Jia Jia Singapore Hainanese Chicken Rice

Hi Eaters.

For those of you who just love to travel to Singapore, hainanese chicken rice is an absolute dish to hunt for. Consider to be the national dish of Singapore, it is just an uncomplete trip if you don't take the time to try this delicacy.
I, myself, is a fan of this fragrant chicken rice. To be honest, not so many restaurants could deliver that perfectly rich flavor that hainanese chicken rice should have. 
Luckily, now I can recommend you a place that fulfill my expectations, called Jia Jia Singapore Hainanese Chicken Rice.

It is true if one say that you can find good food not only at expensive restaurants. Sometimes you can find it at street vendors or even at a food stall just like this one.
Jia Jia is located in the vicinity of Pasar MOI, a vast food court area with many intriguing food at the lower ground level Mall of Indonesia, Kelapa Gading. You can find this food stall quite easily by searching their eye catching yellow neonbox sign, or find the food stall that displays whole roasted/whole steamed chicken.

When I came that day, Pasar MOI was so fully packed with hungry customers wanting to get a bite to eat. Luckily, the service at Jia Jia was quite fast in prepping the dish I ordered. Since the chicken was already cooked so the server only needs to cut it to portion, allowing faster service to accomodate the hustling pace of the food court.
I tried some of their recommended dishes that day. Eager to know? Keep on scrolling and watch out for drolling, LOL.

Steamed Chicken Rice - IDR 34,545

I always loved the steamed chicken in any hainanese dish. This one from Jia Jia I have to admit is so good. The chicken was so tender and juicy with a little bit saltiness I can taste and just a hint of ginger. The great thing is there's not many fat on the skin too.
The hainanese rice was just excellent. It was so so fragrant, and I can really taste the chicken stock without having the rice to be too oily. I think the rice itself might be imported ones since its shape is more longer than regular rice I consumed daily.
Anyway, this dish is truly delicious and quite addicting. That hainanese chicken is just awesome!

Roasted Chicken Rice - IDR 35,454

The other menu that stands out is the Roasted Chicken. If you prefer your chicken to have more crispy texture then opt for this one. The chicken skin was just deliciously crisp and savory. The chicken was still tender and wickedly juicy, it's just awesome. It's also less fat again so yeah it's another plus point. Actually I can't imagine how the dishes here could be so addictive.

Chasio Chicken Rice - IDR 34,545

If you prefer a portion of hainanese chicken rice that's sweet and savory, then opt for the Chasio Chicken Rice. Looking at the color from the chicken I have to say it was roasted to perfection. The chicken was nicely seasoned, I can really taste the seasoning seeped through every layer of the chicken's meat. It was so scrumptious indeed! That red-ish color is so tempting and so appetizing, I didn't even realize I finished the whole portion alone even though I had just finished the Steamed Chicken Rice.

Yangchow Fried Rice - IDR 33,636

Fried rice served with chasio chicken slices and a sunny side up on the top. I actually like this kind of fried rice. Compared to the traditional Indonesian fried rice, Yangchow fried rice is more savory since it doesn't use sweet soy sauce in the making.
The way Jia Jia presented this Yangchow fried rice is just visually appetizing. I mean, look at the colorful elements on the plate, certainly an appetite booster. Just gotta love that generous amount of chasio chicken slices in the dish, and the sunny side up with that runny egg yolk. A runny egg yolk is just undeniably intriguing. Tastewise, this dish is just excellent, the flavors were delicious. The rice was a little salty but in an amount that's just right and not too overwhelming. The chasio chicken was..well..unquestionably delicious and tender. All the elements on this dish were just spot on.

In every menu of chicken rice I get this small bowl of soup that consists of white cabbages and spring onions which tasted quite light but serves as a good addition to balance that savory chicken and hainanese rice. It's not overpowering the main star (the chicken and hainanese rice) of the dish. Another thing that tasted so so good was the chilli sauce. I'm not joking here. As someone who doesn't like spicy food that much, I really do like the chilli sauce. The sauce had that saltiness that I like while the heat was just quite polite for my palate.

Overall conclusion, if you are a fan of hawker food, especially hainanese chicken rice, there's no need to book a flight to Singapore anymore. Jia Jia Singapore Hainanese Chicken Rice in my opinion has done a wonderful job in interpreting the flavors and the quality that Singapore hainanese chicken rice should have. The taste of every dish I tried is just delicious, the portion is fulfilling, and the price is very reasonable too.
Definitely I will bookmark this place as the one I will go to whenever I crave for an excellent hainanese chicken rice.

Keep on chewing!

Jazzy Dee

TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | ASK.FM

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Jia Jia Singapore Hainanese Chicken Rice
Pasar MOI
Ph: 0878 7807 5593
Mall Of Indonesia Lower Ground
Jl. Bulevard Artha Gading, Kelapa Gading

 

AH Resto & Cafe, Hotel Ibis Budget Cikini

Hi Eaters.

Back to classic! Indeed sometimes some things classic are just way better than anything else. When I talk about a restaurant in which I classified as a classic, it doesn't mean that it has a retro kind of ambiance or anything. Well, AH Resto & Cafe might be one of those I consider to be a classic since this place brings reminescence of my early teenage years. Back at those days, I often went here with school buddies just to grab a bite to eat. It was located at the now-standing Menteng Huis (as far as I remember CMIIW) before it is relocated at Hotel Ibis Budget Cikini.
Ah the good old days..

I find myself back to this restaurant, now to attend Qraved foodies meet up on a bright Saturday noon. To my surprise, the restaurant is now more modern in concept, more youthful in the way the interior was set up, and has more vibe since it now served coffee! Yup, coffee, you read that one right.

It excites me more that the coffee beans used were Common Grounds coffee beans, one of my favorite coffee beans. The barista was also quite experienced thus making the coffee more enjoyable. I truly do love their cappucino.

Though the restaurant is named AH which stands for American Hamburger but it is 100% local establishment and not some franchise from overseas brand.
That Saturday noon I had the chance to try some of their new menus, still revolves around fast food. So just scroll to see what menus did this classic restaurant offered me.

Spicy Fried Chicken - IDR 33,636 (with rice and Nestea)

Basic fast food dish, the fried chickens. Basically this is my kind of fried chicken with crispy skin. To be honest, well, there was nothing special about this dish. It was just common fried chicken you can find at any fast food joint. The seasoning should be more stunning if this dish wants to stand out. But if you like fried chicken the way you used to enjoy it elsewhere, you will like this one.

Double Cheese Burger - IDR 35,000

Burger with double beef patties and double cheese. This one was quite good, but for my preference the patty should be more bigger and the burger should have lettuce or tomato or maybe pickles. It tasted okay, but it felt like dry since there are no vegetables like tomato that would put extra juiciness in every bite. Again, this is my personal preference.

Spaghetti Bolognaise - IDR 22,727

What I love about this dish is that the pasta was cooked al-dente. The bolognaise sauce was okay, I like the thickness and the flavors were quite tasty, however it kinda needed more meat inside the sauce and maybe more portion of that sauce on the pasta would be great.

Original Hot Dog & Beefy Hot Bunz - IDR 18,182 (each)

There were two kinds of hotdogs: the Original Hot Dog and the Beefy Hot Bunz served that day. Original Hot Dog is just buns with sausage and ketchup mayo dressing, and the Beefy Hot Bunz is sausage with chili con carne. My favorite would be the one with chili con carne. As for the one with ketchup and mayo dressing, I would prefer (again) that the hot dogs should have vegetables inside, maybe lettuce would be a good option.

Overall conclusion, it was a nice brunch (is that what you call it when you eat at around 11am?) at this memorable restaurant. Surely back on my early teenage years I mostly opt for the steak menus but the menus I tried that Saturday shouldn't be called disappointing either. One thing for sure, they now got some killer coffees. I would surely be back for those.

Keep on chewing!

Jazzy Dee

TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | ASK.FM

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

AH Resto Cafe

Ibis Budget Hotels Lantai 1

Ph: (021) 314 5342
Cikini Raya #75

Jakarta Pusat

OKU, Hotel Indonesia Kempinski 1st Anniversary

Hi Eaters.

Whoa! It's been a year already! Days seem to pass by so quickly then suddenly it has already been a year since Oku opened its doors to public. I remember coming here when they just started service for maybe a couple of days. You can check out my post about that one here.
I clearly remembered how amazing the food was and certainly this time it was certainly an honour just to be back and invited for their first anniversary.

It was a cloudy Saturday afternoon as I prep myself for the invitation. They specifically mentioned a Japanese touch for the dress code, but since I didn't have anything on my closet that screams Japanese so I went wearing black (sorry for that) coz I thought it just matched my Instagram feed, LOL.
The restaurant itself hasn't change in a year, you can check out how the interior looks like at my previous post about Oku (link on the first paragraph).
They served the guests with a 7 course meals, not include their well-known dishes which apparently were also served too (yeaayy!!). 

Oku Karaage

I'm gonna start by talking about the dishes that wasn't included in 9 course meals, the first is the popular Oku Karaage.
If you check my previous blog post about Oku then you will know this one is the dish I highlighted in the review. It's so unique! Well, frankly speaking, the size has gotten quite smaller but the taste was still awesome. It may not look appealing, but this blackened chicken karaage is some serious stuff. So delicious and yet crispy on the outside but moist and tender in the inside.

Oku Chirashi Don

I failed to try this one, and truly I regret it as now I am looking at the photo. Those beautiful bright colors from the various sashimis are certainly appetizing.

Truffle Gyu Don

One menu you must (and I mean MUST) order is the Truffle Gyu Don. As a fan of everything truffled I must give this dish a 2 thumbs up. Kudos to the Chef, this dish is insanely awesome, and I mean literally everything on the plate is just mind blowing. Starting from the rice, the sauce, the egg, and that crazily juicy beef slices, they're just some deadly combo that will take your tastebuds to heaven. Maybe you think I'm overexaggerating, but honestly I can eat this dish forever.

This grilled lobster (I don't know for sure the name of the dish) was truly tempting. Luckily I got the chance to tried it, and yes it was delicious. The lobster was so good, so juicy, and that sauce was just spot on.

So now let's start talking about the 7 course meals, shall we?

Kaki – Japanese Oyster | Wasabi Sorbet

When you talk about Japanese food, you gotta talk about their fresh sea produce, wether it's the fishes or clams and oysters like this. This one is oyster served with salmon roe, wasabi, and signature stock. Gotta love this dish, it's so fresh yet without any tangy smell coming out from the oyster. The signature stock was just spot on and truly elevates the whole flavor of the oyster, giving it a rich savory flavor that was so indulging.

Uni – Sea Urchin | Chutoro | Seaweed Cracker

This premium sea produce was the one that I anxiously waited to be served. Uni is like the treasure of the ocean, and this one is served along chutoro (fatty tuna) on a bed made from deep fried seaweed cracker. Apparently that day I ate it the wrong way since I didn't recognize the seaweed cracker at first glance and thought it was a sea shell, LOL, pardon me for that. Well, nothing can beat the taste of some fresh uni, and this one was mine blowing. My favorite dish of the day!

Nodoguro – Soup of Rosy Sea Bass

A clear soup with sea bass. The taste was quite light, not my kind of dish though I think some might like this kind of light-flavory dish. 

Tsukiji Market – Seasonal Fish from Japan

A plate of various fresh seafood produce: salmon, tuna, squid, lobster, and one thing which I think is hirame (olive flounder). All seafood produce served on this plate were flown from Tsukiji Market itself so the freshness is beyond doubt. One thing cute from this plate is the fish-shaped-jelly soy sauce. Really cute!

Karasumi Pasta – Ikura | Angel Hair Pasta

Ah angel hair pasta, my favorite kind of pasta! The dish was splendid! I really really really (I said it like 3 times, which must mean great) love this dish. The truffle was really dominant in every single bites and slurps of that perfectly cooked pasta. It's just so amazingly tasty!

Kamo – Duck 3 Ways | Smoked with Rice Straw | Aged Soy Salt

Tender chunks of diced duck meat, perfectly cooked and seasoned. It's so juicy. I wish there were just more on the plate.

Unagi – Fresh Water Eel Rice Porridge | Charcoal Grill Rice

More reasons to smile that day after a cute littel bowl with unagi inside was served. Served on top of grilled rice, the way to eat it is to first pour some stock into the bowl. Well, frankly speaking, the stock was pretty light but the good thing is the flavor of the rice and the unagi was quite bold so the stock was just there to elevate the almost perfect dish.

Mizu – Water Mochi | Kinako | Anmitsu Sauce

It wasn't my first time having water mochi. It's definitely a cute dessert, I have to say, and most certainly unique. This one is served with kinako (roasted soybean flour) and anmitsu sauce which is thick and sweet. You have to eat the whole 3 elements at once, because if you only eat the water mochi then you might say it's bland and tasteless. You just have to scoop out the 3 elements of dishes to get the maximum taste of the dish.

Matcha – Green Tea | White Chocolate | Raspberry Marshmallow

The final dessert came as the most sweetest ending. Everything on the plate was just loveable. The matcha, served two ways, one is like a somewhat deconstructed sponge cake, and the other one was mousse. The raspberry marshmallow and the one which is like a sorbet, tasted nice, a bit sour but it really helps to balance the sweetness from the matcha and the white chocolate.

Never a disappointing experience at Oku. I will always recommend this restaurant if you're just looking for some authentic, yet sophisticated Japanese cuisine. The taste and the plating of every dish are just thought carefully by the mastermind of this restaurant, Chef Kaz. Again, my compliments to the Chef.

So thank you Oku for having me. It was a great time indeed. I wish you the very best for your anniversary and looking forward for more astonishing dishes in the future.

Keep on chewing!

Jazzy Dee

TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | ASK.FM

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

OKU
Bali Room Lobby
Hotel Indonesia Kempinski
Phone: (021) 23583896
Jl. MH. Thamrin No. 1
Jakarta Pusat

Opening hours:
Mon - Sun: 12.00 - 15.00, 18.00 - 22.30