Saturday, April 30, 2011

Sushi Frenzy at Sushi Groove! #SGFoodTastingPanel

Japanese food, especially sushi, has always had a special place in my heart (and tummy of course), so boy was I excited when I got an invite from @ismaya to be a part of their food tasting panel for @SushiGroove's new menu! I'm familiar with SG's previous sushi menu, and I know they really like to take fusion sushi to the next level, so I made sure all my agendas were all cleared so I can go there.

It was quite a trip to Citywalk from Pulogadung (where my previous meeting was) because of the traffic, the rain, and of course being 7-month pregnant was also a contributing factor, but I finally made it - and was so glad I went through all that because 12 new menus from SG were there to make it all up!

Finishing 12 sushi dishes wasn't easy, so it's a good thing I have another 8 people in the food tasting panel to share the "obligation" LOL xD

OK let's move on to the new menus. Let's start with my faves, shall we?
Here they are, in order of preference

Mango Megumi Roll

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When I first read the description, I was a bit sceptic. I mean,c'mon.. Salmon - Mango - Cream Cheese, rolled into 1? But then I tried it aandd.. I love it! Have never been a fan of any fruits + rice combo (except avocado) but this one's seriously really good! It tastes fresh, and somehow the fresh salmon - mango - cream cheese just made sense. And the tobiko also adds to the richness of the flavor. Am so definitely in love with this dish and I think Sushi Groove should make it their signature dish!

Salmon Mentai Roll

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On the contrary to Mango Megumi Roll, for this one - reading the description alone already made me feel this would be a fail-proof choice. Diced fresh salmon, onion, mentaiko mayo - all torched? That's all of my fave things in one roll! And it really was good! Every time this plate arrives at our table, it was all gone in a swoosh because everyone on the panel loved it so much!

A little secret, I'm not supposed to eat anything raw during pregnancy, but I just cant resist this one (and the mango megumi roll hihihi xp). And because they're just sooo goooddd, I guess a little cheating is OK. Consider it a training for #BabyQ to like fresh salmon even from the womb *excuses, excuses*

Unamon Roll

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Unagi and Salmon torched on top of crunchy kani tempura, plus a hint of mayo . 
Now what can go wrong with that? Like Joey would say: Unagi, good. Salmon, good. Kani, good. Mayonnaise, gooood!

Black Pearl

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Don't like fish? This could be an option. This roll is filled with smoked beef and unagi, topped with flamed black tobiko.Anything with unagi is good for me, and am not surprised that it  goes well with smoked beef, tobiko, and tempura crunch. Too bad for this one the tobiko tasted a bit smoky for me. That's something that can be improved for this dish. Aside from that, all good!

Firefly Roll

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SG's new menu has just about everything, This one's good if you're into ebi tempura (I know I am!). And it gets better. It's got torched salmon and tuna on top of the roll, plus a small slice chili to top it all off, gives a bit of that spicy sting. If you're into spicy food, don't be fooled with the spicy icon on the menu. For someone who has a high tolerance of spiciness,like me, this is nothing. Seriously. 

So those are my top 5 out of the 12 new dishes.
These are the rest. They're quite OK - but if you only have room in your stomach for 5 dishes, I'd definitely recommend the ones on top :)

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Pirate's Roll
Soft shell crab roll topped with smoked beef, onion, and a slice of fresh chili. You should try this if you're into that sweet-sour taste. If you're not, then maybe it'd be best just to try other things on the menu.

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Angry Bird. 
I was expecting to see something red and fluffy, but it looks like I just play too much of the game haha! As you can see, it looks nothing like the birds on angry birds ^^;;

The description on the menu says that this is spicy chicken karaage roll topped with melted mozzarella cheese and togarashi - and it's labeled spicy. But again, if you're really into spicy food, this is not spicy at all. And I can't really taste the cheese, either. Maybe that's something SG can improve on this dish

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Saboro Chicken Roll. 
Chicken sprinkles wrapped in kani salad, tuna, and avocado. I'm a fan of almost any sushi dish with avocado in it, so this one was alright. Although compared to the other dishes, this one was quite bland and not as rich as the others in flavor combination

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Shibuya Roll. 
Tempura roll topped with fresh tuna and unagi. I had to put the tuna aside since it was raw (am not that fond of tuna, so it's not worth the pregnancy restriction cheat ;P), but the unagi & tempura crunch already made a good combo. 

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Alligator Roll.  
Looks more like caterpillar roll don't you think? xD This roll has gindara tempura + fresh avocado inside, and topped with sweet & spicy sauce. For me the sweet & spicy sauce was a bit too much. WIthout the sauce would be a better option for me. But others in the panel liked it, so I guess it's just a matter of taste - as always.

Now that's 10 menu already. The other two I didn't try, but I have the pictures here in case you're curious

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Devil Tuna Roll. 
Fresh tuna & mayo topped with tobiko & togarashi. Didn't try it because the tuna was raw. Again, raw tuna --> not worth the pregnancy restriction cheat ;P

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Deep Forrest Roll. 
Confession: didn't try this one because it's got nothing but vegetables. Wouldn't be able to stand it ^^;;

All these dishes are already available at Sushi Groove, so you can go yourself and give them a try. Price vary from 18K (only for Deep Forrest) to 55K, but the average is around 40K-ish.

Thank you once again to @ismaya and @sushigroove for the invite! Looking forward to more food tasting events v(^^

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# posted by @dessey : 10:01 AM  0 Comments

Saturday, April 09, 2011

Magnum Cafe Jakarta: A Twist To Your Magnum Experience

First, a little introduction.
Magnum Cafe is a pop-up restaurant from Magnum. Yes, Magnum the Ice Cream from Wall's.

It's located at Grand Indonesia Shopping Town, West Mall - 5th Floor, and it's a pop-up restaurant, meaning it will only be around temporarily, in this case - only 3 months, from March to May 2011.
I've been to the place twice, once for the grand opening, and once again after that, for a family dinner.

Dinner, you ask? So this is a real restaurant, not only a place for ice cream? Yes, that's correct. Aside from the Magnum sticks (the same ones you can find at supermarkets), they also have hot food, a wide selection of drinks made from Magnum elements, and of course, to-die-for desserts using Magnum sticks as the main ingredient.

Magnum Cafe was built with such attention to details. They even have their benches shaped like Magnum Sticks, so cute!

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Ushers dressed thematically for the grand opening
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Interior

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Magnum Stick Bench! Cuteness!


My friend, @tachril, asked me: So what's the difference between eating Magnums at Magnum Cafe and just eating it at home?
Well, first of all, here you can customize your own Magnum! You can choose the stick (vanilla/chocolate), the chocolate dip (milk/dark),the topping(s) - and they will create the Magnum stick for you!

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This is Vanilla Stick + Milk Choco + Hazelnut Topping

They also provide a wide selection of Desserts, all with a touch of Magnum Sticks, of course. Seriously, looking at the menu literally stressed me out every time, because they all look so good!
Not just so good, but also so big! You really need to save some space in your stomach for these desserts, I'm telling you!


For the waffle-ice cream combo lovers, any of these two would be the perfect choice

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Waffle de Aristocrat: Waffle + Magnums + Profiteroles + Choco Sauce

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Waffle de Imperia : Waffle + Magnums + Shredded Coconut + Caramel Sauce


If you're into ice cream combined with bread, pastries or the likes, any of these three might just be the one for you

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Honey Palais du Royale: Magnums on Glazed French Toast

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Lord Sandwich: THREE Magnums in a croissant

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Millefoglie ala Magnum


For the strawberry lovers, you should try this one! I love the Magnum - Strawberries - Marshmallows combo!

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I was also very fond of the drinks there! If you're too full for dessert, you can still have a taste of Magnum by ordering one of their drinks creations

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Magic Mocha: Blended chocolate truffle Magnum Stick with espresso and chocolate syrup

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Kingdom Far Far Away: Blueberry Blended Frappe topped with Classic Magnum stick


The hot foods are also delicious, BTW! I've tried the Shrimp Aglio Alio Spaghetti, Pette Dipollo ai Funghi (Chicken with creamy mushroom sauce), Nachos, Lamb Ribs, and they're all really good!

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A Knight's Tale: BBQ Lamb Ribs with Spicy Magnum Chocolate Sauce


The place is always very packed, so if you're curious to try, you might want to consider going there not on normal meal hours. If you come for lunch/dinner on the hour, you can expect a looo~oong queue.

Oooh, they also have a giant Magnum dummy there, in case you want to take a picture beside it, for fun - like I did xDD

Me_and_magnum



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# posted by @dessey : 8:25 PM  0 Comments

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