Aman Gado Gado @ Tanjung Malim, Perak

Gado Gado is a Sundanese dish which originates from Indonesia and is known as 'Lotek' in Sundanese and Javanese languages. Gado Gado literally means 'Mix Mix' which is exactly what the dish is all about. It is typically a mixture of a number of steamed vegetables, Tofu, Tempeh, Potato's and even Tapioca Crackers and it is served with a spicy Peanut Sauce, not to be confused with the Peanut Sauce used for Satay's as the preparation methods are entirely different.  This is a commonly found food item and is considered a street food in Indonesia. Every time I am in Indonesia, I make it a point to try this dish as it is one of those Indonesian dishes that I truly love. Having asked around, I was told that one of the best Gado Gado's in this region is located in Tanjung Malim and this was told to me by a friend of mine from Kuala Lumpur. I was truly surprised as I have not know the existence of such a stall here, being born and bred in Tanjung Malim. Apparently this stall is owned and managed by a school mate of ours in the Medan Selera which is located in town, a place that I hardly venture into as the entire place is nothing but a flopped construction effort by the local town council. Okay, I guess I better stay away from local politics in this blog and concentrate simply on this stall. I was also told that this stall has been here for almost a decade now. Being determined to check the place out, I went over this evening. 

The Stall In Medan Selera Tanjung Malim

Play Ground At The Medan Selera

Quite A Number Of Stalls...But Mostly Closed....Always....

Standard Food Court Seatings

This Medan Selera has about 30% occupancy. Some of those stalls open for breakfast till lunch and some the whole day, but none at night. Aman's Gado Gado stall was Stall Number 20 which was located on the right wing of the building. The place is just a standard Medan Selera concept but the clientele was quite good. Sad to see such a good potential place go to waste. 

Prices Of Food Items

Nasi Ayam

I arrived close to 5 pm and he was already clearing the stall to go back home. Seeing me, he recognised me as a fellow school mate and started a chatty conversation. This went on for a while till he too realised that I actually came here for food. He had quite a variety of dishes and they were all typical Indonesia dishes, except for the Chicken Rice. He had Gado Gado, Soto, Curry Mee, Prawn Mee, Chicken Rice and ABC. Though he was closing, he obliged willingly and that was so nice of him. I asked for Chicken Gado Gado and he told me to have a seat while he prepares it and then one of his staffs would send it over. Very friendly guy, just like the old days. 

Chicken Gado Gado @ RM 4.50

Served In A Spicy Peanut Sauce

The Sauce Was So Good

Sliced Eggs and Chicken Chunks

Within five minutes, the Gado Gado was sent over to the table. It was so delicious looking. I must confess that it was the best that I have tried in Malaysia. I have tried this at numerous places in Malaysia and none have come even anywhere close to this. The dish was rich with ingredients and the spicy Peanut Sauce was heavenly! Sincerely the best in Malaysia! Everything was so good with not a single flaw. I would rate this at 10/10 .

Going forward, this would be a place that I would promote without hesitations. The food was absolutely good and for the price, it was so worth it. If I was a Gado Gado lover, I would not mind travelling the distance to Tanjung Malim to just savour this dish which was a true delight. Highly recommended!

Address: Stall No. 20, Medan Selera Tanjung Malim, 35900 Tanjung Malim, Perak, Malaysia.

Opening Hours: 0800 - 1730 Daily

Telephone: +605 4596 890 & +6014 669 3544 ( Bulk Reservations Over Phone Are Accepted)

Graffiti Restaurant @ Mercure Jakarta Simatupang Hotel, Indonesia

Having had a full day of meetings and discussions in the hotel, the few of us decided to just have our lunch at the hotel restaurant itself. This restaurant is called Graffiti Restaurant and is located just beside the reception on the Ground Floor.

The Reception

Lift At The Lobby Area

Graffiti Restaurant

Graffiti Restaurant

Graffiti Restaurant

This restaurant is extremely well designed and had a Mediterranean Cafe look to it. It covered a huge area and from the size of it, it is evident that it is used to having large number of patrons. There is also a small smoking area outside near the water feature. I must say it was overall French Themed as Accor Group itself is French in origin.

The Meni

Indonesian Food Menu

Indonesian Food Menu

Indonesian Food Menu

Indonesian Food Menu

Italian Food Promotions

Once we were seated, we were immediately attended to by the waitress. She handed us the menu which I must say was very extensive. It had a great choice of dishes to offer and they were also running an Italian Food promotion. We decided on going for local food except for one dish which was an English platter of buns. 

Bottled Water @ IDR 30,000.00

I decided to have some plain water. As the tap water in Indonesia may not be suitable for foreigners, it is always advisable to go for bottled water and Aqua is one of their famous brands. Better safe then to be sorry later.

Tea @ IDR 10,000.00

Tea Set

My friend went for the English Breakfast Tea. According to him, it was nice and I was surprised to see that they served Dilmah Tea here which belongs to a friend of mine. Good to see that Sri Lankan tea is well accepted in this part of the world too.

English Breakfast @ IDR 35,000.00

Accompanying Butter

The above English Breakfast platter came with an assortment of buns and bread sticks. They had also served some butter along. The butter that was served was unsalted butter but as a personal choice, I would have preferred Lightly Salted Butter. Well this was not bad too. The buns were very soft and delicious. They were also served hot and they were surely fresh. I would rate this dish at 9.7/10 .

Singapore Fried Noodle @ IDR 70,000.00

 The first dish that arrived was the above Singapore Fried Noodles. Obviously the noodles in Singapore does not look like this but this was also delicious. It was also an extremely huge portion which would be sufficient for two. Lightly spicy, it came with loads of prawns, fish balls, squid and chicken meat. It was also more on the wet style. I would rate this dish at 9/10 .

Gado Gado @ IDR 50,000.00

This comes with a plate of rice but we told the waitress to take it back. I ordered this as I was hoping that it would be more of a snack but it was a full dish in itself and again the portion size was extremely huge. Gado Gado is quite similar to the Rojak in Malaysia but here they mainly use vegetables like long beans and cabbage and this is accompanied with a slightly sweet peanut sauce. The sauce is somewhere in the middle of the Rojak Kuah and Satay Sauce. There is also some Tapioca Crackers and sliced boiled egg. Definitely a different kind of dish which is a must try if it is your first time to Indonesia. I would rate this dish at 8.8/10 .

Nasi Goreng Ikan Asin @ IDR 70,000.00

This was also a very huge dish. It varied slightly to the Malaysian preparation as the Salted Fish slices were much bigger and harder compared to the one found in Malaysia. The Fried Rice was well done and you can see a large piece of Salted Fish in the middle of the plate. I would rate this dish at 8.9/10 .

This is definitely a well recommended restaurant. Everything about this restaurant is good. It serves great food at an excellent price and the service is also great.A meal that we all thoroughly enjoyed.

Address: Graffiti Restaurant, Ground Floor, Mercure Jakarta Simatupang Hotel,

                Jln R.A.Kartini no. 18, Lebuk Bulus, Jakarta Selatan, 12440 Jakarta, Indonesia.

Opening Hours: 24 Hours Daily

Telephone: +621 75 999 777

Room Service @ Mercure Jakarta Simatupang Hotel, Indonesia

After my flight from Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta and then having stuck in traffic jam for three hours, I finally reached the hotel at around 8 pm at night. I stayed at Mercure Jakarta Simatupang which is located in the South Jakarta area. Check in was a breeze as always with Accor Group of Hotels and that is one of the reason they are always my hotel of choice. I was really exhausted from the journey and headed directly to the room to retire for the night.

The Room

The Room

The Room

The Room

The Toilet

The Toilet

Tea & Coffee On The House

Those are the photos from around the room. The hotel as always has never let me down. Their rooms are always great. As mentioned earlier, I was really exhausted from the travel and just wanted to have room service delivered to the room and then I picked up their room service menu to check what they have to offer.

Room Service Menu

Room Service Menu

Room Service Menu

Their menu had a number of variety which was offered. It offered Western food as well as Indonesian food. They also had a number of Vegetarian dishes. I then picked up the phone and placed my orders and was informed that it shall be delivered in a maximum of 40 minutes. Excellent timing as that would give me enough time to have a quick bath. The timing was quite perfect as once I was all ready after my bath and was flipping the channels, the room service was already knocking at my door. 

The Cutlery

Bebek Goreng Graffiti @ IDR 100,000.00

Hot Sambal

Fried Duck

White Rice

This dish was really good. The Duck was well coated with Turmeric and was deep fried to perfection. The Sambal that came along was definitely made from Bird Chili and the rice was also different. It was somewhat sticky but surely not Pulut rice. The overall combination was excellent. The delicious duck went very well with the white rice and the spicy chili paste. Really enjoyed this dish and the duck thigh was also really huge. I would rate this dish at 8.2/10 .

Soto Ayam @ IDR 70,000.00

Accompanying Sambal

The Soto Ayam was also very nice. It was very much Chicken in Turmeric Soup with Eggs and Glass Noodles. Originally this comes with another plate of rice but I declined it. I just wanted to have another soup dish. This dish was not spicy but it was delicious and the portion was really huge too. I would rate this dish at 9.3/10 . 

Bintang Beer @ IDR 60,000.00

How can one be in Indonesia and not try their lovely Bintang Beer. This is one of my favourite Pilsners. A beer after a good meal is always excellent.

Overall, their room service was definitely good. They were above my expectations, delicious, relatively well priced for a four star hotel and the service was excellent. Highly recommended!

Address: Mercure Jakarta Simatupang Hotel, Jalan R.A. Kartini no. 18, Lebak Bulus,
                Jakarta Selatan, 12440 Jakarta, Indonesia.

Telephone: +621 75 999 777

Opening Hours: 24 Hours Daily

Email: H6680@accor.com

www.mercure.com

Dancing Fish Malay - Indo Cuisine @ Bangsar, Kuala Lumpur

Today we had a little gathering at the office and this restaurant was decided by most number of votes. I had never tried this place and some of my friends, who have tried, were boasting of the good food that this place had to offer. Well, it was dinner and as usual Bangsar Shopping Centre was bustling with crowd. Luckily today, as it was a working day, parking was a little easier.  This restaurant offers Malay and Indonesian Cuisine and is located on the third floor of this shopping centre.

Dancing Fish at Bangsar Shopping Centre

Entrance to the restaurant

Inside The Restaurant

Top 20 Restaurants in Kuala Lumpur

We were here pretty early, around 6 pm I think and the restaurant was still empty. I was told that come 7 pm, it would be full house. We had made prior reservations and hence we got a pretty private dining space accommodating the entire group. There was also a sign on top of the tables which claimed that this restaurant was one of the top 20 restaurants in Kuala Lumpur. The set up was surely posh and I had a quick glimpse at the menu and the price is on the high side. If it still attracts such crowd, then surely the food must be good.

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The Menu

The menu and the dishes offered was definitely lavish. They had a very good offering of Malay and Indonesian dishes. The Indonesian dishes were once again very well representing the best dishes from across the huge nation. I sighted Balinese dishes, Sumatran dishes, Javanese dishes, Sundanese dishes and a few more. Definitely, it is a tough decision in deciding what to have here, at least for me.

Set Menus

Set Menus

And for those who have difficulty in deciding what to have, their set menus are quite helpful. As for us, we decided to go Ala Carte as we had a number of people who were reasonably familiar with the food here.

Emping @ RM 5.00

Super Spicy Sambal Terasi

Everyone that comes here must try these Emping and the Sambal Terasi. It is one of the starters that you must not miss. The Emping, made out of  Melinjo Nuts are dipped into the spicy Chilly paste called Sambal Terasi. Beware, the Chilly paste is super spicy yet delicious.

Pomegranate Pink Fizz @ RM 11.90

Though there were many interesting drinks that we ordered, this one really attracted me. One of our friends ordered this drink and I could not resist taking a photo. It is a mixture of  Pomegranate Syrup with Mango Juice and Soda. I however ordered my favourite Indonesian drink, Teh Botol.

As for rice, they have two varieties here. White Rice which is charged at RM 3.00 per person with free top ups and Yellow Spiced Rice at RM 4.00 per person but top ups are restricted to the White Rice variety only. We went for the White Rice.

Pucuk Paku Kerabu @ RM 12.90

This was the first dish to arrive. It is Pucuk Paku Kerabu which is young jungle fern shoots cooked in a tangy sauce. Also in this dish you find some local herbs, onions, fresh chillies and it is simmered in lime juicy giving it its tangy feeling. An absolutely lovely dish. Simple yet tasty. I would rate this dish 9/10 .

Tauhu Tempe Goreng @ RM 5.90

This is another simple yet tasty dish. Tempe, a common Indonesian food made from soy beans is fried along with Toufu and served with Sambal Terasi and Sweet Soy Sauce. In Indonesia, this is a common side dish for almost every meal. I would rate this dish 8.5/10 . The additional rating was for the spice coating and also for the Sambal Terasi.

Terong Sambal @ RM 12.90

This was another wonderful dish here. Simple as it seems, it is just a brinjal which has been split into two and grilled. Over it, a slightly sweet and sour sambal or paste is spread and that gives it a delicious taste. I would rate this 8/10 .

Soft Shell Crab with Mango Kerabu @ RM 38.90

This is surely a very good dish. It is soft shell crabs eaten with the Mango Kerabu. The crunchy crabs added by the sour Kerabu taste was simply heavenly. I would surely rate this dish 9/10 .

Cumi Belado Goreng @ RM 20.90

This dish was pretty nice too. It is calamari wok fried in Sambal Belado paste. It is not really spicy but has a unique taste and the dark colour is due to the fact that it is finished with wok flame before serving. Something different for sure. I would rate this 8.5/10 .

Chicken Satay @ RM 15.90

This comes in a set of six Chicken Satay. This was one of my favourites here. Absolutely delicious. Charcoal grilled and it was so juicy though slightly charred on the outside. You can even eat it without the peanut dip sauce. I would rate this 9.5/10 .

Kailan with Oyster Sauce @ RM 13.90

Another good dish here. Wok fried young and tender Hong Kong Kailan with garlic and oyster sauce. Decently prepared without letting the Kailan to be over cooked. My rating for this would be 9/10 .

Wok Fried Mixed Vegetables @ RM 13.90

This I find it to be only average. The typical mixed vegetables that we find in Chinese restaurant. Compared to that, this seemed rather ordinary. I would only rate this 6/10 .

Dancing Fish with Tangy Acar @ RM 45.90

Rear view of the fish

This is the signature dish of this restaurant, the Dancing Fish. You could order this in a number of sauce options and we went for the Tangy Acar. The way the fish is presented is how it got its name of Dancing Fish. Well, the best part of this dish is the gravy. Definitely a must try item here. I would rate this 9.5/10 .

Mango Lolo @ RM 8.00

Now, desert time. The above is called Mango Lolo. It is sliced mango served with shaved ice, mango puree and fresh gelato. It is also topped with some basil seeds. An interesting desert and worth trying. I would rate this 8.5/10 .

Cendol @ RM 6.90

Well, every Malaysian knows Cendol as it is a common street desert. However, for a restaurant this was pretty good. I would not say that this was the best I have tried and you can surely get better ones in Masjid India area, however I repeat again that for a restaurant, this was good. I would rate this at 8.5/10 .

Lemongrass Jelly Pop Pops @ RM 5.50

I do not really know how the name was derived but it was nice. A mixture of everything and it was pretty decent. I would rate this 8.5/10 .

Caramelised Bananas with Palm Sugar and Ice Cream @ RM 10.50

One of the best deserts at this restaurant. Absolutely heavenly and a must not miss. I would rate this 9.5/10 .

Well, I would say that this is surely a good restaurant and most of the items which we had tried was pretty good. They are maintaining their food quality to be consistent over the years and the service is very good. There is always someone waiting somewhere close to your table to be able to attend immediately. The total bill for today came to RM 580.00 as most of the dishes you saw above was ordered in doubles and there were many more drinks which I did not capture. Definitely I would come back again to this place in the near future. Please do note that they also have another outlet in Setia City Mall, Shah Alam.

Address: Lot T 120, 121 & 123, 3rd Floor, Bangsar Shopping Centre,
                285 Jalan Maarof, Bangsar, 59000 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Telephone: +603 2095 6663

Email: dancingfishrestaurant@gmail.com

Opening Hours: 1000 - 2200 Daily