Tokyo Skipjack: Japan on a steak?

This picture clearly says it all. I don't need to elaborate much about a good steak as long as they serve mine in that juicy-tender-red-in-the-middle state. Sometimes, JUST the aroma from the grill and the scent of the meat itself are satisfying enough for me.

This is the usual current trend of serving steaks in almost all cafes and restaurants in Jakarta: when not only you enjoy the meat, but they have several selections of sauces to please you.You can easily find mushroom, black pepper, and barbecue sauces as a "side dish" or sometimes, they smolder it all over the meat to add more flavors (supposedly). Whilst I still prefer to enjoy mine without the sauces, apparently, eating steaks have been taken to another whole level. Combined with Japanese fusion sauces and side dishes, Tokyo Skipjack, offering you grilled steaks with a different touch.

Small space with a semi outdoor concept. Almost similar to a street food joint, only with a few more interior and furnished chairs and tables

No local meat though.. Each steak comes with three side dishes of sauce, different types of potatoes and selectable veggies.

NZ Sirloin (75k). Grilled to perfection of what I would call medium. Accompanied with butter wasabi sauce, fries and green salad with Japanese dressing. The wasabi sauce lacked that kick of spiciness and just fell flat. While the greens were sweet savory, unique in its own kind of way.

NZ Sirloin (95k). It was so tender and juicy, I felt like biting it straight from my hands instead of cutting it. Okay, maybe that's a little too much. But I love the meat itself perfectly without the touches of any sauces. This was accompanied with Japanese chimichurri sauce. It is very oily and sour. Though can be refreshing, I finished my steak with very little help from it. The Mitsuba mash was basically mashed with Japanese parsley. It is not too dry, yet, not too creamy

I hope to add a dash of fresh grounded black pepper over my steak, but it came to no avail. For what it's worth, I was quite satisfied with the meal and I might have the potential of craving for it in the future. While I dwell upon my own agreement of the sauces, it was pouring down like crazy..Maybe it's a way of fate not wanting me to leave the place. Nevertheless, I still have to drag my tired as* back home and get some rest.

Tokyo Skipjack
Jl. Bulungan No. 16
South Jakarta, JKT 12130
(021) 9972 5000

SATE JEPANG : a little yakitori vendor in Bintaro

'Too many cooks spoil the food', well, that is a saying that I believe just fine when I was hanging out as one of the 20 people. The larger the group, the harder it seems to find a mutual destination, in this case, a good place to eat. The problem is either no one is making a choice or everybody wants to go with their own choices.

After an hour of just sitting, with dubious multiple decisions, I have somehow used my right as an individual to utter my choice, my craving, my curiosity of a particular street food vendor that I have been lured by the idea of it for months. It was a secluded yakitori vendor in Bintaro, famous with the name of Sate Jepang among the inhabitants of the area. It's a funny thing how one mind can affect other's. So the next thing I knew, there we were, a breezy 6 p.m, on the side of Maleo street.

To my disappointment, we arrived with no presence of any vendors. Back to square one, we all stepped out of our cars and began discussing our next destination. Here's another funny thing, call it something about fate or just pure damn luck, as we were all busy dwelling, there it was. A small yakitori cart pushed by two skinny men, approaching us. Well, being dubious wasn't a bad thing after all.

No, this was not a 'Silent Hill' setting. It was just too smoky as they were setting up the tools. And no, that was not me or any of my friends. lol

Once again, 'Too many cooks spoil the food'. Too much of everything has never been a good thing. This is a concept which I think they get really well. They only offer you with three choices of yakitori. Either you have chicken skin or chicken meat skewers (breast or drumstick). It was easy in deciding what to order as we were all just faced with three options. Sometimes less is definitely more.

Is it normal to call it chicken thigh?  The yakitori was coated with a thick brown sweet savory sauce that gave it its kick in the taste buds. 

Make your request for extra crispy skin. TOP NOTCH. Each portion is worth for 10k, with a total of 5 skewers. Not fulfilling enough, that's why we ordered most of the stock for the night.

If we have lontong for satay's company, this vendor have onigiri (8k). You can choose between just plain rice or the ones with tuna fillings. Since they also grill the onigiris, the outside layer of the rice became a bit crispy, in a good way.

I always have a special thing for street food vendors. It was more exciting to discover a new unexposed cheap 'it-destination'. I warn you fancy diner fans, this place has no high-end touches in every way possible. It is the place to sit on the side of a road with plastic chairs and minimum lighting, with minimum care in the world but with lots of fun teasing and bullying your friends. Not forgetting, the misty setting from the thick smoke will blur out your vision. I was unable to see anything further than a 2 meter distance and I also ended up smelling like yakitori for the whole night. I have no complains though, it was the highlight of my day, both the yakitori and the crazy times I had with my friends.

We bought most of the stock for the night. In an hour and a half, there were none left. I only had a portion and an onigiri for the night, but I also kept taking my friend's portion as we sat there. It's a bit ruthless that we left almost nothing for the other customers. After all, we were the first customers.. ;p

Beijing Trip : Part 2 - Fried Scorpions.. Nyum..

Am currently munching on classic original Pringles. Yes, they're freshly opened by Moi, the ruthless muncher when it comes to chips.. or popcorn.. or anything else that tempt me along the way.. Anyway, the fact that I am utterly enjoying myself right now is going to be a little bit ironic compared to what I am about to write. I promised you this post will involve something 'not-so-good-looking' fiesta. I do also sincerely hope that this post won't scare or disgust you in any way.. That's why I am eating my Pringles just to prove you that it's not that horrible.. If you can't take it, maybe just scroll the page down a bit faster than your usual pace.. Deal? Okay.. Here we go..

WANG FU JING
Another famous shopping street that is not only swarmed with tourists, but the locals themselves as well. This street has been used since the Ming Dynasty. If we translated it, WangFuJing literally means Prince's Mansion Well, and yes, the well itself is still there. In the present day, the street itself is a host to many local famous Beijing brands, from tea houses to a photo studio that have lasted for generations.

The pedestrianized shopping street has special alleys that sell street food. From simple Tang Hu Lu (caramelized fruits on a stick) to Chuanr (Chinese kebabs).

Tang Hu Lu.. The strawberries are my favorite

Lamb Chuanr.. They sprinkle it with chili powder if you want it spicy..

Yes, they're yummy.. I have always loved Chuanr.. 

I am not even sure what this is..

Yumminess everywhereeeee

CHOU TOU FU a.k.a Smelly Tofu..

I am still not a fan. My brother claimed that the smelly tofu in the Northern China is very different with the one in the South. He said the one he had in Guang Zhou was super yummy..

 Then, after the normal food, you will definitely spot a rather crowded food stall. People are just flocking there and they seemed to be oh so fascinated and curious at the same time..

It's none other than the.. EXOTIC INSECT STALL... alive and kickin, ready to be cooked and served..

All the scorpions stick above are somehow still alive. They are still trying to break free, kicking their feet here and there..

Cocoons and crickets.. These one were dead though..

Very much alive and kickin.. Except the seahorse.. 

Starfishes are the most expensive treat compared to other insects or sea creatures.. I once watch Andrew Zimmern ate a starfish and he said it's like eating crab shells SO I decided not to go for it..

The choices.. Okay the big scorpions on the left scared me, I ate earthworms in my previous China trip before, seahorses are too damn cute to be eaten, starfish will taste like crab shells. Maybe the small scorpions will do..

So yes, this is my just freshly fried Scorpions.. Kiss em goodbye

Eaten in less than 3 minutes, less than 3 pictures. All the other tourists there were like staring at me, disgusted, as if I was this one crazy chick. One even recorded me eating it and then shrug off his own shoulders. The verdict :  It's crunchy. Tasted like a random earthy snack. The body is where the earthy smell came from. The rest was not a big deal. The earthworms are worse.. Now I have one thing to cross off of my list :)

Next Destination.. or maybe the next thing we had..

Had this in some random food court. Yes, you can choose whatever you want, they'll boil it for you with some mala sauce consisting Sichuan peppercorns. Careful not to bite the peppercorns, either way you'll feel your tongue go numb. On the side is MaJiang sauce, made of grounded sesame seed, WHICH I AM TOTALLY IN LOVE WITH.. They're just savory, not as sweet as Indonesian's peanut sauce.  

Still not full, so we decided to grab a subway to go for sharing

There used to be one Subway stall in Plaza Senayan, Jakarta. I really wish it's still open..

My 6-inch Parmesan Oregano Subway Club.. Oh in case you're wandering, I ate this in a McDonald where my brother ate fried chicken wings.. In my defense, I only grabbed one.. 

SUPER DUPER YUMMINESS..

THE NEXT DAY

I just loveeeeee Chinese fresh peaches. They're very different from the American or the canned ones. The peach smells AMAZING, the fruit meat is lusciously tender and juicy. Super LOVE

COCO CURRY HOUSE

This curry chained restaurant lets you personalize your meal individually. You can choose how many grams of rice you want and what additional ingredients you would like to have..

My big sis was craving for Coco Curry for ever since she went back to Indonesia, so this was a must have for her.

Stir fried ginger-flavored pork curry (33yuan). It looked minimalist, well, because I ordered the smallest portion of rice with no additional ingredients. It looked rather empty. The stir fried pork somehow really has an infused ginger smell. It's like combining something so Chinese with a Japanese curry twist..

Pork Curry Cutlet (35Yuan). Additional ingredients : Tofu and ochra..

Another Pork Cutlet Curry with additional cheese. Oh the cheese made it so yummy. When my brother scooped it up, it turned into this half melted gooey ready to be eaten cheese..  

Coco Curry House
Sanyuanqiao 三元桥
B1, Duhui Tiandi Shang Chang, 1-3 Xinyuanli Nanlu, Chaoyang District
Website : www.ichibanya.com.cn

 WAGAS CAFE (again..)

This branch is definitely more spacious. Many foreigners indeed. Everybody's talking in English, it almost felt like I was at Singapore. Same concept in each branch. I still think it's very cozy. If they have Wagas in Indonesia, I'd definitely hang out there A LOT

Carrot Cake

Coconut Macaroon, not macaron

Again the cappuccino and iced coffee.. We need our dose of caffeine.. 

My brother striking a pose.. 

RANDOM PHOTO MOMENT

Okay, this is nothing related to food. This is the CCTV Building. Talking about crazy architecture, this is MADNESS COME TO LIFE.. Will you feel secure if your office is located in the very tip of that pillar-less, foundation-less part of the building..

MOVING ON..
If we have Breadtalk all over Indonesia, then the Chinese have 85°C Bakery. Not sure why it's called 85 degrees..

Everywhere I see this bakery, it's always this crowded. People keep squirming in for fresh baked breads and cakes

THIS IS THE REAL DEAL! I have been craving for more of these cute tiny soft cheesecakes. One box is worth 11 yuan.  It's like this little heavenly drop of perfect cheesecakes in your mouth.. SUPER LOVE

From puddings to milk teas..

The choices of bread are surprisingly very many compared to our local chained bakeries. They all somehow looked so tempting.. Well, I am a sucker for pastries.. 

CAKESSSSSS

Here is the view from outside. Look at the choices of the breads. And this is only the breads. 

Bro, sis, and her friend.. We bought the breads for tomorrow's early journey.. 

Okay.. This ends my Beijing Trip : Part 2 post.. I gotta hurry cause I am about to go out with my Mum.. Next post : more restaurants.. more northern Chinese feast.. more tourist spots.. and bears in the Great Wall.. *huh? come again?*

WELL, until next time.. Caooo