Mu Hung (Minami-Azabu | Tokyo)

[CLOSED as of February 28, 2007; Review kept here for nostalgic reasons; there is another branch at Nishi-Ogikubo, but I have not yet tried that location.]

When the "Achar" (pickled vegetables) we ordered as appetizer tasted very much like how Singaporean/Malayisan/Indonesian achar (or "acar") should be, I knew that either the owner and/or the cook must have come from that region. And with that, I found a new eatery that served delicious and authentic Singapore and Malaysian food. On this first visit,

Bun Ta (Ho Chi Minh City/Saigon)

A lot of good Bun and Pho dishes could be found in Saigon in hole-in-the-wall places. The oft mentioned Pho-24, for example, is a chain restaurant serving the ubiquitous Vietnamese noodle dish. It was therefore a surprise that when a friend recommended Bun Ta, we arrived at a place beyond our expectation. It certainly was not a hole-in-the-wall eatery; instead, it looked like a house that had been converted to a restaurant. At the dark of the night, the place looked light because of its white interior paint. My partner and I were seated at the front patio, directly facing the busy traffic. At first I objected to it, thinking that the fume from the cars and bikes would be horrible a companion for dinner, but surprisingly, despite its proximity to the busy road, I could not smell anything except for the food served in the restaurant.

I asked what the specialty was, and a wait staff recommended a dish with the restaurant's namesake "Bun Ta," which was explained to be a tri-colored cool

Penang Bistro (Jakarta, Indonesia)

This is the third time I have gone and eaten at the Penang Bistro in Jakarta, and every single time I left the establishments with a satisfied palate and a happy stomach. I said "establishments" because I have been to two of their branches: one in Kebon Sirih, and another in Central Jakarta. This is one place where both the interior design is a feast to the eyes and the food is pleasing to the palate.


Penang Bistro
Jl. Kebon Sirih Raya No. 59
Tel: +21 (021) 3190-6000

Pondok Indah Plaza II Blk. B4/33.
Tel: +21 (021) 750-0548

Plaza de Espana
Crowne Plaza, 2nd Fl.,
Jl. Gatot Subroto
Tel: +21 (021) 526-8833

West Park Café (Akasaka-mitsuke | Tokyo)

West Park Cafe (Akasaka-mitsuke, Tokyo, Japan)
Originally uploaded by bloompy.

In our early days in Tokyo, in our quest to find non-smoking restaurants and cafés, we found this West Park Café in the Akasaka-mitsuke district. Our first visit to this place aroused our suspicion that this place was foreign (non-Japanese) owned as we found out that:
1. The place was entirely non-smoking
2. The portions were big
3. Bottomless iced tea service

Although we did not move to Japan so that we could eat non-Japanese food, we did come here every now and then when we missed home. The Cafés had three locations: Shibuya (the original one within a tranquil residential neighborhood), Akasaka-mitsuke, and inside the Marunouchi-building in front of the Tokyo station.

The Chinese Chicken Salad half-order was so humongous that it was enough to feed two people (well, two health-conscious Californians). Such big serving applies to just about every item in the menu, including an order of French Fries. The pasta and pizza were good, and on hot days, the bottomless iced tea service was a heaven-sent. Sunday brunch offers rottiserie chicken set menu, very generous in its portion, too.

We have not gone to this place since the end of 2004, so when we returned in the summer of 2005, certain things had changed. The boring straight counter that stood in the bar area was now changed into a sexy curved counter that opened up space in the foyer.

The menu has changed slightly, and unfortunately, at least the pizza we ordered (Prosciutto and Rucola) was not as good as it used to be. Non of the toppings stuck to the pizza pie, and the pie itself was not well made. It wavered between a full-bodied pie and a thin crust, ending up with what looked like a thick-crusted pizza but turned airy and thin when we ate it.

One disappointing new feature we found was that the restaurant no longer was an entirely non-smoking place. Smokers will be delighted, indeed; as will the owner, perhaps, in welcoming more business from people who had been shunned in the past because of the regulation (the Marunouchi location has always been embracing both clientele).

Smoking section occupies the first half of the room that is closest to the French windows, which remains open during mild-weathered days. Unfortunately when the wind blows inward, non-smokers will be trapped in the back half of the restaurants with cigarette smoke...

Breakfast fare used to be good, as were most of the entrées, but we have not had much since they implemented the changes in menu and in the restaurant. We will again review the food as time passes on.

West Park Café Akasaka
Nagatacho 2-14-3
Akasaka Tokyu Plaza 2nd Fl.
Tokyo
Open 11:30am-10pm (LO) Daily
Tel: (03) 3580-9090.

Dragonfly (Jakarta, Indonesia)

The first time I saw the interior of this restaurant from a magazine, I was excited because the design beckoned me to come closer, except that one can only see so much details in the page of a magazine. I promised myself that on the next trip to Jakarta, I would definitely drop in to taste the meal and soak in the ambience. Before that trip, however, per chance I was browsing through an interior design book at the Shinjuku Kinokuniya bookstore when, to my surprise, I saw the pictures of the Dragonfly restaurant. Upon closer examination, however, I realized that they were not of Dragonfly’s; instead, it was of a bar in Australia called the LOFT, which opened since July 2003 and was designed by Dale Jones Evans. The design concept was exactly the same: a spitting image of one another. Representative from the LOFT said that there was no connection between the two bars. The Dragonfly was designed by a Jakarta firm called “a2jdesign” (Ary Ade Julius, three partners design team of Bambang Ary Juwono, M. Ijus Julius Susanto, and A. Adelinah Chandrarahardja). Out of the three, Mr. Susanto was one who had worked for the Australia-based architectural firm Denton Corker Marshall. There lies the Australian connection. But so much about the design. Somehow I find it hard to believe that the Loft had copied Dragonfly, which can only mean that . . .

The food at the Dragonfly was mediocre at best. There was nothing that jumped out of the plate. We ordered plenty appetizers with which to start: The Dragonfly Baked Canadian Scallops with Thai Basil, Crunchy Golden Baby Squids (if anything, this one was good), and the Nude Green Papaya Salad (neither fresh nor biting as usually somtum or green papaya salads are). The main entrées included the Heavenly Caramelized New Zealand Oxtails with Chili Vinegar; Crispy Seabass in Passionfruit, Mango and Chili salsa; and Grilled Tiger Prawn on a Bed of Garlic Noodle. The names sound more exciting than the taste. If anything, the waiters annoyed us with their constant want to take away the one menu that we wanted to keep with us in the case we wanted to order more.

There are three rows of tables: on the one side, it was a long communal table, something that started to get trendy in New York a few years back. The middle aisle was more traditional: tables that seat 2-4 people. Then there was a low barrier before one could see another row of tables, hidden on the other side of it, at which I failed to have a peek. The back wall was decorated with what looked like undulating red petals, making the room appear sumptuous and conducive to whetting one’s appetite (good psychology!).

The adjoining lounge featured plenty of sofa seats and crisscrossing lean tables, with a floor to ceiling wooden panels with pierced and lit designs. Go to the website to get more details of the interior design.

Dragonfly
Graha BIP
Jalan Jendral Gatot Subroto 23
Jakarta, Indonesia
+62 (021) 520-6789

The restaurant has a sister called Blowfish, a Japanese restaurant, which I have not yet attended.

Com Pho (Shimokitazawa | Tokyo)

The search for a perfect or a near perfect Pho in Tokyo is unfortunately not yet completed. Com Pho, located not too far from the Shimokitazawa station (the Keio-Inokashira line from Shibuya will take you there within two stops only -or one stop with the express line), offers a clean and modern interior with dark brown furniture in a long clean line of vision from the entrance to the back of the restaurant. About 2/3 of the way the space was broken by a see-through divider made of stained wood slats, which made me think that there was a smoking and non-smoking section, but I was mistaken.

The menu offers six entrées, three appetizer, desserts, and several drinks. Out of the six entrées, the last one was a combination of two of the previous entrées; I chose that one: Pho Ga and Vietnamese rice. My exposure to Vietnamese restaurants has always confronted me with a long list of entrées, appetizer, desserts, and drinks, but this place not only has limited entrée selection but also not the one that is the most representative of all Phos: the one with beef. Maybe this was just the lunch menu, and maybe they rotated the items. There might be some days that they would serve Pho Bo Vien, as one could clearly see in the website.

(Vietnamese, not unlike Japanese restaurateur, usually name their business according to what they serve or what they mainly feature. Japanese, for example, would focus on a tonkatsu or a curry; Japanese pasta or okonomiyaki; sushi and sashimi only and so on. Only in some restaurants can you find all kinds of Japanese food offered [this seems to be more common in California or outside of Japan, where the survival of the restaurant may hang on the restaurant serving many different types of food to satisfy the customers' different wants]. Thus, in California, a restaurant that has the name "Pho" in it will no doubt offers an endless list of Phos, and then it may offer other things, but the dominating feature will still be the variety of Pho.)

The key to a good Pho lies in the broth, but unfortunately, that was not to be found in my Pho. My partner ordered a full bowl, while my bowl was half of his because mine was a combo with the Vietnamese rice. Neither of our Pho Ga came with the traditional serving of basil leaves, fresh bean sprouts, and sliced green chili peppers, although it did come with a small slice of lemon and one slice of red chili pepper. The Vietnamese rice was good. The tiny slices of barbecued meat that came with it tasted like any BBQ meat I have ever had in other Vietnamese restaurants. I would not mind returning to Com Pho for this entrée, but not for the Pho.

Too bad we did not have the space in our tummy to try out the desserts, but perhaps I will do an updated review when I will finally get to order the dessert, if I return to this restaurant. There is actually two branches of the restaurant: one in Toranomon and another inside the Maru-biru in the Marunouchi district. For more information, go to their website (see the URL down below).


Com Pho
Vietnamese Canteen
2-13-4 Kitazawa
Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 155-0031, Japan
Tel & Fax: (03) 5481-0564


M-Su: 12:00-16:30 and 17:00-24:00
Closed on Tuesdays

(Accompanying photograph was taken from the Com Pho website)

Al Fresco Dining at the Hanezawa Garden

The Last Shabu-Shabu
Originally uploaded by bloompy.

While my compatriots in the United States are frantically finishing their income tax reports and filings, I took a casual stroll today to a favorite, nearby complex of restaurants that was the Hanezawa Garden.

I recently realized that during the warmer weather of Spring, Summer and early Fall (from April until October), the outdoor dining at the Hanezawa Garden offered Korean BBQ, but once the colder breeze reached the city, the main and only attraction at this al-fresco dining became the shabu-shabu. Today becomes the last day to have a taste of that traditional winter fare, as tomorrow, the restaurant will be closed for a wedding. Next week, the Korean BBQ will once again reign as the sole performer at this part of the restaurant. The word shabu-shabu is a Japanese onomatopoeia for the sound that the meat makes as it is being moved through the water. It is the English equivalent of "swish-swish."

A small appetizers: a trio of mini bite-size fish, tiny slice of a rolled crepe and greens with miso, accompanied by a small bowl of fish in hot broth started the dining experience.

For the main course, there are only two choices in the shabu-shabu menu: pork or beef. Unlike other traditional shabu-shabu places that offer different grades of the beef, Hanezawa offers only one simple kind, but judging by the taste, it seems that the restaurant serves only the best. Oscar Wilde would have approved.

The vegetable plate was rather a pared down version of the same plate at other shabu-shabu places, but for just one person dining, it was enough for me. The presentation was rather lacking as compared to that of the complex's main dining room's.

Although I was provided with the means to clear the broth, it would have been nice to have that extra touch of service when someone from the restaurant would come by and clear it for you, as is the case at the Shabu Zen restaurant. Also, the udon at the end of the meal was presented for myself to mix with the broth instead of someone (again, at Shabu Zen) coming to prepare it for you at the table. It seems to me that there is more attention paid when one dines at the main dining hall.

Without asking, I can safely assume that the beef was domestic top premium grade. Sliced very thinly, the beef took just less than 3 seconds to become medium rare, and a full 7 seconds to reach well-done.

I am glad to have caught this menu before it goes into a seasonal hibernation. Until it wakes up again late next Fall, I can always review my pictures to remind me of how good a lunch it has been today.

(For another version of the trip to this restaurant, please consult http://bloompy.blogspot.com)

[UPDATED NEWS: December 20, 2005]
Sadly, the Hanezawa Garden has recently closed (December 17, 2005) due to aging facility. The architecture has been in existence since 1915. I have decided to keep this review here for sentimental reasons.

Plates (Hiroo | Tokyo)

Kelly restaurant may be gone, but thank goodness the mural work stays. In its place now stands Plates, a pizza and grill restaurant. The ground floor still retains a bar-like atmosphere with original limited prints by David Lance Goynes, the Berkeley graphic designer responsible for illustrating the Chez Panise and Alice Water's recipe books.

On the first try, on February 20, 2005, a brunch fare on a Sunday presents us with a menu with four options: plates A, B, C, or D, which consists of either a sandwich, a pasta, an omelet or another entree (I forget what the fourth one is) plus salad and a cold-cut appetizer in the form of a medium-sliced salami, and a drink. The price is very reasonable and the amount is definitely generous, but as far as taste is concerned, there is nothing that jumps out from the plate.

The second floor still has the same layout, but one side of the room has different furniture: they used smaller tables to accommodate more tables into that space (there used to be only three tables placed at a diagonal angle to the wall; now there are four). (The accompanying picture dated from the Kelly time.) For the grand opening, they have a 10% discount, available only with the flyer that they had put around Hiroo.

On subsequent visits (2 of them) during a Sunday brunch and a weekday lunch, I discover that the food was just slightly above average. This is never to be compared with the more exciting, daring, and experimental Kelly's entrées. The food at Plates is no doubt very safe: Japanese pasta dishes that are very popular throughout Tokyo. It is because of this reason that this restaurant may survive in this neighborhood.

Plates
5-3-15 Hiroo
Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0012
Tel: (03) 6408-2481
info@plates.jp
www.plates.jp

M-F: 08:00-23:00 (LO 22:30)
Sa & Su: 10:00-22:00

Original photograph taken from the Kelly Restaurant website. © All Rights Reserved.

The Waterfront (Surabaya, Indonesia)

Ever since the opening of Cafe Sampoerna, chic cafes and restaurants have started to open in this sleepy city of Surabaya, the second largest city in Indonesia. One of the latest additions to the roster is Waterfront, a three floor cafe/restaurant on Jalan Kedungsari, a busy thoroughfare. The first floor features a dark interior with regular tables and booths, serving full menu of the restaurant as well as drinks. The second floor features a piano bar and lounge, although food can still be ordered there. The third floor, in the form of a traditional hotel ballroom, is used for formal occassions such as parties and conferences.

The food tastes good and the portions are generous; then again, this is East Java, whose food tends to have a sweet twist to it. My palate is very much amused by the result of their cooking, so caveat emptor; those of you who have a West Javanese palate (liking more salty and sour dishes) may not care too much for some of the food offered here. The Mapo Tofu is delicious; having had some in my new hometown of Tokyo, I was afraid that this restaurant would not execute it correctly, but on my second visit, I ordered the dish once more.

Their "Special Chicken", however, left much to be desired. These were small bites of chicken cooked in rather a sweet, sour and spicy sauce, but not drenched in the sauce. Unfortunately, the chef did not have the thought of removing the bones from these small bites; and the bones found in these bites happened to be the annoying kind: small and splintery. Do not order this, if you do not want to have to reach for the bones in your mouth.

There is a drink called "Number 1" that was basically a non-alcoholic fruit juice with crushed nougat in it. The taste was refreshing, but it depends on who mixes the drink and what fruits go into it; in other words, the drinks have not been prepared in a consistent manner yet. A friend who recommended it to me did not like the one she had while dining together. On my second visit, I ordered the same drink, and true enough, they did not taste quite the same.

One thing that annoyed me in both visits was the insistence of the wait staff to sell their products. On the first visit, while we were reading the menu, a waitress kept yapping about what food she or other guests liked; and she did not stop there. It got to the point where I had to ask her to come back while we tried to decide on what we wanted to order. On the second visit, this time only with one other friend, we ordered 4-5 dishes, which were quite a lot for only two people. The waiter then asked if we would like some vegetables, which we declined. After that, he started reciting the name of the vegetable dishes, which we again declined. Then he asked if we would like some soup, and again, we said no; but again, he started naming all the soups that were offered there. Finally we said no and made him realize that what we had ordered was plenty. The owner may have coached these people to sell, but s/he forgot to program these "robots" to recognize when to shut-up.

Places like these in Jakarta are like mushrooms, but here in Surabaya, it is just beginning...

The Lobby at the Peninsula (Hong Kong)

The hotel is still known for its grandeur and luxury, and the lobby is still remembered as an exciting place through which to watch guests and visitors pass. With the reputable Felix restaurant on the 28th floor, what's up with "The Lobby"?

There is nothing special about the food, but unfortunately on the last visit, the service was wanting: coffee came instead of tea; then hot tea came without the strainer, plus the tea had a fatty film afloat. Club sandwich came only sliced in half, not quartered; when my friend asked if the usually quartered "Club Sandwich" could be cut the same way, the waiter demured, saying that this was how it was presented. Well, the customer won.

In other places with the same reputation, wait staff would have come and refill the teacup, refill the hot water, or even ask if anything else or anything more was needed. The place was not chock full, but hardly any wait staff was to be found. I would still come back, but let's hope the service does not go southward.

Original photograph taken from the Peninsula Website. © All Rights Reserved

Sushi Saurus (Long Beach | California)

Lots of Japanese restaurants in America are owned and operated not by Japanese but by Koreans and Chinese. As long as they are run well, that is not a problem. Those handled by the Koreans naturally have a Korean twist to it: the food is a tad bit sweeter than the traditional Japanese taste, and the offerings included some menu entree that cannot be found in regular Japanese restaurant. The Korean-owned, in my experience, tends to be generous with their "on-the-house" items or freebies.

That brings me to Sushisaurus, a no-nonsense Japanese establishment on Long Beach's Second Street, the main drag lined with shops, cafes, and restaurants. I never check out who owns the joint, but it seems to be operated by Japanese sushi chefs and waitresses. What the restaurant lacked in interior decoration is made up in the freshness of the fish and inventiveness of the entree. On my visits to Long Beach, I never fail to visit this restaurant since I was introduced to it by a local friend.

There are some favorites of mine: Spicy Tuna tartar, which is a dish of chopped tuna sashimi mixed with chili sauce and surrounded with tempura crumbs. The idea is to mix the tuna and the crumbs to produce a crunchy effect on one's palate. Another favorite is Sawagani, the pan fried miniature crabs, where you eat the entire crab and its shells (the shell is tougher than a soft-shell crab's shell, but nevertheless, all edible). The cut is generous and to me, the fish always taste fresh, an important factor for my frequent visits.

I reside in Tokyo, but when visiting southern California, I always look forward to eating at Sushisaurus with the same friend who had recommended it to me. He took me to two other new sushi restaurants, one operated by art students from Thailand (not really that fresh; be warned!), and another owned and operated by a Korean (also on Second Street) but neither of them matched the simplicity and the taste of Sushisaurus.