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

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AH Resto Cafe

Ibis Budget Hotels Lantai 1

Ph: (021) 314 5342
Cikini Raya #75

Jakarta Pusat

Loewy, Oakwood Premier Cozmo

Hi Eaters.

Back on a tight Sunday in which I had 3 foodtasting invitations along with my @dailyfoodseeker friends. Fortunately all 3 places were located in the area of Mega Kuningan and only in walking distance so it felt great not to hustle from one place to another and simply have more time to enjoy the food and have chit chats.
And our first stop that day was Loewy, which is located at Oakwood Premier Cozmo.

Occupying quite a large space in the ground floor of Oakwood Premier Cozmo, Loewy offers a cozy ambiance for its dining area, with an indoor and outdoor dining area that overlook the hustling street of Mega Kuningan. As me and my friends went there, we chose the outdoor area which provided sufficient natural lighting for our photos. Luckily it was kinda cloudy that day so the sun was quite friendly and we were able to take photos comfortably. The interior theme applied is retro/classic with a modern interpretation. The original Thoney chairs and the leather banquet seats resembles a Parisian bistro with a touch of New York diner.
Some of my friends happen to be a fan of Loewy's dishes, especially the Egg Benedict. Me, however, it was my first time to visit Loewy despite its location was quite near to my home. So if this place can really pamper my tastebuds then certainly it would be included in my list of favorite spot, since the ambiance had captivated my heart.

So what were the foods we tried that day? Scroll below and get ready to drool.

Tuna Carpaccio - IDR 70K

We immediately kickstarted our meal with this appetizer, the Tuna Carpaccio. Thin slices of fresh tuna sprinkled with sesame seed and arugula and kaffir lime aioli dressing. I have to say this dish is so delicious. The fresh tuna was so good and the kaffir lime aioili tasted a bit sour but complimented the tuna really well.

Chicken and Avocado Salad - IDR 95K

Fresh salad with chicken and wasabi dressing. This one was also super good. The fresh salad combined with nice tender chicken chunks, OMG it's delicious. The wasabi dressing was flavorful and to my convenience it's not spicy at all (for my palate). I normally don't like avocado unless it's juiced, but I did eat a lot of them that day. So yeah, it's that good!

Roasted Duck with Hoisin Sauce - IDR 110K

A generous portion of roasted duck served with rice, gai lan (Indonesia: Kailan) and hoisin sauce for the dipping. I love how they served us duck meat with less fat. The duck was so so juicy and tender. It tasted so good after I dipped it in that sweet and salty hoisin sauce. For my personal taste it could be more perfect if they can make the duck skin to be crispy, but this one is already superb the way it is.

Brisket Sandwich - IDR 150K

Served with caramelized onions, horseradish aioli, and french fries. To avoid a full tummy, I opted not to eat the buns but went straight to the beef brisket. Afterall, it's where the 'magic' is, right? LOL. This one is no disappointment since the brisket was seasoned beautifully and the flavors were so tasty. I think this dish should have a salad for the side to balance the whole plate, considering there are quite a lot number of carbs on one single plate.

Lamb Fricassee - IDR 180K

Stewed lamb served with braised potatoes, carrots, and peas. This dish was very delicious. The lamb was cooked to perfection. It's so tender and succulent, and the sauce was super tasty too. Unfortunately the carrots were a bit hard, like solid rock, so it's difficult to even just cut it with my spoon. Everything else on the plate was perfect though, so it's just too bad that the carrots seemed to be undercooked.

Cotton Cheese Cake - IDR 70K

Served with blueberry compote and lemon cream, also fresh strawberries and blueberries. Just as the name said, this cake is cotton-ly smooth. The texture was so soft, it didn't take any effort slicing through it. My spoon just felt like it was slicing butter, LOL. Super loving how rich the taste was. Sour, sweet, and a bit cheesy. A perfect combo. A must try dessert to order at Loewy.

Pot de Crème - IDR 55K

Served with Chocolate and Caramel custards, chocolate ganache and crumble. Look at that awesome layers of custard, ganache, and crumble. This is sweet-tooth heaven. Both of them tasted so so sooo good! Really loved that silky smooth texture of the custard, and it went so perfect combined with the crunchy texture from the crumble. Overall not too sweet but yet so addicting. My fave was the chocolate one (big fan of chocolate here).

Virgin Pina Colada

This one is out of the list from the foodtasting menu that day. It was my friend's order. Unique, isn't it? Served in a glass shaped like a skull. The taste was so refreshing. As any tropical drink should be, it's sour and sweet, but in a balanced kind of flavor. What's most important is that this drink is so instagenic, LOL.

Egg Benedict

One of the most recommended dishes here is the Egg Benedict. My friend is one big fan of Loewy's Egg Benedict. So I was curious enough to try this dish since my friend seemed to really dig in to it. And... BAM! It's really good! That hollandaise sauce was superb, both in flavor and in consistency. That cubed potatoes were unexpectedly delicious! I think every component on this dish is just executed beautifully. Kudos to the chef!

Overall, I had a very very satisfying meal here at Loewy. All the food seemed to be thoughtfully made and executed brilliantly (except that carrot error though). Definitely gonna be one of my favorite dining place in the future.

Thank you Loewy for having me and all the best of luck ahead!

Keep on chewing!

Jazzy Dee

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Loewy

Oakwood Premier Cozmo Ground Floor
Phone: (021) 2554 2378
Jl. Lingkar Mega Kuningan E4.2 No 1
Jakarta Selatan
IG: @loewyjakarta

Quiznos Sub

Hi Eaters.

Talking about meat between two buns probably most of us would refer to burgers and hotdogs. Some would mention sandwich. But would any even mention submarine?
Submarine sandwich (or subs as they commonly call it) is more likely shaped like a sandwich but longer in length and thicker in bread.
Finding a sub in Indonesia is no easy task. Well, not many sub restaurant can be easily found as likely if you're looking for burgers or fried chickens. I remembered one time I tried sub sandwich in a restaurant in Plaza Indonesia though. But that just it, the only place I know that sells sub sandwich at that time. 
Well luckily now, an infamous brand from overseas has opened its outlet in Indonesia.
Say hello to Quiznos Sub!

When I say that Quiznos is an infamous brand, I wasn't lying. Started out over 30 years ago in Denver, Colorado, USA, now Quiznos has grown to be the the second-largest Submarine Sandwich shop chain in North America with about 1,500 domestic locations and about 600 international locations. And lucky for us, Indonesia is one of those countries being grasped by the expanding growth of Quiznos outside of US.

I had the chance to try their sub sandwich at one of their outlet located in Jalan Pemuda, Rawamangun. It's not that far from Arion Mall, just beside the Shell gas station.
It's a huge and spacious outlet with a vast parking area, and to my convenience it was also equipped with automatic door. Cool, right?

The inside of the outlet was very spacious. A nice cool air conditioner was a relief since it was a hot day outside. The outlet has a second floor with outdoor seating available.
There's only one cashier so a long queue for food is maybe unavoidable. If you happen to come at lunch time then patience is what you should also bring along.

The great thing is that they made the sandwich really fresh from the oven. I mean, they will assemble your sandwich from scratch upon your order. So it's hot and fresh delivered directly to your hands and not just being reheated like it has already been pre-made before. A thumb up for delivering such a fresh meal for the customer. But that also means you need to wait a bit more to have your order being made. So again, patience is really needed here. Basically you will be given a queueing number and you can wait for the waiter to call your number when your order is done.
You can watch how the staffs work on your order as they will make it in front of you. But if you feel like sitting and wait then you don't need to worry since the staff wears gloves, mask, and hat to guarantee the hygiene of your food.

They provide 3 kinds of bread and also in 3 sizes to choose from. Choices from regular bread, wheat bread, or rosemary parmesan bread come in either 6, 9, or 12 inches bread.
6 inches is a single person portion. If you're really hungry then you can opt for the 9 inches. For the 12 inches you can have it for up to 2 persons.

So let's talk about the subs I tried that day.

Zesty Steak on Rosemary Parmesan Bread

IDR 70K (6 inches), IDR 90K (9 inches), IDR 105K (12 inches)

honey bourbon & zesty grill sauce, sauteed onion, sauteed mushroom,

steak, mozzarella & cheddar cheese

So the first one was an all meaty experience. I mean, they were really generous on giving meat in the sandwich. The overall taste was very delicious. This one use the rosemary parmesan bread so the bread was crunchy and flavorful. The honey bourbon gave a nice sweet and savory taste which in my opinion went really well with the sandwich filling without being too dominant. 

The Traditional on Artisan White Bread

IDR 55K (6 inches), IDR 70K (9 inches), IDR 90K (12 inches)

Ranch dressing, tomato, lettuce, red onion, black olive,

 chicken ham, chicken turkey, steak, cheddar cheese

The Traditional uses 3 kinds of meat: chicken, turkey, and beef. Slightly you'll see that it has also more vegetables fillings compared to the one I had before. Well I personally like this one more than the first. I think maybe because of my perspective that sandwich is better with veggies on, you know, to balance the flavor and also to prevent being too full too early.

The Ranch dressing was delicious, yes I have to admit that it was spot on. And I really loved how they grill the bread to make it crispy in every bite. Da yumm!

Definitely loving this one. And I won't hesitate on ordering this one on my next visit. I truly recommend this one to you guys.

Baja Chicken Pizza - IDR 55K

Chipotle Mayo & BBQ dressing, mozzarella cheese, red onion, chicken breast, beef bacon.

Besides subs, Quiznos also serves pizza. So if you went here with people who don't like subs then they can opt for pizza. Pizza is quite common and most people just love pizza, right?

One you should try is the Baja Chicken Pizza with its rich melted mozzarella cheese topping. Absolutely delicious. The dough came in a perfect thickness. Not too thin, and certainly not thick. I think it's a portion for 2, but I am absolutely sure I can finish 1 portion single handedly. LOL.

Honey Mustard Pizza - IDR 50K

honey mustard dressing mozzarella cheese, tomato, red onion, chicken breast, beef bacon.

It's visually appetizing. I really think it's beautiful. This one was also delicious. The honey mustard was sweet and savory. The toppings were quite overwhelming and generous too. So to spend around 50K for this I think is more than worth it.

Picture speaks above everything, right? And you can see from my snapshot those mouth-watering toppings: the mozzarella cheese, the bacon, the chicken breast. Yumm! Let me tell you that as I am writing this blog right now, I am drooling.

Honey Mustard Chicken Wrap - IDR 65K

iceberg lettuce, romaine lettuce, tomato, red onion, chicken breast, beef bacon, parmesan cheese

They also have salads and soups beside of their subs and pizzas. And this particular salad that I tried was unique since it is wrapped with tortilla. I almost thought it was a burrito and not salad. What overwhelmed me was the size. It's huge!

The cheese was so generously given inside and as in any salad you'll find more veggie than the actual meat. But I have to say it's delicious. I love the overall combined taste. Especially the vegetables used were all fresh.

For the beverages there are a wide variant to choose from juices, coffees, teas, and smoothies.

Blueberry Frozen - IDR 35K

Tiramisu Frozen - IDR 35K

Irish Frappe - IDR 38K

Matcha Frappe - IDR 38K

Cafe Latte Hazelnut - IDR 35K

Personally I loved the excessive choices of beverages available. Certainly there won't be any trouble on bringing the kids here. But I really do think they need to tune down on the sugar level though.

Overall conclusion, I have simply fallen in love with the food. Besides the beverages I think the food was on another level. I love the hygienity and the freshness of every meal though in my opinion the long line can maybe kill the appetite. I sincerely think they need to open another cashier to accomodate to overflowing customers.

So as in terms of the food, I really recommend this place. Why not giving it a try and see if you share the same opinion like me?

 Keep on chewing!

Jazzy Dee

TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | ASK.FM

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Quiznos Sub
Jl. Pemuda No.30,
(021) 29834017
Rawamangun, Jakarta Timur