WAKUWAKU JAPAN CAFE GANDARIA CITY JAKARTA

WakuWaku Japan, the well-known TV station from Japan is creating a new vibe in order to enhance the awareness of Jakartans about them, just last week I attended the grand opening of their very own pop-up cafe, WakuWaku Japan Cafe located at Kaffein in Gandaria City shopping mall.

This cafe is going to be operating for two months, and will be concentrating in catering their very own selections of artisan-traditional Japanese cuisine. If you've been to Kaffein before then you probably know that venue wise, the cafe's not exactly spacious, but I must say the outdoor area (smoking area) was quite spacious and could accomodate up to 30 people, comparing to the indoor area with only 10 people capacity. The indoor area was redecorated to this Japanese styled dining area with pillows and plaited mat.

The menu range here was actually quite simple, they only serve Japanese cuisine, Japanese desserts and Japanese tea. For the Japanese cuisine, they're specializing on the Chazuke dishes. If you are not aware of what Ochazuke is, well it's actually a famous Japanese style dish where you pour on hot broth made from green tea and meat stock on (usually) rice and raw meat in a bowl.  I happened to try out all four of their Japanese food but unfortunately I didn't have the chance to actually try the desserts because they were not available at that time. Their ocha (green tea) was actually quite fragrant, rich but in the same time mild in overall.

The team showcasing how the food was going to be presented.

photo courtesy of Eshtravaganza

All of their Chazuke dishes were served with Nori (seaweed), Japanese pickles and Wasabi and if you order any of the food, the price already included refillable Japanese tea such as Matcha, Sencha and Hojicha and you can choose to have it hot or cold.

Tai Chazuke

IDR 120k

I normally have salmon Ochazuke but this Tai Chazuke from WakuWaku Japan Cafe actually used the white snapper as the raw ingredient. I was quite fond of the broth because it was tasty, rich in flavor but there's that sense of mildness on the aftertaste. The fish was fresh and delightly pre-seasoned with some of their homemade ingredients!

Tempura Chazuke
IDR 120k
Again with the same concept, same broth and serving presentation only this tempura chazuke, as you guess, consist of beautiful deep fried tempuras (shrimp, eggplants, spinach).


Sake Chazuke
IDR 120k
This was another version of the chazuke and they're using grilled salmon on top of rice. The salmon was seasoned decently but I just didn't find this out of the world special.

Chirasi Sushi
IDR 150k
This dish was not a part of the Chazuke so it's served dry without the broth. This was actually more like a sushi due to the usage of Japanese sticky rice, salmon roe (Ikura) and then topped with condiments like seafood, vegetables and eggs. This was slighlty more unique and 'moist', however I was expecting more surprises from the overall flavor impression and it's quite hefty for IDR 150k to be honest.

Since the event was for bloggers and influencers invited, right after finishing our meals, we did have fun on the stage area because they were also having mini bazaar and photo booths!

Heard this guy has won a lot of Kendama championship. FYI Kendama is a classic Japanese cup and ball game and it's not abc easy damnit.

The super duper nice Mr. Tetsuya Osafune wearing funny looking mask!

Ultraman!!! FYI the costume was the original Ultraman costume and imported straight from Japan!

Told you they also had kimono and photo booths, but since we're not exactly happy with the backdrop we decided to take photos just around the stage area. Luckily, they had the sakura tree displayed and set around and the pink flare you're seeing is real! I actually placed the branch around my camera and the blurred part will create this effect. See? Another easy photo tutorial!

Some other candids!

Clara "lucedale" Devi

Generally the food here's not bad and concept wise, pretty interesting. I humbly admit that I am loving the broth from the Ochazuke dishes. Some might find the price pretty hefty for the price that they're paying but considering all ingredients are imported from Japan managed to put in a little sense. I still would love you guys to try this and feel free to drop your comments below if you've tried them! The last operational day will be on January 28th so you wanna be hurry!

For more info visit their site -> WAKUWAKU CAFE

WakuWaku Japan Cafe
Mainstreet Dining UG - Unit #MUC33
Gandaria City
Jl. Sultan Iskandar Muda 
Kebayoran Lama, Jakarta Selatan 12240
Opening Hours: 10 AM - 10 PM (weekdays)
Dresscode: Casual

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email: eatandtreatsindo@gmail.com

Map for Gandaria City

Fook Yew Bubble Tea, Gandaria City!

Fook Yew is another Ismaya group culinary invention and I always get the chill everytime I know Ismaya is behind all this, it must be great! Actually this restaurant/bubble tea lab has already been a while there in Gandaria City Mall, I've always been looking forward to having my bubble drink experience there and fortunately I happened to visit this gorgeous decorated restaurant/bubble tea lab few moments ago.

My eyes went straight to the hung lampions, they are just drop dead gorgeous! I think Ismaya's restaurant always ring classy, vintage, classic and always there's something special that really represents that restaurant (you do know if you happen to visit and aware that the venues are Ismaya's). Fook Yew offers you great choices of chinese culinary, but for now I'm going to focus on the bubble drinks. Let me tell you something; you'll go crazy for this bubble drink at the very first sip.

I came with my sister (right) and her friend, Crysti.

me :)

Fook Yew bubble teas are divided into two categories: the alcohol and the non-alcohol. We gave shots at the non-alcohol ones. The drinks that we ordered were (from left to right):
- Kung Fu Hustle (thai milk tea with tapioca balls)
- Once Upon a Time in China (green tea and kum quat with tapioca balls)
- Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (classic milk tea with tapioca balls/grass jelly)

Wondering about the price? each cost me IDR. 39.000 (before tax). Surely the most expensive bubble drink I've ever tried and it only came in one size only: medium.

But if you ever heard the phrase 'you get what you paid', this is surely for me a great example of it, the bubble tea is totally addictive, and to be honest I'm having a mouth watering moment because I want this again again and again, I really recommend you guys the classic Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (classic milk tea with tapioca balls), from these three, that is my favorite one.

As a short conclusion, Ismaya is the champion for bringing the bubble drink experience to the next level, I can warn the competitors to really watch out. LOL. Classic example where quality really becomes a priority.

Too bad I didn't have the chance to taste the alcohol ones because we didn't want to get ourselves very full since I have another food tasting invitation at that moment :'). By the way, the alcohol bubble drinks will cost you IDR 69k (before tax).

In conclusion, these bubble drinks are super worth to try, it worths your 40k+, you'll fall in love.

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Fook Yew

Gandaria City Mall

Jalan Sultan Iskandar Muda

Jakarta Selatan