the thinner sauce came as perfect balancer to it. The main cake was scrumptious, being served at flawlessly fluffy texture. The ube crumbs added extra excitement into the game, bringing more variety into the palatable dessert. 

All in all, I was totally spoiled customer in my premiere visit to Seed. The foods especially were highly recommended to try! I could even picture myself already, coming back for exactly the same combo of main course and dessert <3

Taste: 7.5/10

Place: 7/10

Service: 7.5/10

Price: 6.5/10

Thanks for reading! :)

SEED

Address: Jl Kemang Raya No. 88

Phone: (+62 21) 7191 707

Operating Hours: Mon - Sun 8am - 9pm

Instagram

Find me on:

Facebook . Twitter . Instagram

jessicagaby@ymail.com

Hygge Coffee BSD - Full Menu Released!

For those who have read my first post on Hygge BSD, here you go with the updated one, when the menu is all ready-to-serve! Yeeeaaayyy <3. PS if you haven’t read it, go checkout the link to skip your regrets ;)

OK I wouldn’t lie to myself, despite the place was just right across my office, I simply found my struggle to pay more visits due to the hectic days. Hence, this weekend I didn’t wanna miss the chance for being able to go there. 

The place wasn’t less packed than it usually was, with tables were mostly fully occupied. It did stay super cold, but surely helped in the midst of the hot sunny BSD. After taking awhile being in my complicated dilemma of picking my orders, I finally made up my mind with what to have for this slow weekend lunch. For sure, both the tummy and the brain deserved their feast now!

Lily in the Pot (IDR 55k)

I started with this cutie pie, whose presentation surely got the crowd's attention. I at least got some friends on my Instagram commenting and getting curious what the drink actually was. Basically, it's comforting mix of lychee and yakult, served with diced-cuts of lychee. Well, simply said, how could the mix turned wrong as I bet the pair was indeed lovable combination that most of us loved either being served solo or together. Great thing, you could have it shared with a friend!

Hanging Tender (IDR 180k)

Specially crafted for the beef lover, the dish served you luscious beef slices whose wellness level could be customized as per your preference. Mine was medium, where you could still see the beautiful pinkish color on the meat. The texture was juicy and tender, exactly like how the name told you. 

The chimicurri sauce, complemented the dish well with its touch of parsley, garlic, and olive oil. Those who loved onion must have spotted those onion slices which were used to put the sauce in, just exactly like me. They might be not the main actor of the dish, but were surely extra happiness for me as they tasted sweet and yummy. Perhaps my only additional request would be to add just a little bit more salt and blackpepper into it, then voila!

Pork Crackling (IDR 115k)

Despite I knew this dish might not be an option for everyone, but for sure I should still share the joy to the ones who could have it. I was at first astonished looking at the huge portion when it's first delivered on my dining table. Actually, it should have come with a quite sizable bowl of rice, which apparently was similar to Hainanese rice in appearance. YESSS you heard me right, those 3 long huge slices of pork belly still came with rice! Super satisfying portion for typical Indonesians who didn't feel like eating without rice. 

One thing for sure, this menu was MUST MUST HAVE for me and I would call it the champion of the day. The meat was cooked into perfection, soft and delicate at one edge, and flawlessly crispy on the other. If you usually saved the crispy part to be enjoyed at the end (just like my experience), this time you needn't worry as you had quite a lot to spoil your palate. Moreover, not only the protein that was there on the plate to pamper the appetite, but also the special Andaliman sauce which the house was so proud of. This Batak-originated sauce made of green chili, candlenut, and garlic was indeed most of the times being paired to fried pork in its origin area.  

Jackfruit Panna Cotta (IDR 45k)

Being so full with the earlier two dishes didn't stop me from having the sweets to impeccably end the dining session. Honestly speaking, this first dessert was actually not that appealing when I spotted it on the menu. However, nothing's wrong to give it a try, wasn't it? Some might mistakenly think it's mango panna cotta, just like the common flavor you've met elsewhere. Nonetheless, Hygge was being more inventive, using jackfruit as the main ingredient. To note, it's not merely flavoring as you could feel bold jackfruit taste in the dessert. Surprisingly, it proved my initial thought wrong as it tasted so scrumptious. Being so silky and not overly sweet, I was sold to the panna cotta at my first trial! Like literally melt in the mouth!! Not to mention the sweet and salty mixed nuts put on top which gave extra pleasure into the cup. Luckily my sister wasn't into nuts so I could have all of 'em for myself ;)

Regal Banana Pudding

If I had two savory dishes, I made it fair to the desserts so I did take two of them (*self justification*). Actually this one wasn't available yet on the menu, but offered by Hygge team. From the presentation you might tell that you had quite abundant whipped cream there, surrounding the banana pudding placed right at the center. I honestly preferred them to serve less whipped cream, just to be put as side decoration. Nevertheless, forgetting the whipped cream thingy, the regal banana pudding itself was super YUM! You could feel like banana, milk, regal biscuits, and vanilla altogether crafted an awesome party in the dish. You didn't need to worry of getting nauseated of the dish being overly creamy, as the banana pudding was more into the dense type one. Don't overthink it, just take your chance to let your taste bud get satisfied!

If you still recalled that in my first visit I was deeply in love with the coffee yet had no special attachment to the food, this time I was willingly giving extra +1 point to the food score. Both the savory and the sweet ones didn't make even single failure in getting me impressed. Highly recommended to try!

Taste: Food 7.5/10 | Coffee 8/10
Place: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Price: 7/10

Thanks for reading! :)

HYGGE COFFEE

Address: Upper West Experience Center, Jl. BSD Raya CBD 55 Kav 1-12, BSD, Tangerang

Operating Hours: Mon - Fri 8am - 10pm, Sat - Sun 8am - 11pm

Instagram

Find me on:

Facebook . Twitter . Instagram

jessicagaby@ymail.com

Estuary Cafe

Destiny seemed to bring me back here in Yogya after 2 years ago visiting it for the very first time for office event. This time, it’s for attending friend’s engagement which luckily was at the same time with long weekend! Well actually Thursday was not, but let’s count it as day-off (the beauty of agile working played role finally!)

If you’re a first-timer just like me, you would never expect you would find this chic and minimalist coffee shop at the end of the journey. Despite having its own parking space, the plenty numbers of guests made it seem not enough and you needed quite advanced driving skill to make it through during peak hours. The place looked like a huge fancy house with contemporary design. I loved all the setups, how they mixed the indoor and the outdoor areas, the seats arrangement, including the green touch which didn’t only give the natural ambiance and being food for the eyes but also beautified and well-balanced the monochromatic tone. 

The order point came right after the entrance, where you should pay and finish getting what you wanted prior to getting a seat. I didn’t get troubled for not being able to order from the table though, as I could see the waitress and waiter were very helpful. They got you the details to any of your queries in their fingertips. By the way, I personally thought it’s not as affordable as typical cafes in Yogya, but surely was better-off if you compared it to the similar ones in Jakarta. 

Mocha Rum (IDR 33k)

Being kinda peculiar with that ‘rum’ as the last name, the hot drink caught my attention. It’s totally halal guys, since the rum was concentrate only. It’s bit unfortunate that the rum could be barely tasted though, so it’s more into just mocha. Like typical mocha, pretty nice with mix of coffee and chocolate flavors, just that the latter one was slightly stronger than the first. 

Iced Creme Brulee (IDR 35k)

As you might have expected, latte with layer of caramelized sugar on top. Good to enjoy it with cold version as the melted iced cubes helped to neutralize the flavor so it didn’t go overly sweet. Just as the first cup, the coffee was pretty pleasant being medium bodied and having smooth after-taste. 

Estuary Frappe (IDR 35k)

If you’re more ‘explorative’ and demanded something more uncommon, go for their house specialty, the Estuary Frappe. Presenting the base of banana, those who’re in love with this fruit must be up for this. Luckily it’s not coming in huge portion as it’s quite fulfilling. Nice alternative option for those who’re not in the coffee game. 

Bread Butter Pudding (IDR 35k)

Despite this was my friend’s order, it was one of my kind of desserts. The appearance was prolly not a jaw breaker but the taste was not disappointing. The cinnamon scent was dominating and the fluffy texture was comforting. It might be not the one with abundant toppings of walnuts and raisins, but did worth the try :)

Oreo Cheesecake (IDR 23k)

As an addict to cheesecake, spotting the slices sat on the display, I just couldn’t hold myself from having one. Although the tummy was like screaming it had no more space left, the eyes and the brain wouldn’t want to synchronize, and then there was the Oreo Cheesecake took off from the fridge and landed on my table. Just like how I liked it, it’s the creamy yet dense type one, with thin crunchy base that featured oreo. It did wear the crown of soft cream and oreo, which complemented the cake well. Shortly said, I wouldn’t call it the best Oreo Cheesecake ever, but no reason to skip the delicacy worth less than 25k!

Having my afternoon tea break only, I could say the place was a pleasant one to spend time, either in small or big group as it’s spacious and cozy. So if you’re staying in Yogya or would be in Yogya, now you had one more reference to follow the hype.

Taste: 7/10

Place: 8/10

Service: 8/10

Price: 7.5/10

Thanks for reading! :)

ESTUARY CAFE

Address: Gang Code 3, Karangjati Wetan, No. 170C, Jl. Monjali No. 45, Yogyakarta

Phone: (+62 274) 5014 118

Operating Hours: Mon - Sun 10am - 0am

Instagram

Find me on:

Facebook . Twitter . Instagram

jessicagaby@ymail.com

Myriad

Just like the real world where physical appearance might not be the representative of everything, same case happened with my first (and prolly the only) visit here. The clean and minimalist white-based interior stole my attention as the place seemed to be so comfy for spending long hours. It’s like dining in a glass house with windows surroundings the dining area. It’s unique and creative to also put glass walls in between some of the spaces, so you felt like watching other people next-door.  

Nevertheless , the love-struck only lasted for awhile and there came the reality - the terrifying service, even right at the first point of contact which was the entrance. I was firstly welcome by the short queue, with no waiter standby for the waiting list. Trying to find one, finally the guy appeared and told me that the venue’s fully occupied so I had to be on the waiting list together with all the people coming after me which started to pile up. Sitting there for awhile without any sign that someone’s going to call us, I entered the venue asking how many people they had on the list so I could estimate how long I needed to wait. Sadly I need to figure out that the list was never there so they just asked us to wait without any certainty. Trying to break the false hope, I looked around and saw some vacant tables inside and I right away asked why then I couldn’t sit there. Just by then they finally permitted me to occupy one of them. Well, first disappointment. 

Their menu was quite diverse, having the range of dishes from Asian to Western, pasta to rice-based as well as bread-based. Not only savory dishes, the sweet ones also had pretty rich varieties. 

Southern Chicken Rolls (IDR 75k)

Coming just in time, I still managed to get the dish which was only served till 2.30pm. One of them was this brioche toast topped with gigantic fried chicken, chorizo, and cheese. Nothing’s special with the fried chicken, and I did expect the sauce to be more tasty and more spicy since the menu did call out the sauce to be hot. Rather than calling the sauce as spicy, I guessed it’s more to barbecue sauce and mayonnaise. The mayonnaise would be better to go with less doze though as for my liking it’s kinda too much. I could barely taste the cheese in the dish as well, but fortunately the chorizo slices kinda helped, with its luscious peppery taste.

Green Onde (IDR 63k)

Prior to reading the menu details, I had expected that these cute petite balls would contain green tea spotting that their name carried the word ‘green’. Despite I expected the size to be closer to the general onde size, I did admit the presentation looked outstanding (if I pretended that raspberry sorbet wasn’t melting when served). Well, who would have thought simple fried traditional dessert could turn out this fancy? The ‘play’ of refreshing and sour taste from the sorbet with the sweetness from the matcha and chocolate soil was undoubtedly smart. Just improve the ball size a bit, so the matcha filling could go bolder as well (and perhaps ensure the sorbet wasn’t melted already when landed on the table), then the dessert would be top-notch!

Lychee Cordial (IDR 49k)

Looking that this mocktail mixed the most numbers of ingredients, it tickled my curiosity to give it a try. Pomegranate, lychee, orange, apple, pear, and lemon; yep quite much and I also thought never in my lifetime I got to enjoy all in one. So being my premiere, I expected the glass would be super colorful with the abundant mixed-fruit slices. Surprisingly, it’s just my wishful thinking as what I had was mixed fruit concentrate I guessed. I wouldn’t call it bad, being refreshing enough with the burst of soda. Nonetheless, perhaps just kinda pricey?

Sour Raspberry (IDR 42k)

Coming in similar color, despite the name said sour, it’s actually sweet and just like general mocktail, the sparkling soda sensation was surely there. The blend of french vanilla, raspberry, lemon, and strawberry (as what the menu called out which I might not mention completely only by sipping) tasted refreshing enough, but not something I would want to go back for as I didn’t find anything hooked my taste bud strongly. 

Enjoying the place and getting mesmerized by the interior, it’s just disappointing to know the service was terrifying. In the end, I did value warm service as I did think when you enjoyed it, you would always have reason for coming back.

Taste: 6.5/10

Place: 7.5/10

Service: 5/10

Price: 6.5/10

Thanks for reading! :)

MYRIAD BISTRO

Address: Jl. Prof. Joko Sutono SH 31, Senopati, Jakarta

Phone: (+62 21) 2708 1206

Operating Hours: Tue - Sun 7am - 11pm

Instagram

Find me on:

Facebook . Twitter . Instagram

jessicagaby@ymail.com

Hygge Coffee BSD

Having been to its PIK outlet and got sold to its coffee at my first trial, I was super excited when first spotting Hygge’s signboard was there up on the wall of the building right across my office. Yeah, you heard it right! Right across my office!! How nice, wasn’t it? Just 5-minute walk then BAM! There I was!

It’s actually not yet the grand opening, so please do expect that the menu wasn’t complete yet. Still many of those listed were not yet available and the brunch ones were only available till 12. One thing that impressed me was the waiter could mention which were available and which were not very fluently though they’re quite much to memorize. They showed kind gesture by pre-briefing the consumers before we even opened the menu book. Despite all those facts, the ugly truth wouldn’t stop me from trying for sure. Well, again it costed just a blink going there ;)

I loved loved loved the interior and the creative arrangement of the venue. Pink, white, and green made the chic trio, which prolly was at the top chart of most-picked color combination by any newly opened coffee shops. The display racks, the petite flower vases, and the tiny decoration all over the corners simply crafted gorgeous details that made the place felt cozy. Having the office wifi even reaching this coffee shop, it just seemed too perfect to be true. 

Pomodoro Waffle (IDR 75k)

From the name you might have been able to imagine the tomato sauce featured by the dish. Yes, you got it right there, but you actually got extra bonuses of proteins as the dish featured fried chicken and sunny side up as the toppings. Despite both the waffle and the chicken were unfortunately slightly overcooked and I did wish the chicken could be more flavorful, my palate did fancy the buttery aroma of the waffle and the perfectly runny egg. I did like the twist of sweet and savory flavors presented, as it prevented your palate from getting ‘easily bored’ of the dish. So perhaps the cooking time could be cut a lil’ bit and voila, there was the yummy dish on the table!

Baked Alaska (IDR 35k)

Some people might have been familiar with the dish, but let me introduce you to it if you haven’t. Basically it’s a dessert containing ice cream covered by torched meringue. I used to eat the one belonged to Island Creamery a lot, but not having them for awhile made me felt excited knowing Hygge served it. Surprisingly, Hygge’s version wasn’t serving ice cream but chocolate cake. Honestly speaking, it’s bit too sweet albeit I was so much into sweets. I didn’t mind for substituting the ice cream with cake, so long as the chocolate could be slightly bitter, meaning more to the dark one. Luckily the berries helped a bit in balancing the overall taste. If I might give one more suggestion, I would prefer having the meringue less sweet as well. 

Hot Cappuccino (IDR 35k)

Even though I might be not strongly impressed by the food, the coffee got me hooked right at the first sip. I was actually there for the coffee only at my premiere visit and it’s also the reason bringing me back there. Shortly said, it’s served just the way I loved my caffeine cup - bold flavor with  medium body, yet not acidic and smooth after-taste. Well, I now had more options than Starbucks for the morning doze :)

Hygge Latte (IDR 50k)

If that’s my favorite warm version, this one was my other recommendation from the cold selection, and was Hygge’s signature one from the coffee-based drink as well. The beverage directly made me recall of my all-time favorite Pison’s Caramel Macchiato. It’s iced latte served with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream on top. As the coffee was so intense, once the vanilla ice cream melted, it became perfect and not even turning too milky! Though I had to admit it’s kinda costly, I would surely be a lame to this cup. MUST MUST TRY!!

I couldn’t wait for trying more from the menu once they’re all available. I did hope they improved the taste especially for the main dishes and desserts, and I bet the place would absolutely be a hit. Lucky me, it’s literally just across the office desk!

Taste: Food 6.5/10 | Coffee 8/10

Place: 8/10

Service: 8/10

Price: 7/10

Thanks for reading! :)

HYGGE COFFEE

Address: Upper West Experience Center, Jl. BSD Raya CBD 55 Kav 1-12, BSD, Tangerang

Operating Hours: Mon - Fri 8am - 10pm, Sat - Sun 8am - 11pm

Instagram

Find me on:

Facebook . Twitter . Instagram

jessicagaby@ymail.com