FRESCORISTO JAKARTA - ONE OF THE GOOD CHEAP EATS? (+ GIVEAWAY)

I am trying to keep things low key awesome here and reviewed this recent finding which actually has been around (aka opening) for one year, without any further ado, say hi to Frescoristo!

DO NOT trust Google Maps or Waze here because they directed me to the wrong direction and almost reaching Pondok Indah Mall, so first suggestion for them is to change and reset the cafe location. It's not exactly isolated, but the fact that this cafe is small might be the reason why you skipped at glance, if you make your way from Jalan Sultan Iskandar Muda and heading to Pondok Indah Mall, you know that there are two underpass tunnels and do not take the second one, instead turn left before the second underpass and Fresco's located not too far, precisely beside Gepuk Nyonya Ong and align with the Mini Cooper car showroom.

Upon arrival you'll be greeted with this blackboard with some of their best selling menus written on it, Fresco was nothing fancy but again don't judge its book by it's cover because you never know what you're signed up for once you enter the door.

You should aware by now that they're Italian restaurant <3

Still on Christmas vibe

Fresco's interior was very simple but somehow homey with moderate lighting, and they also have the second floor dedicated for smoking guests with this more lounge like ambiance. The sitting capacity on the first floor wasn't exactly much, the whole floor could prolly acomodate 30 people. As for the food, the range was honestly larger that I initially expected & featured the common classic Italian cuisine (from appetizer, mains, rice dishes, pasta to desserts) with their own touch and made fresh from their own kitchen, unfortunately the menu was lacking 'pizza' which somehow should be the most Italian, but anyway to be fair, I don't crave for pizza anytime as it's probably my least favorite kind of Italian food.

For appetizers, they have various kinds of Salads, Fish Finger, Onion Rings, Calamari Rings, rice dishes feature Beef Marinara & Stroganoff, range of pasta was the widest and they have Aglio Olio, Pesto & Chicken, Bolognaise, Carbonara, Meatball, Italian Stroganoff, Butterlemon Shrimp and one that I was most attracted to: Al-Funghi (mushroom fan here are you as well?). Highly recommend thrist quencher was their coffee and soda drinks.

Price range for food here starts from IDR 30k-85k - seriously CHEAP AS FUCK!

Truffle Fries - IDR 30k
They gotta be freakin kidding me with their truffle fries, seriously UBER GENEROUS with generous truffle oil dressing and salty in the most delicious way. This will make you happy, seriously.

I don't know what's it with this fries, maybe they cook it so beautifully that it might be among the good ones that I've tried in town.

PASTA WITH A CHOICE OF LINGUINE/SPAGHETTI/CAPELLINI

Al Funghi Pasta - IDR 46k

Bitch are you seriously livin? IDR 46k for this pasta you're looking at! By this I mean generous portion with generous amount of mushroom topping and overall a decent one! When I ordered this I didn't expect to have the best pasta I've ever had in my life that I am dying of the goodness but this honestly surpassed my standard! The seasoning was beautiful and it was perfectly creamy just not too much. Short to say, this was delicious!

Meatball Pasta - IDR 46k
Opted for linguine on this one, the pasta was dressed & tossed with Marinara sauce, topped with three meatballs and Mozarella cheese. Not so much into tomato based sauce but this one was fresh with decent amount given, the meatballs were meaty (that's the most important) and mozarella just made everything better.

Tenderloin Steak - IDR 85k

For steaks they have selections like Rib Eye, Tenderloin, Sirloin and Salmon (seafood) and how often do you get Tenderloin for IDR 85k? Don't think so, that doesn't stop there as the steak also came with sides like greens, that you can choose (mashed/fries/wedges and mushroom/blackpepper/BBQ sauce).

Ordered medium and they gave me spot on medium (say hello to the juicy pink center below), overall the steak was juicy and tender enough but don't expect to have the most tender steak (remember you get what you're paying and I am giving my judgement from different perspective), they seasoned the steak with a pinch of salt & pepper that's why it's a bit light when you only had the steak, as it was meant to be paired with the thick sauce, the mushroom sauce was pretty thick and rich, again plotted to be the perfect pair to the steak.

Skipped on dessert because I was super full, when I return I'll definitely give that a shot!

Decent food, friendly service (I like how the staff here's polite and attentive) and no other bullshit. Fresco is the place to go if you're on a budget but wanted to have a nice little date with that someone special, remember it should be who you're with on a date with and then the food to contribute to the Q-time.

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Frescoristo

Jl. Sultan Iskandar Muda No. 8J

Gandaria, Kebayoran Lama

Jakarta Selatan 12240

021 - 7278 7228

Opening hours: 10 AM-10 PM

Average spending for two: IDR 200k

Dresscode: none

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Map for Fresco Ristorante

MY 2016 BEST NINE ON INSTAGRAM! #2016bestnine

So here are my BEST NINE (aka 9 of the most liked pictures) on my Instagram this year. The first picture generated 13k likes and I was unfollowed by 1k people the next day, if you're Indonesian you'll understand why that happens.

But do I give a flying fuck? No.

NEVER value or try to compare yourself with others just based on the amount of followers & likes you're having. While I am grateful and thankful, I just want to make it clear that earning 5.5 million likes is not the most important thing, it's how you use and connect with your channels, not exactly how big it is.

Thank you for such an amazing 2016! This year has been amazing for travels: finally revisited Australia and Japan, first time to Vietnam, also the year where I push myself more and more in terms of producing good and creative contents, and I am aware that I have to work even harder in 2017, you know that art of 'pushing the boundaries', 'setting the bar', 'starting off' and 'getting what you deserve' that I found beautiful and exciting *wink*.

Now let's cheers to the more awesome & fabulous 2017!!! Any idea where to travel this year? :)

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FAT SHOGUN JAKARTA

In the previous post I told you how in the last two months 6 new restaurants opened in Lingkar Mega Kuningan and literally next to Atico, another newly opened Modern-Japanese themed restaurant: Fat Shogun!

The polite and friendly server told me that Fat Shogun is owned and managed by the same peeps who own Lawangwangi Creative Space, anyway why polite and friendly? Well the whole time she was being polite, and friendly because she did offer me to tour and restaurant, little gesture like this I appreciate, so as usual before we go on with the food, PLACE TOUR!

Overall, the interior design was this mixture of minimalist and industrial-modern with almost nothing Japanese about it but the gate that you usually find at Japanese temples (Torii), well just because you open a Japanese restaurant that doesn't mean you have to look "Japanese", take Hatchi for another example. They have three dining areas here in Fat Shogun, the main indoor dining area with capacity for two, four and groups, the VIP room for 10 (unfortunately there was no AC yet on my visit and it was seriously fucking humid) and the outdoor area where it's a little more laid back and I could seriously picture private small event held here, it offered you a nice zen like outdoor area with the not to bad view of Mega Kuningan. For details of their pricing and stuff you better contact them personally because I don't own this place so please don't ask me :(.

Anyway literally every week I receive 3-4 random emails from people booking tables through me from certain restaurants that I reviewed here, seriously dude what is happening with you guyssssssssss I can't believe it's THAT hard to differentiate my blog with online reservation websites, I don't know who email me personally if that happens to be the boss' assistant if you're reading this you might want to consider changing the position because they certainly are not qualified enough.

It's just that you receive that LITERALLY every single week, the first year I found it very funny, well still very funny but dumb as well.

Christmas themed deco, loving the candles.

Rustic plant I love!

PHOTOGENIC MUCH!

Mini rustic mistletoe

Here they occupy the live kitchen, I don't know I just always love the live kitchen concept, sometimes watching cooks on duty can be pretty entertaining, something alive about it and something serious, yet fun, yet convincing.

OUTDOOR AREA

See what I mean? The outdoor area wasn't exactly spacious but you can definitely throw a private party for 20 here? Maybe a corporate event or private birthday?

Photo below taken with iPhone 7, I have been using the cam to take wide shots, results do not disappoint!

The Mega Kuningan view

More love for the little details, rustic plant arrangement that you'll find at every table.

The range of the food in Fat Shogun was still limited, but not like little-little. At the moment, expect to find selections of bar snacks, rolls, appetizer, mains, soup and dessert.

From their 'Bar Snacks' you can find selections of lights bites like Edamame, Ox Tongue Nachos, Beef Heart Skewer to the heavier one like Spider Burger, and as for the appetizers they have Maguro Tataki, Tuetano Parilla (grilled bone marrow), Salmon Cheese Croquettes. For the mains, they highlighted their A4 Japanese Wagyu, Unagi Fideua, and Nagoya Bowl the most! Dessert? We honestly skipped any because we were to full but they have some interesting ones like Tokyo Dream Tiramisu, Winter Citrus Tart, Nashi Pear Crumble and Matcha Creme Brulee.

Not very sure if they'll roll the menu or what, but price range for the food here is about IDR 65k-650k.

Unagi Fideua - IDR 150k

We ordered several mains and I gotta tell you that they cook unagi like a champ as it was among the best ones I've had so far in town. For this particular dish, I honestly had zero complaint! The pasta was cooked perfectly, almost like this undercooked al-dente texture but guess what? I like it. The seasoning was mainly salty with a hint of garlic-savory but it was honestly the unagi that deserve the praises: soft, moist, well-marinated, pure yum!

Nagoya Bowl - IDR 125k

The Nagoya Bowl came with seasoned rice & unagi in a hot stone pot, wasabi, nori, spring onion and Bonito soup (fish stock).

Even though they suggested that the serving's done with the soup, but I honestly liked the dry version better where you mix everything all together and live with it (not to mention the rice was seasoned too), the soup however was seasoned nicely, it was salty but delicious and spot on.

 Loco Maguro - IDR 160k

The Loco Maguro roll consist of mainly salmon and spicy tuna in Aburi style, if this wasn't for that spicy-tangy dressing on top of the roll, the roll won't be anything special. I tried to figure out the special points of this roll but I didn't find any, not sure if it was the element that was so even altogether that nothing really stood out, to my liking, the dressing could be stronger to elevate the overall flavor.

Fatsho Roll - IDR 150k
My problem was pretty much the same as the Loco Maguro above, nothing really stood out or special about this roll, not that it's not delicious, but the flavor was not quite there yet, nothing hit my palate on the spot.

Anyway gotta give it to the beautiful rolls presentation! Appreciate the effort.

A restaurant built with effort on the design, some of the food that I tried could really be better but overall everything was enjoyable to be honest, service was attentive and on point polite without being overly stiff. Good luck in the game Fat Shogun!

Anyway, it's Christmas day today so MERRY JOLLY CHRISTMAS for my celebrating readers! Not gonna go with all the bullshit over the top wishes, I just want to wish you and I the peace on your soul, believe me that's what you'll appreciate better more than the physical things.

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Fat Shogun

R fl. Menara BTPN, Lingkar Mega Kuningan

Jalan Dr. Ide Anak Agung Kav. 5.5-5.6

Kuningan, Jakarta Selatan 12950

021 - 2295 8196

Opening hours: 11 AM-Midnight

Average spending for two: IDR 300k

Dresscode: none

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Map for Fat Shogun

ATICO BY JAVANEGRA - JAKARTA

It's just one week away from the start of 2017 and Jakarta's F&B scene, particularly around the CBD-Mega Kuningan area has been growing rapidly good for some time now, in two weeks I have dined at 4 new restaurants in Mega Kuningan, well that's considered a good number for Mega Kuningan standard.

If you're new to the scene, here's how you can describe the typical Mega Kuningan restaurants: fancy, casual fine dining & middle-high end, that's for sure, but that doesn't mean the "neighborhood" doesn't cater the more affordable options as they have Oakwood with its good yet more pocket-friendly tenants, but no I am going to talk about Oakwood in this entry, because this post is dedicated to one of the most memorable dining experience this month: ATICO by JAVANEGRA!

I am such a huge huge fan of Javanegra, both their coffee and food! I was first introduced by my best friend Sari Siregar and if you're reading this you should follow my main bitch because she freaking has one of the most blessed palate and most importantly she understands food that's simply why she is my favorite dining partner and besides personal stuff we talk about food all the freaking time when we catch up! Too bad she couldn't accompany me to have lunch here but I was here with also my very-very good friends Nadia, Adity & Ana! Ok back to my first encounter, Sari asked me to join her for lunch at their first Kramat Pela outlet and I was stunned by how simple the food but it was the flavor and freshness of the ingredient that really did all the talking. The owner, Andrea was this person with much passion for food and he surely loves to cook and his hobby brought his to open that first Gandaria Kramat Pela outlet, and this...

Atico is located at the newly introduced office building Menara BTPN Rooftop floor (I don't know why they refer the floor as rooftop because it was not) and that building's going to be the home to some of the new and soon to open restaurants in Jakarta, including Fat Shogun which I visited just last week but to lazy to do the review (so fingers crossed soon). Place wise, Atico was definitely way more spacious, classier looking and I love how they still include the earthy homey vibe and that signature live kitchen of theirs (only larger at this outlet), I'm the marble table guy and I was super glad that they occupy these thin marble tables which were so photogenic, and if you love flatlays you're going to love this!

Upon entrance, you'll see this bar area aka where the holy liquors are composed and of course since they're mostly well known as a coffee roaster, they also have coffee machines and manual brew machines if you fancy coffee beverages.

Macallan

Around the bar area, there's this small cake display, I saw some banana bread, baileys tart, carrot cake  and more, as for the croissants, they were displayed around the live kitchen area.

Wine and champagne storage

For smoking guests or if you're just in the mood to sit outside in touch with the open air, there's this al-fresco area and since they're located at the R floor, it's tall enough for you to see the Mega Kuningan neighborhood, and the sky was this beautiful vanilla twilight yesterday (picture of the sky below).

As for the food, if you've been to their first Kramat Pela outlet, the menu's pretty much the same simple homecook Spanish-French cuisine with several specials on this outlet, and as for the drink, they emphasize on serving mainly wine and coffee, but rest assure as they also have selections of common drinks (water, soft drinks, tea, and non-coffee). Price range for the food is around IDR 70k-2 mil, not exactly the cheapest for sure.

Even before actually eating, I had good feeling about the lunch already, something about how the package everything that rang serious to me, it's almost like once you're seated you're prepared to have good food.

Tortilla de Patatas - IDR 35k
Had this as appetizer and to prepare me from more food I was about to have. This is the Spanish style potato omelette and yes the main ingredients were egg and potato. It's pretty delicious with spot-on seasoning and generous thick yet soft & moist potato cuts.

Aragula con Parmigiano - IDR 110k
They charged me IDR 110k for basically arugula leaves + pear and olive-balsamic dressing and no-cheese (even though I asked for none) which I considered very expensive.

I initially did not ask the waiter how much this was and just directly asked him if they had arugula salad here, yet I didn't expect to be charged that much.

Champignon with White Truffle Oil - IDR 95k
This was one of my most favorite of yesterday's lunch, perfectly creamy pasta with generous mushroom and truffle oil drizzle, it was just very aromatic, light but very fresh, creamy without being overly milky, such a simple pleasure without the need to feel guilty, totally recommending this!

Capellini Con Erizos y Caviar & Uni - IDR 295k

This menu's dedicated for those who are avid fan of angel hair type pasta, sea urchin (uni) and caviar. Fortunately Nadia and Adity were not fond of both uni and caviar so I had everything for myself HAHA! This dish was thicker and creamier compared to the Champignon pasta above but the consistency was perfect and it didn't bloat your palate off! I appreciate their authentic approach on their meals so if you found the pasta a tad bland, make sure you feel the freshness of the meal because that's how your properly cook it, and for this dish, I suggest mix everything together as the uni and caviar gave this hint of saltiness to the meal.

Uni and caviar both fresh af

Pollo Assado - IDR 150k

Normally not into chicken dishes but I saw they sold half portion of roasted chicken for IDR 150k so that better be worth it, and boy it fuckin was! The chicken was so beautifully cooked that the meat was soft and tender along with the semi-crispy skin, I think it was also the homemade savory sauce that really elevated the flavor and changed the game, it was just so tasty & complemented the chicken very nicely. Depends on how much you eat but half portion of this could be shared for three.

Grilled Wagyu Striploin - IDR 395k

MY NUMBER ONE FAVORITE MEAL HERE and always consistently good! First tried this in Javanegra and been falling for this ever since. Always go for medium or medium-rare and you'll understand why I rave so much about it. I totally dismissed the garlic sauce and went with a little salt drizzle on the beef, pure sex on each bite.

Baileys Cheesecake - IDR 55k

Was here for about three hours, I had my best friends with me, we chatted so much and the sky was just sweeter than the dessert.

It's always nice to have sun flirts with your skin, but this place definitely looked and felt more alive and intimate during the night, and PS for the last two weeks, they've always been super busy on dinner time so DO make your reservations!

This for my annual best meal list? Stay tuned, but Atico is definitely one of the strongest newcomers, food wise, place wise, service wise all terrific. Congratulations Andrea and team, please keep up the amazing work!

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Atico by Javanegra

R fl. Menara BTPN, Lingkar Mega Kuningan

Jalan Dr. Ide Anak Agung Kav. 5.5-5.6

Kuningan, Jakarta Selatan 12950

021 - 2295 8194

Opening hours: 8 AM-Midnight

Average spending for two: IDR 400k

Dresscode: none

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email: eatandtreatsindo@gmail.com

Map for Menara BTPN