Yamas - Greek Restaurant Jakarta, Indonesia

To my dearest readers, I apologize for being out of touch for quite a while. But no worries, now I am back and will stick around with plenty of updates that will give you insights of where to go to keep your belly happy. 

I understand Valentine's Day is coming up in a a couple of days and maybe some of you are panicking to find romantic and intimate spots, hopefully takes last minute booking without breaking the bank. 

For my readers around Jakarta, for this special occasion I would highly recommend Yamas - Authentic Greek Restaurant located in Jalan Prapanca Raya 37 C, South Jakarta. Just before the turning to the famous expats quarter 'Kemang'. I had dinner the other day and was impressed. Not only by the food but also the whole set up. I love the simplicity yet tasteful interior at Yamas. 

You don't necessarily have to have a full meal to enjoy this great venue. At Yamas, you can cozy up with your friends on the couch and nibbling Yamas tasty mix platter and refreshing cocktails while catching up with the latest news. 

                        

Each mixed platter comes with selections of Bourekia (egg plant and beef filling), Tiropitakia (pie with feta cheese filling), Spanakopita (spinach with feta cheese pie) and toasted bread with dried oregano and chili flakes. Tantalizing appetizer to share, enough to tease your crave and leave plenty of room for generous main course. 

On this visit I only had the chance to taste Kontouvsouvli Chicken - rotisserie chicken with mustard and Greek Chicken Kebab, marinated minced chicken with baked potato and mustard. Baked potato is optional, it can be replaced by greek rice if you wish - delicious steamed rice with strong flavor of cumin. 

I was not disappointed by either dish. Chicken was well seasoned and cooked beautifully, complimented by herby rice, mild mustard and fresh cut tomatoes. I have no knowledge of typical drink to go with those dishes, plus I was not in a boozy mood, so I chose a big cup of hot black tea. Not bad combination actually. 

After a great meal, an evening out would not be complete without a sweet treat. But after devouring generous portion of main course, I had to give greek dessert a miss this time. It gives me reasons to re-visit Yamas anytime soon. 

For you who intend to dine at Yamas, please don't get put off by slight dimmed exterior lights at the venue or the fact no parking attendant to assist you, just park at any parking spot available. Yamas is open all day from 10 AM until 10 PM daily. 

Nothing exceptional about the service at Yamas, but the staff are quite attentive and happy to serve you. 

Prices are reasonable too. Really worth visiting. 

Yamas - Authentic Greek Restaurant

Jalan Prapanca Raya 37C

South Jakarta

Phone: +62 21 2950 - 1040

Beach Cafe at The New Tropicana Las Vegas

Beach Cafe is one of dining venue at Tropicana Las Vegas next to Biscayne, Bacio and South Beach food court . We have written about Biscayne on our previous blog and explained how disappointing it was. So, we were rather reluctant to try Beach Cafe. As if we had rather bad experience at supposedly the high end restaurant, what the chance we have in a cafe? But too hot to venture out and we thought it would not do us any harm to try we found ourselves at Beach Cafe. 

Beach Cafe offers quite a selection of food, mostly snacks. From soup, quesadilla, sandwiches, burger to asian bites. We tried to keep or orders simple by choosing fried calamari, lobster mac and cheese pops to start with and followed by fish and chips and 8 oz NY steak. Easy. 

Calamari and lobster mac and cheese arrived first. They were served nice and hot, but tasteless. The calamari were tender and the crispy coatings were crispy but they did not taste of calamari, very bland. The lobster mac and cheese were more or less the same. We hardly tasted any lobster, to be honest, just a taste of cheese. The cheese dip helped to bring out some flavour, but no sign of lobster though.

Before we had the chance to finish the starters, our main courses have arrived and just literally pushed in next to our starter plates. Strange service etiquette, we thought. Luckily, we had a table for four just for two of us, so we managed to squeeze in both starter and main course that we had no choice but to enjoy it almost simultaneously. 

As we have suspected, the fish and chips were not made of fresh fish just like the calamari. The batter was not seasoned well and quite soggy. The steak was not too bad though, had it taken off the heat a few minutes earlier it would not have been too dry. We were not quite sure about the mushroom sauce it has a hint of mushroom and a hint of red wine but lacking of seasonings. The mashed potato was average it appeared to be fluffy and creamy but it was just fluffy and not creamy. The asparagus was pretty good, we thought it must be the only fresh ingredient served throughout our meal as we noticed the asparagus actually tasted of asparagus. 

We did not bother with the dessert this time, as we could just imagine how it will turn out, so we picked up a couple of chunks of brownies from Starbucks to take back to our room. 

For what it was served, although the prices on the menu at Beach Cafe are not that expensive, but considering it's quality and service, we did not think we got the value for our money. But then that's what is available in the resort. Unfortunately, to get better quality of food, you would better off venture out to next door hotel such as MGM Grand or Aria. 

Beach Cafe at The New Tropicana Las Vegas

3801 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas - NV 89019

Phone: +1 800 462 8767

Website: http://www.troplv.com/EatDrinkSubPage.aspx?page=BeachCafe

Opening hours: Open 24 hours 

Grand Wok and Sushi at The MGM Grand Las Vegas - USA

We went back to MGM Grand with the intention to revisit Hakkasan (for the peking duck, of course) but unfortunately we arrived far too early. Unwanted to let down rumbling tummy, we looked for another restaurant with similar theme and we found Grand Wok. A restaurant tucked in one corner of casino floor of MGM Grand that has a bright dining area and open kitchen so we could witness the chefs in action, rather appealing indeed. Menu seemed interesting too, a fusion of Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Koreanese and Malaysian. 

Had a fancy of a chilled sake, we ordered a bottle of Junmai Ginjo sake which is 50% polished, so we expected it to be nice and smooth. Unfortunately, to our surprise, although the sake has a nice and distinctive flavor, it was quite sharp in texture. Mind you, we are no expert when it comes to sake department, we just make do with what we thought it would be a nice. In other word, we chose sake randomly and hoping for the best :)

Determined to have dinner at Hakkasan as soon as it opens, we kept our meal light by choosing a bowl of miso soup, lettuce cups with chicken and a few selections of sushi to match the sake. The miso soup was very good, we were quite impressed. It has the right components such as seaweed and thinly sliced spring onions and the correct consistency. The selections of sushi did not meet our expectation though. The fish did not smell quite fresh despite the shiny look and quite tasteless. But the lettuce cups with chicken that let us down the most. We hardly tasted any chicken or seasonings, only the taste of carrots that came out most, they were under cooked too. We were not quite sure the chef's idea about the dish. We tried to spice it up with the chili paste and condiments that came with it, but still lacking of flavor. How disappointing.

Still craving for something tasty and have some time to kill we looked at the dessert menu hoping to find something interesting. We decided to share a bowl of black bean soup. Although the presentation did not look very appealing, the taste was not bad at all. Sweet bean soup with glutinous rice balls filled with ground sesame seeds. Not everybody's cup of tea but it's quite comforting. It something that you would have during the cold and bitter winter afternoon. Considering that we were in the middle of summer in Las Vegas at 38 C, us having the soup was a little bit out of place :)

Cut the story short, our visit to Grand Wok at The MGM Grand Las Vegas was rather disappointing. Taking into account the inconsistency quality of food, very average service and the price they charged. Which is such a shame as they have a very good location on the casino floor. With a considerably improvement on the quality of food served and the service, they could fill up the restaurant easily. 

Grand Wok and Sushi Bar at The MGM Grand Hotel and Casino Las Vegas

3799 Las Vegas Boulevard South, Las Vegas - NV 89109

Website: http://www.mgmgrand.com/restaurants/grand-wok-sushi-restaurant.aspx

Opening hours: Sunday to Thursday from 11 AM - 10 PM

                          Friday to Saturday from 11 AM to 1 AM

Biscayne Steak - Sea - Wine at The New Tropicana Las Vegas - USA

Biscayne is advertised as one of the top rated steakhouses on the strip of Las Vegas, we were immediately intrigued to try it. As we had plenty of time to kill, we took the opportunity to check out the venue. It's located at the mezzanine level of The New Tropicana Las Vegas, facing Bacio Italian Cuisine. It's a little bit secluded from the casino area and frankly speaking, the set up failed to impress us. Too casual and too ordinary as one of the top steakhouses it claimed to be. We were expecting to be wow-ed, judging from the pictures on the adverts. But anyways, we went ahead to book our table.

Exactly at 5 PM, we were already at the entrance of Biscayne. The staff still busy with preparation, so we could not be seated immediately until about 10 minutes later. And finally we got shown to our table. It's quite comfortable seats and good size table, but poor lighting, in our opinion. Poor in the sense that not bright enough if it meant to be summery, or dimmed enough to give an intimate ambience. It gave us the impression that nobody bothers to switch on the lights. Oh well.. never mind, it's the food that we went there for. 


As usual, we started with campari and soda, while deciding what appetizers to have. So we could cover  both ends, we chose to have something from the sea to start with, which were selection of sushi and griddled lump crab cakes accompanied by a glass of chardonnay and followed by Biscayne specials which were XXL Kobe Burger and 8 oz Fillet Mignon, creamed spinach and sauteed mushrooms, accompanied by a good bottle of Joseph Drouhin Gevrey Chambertin. 

First to arrive were our starters. The sashimi looked okay, fresh-ish, but the sushi roll looked dry and almost falling apart. The crab cakes didn't smell very crab-ey but looked good. The presentation actually explained the taste of both appetizers. All of the components were there but not put together properly. The sushi rice was not polished, that's why it's dry and the sashimi were just stacked up on the side as if an unimportant part of the dish. The crab cakes weren't made with fresh crabs as we hardly taste the crab. And it was under seasoned too.. What a disappointing start. The only good thing that came out reasonably good on the first part of our meal was the chardonnay.


Disappointment did not end just there though. We ordered a bottle of Gevrey Chambertin. The first bottle that the waiter brought us was corked. Which he had the suspicion even before he opened it. Of course we asked it to be replaced. Thank goodness the second bottle was okay. 

Happy with the wine, we're looking forward to our main courses. Fillet mignon was looking good, so did the kobe burger apart from the dark looking french fries. It looked as if it has been fried in an old oil. So we did not touch it. The burger was enough to handle as it was. Not forgetting the creamed spinach and mushrooms. 

Out of those dishes that we had, we could safely say the fillet mignon was the best, though we had better somewhere else. Reasonably tender, juicy, cooked and seasoned just right. Mashed potato was all it needed. We should not have ordered the creamed spinach and mushrooms, as they were under seasoned and simply too much. The kobe burger was huge but nothing extraordinary about it. It such a   a let down as considering it supposed to be on of Biscayne's specials. 

After such going through such large and savoury meals we looked for sweet comfort before we end our evening. We had choices of apple tatin, key lime tart, coconut candy bar, chocolate truffle torte, ice creams and sorbet, but we went for tahitian vanilla creme brûlée instead. Call us boring, but sometimes after few disappointments at the beginning, we'd rather go with the safe option at the end. 

We found the creme brûlée as another 'okay' dish. We suspected it was not freshly made but it's a mix as the texture was rather heavy and floury. We didn't see the point of the short bread and the raspberry reserves were there for, but they went very well with a pot of green tea that we had at the end. 


A rather expensive evening indeed, considering the price that we have paid and our disappointment topped with the fact the check arrived before we even asked. We would totally understand if the restaurant was packed with people queueing which it was not the case and the waiter purposely hovering about to make sure we pay immediately and leave. Very intimidating in our opinion. And as soon as we have paid, no after sale service whatsoever.  

We would not recommend Biscayne to our readers to experience fine dining, as you would be disappointed. Unless of course you do not mind quick meal with a minimum service. 

Biscayne Steak - Sea - Wine at Tropicana Las Vegas
3801 Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas, NV - 
Phone: + 1 702 739 2222 
Website: www.troplv.com
Opening hours: Sunday - Thursday 5 PM - 10 PM, Friday - Saturday 5 PM - 11 PM

Il Rinascimento Italian Restaurant Brussels - Belgium

Old establishment that is still run by the same crowd since the first time we have visited the restaurant about ten years ago while most restaurants at Rue Jourdan have changed hand. Still serving freshly home baked bread, italian hard cheese and red radish for you to nibble while going through the menu. Service at this restaurant is great too, we asked for some olive oil and basil, the waiter brought us a pot of fresh basil to our table. What could be better than that?! :)

Instead of the usual routine of pasta dishes we decided to have the special menu of the day that was suckling pig served with roast baby potatoes and salad as recommended by the waiter who is a very proud Sardinian. He was not bragging about the food though. It may looked a bit rustic, but the taste is to die for. The meat was juicy and tender. So simple yet so delicious. No fancy herbs or seasoning, just the real taste of good meat.

Apart from good food and friendly service, what makes every visit to Il Rinascimento interesting is the fact that they always come up with something extra ordinary that put a smile to their customers. We ordered a watermelon at the end of our meal and they served this huge slice of greek watermelon that is enough for four people!!! It was ripe, sweet and very refreshing though! 

As we had no idea how big the watermelon would be, we also order a tiramisu. Not exactly the best tiramisu we ever had, but would pass an average level. I would be better had they put more coffee liquor to make it more exciting. But then it may not be suitable for young customers. 

If you are looking for a comfort food italian style in central Brussels, pop in to Il Rinascimento, you would not be disappointed. Seating is a small and cramped inside but good food, good service and good value for money. 

Il Rinascimento
Rue Jordan 14, Saint Gilles 1060 Brussels - Belgium
Phone: +32 2 534 7520
Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday, Lunch starts at 12 noon and Dinner starts at 6PM

Gallery Restaurant Brussels - Belgium

Gallery is family run vietnamese restaurant located at the side street of the famous Waterloo Boulevard where the high end boutiques such as Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Cartier and many more are situated. So, it's an ideal place to grab a quick and tasty lunch before continuing to shop without breaking the bank. 

Set up as a modern restaurant with asian touch makes Gallery looks very elegant yet cosy and unpretentious. Soft leather seats and good size tables are very welcoming, wether you decide to have a quick meal or long lunch/ dinner. 

As we came in a small group of three, we decided to try few selection of starters to share to build up appetite. We chose summer spring rolls filled with rice vermicelli, asparagus, cucumber, duck slice and mint leaves served with plum sauce as a dip. It came in four pieces in a portion. Refreshing yet quite filling appetizer. Followed by selection of dim sum that consists of prawn siumay, pork dumpling and many more flavourful mini treats. Ask for chili oil if you want to add fiery kick to your food. 

As the main course we had noodles with prawn and vegetables. Generous portion indeed, we were glad to have it to be shared. Next to the noodles we were having duck green curry with jasmine rice and peking duck with plum sauce and match stick chopped spring onions. Real feast!

The duck curry was delicious and creamy with enough spiciness. The jasmine rice was a little bit cold and dry though. Had it served correctly, it would really compliment the fusion of herbs in the curry. 
The peking duck was unfortunately not the best we ever had too. The duck itself was cold and dry, just like the thin pancakes which came with it. 

Although we could not finish the entrees we could not resist the temptation to have the dessert. We decided to share Vietname jasmine cake served with vanilla and coconut ice cream. Now, that was something that lighten our mood after a few let downs with the main courses. Warm and light textured cake so full of fragrant, complimented by coconut ice cream (or vanilla ice cream, if you prefer). A cup of green tea to finish it off and we were all set to continue with our shopping stroll. 

In general, Gallery is casual dining with very good value for money. Do not expect fantastic service though, unless the owners are present, but most dishes on the menu is reasonably good. We would not mind to go back there again. Hopefully with air conditioning system installed by next summer :)

And if you are interested on getting home accessories you can find authentic Vietnamese merchandises available for purchase at the restaurant too. 


Gallery Restaurant
Rue du Grand Cerf 7, Brussels 1000 - Belgium
Phone: +32 2 511 8035
Opening hours: Monday to Saturday 12 noon to 3PM and 6PM - 10PM

Murano by Angela Hartnett, Mayfair London

Unplanned visit to Murano by Angela Hartnett in Mayfair was so impressive, we had to revisit the restaurant for another two occasions on the same week! The first visit was an early dinner. We got there few minutes after the restaurant was reopened for evening service, and there were few table occupied already. Clearly, it was not just us who were really enthusiastic with the place. 

First impression, nice, well spread, open lay out. It has a small but well equipped bar with few seats, cosy corner to enjoy an aperitif before dinner. Or if you prefer, go straight to the dining area. What not to like when you dine on good size tables covered in white, crisp table clothes, decorated with fresh flowers and crystal candle holder, plus comfortable leather chairs, very elegant and inviting?

Once we sat down, the menu and wine list were shown to us. Another sign of a good restaurant  ticked, as Murano has a very large selection of quality wines. We would need half a day to go through it. Thank goodness there was wine sommelier ready to assist us. So, wee have decided to have Paul Pilllot Saint- Aubin 1er Cru Pitangeret. Crisp and flavorful. 

First to arrive was a platter of cold cut, San Danielle ham and salami, selection of bread served with a beautiful, extra virgin olive oil from southern Tuscany. It's so green, fruity and robust just the way we like it. Apparently the olive oil is blended specially for Murano, no chance of getting it off of the local supermarket shelves then. 

From the scallops to belly of pork, nothing we could fault. Everything was cooked and presented to perfection. The portion is just enough to fill the tummy and leave space for other tantalizing treats such as  beautifully baked soufflé and cheese trolley that is so hard to resist. 

Consistency of both quality of food and service deserve two thumbs up. Food served at the right temperature and the taste always exceeding our expectations. The menu at Murano is changed regularly so you will easily find something new to try. Bonne degustation!!

Murano by Angela Hartnett
20 Queen Street, Mayfair, London W1J5PP 
Phone: +44 20 7495 1127
Website: http://www.muranolondon.com
Opening hours: Monday to Saturday - Lunch 12PM - 3PM, Dinner 6.30PM - 11PM

The Market Brasserie, London

The Shepherd Market in Mayfair always have answers to food lovers, from Indian food, Italian, Lebanese, Japanese, French to simple and hearty old English pub food are all there to choose from. And on our most recent culinary adventure, our choice goes to The Market Brasserie. 

Like its sister restaurant - The Little Square - that we have visited before, the concept of The Market Brasserie is simple, honest and comforting. What more could we ask during grey and wintery day? 

After choosing our spot by the window, we browsed through the menu. Grilled lobster is on today's special! Tempting, but we need something more substantial (read: stodgy). So, we start with Mushroom Rarebit and Calamari Fritti with sweet chilly dip, accompanied by a bottle of Poully-Fuisse followed by Rib-eye steak and Sea Bass with button mushroom and mashed potato on the side. Those should keep our rumbly tummies happy for the day.

Our starters arrived. Our first impression was 'good portion'. Just enough to get our appetite going and leaves plenty of room for main course and obviously - the dessert. Both mushroom rarebit and calamari served hot, which is important. Presented adequately attractive but not over the top. Taste wise, they were slightly under-seasoned, but we didn't mind. 

The main course, Rib-eye steak and Sea Bass. Again, very good portion and the steak cooked perfectly, medium to well done it was, served with green salad on the side. The sea bass was beautiful too, served on a bed of salad leaves with grilled vine tomatoes and baby fennel. The only flaw we noticed was the taste of fennel was rather unusual. Not quite anise-ey but more carroty... There's a mystery for you! :) 

Side dishes, the button mushrooms and mashed potato were 'okay', could be better with a little bit of butter and seasoning. But they were not disappointing us in a big way. 

What let us down more was the Poully-Fuisse. It tasted fine, but it has a lot of sediment at the bottom of the bottle, plus it was a screw top. That's very unusual for a reasonably good French white wine. We mentioned our concern to the staff and apparently it will be forwarded to the owner. 

We have gone through starter and main course, now it's time for a cheese platter and sweet treat. We chose Chocolate Torte. We were happy with the portion size of both starters and main courses, now we  got shocked by the portion of cheese platter! Well too generous!! And those cheeses were not quite mature to our taste. The chocolate torte was rich, almost mousse like but heavier, topped with two large dollop of double cream. We think after all the food we just gone through, we have to jog around Green Park several rounds to burn off the calories.. :)) 

All in all, we were quite pleased with the whole culinary adventure at The Market Brasserie. We would  not categorise it as a fine restaurant, but more to a local restaurant that everybody can visit anytime to find comfort food and casual service without breaking the bank. 

The Market Brasserie
18 Shepherd Market, Mayfair
London W1J 9QH
Phone: +44 20 74919442
Website: http://www.themarketbrasserie.co.uk/home.htm