2014: The Year I Ate Everything

It's not until you look back on a year's worth of posts, that you realise exactly how well you've eaten. 2014 was a pretty massive year for Grab Your Fork. It was the year I celebrated ten years of blogging - crazy, I know! - and where I experienced the most intense three weeks of travel that took in Dubai, Melbourne and Hong Kong in back-to-back trips. I'm not complaining.

This is my 79th

NOMZ KITCHEN AND PASTRY - GRAND INDONESIA JAKARTA

I have been waiting for the opening of this place and just two days ago it’s finally open for public! I think if you have been following their Instagram or the well known chef, Arnold Poernomo then it’s not just a rumour that Arnold is one of the owners and minds behind this new establishment. I honestly like the name, it’s catchy without being cheap (even though they have “z” at the back without sounding alayyyyz) and it just sounds... FUN!

NOMZ is located at the newly opened deli, UNION DELI and sort of across it, venue wise, NOMZ is a little more spacious comparing to UNION DELI but one thing they're lacking of about the interior was the direct access to daylight and for someone who cares about my pictures (and if you are like me), then say goodbye to the artsy daylight pictures you’ve been expecting of, but if you have terrific editing skill, then that shouldn’t be the case!

The first thing I noticed when I made myself in was the cakes and pastry display! The cakes look fantabulously good and all created by the amazing Kim Pangestu, who I first met at the Magnum event almost a year ago. She actually recommended me to try their best sellers and highlights such as, but keep reading to see what I eventually order ;).

Iced Cappuccino

IDR 38k

I ordered their Iced Cappucinno but somehow was a little disappointed with the size, it was just small for my standard and for them to serve it with the small straw made it appear like a cocktail drink. Well cheers to that! Taste wise, the coffee was actually pretty decent!

Nomz Bahn Mi
IDR 85k
So far, their Banh Mi is one of the best sellers here. I was quite fond of the pork belly! It was quite tender and juicy, but I expected a stronger and more kick from the overall seasoning. I heard they're teaming up with Talita Setyadi from BEAU for the baguette, it's actually a good kind of baguette but I just feel like it's a little too hard and rough for a sandwich like this.

Szechuan Style Crispy Duck Leg
IDR 135k
This was Chef Arnold's personal recommendation. I had no problem nor complain for the crispy duck leg, I thought it was nicely executed, but I just didn't understand why they're using pancakes, and frankly speaking, the pancakes weren't my favorite. I honestly think either rice, sauteed potatoes or mashed potato would be a better fit, however, thumbs up for the chili chutney and the hoisin sauce.

Nomz Crazy Rice
IDR 110k
I actually had expectations for this particular dish, simply because when it got served to my table, the beef looked so freaking juicy and tempting but after I actually tasted them, the beef was okay and some parts were undercooked and hard, and I was expecting more kick to the flavor! According to Mr. Arnold, it was because of the fact that they're not using any MSG.

Half Roasted Baby Chicken
IDR 85k

This was a good dish: the chicken was cooked perfectly even though if the skin could be crispier then it would be even better, but the seasoning, sauteed veges (zuchini, carrots with rosemary) were lovely for my liking.

Urban Geisha
IDR 48k
This was too milky for my liking, even though I was quite fond of the vanilla-green tea sponge cake and the crunchy nuts on the top layer.

Be Merry
IDR 45k
This cake was my favorite of the week and loving everything about it! The texture was this jelly-mousse texture with salted caramel in the middle of the round. The berry flavor was quite rich but refreshing, unfortunately the salted caramel flavor was sort of blocked by the berry flavor. However, this was my recommended cake here.

This was the complimentary dessert, I didn't know the name but this was the flaky version of chocolate muffin. The flavor was quite yummy and the texture's of the pastry was really flaky with light flavored milk chocolate vla on the inside.

Bailey's Eclair
IDR 38k
I went to NOMZ twice but my first visit was only for the Bailey's Eclair, my impression on the first visit was just okay but suddenly sky-rocketed on the second visit because the Bailey's vla cream flavor was bolder and richer and the texture of the eclair was crispy!

My impression visiting NOMZ was pretty good, the food was generally good but since I had amazing companions on that lunch time, everything just felt good! Congrats on your opening and I am looking forward to many more surprises from you...and I expected!

HAPPY NOMZ-NOMZING EVERYBODY!

Nomz Kitchen and Pastry
Central Department Store G Fl.
Grand Indonesia Shopping Town East Mall
Jl. M.H. Thamrin No. 1
Jakarta Pusat 10310
021 - 2358 1211
Opening Hours: 11 AM - 10 PM (closed on 12 AM on weekends)
Pricing: $$
Dresscode: Casual
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Map for Grand Indonesia Shopping Town

AMBER CHOCOLATE AND BAR SENOPATI - JAKARTA

This week, so many new places (I mean dining and hangout places) are opening in town and being the kiasu byotch I’ve always been, I managed to visit most of them! HAHA NO! Totally kidding, I am not kiasu nor a byotch (or probably half true), I just love the excitement of visiting new places and the joy to publish them first to let people know certain places exist here and there! This was one hell of a fetish and in this case, just like this one... earlier today, I visited this new establishment in Senopati called Amber Chocolate and Bar. Located just across Cacaote and actually looks pretty much like it, Amber specializes in chocolate crafting selling their own-produced artisan chocolates.

Amber will start operating on the December 28th, but eatandtreats got the early cover for you! Hope you enjoy the reading *smooch*.

Amber is another venture from the giant, Mount Scopus Group which by the way also managed their earlier establishments such as Harvest Chocolate, NEGEV Restaurant, Balboni Ristorante and many more. Amber’s exterior was pretty fancy and eye-catching with the artificial plant set on the building making it (almost) impossible not to notice! Unfortunately, I didn't manage to snap any pic of the exterior because Jakarta was raining very hard :(. When you first step your feet in, you’re basically going to be greeted by the classiness of Amber, the center POV was this table with chocolates, flowers and "handbags" and chandeliers hanging above it. It only took less than 5 seconds for me to go “dang this place is real fancy”. The whole Amber building was divided to these three-floors and each floor got its own function. The first floor was the chocolate and pastry boutique, the second floor was the library themed diner and the third one was the rooftop bar, in a sudden Amber felt like a very functional house for me.

Okay, enough yakking, let's do the Tour de Amber!

1st floor: Chocolate & Pastry Boutique

The first floor was the chocolate and pastry boutique. In a glance, this particular venue rang fancy and classy with Victorian details, I love the fact that they're actually made the effort to mix vintage with minimalist! The walls and the floor were concrete and cements and FYI I've always loved the smell of new houses or buildings HAHA!

Amber and Harvest are the chocolate specialist, but you can say Amber as this more upscale version of Harvest, the ingredients, the setting, the design and the service felt a little more exclusive but in a joyous and polite way. There was this huge glass display where they put the chocolates and pastries at and they were very catchy for the eyes I got hungry!

These are the handbags that I talked about, the amazing thing about it is that when you actually purchase their chocolate set or hampers, the bag is actually the outer packaging and you can bring this gorgeous leather bag back with you! If I'm not mistaken, I think the hamper was worth around IDR 700k, which is very worth it.

I first thought it was someone's Hermes bag.

The first floor featured the live oven, so you can see when they're actually baking their pastries!

Heaven is closer than you think it is.

They have 13 flavored macarons and each was IDR 15k, they also had (from what I counted) 9 chocolate pralines creations and each was IDR 20k/each, I must say it’s pretty hefty for a piece, but since it’s artisan and premium... there you go!

Proclaiming themselves as the chocolate specialist, one of Amber's most fascinating creation was this Hot Chocolate made from very-very premium ingredient! I paid attention to the creative process and the result was the best hot chocolate I've ever had in Jakarta! The hot chocolate was creamy and very rich but didn't leave that "spiky" aftertaste on the throat. It was just the perfect companion on the rainy day like that.

2nd floor: Library Themed Diner

It’s not literallylibrary, it’s just the concept of the floor, it’s still a part of the dining area, mostly covered in wood materials with racks of old-vintage books and wines. For some reasons, especially when you already see the luxurious first floor, this particular floor seemed very humble and lacking of that fanciness that I expected, it's probably because the area wasn't that spacious so it's lacking of that drama. However, not bad at all.

3rd floor: Rooftop Bar
Since the rooftop bar will start operating on the 28th (which is tomorrow), by the time I was there, it did not operate, even though it might not be the most spacious rooftop bar there is in Jakarta, but I honestly quite like the ambiance of it. Rooftop bar is trending like mad right now, well I like the idea of rootfop bar it’s just that I don’t go there a lot since they mostly sell alcohol and a lot of smokers (I just don't drink nor smoke), but this rooftop bar consist of this area covered in glass, allowing the direct showcase of the 360 degree view of SCBD area. They also have the indoor and outdoor area. Didn't show you a lot of photos because it was raining very hard I couldn't go out and snap pics!

I had dinner on the second floor (the library), I came on their pre-opening days so the menu was still very limited, but they're expanding the menu by the time this is opening for public and you're going to have many more to choose! The food menu here was dominated by French Bistro menu so you can find salads, entrees (appetizers), soup & veloutes, pasta & rice, mains and desserts. I managed to try several menu here so since I guess you’re probably scrolling down to the food pics, here you go!

Emperador Salad
IDR 90k
The Emperador salad consist of fresh Iceberg lettuce, anchovy, parmesan, tomato, poached egg and wagyu beef. I found this salad to be quite tasty! I love the proper amount of homemade sauce (tasted sort of like mayo and thousand island) given to this single portion, the seasoning was light but I believe since the ingredients were fresh, they kinda spoke for themselves! The poached egg wasn't this runny kind of soft-boiled but it wasn't a problem at all, the beef was quite tender and seasoned beautifully and somehow a contrary to the anchovy biscuits, but I kinda wish they would give more beef cuts tho. A lil' more wouldn't hurt.

Black Risotto
IDR 90k
It's written on the menu that the risotto should consist of wild mushrooms and I just realized it after I actually re-checked the menu as I am typing this, I couldn't find the wild mushrooms, wasn't sure it's blended in the risotto but I didn't feel any mushroom flavor or texture. Their risotto wasn't this creamy-runny risotto and the texture was a little sticky and all together just like sticky rice. However, flavor wise, it was actually quite tasty and FYI I love the presentation, look so atas!

13 Hours Pork Belly
IDR 125k
When I ordered this, I was expecting a very tender pork belly with juicy fats and salty flavor but I wasn't getting that (unless the salty savory flavor), their version of pork belly was this sort of "tenderloin" cuts with almost no fat, full meat and it wasn't tender enough for my standard even though it's been going through the 13 hour process. Taste wise, again the food here was generally tasty. I love the seasoning to the pork belly and the natural sweetness of the carrot puree blended well with the pork belly. If they could make the more tender version of it, this would be a freaking rockin dish!

Mashed Potato
Short to say, this was one of the best mashed potato I've had in life. Hands down! The texture was lovely, the flavor was appropriate with light base seasoning, it was simply creamy and smooth without any lumps without being over milky! YUM!

Pan-seared Tazmanian Salmon Trout
IDR 160k
This was the winner of the night and everything was very good on this plate: the salmon was perfectly cooked, silky, fresh and flavorful with semi-crispy skin, but I must give it to the amazing sauce made from parsley, edamame and wasabi, it was beautiful and brilliant! This simply is the MUST ORDER DISH in Amber. LOVE!!!

A little overview. Feast for the beasts!

Desserts: assorted macarons! (IDR 15k/each)

We basically order all of the macarons to try them, generally, the macarons' texture wasn't my favorite. I was very curious with their curry flavored macarons so I gave it a try, and oh, I think I forgot to mention this, but I was having lunch with Ivy and Cindy and I was glad that I was surrounded by the bottomless pits! I had a great lunch <3. The curry macaron turned out okay and sort of popcorn-ish, I was expecting the bolder spicier flavor but it was kind of covered by the sweetness of the macaron, they also have the "chili-pepper" one and it was a little more flavorful.

I have good expectations and good feelings about Amber. I had this belief that it's soon becoming one of the hippest places in Jakarta and everyone will be looking for it just like how it was with Cacaote even until now, but no, they're in a way, very different with Cacaote. Venue wise, I like Amber more than Cacaote, it's just classy and classy just how I like it (I am not arrogant but I freaking adore expensiveness *glasses on*) but for the food, both serves amazing food and price wise, it's very tolerable, just because I think most places has this kind of price range! BTW I am sure coming back for more of what Amber has in store!!!

Till the next post! Thank you very much for reading and in case I haven't greeted you all:

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU ALL!

Thank you for sharing the joy and all the good with eatandtreats. I hope you good people are blessed along the way! AMEN!

Amber Chocolate & Bar
Jalan Senopati Raya No. 61
Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan 12190
021 - 2904 4412
Opening Hours:
Chocolate and pastry boutique: 7 AM - 10 PM
Library: 10 AM - 11 PM
Sky Lounge: 5 PM - 1 AM (weekdays) and closed at 3 AM on weekends
Dresscode: sporty casual
Pricing: $$
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Map for Appetite (across and near Amber)

NORTHPOLE CAFE PANTAI INDAH KAPUK JAKARTA

Say hi to Northpole!!! The newest dessert joint in Pantai Indah Kapuk!

Specializing in sweet treats such as ice cream (the creations) and gelatos, this place is guaranteed to be the upcoming 'hip' place for sweet tooth and dessert lovers. Northpole is located align with its famous neighbor, Shirokuma but comparing those two is nonsense since they're selling completely different stuff.

The venue was designed in such a minimalist setting with a little touch of sophisticated here and there, the whole area is separated to the semi-outdoor and indoor area. I of course prefer sitting outside because of the direct access to the daylight for the picture taking purpose. For some reasons, the ambiance of the indoor and outdoor is quite different. The outdoor area had this wood furniture set, it's just such a bliss for the eye when you look at the an area painted in white, featuring wood and natural daylight! EYEGASM MAX! The indoor area was very simple and proper just like the typical cafes, only they have catchy couches! The indoor area is also the gelato display area and hereby you can choose your favorite gelato from the 10 displayed! Rumor has it that they're expanding the flavor range!

I tried the Bailey's and it was pretty decent even though I expected for the bolder alcoholy flavor! The texture of the gelato was very smooth tho!

Just like Bailey's, Ferrero is NEVER wrong!

Hot Latte
IDR 27k
The application of icons to represent a company or a restaurant is commonly used in the nowadays' scene and Northpole is not an exception. They have three different icons of Siberian Husky (which by the way is my favorite dog's breed), they're just too handsome and cute to handle! The three icons were Coco (the black Husky), Walf (the brown Husky) and Cream (the grey Husky). The picture you're looking at is the Hot Latte with Coco's face as the latte art. I loved the presentation and that cute white cup!

Smoky Pan
IDR 68k
This "Smoky Pan" is their signature creation and presentation for this establishment. First of all, no it's not hot smoky, I think you're smart enough to know that the smoke is actually the reaction between the dry ice and the water. In the portion, you're going to have six different homemade ice creams served on the dessert plate and accompanied with one topping (fruity pebbles) and whipped cream (on request). The ice creams flavors range from the creamy to the fruit based like Thai Tea, Cookies Berry, Bubble Gum, Chocolate Lemon, Lemon sorbet and Cherry. I was super fond of the Thai Tea, Cookies Berry and the Lemon Sorbet. Loving the Thai Tea flavor because it was very unique and the other two for the touch of sourness to it. The texture of the ice cream was soft, smooth but the character of the flavor was quite bold and rich. Me love!

The case when it's not only sweet looking, but the impression was pretty sweet as well!

As long as they still have it, you can actually request for the color of the pans! They have pink, blue, yellow, violet and green.

Colorful spoons!

CREAMY POT CREATIONS
Electric Lemon
IDR 39k
Presentation wise... cute! How about the flavor then? Well not as sweet as how it's seen because in fact this dessert was pretty sour, but still cute tho... sour kind of cute! Inside you're going to find the lemon sorbet with toppings like deconstructed cheese cake, corn flakes, popping candy and crumbs. When I mentioned that the lemon flavor was sour, it's actually the addicting kind of sour flavor, yes, a little awakening but overall, quite fresh!

Salted Caramel
IDR 37k
Still from their "Creamy Pot" series, this one was another kind of it. The Salted Caramel creamy pot consist of salted caramel ice cream with milk pudding, corn flakes, crumbs and caramel popcorn. Must admit they're using good quality popcorns and one whole scoop was this burst of flavor (mostly creamy and dominated by the salted caramel ice cream) and a play of texture from the flakes and crumbs!

Fruit Loops Cone
IDR 15k
For 15k this was honestly the best deal! If you notice the cone with the fruit loops looking so cute right there, well they can be. I think they're using melted marshmallow to stick the loops together and stick them on the cone and what a freaking life hacks, they stick pretty strong! Normally the serving came with one scoop of mango ice cream and the mango flavor was one of my favorites because the flavor is rich and natural (they claim to use real Mango in the production process) and again, smooth texture. It's actually a very simple idea, but having the ice cream with the fruit loops was actually pretty yum!

Chick Affogato/Affogatea
IDR 35k
They also came with another cute dessert and they're naming them the Chick Affogato/tea! As you all probably know, the affogato means that they're using espresso shots to accompany the chick shaped vanilla ice cream scoops and on the other hand, the affogatea was using the Thai tea (not Thai milk tea) as the company. This was my first time having Thai tea as the "syrup" and I was actually loving it, but you have to have them all together because the Thai tea was very bitter. I found that I was liking it better than the good old affogato.

Left: Ferrero Waffle Pop (IDR 42,5k) // Right: Enjoy Your Beer (IDR 39k)

The highlight of the Ferrero Waffle Pop must be the crushed Ferrero Rocher! I stated earlier that Chocolate, Ferrero and Bailey's just never turn wrong and indeed reflected nicely on the desserts here. Presentation and composition I also love! The waffle stick was semi-crispy but nowhere near soggy! The other condiments were corn flakes (they used a lot of corn flakes btw), Vanilla ice cream and chocolate.

The "Enjoy Your Beer" was actually their alcohol creation and made from real beers! Funny thing about the presentation was that they actually served the ice creams with peanuts, just like the bars where you have actual beers with snacks. I didn't think the peanuts did anything impressive to the flavor, it's just the matter of presentation, but the impression I got was CUTE!

In conclusion, I honestly think Northpole serves yummy ice creams or the ice cream creations! In just weeks I noticed several cafes in PIK (and I believe more) is coming to try their luck on the cold serves but so far, humbly and proudly admitting it, I think Northpole so far serves the best ice cream in PIK with good price and without leaving you feeling ripped off (at least I didn't). Good luck with this venture of yours! My impression was good, probably just the little minor here and there but it's fixable! In days, more customers are coming and keep up the good service and quality!

Northpole Cafe
Rukan Crown Golf Blok A No. 57
Pantai Indah Kapuk, Jakarta Utara 14460
Opening Hours: 11 AM - 10 PM (daily)
Pricing: $
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Map for Rukan Crown Golf PIK