Black Canyon Coffee

Pertama kali saya coba Black Canyon Coffee ini tahun 2011 saat saya sedang berlibur di Bali. Lokasinya di Discovery Shopping Mall. Saya tertarik mampir dan sekedar ngopi-ngopi cantik di tempat ini karena tempatnya persis di pinggir pantai. Keren banget!

3 tahun kemudian kembali saya mampir di tempat ini. Kali ini lokasinya di SMS Mall. Tempatnya benar-benar strategis, karena persis di depan live band stage. Sayangnya saya kesini bukan pas malam, jadinya ya gak ada yang perform.

Sempet mutar muter mall cari tempat nongkrong yang enak, sambil nunggu jam nonton XXI saya tiba. Maklum ya, saya kan movie lover sejati, hehe…Saya pilih tempat ini karena banyak sofa, jadi bisa santai & feel comfy. Pas buka buka menu saya baru sadar, ternyata Black Canyon ini franchise dari Thailand (yaela…kemana aja loooo…). Black Canyon Co.Ltd didirikan oleh Dr. Tanong Bidaya & Pravit Chitnarapong pada tahun 1993 di Bangkok. Black Canyon termasuk anggota dari SCAA (Specialty Coffee Association of America) dan telah mendapatkan penghargaan Super Brand. Kabarnya pertumbuhan tanaman kopi di Thailand ini diawasi langsung oleh kerajaan Thailand. Mereka juga memiliki fasilitas pengemasan & pembakaran khusus, sehingga kesegaran kopinya tetap terjamin.

Untuk kopinya saya pilih Iced Espresso (IDR 33k). Rasa kopinya nendang dan fresh banget. Cucok buat cuaca panas begini. Pilihan lain ada cappuccino, frappucino, Mexican coffee, hot/ice chocolate, etc. Untuk netralisasi rasa saya juga order Chamomile Tea (IDR 20k).

Untuk appetizer, saya mencoba cemilan yang ringan saja: Nachos (IDR 38k). Hadirlahsepiring keripik Nachos yang crunchy dengan topping saus asam manis dengan campuran daging cacah sapi serta avocado yang telah dihaluskan dan mayonnaise. Rasanya ya standardlah, lumayan enak.

Saya juga tertarik mencoba Spicy Glass Noodles & Salmon Salad (IDR 40k). Bisa dibilang hidangan ini nyaris sama dengan salad, bedanya ada tambahan soun-nya. Dilengkapi dengan selada, daun bawang, bawang merah dan beberapa potong salmon yang telah dipanggang. Kemudian disiram dengan saus Thai yang rasanya asam pedas. Segaaarr! Pas untuk menu pembuka. Jenis salad lain: Spicy Apple Salad, Thai Mango Salad.

Disini juga menyediakan menu steak, Indonesian food (oxtail soup, ayam bakar, traditional mie goreng), aneka menu nasi ala Thai (rice with garlic tauco chicken, rice with dried green curry chicken), Thai style Fried Noodle with Prawn/Chicken/Seafood), Curries/Soups (chicken green curry, tom yum soup, clear soup, spicy prawn soup). Ada juga jenis menu yang dapat dinikmati dengan nasi putih seperti: boiled fish with spicy seafood sauce, stir fried chicken with cashew nuts, fried chicken with garlic taucho sauce, stir fried mixed vegetables in oyster sauce. Kalau ajak anak-anak bisa dipesankan cemilan ala Western seperti: mixed fries, chicken wings, crab croquette, thai green curry fish cake, Thai prawn spring roll. Kalau suka pasta juga bisa order Carbonara, Pasta with Sausage & Chili paste, spaghetti Bolognaise.

Over all sih kualitas hidangannya okay, ambience desain interiornya juga cukup nyaman untuk sekedar menghabiskan waktu bersama keluarga atau teman.

 

Jl. Cipete Raya No. 8A

Jakarta Selatan

Ph: 021-75912249

 

Mall La Codefin

Jl. Kemang Raya 8

Jakarta Selatan

Ph: 021-71790489

 

Cilandak Town Square, Ground Floor

Jl. TB Simatupang Kav. 17

Jakarta Selatan

Ph: 021-7546090

 

Kota Kasablanka Mall, UG Floor – FSU02

Jl. Kasablanka Raya Kav. 88

Kuningan – Jakarta Selatan

Ph: 021-29465156

 

La Piazza 1^st Floor Unit I-5 Sentra Kelapa Gading II

Boulevard Raya – Jakarta Utara

Ph: 021-45864962-5

 

Mall of Indonesia, Centro Dept Store

Kelapa Gading Square, Jl. Boulevard Barat Raya

Jakarta Utara

Ph: 021-26850851

 

Summarecon Mall Serpong Unit DGF – 219

Downtown Walk SMS2

Tangerang

Ph: 021-29310712

 

Living World Mall Ground Floor Unit C 50-52

Alam Sutera Boulevard Kav. 21

Serpong

Ph: 021-29239464

 

Alam Sutera Mall, G-82 s/d G-83A

Alam Sutera Serpong – Tangerang

Ph: 021-30449290

 

Paris Van Java Mall

Jl. Sukajadi No. 137-139

Bandung

Ph: 022-91513198

 

Jl. Babarsari Blok B7-10

Catur Tunggal, Depok-Sleman

Yogyakarta

Ph: 0274-4332920

 

Candi Baru Hotel

Jl. Rinjani No. 21

Semarang

Ph: 024-8507655

 

 

 

Warung Rujak Cingur Bu Sri

If your tummy is already half full, you can try to dine in Warung Rujak Cingur Bu Sri.  It’s a healthy dish and not too much for your stomach.

Rujak Cingur is the dish originated from Surabaya-East Java. Cingur means “mouth” in Javanese because it use shredded of boiled ox mouth. It also consists of assorted fruits such as: cucumber, bengkuang, young mango, pineapple, kedondong and assorted vegetables such as: bean sprout, watercress, string bean. All of that mixed with seasoning that made from shrimp paste, brown sugar, chili, fried peanut, fried red onion, salt & shredded of green seed banana.

Its taste sweet….hmmm….frankly speaking, I can’t feel the savory of this dish. I find a better version of Rujak Cingur at Jakarta. To reduce its sweetness, I add a cracker as my side dish. Price 18 K.

For dessert you can choose Es Kolak. Price 8 K. Well, unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy their dessert, because the banana is too tough to chew. I think they have to change the type of banana. Better they use banana that already ripe and taste sweet.

Warung Rujak Cingur Bu Sri

 

Jl. Pekunden Timur I/2

Semarang

Phone: (024) 8411419

 

 

Soto Bokoran

This is my second time stay at Quest Hotel. I really like it because the location is very strategic for food lover. Many streetfood along this Plampitan road. One of them that become the most popular is Soto Bokoran.

They started their business since 1970. From early morning this stall is already crowded with people. I came here at 8 am, and I have to queue for about 10 minutes.

A bowl of indulgence came right away in front of my face. It’s consists of rice, vermicelli, shredded of chicken meat, fried garlic, celery and chicken broth soup that already mixed with their secret seasoning. You can add the chili and sweet soy sauce to enrich the soup. Super delicious!

They also provide several skewers, such as: chicken skin, gizzard-liver, oyster & boiled egg that already marinated in sweet soy sauce. My favorite is oyster! So yummy and I just can’t stop eat that!

And the whiz snack that you must order in this place is their Perkedel Kentang (Potato Fritter). It’s taste so crunchy outside and very savory inside. The skin of the fritter is so thin, I still don’t know what kind of flour they used. Trust me, you will get addicted by this awesome snack. I ate 4 pieces that morning, haha….Price between 10 K- 20 K.

 

Soto Bokoran

 

Jl. Plampitan No. 55

Semarang

Phone: (024) 3567402

 

 

Toko Oen

Toko Oen was originally begun around 1910 in Yogyakarta by Mrs. Liem Gien Nio (Grandma Oen). Until now, it’s still being run and managed by the direct descendants of the founders. Toko Oen sell a classic Dutch Colonial-style dishes, cookies & nostalgic ice cream.

This restaurant has become one of my childhood memories. My parents usually asked me to have ice cream on this place at the weekend. Because of this habit, right now I become a huge lover of dessert, including cookies & cake ;)

Today I try their cake: Roti Telur. Price 4 K. It’s an egg bread sprinkled with sugar powder on top. The outside texture is crunchy, but soft inside. Quite nice.

Then I also try their Ontbijtkoek. Price 4 K. An Ontbijtkoek is a Dutch-Belgian spiced cake. They’re sometimes called as Peperkoek. Rye is its most important ingredient, coloring the cake a light brown. It is often spiced with cloves, cinnamon, ginger, succade and nutmeg. Well, I don’t think I like Toko Oen’s version, because the texture is too dry and made me hard to swallow. I need one small sip of water after one or two bites of cake.   

Okay, now I order my favorite dessert in the world: Ice Cream! This time I order Rum Raisin Ice Cream. Price 15,5 K. The rum flavor is strong enough, perfectly mixed with the crunchiness of the raisin. Very good! I like it.

Don’t forget to order their specialty flavor: Tutti Fruity. Price 28,5 K. It’s a chocolate and vanilla ice cream with sprinkled of dried fruit. The chocolate ice cream tastes bitter-sweet, not too milky. It’s perfectly blended with the sweetness of vanilla ice cream. And the dried fruit completed this dessert as a must-order flavor on this place.

 

Toko Oen

 

Jl. Pemuda No. 52

Semarang

Phone: (024) 3541683

 

Babat Gongso Pak Karmin

Pak Karmin started to open the stall since 1954. The specialty dishes in here are Nasi Goreng Babat (tripe fried rice) & Babat Gongso (tripe sautéed with sweet soy sauce, garlic & chili). It’s a second generation who run the business right now. They already have another branch at Jl. Gajah Mada & Telaga Mas area.

It’s better if you come here not at the lunch time. Long queue….I came here at 2 p.m. and the stall still crowded. Some of them queue for take away service.

This is my first visit. Because my tummy is half full, so I decided to try their Babat Gongso. A huge portion of beef tripe, intestines, lung and fried egg sautéed with sweet soy sauce came, and accompany with a plate of hot steamed rice. It’s taste sweet. You can ask them to add chili. If you are a spicy lover, you better ask the ‘very spicy’ level. Price 25 K. A glass of fresh orange juice can make your dish became extraordinary :)

Babat Gongso Pak Karmin

 

Jl. Pemuda

(near Mberok Bridge)

Semarang

Phone: (024) 3563334

 

Es Campur Gang Lombok

The hot weather really can kill me in this noon. I need something fresh. I feel like I wanna jump to a cold water pool and drink it….hufffttt….Suddenly I remember, that there’s a small stall at Gang Lombok that sell shaved ice. It became a legend at Semarang.

Can you enjoy your dish if you eat on the place like this? Haha….

As you can see, it’s so messy. Many items stacked on a table and benches. But I came here not to enjoy the view, but to try their famous shaved ice!

Their specialty is Es Campur. It’s contain of shredded of young coconut, pineapple, papaya, kolang kaling/buah atep (sugar palm) and manisan mangga (mango marinated in the sugar water). They added a special syrup on it, it taste so sweet, sour and fragrant. Very good! The price is quite expensive, 17 K, but it’s worth for a plate of enjoyment.

Es Campur Gang Lombok

 

Jl. Gang Lombok

Semarang

 

 

Mie Kopyok Pak Dhuwur

Another streetfood from Semarang is Mie Kopyok. The most famous in Semarang is Pak Dhuwur’s stall. It’s a simple place that occupied for 30-40 person.

A plate of noodle with fried tofu, beansprout, garlic soup and sprinkled it with celery and karak (rice crackers). It’s taste sweet. Well, maybe it’s too sweet for me. I didn’t really enjoy it. It will be nice if you added lime squeeze or vinegar. Price 8 K.

 

Mie Kopyok Pak Dhuwur

 

Jl. Tanjung

(across PLN office Jl Pemuda)

Semarang

Phone: 0856-41372758

 

 

Nasi Ayam Bu Surip

Nasi Ayam (chicken rice) is the icon dish at Semarang. Many vendors who sell Nasi Ayam. But the famous one is Bu Surip at Simpang Lima. They usually eat Nasi Ayam for breakfast. You have to come in the morning or it will run out.

This chicken rice is very different from Singapore or Chinese version. They use coconut milk spicy soup with shredded of squash (labu siam), slices of chicken meat, tofu & boiled egg.

It’s taste spicy, sweet & savory. Extremely delicious! If you like you can choose their skewer too, such as chicken intestines, liver, gizzard & young egg. It will be perfect if you combine it with the crunchiness of white crackers (krupuk putih/krupuk kampung). Two thumbs up!!!! Price 8 K.

 

Nasi Ayam Bu Surip

 

Simpang Lima (under the overpass)

Semarang

 

Nasi Gandul Pak Memed

After I took a long vacation of writing, now I’m back. I’m off for a while because my health condition not allows me to write objectively. Yeah, something wrong with my digestive system. Thanks God, I recover slowly and hopefully you can enjoy my ‘comeback’ writing as usually ;)

I will continue to share about Semarang culinary. This time I will recount about Nasi Gandul. Well, actually Nasi Gandul is originally from Pati (small town at Central Java). But it became famous at Semarang too, especially Pak Memed’s stall. Located on the edge of the road, this stall always crowded with queue of people.

I have to wait for about 10 minutes before I got my seat. I came here at 8 p.m.

Nasi Gandul is rice with beef meat, intestines, lung, spleen & tripe soup. Sometimes they add the boiled egg that marinated first with shallots, guava leave, bay leave & galangal. We call it as ‘Telur Pindang’. The soup is made from coconut milk, bay leave, galangal, lemongrass, shallots, garlic, kencur, kluwek, cumin & coriander. Very complicated isnt’t it? Most of Javanese food need many kind of spices, but it taste so good and you can’t find it at another place.

The soup taste sweet and savory. It blended well with slices of tender beef meat. And if you dare you can try to eat the intestines and friends, haha….Some people assume it as a ‘gross thing’, but trust me, it’s heavenly good :p

The word “Gandul” itself means floating, because that dish is placed on banana leaves; so it looks like it’s floating at your plate. That banana leaves produces a fragrant aroma when you pour the coconut milk soup on it. They also provide crispy tempeh to accompany the dish. I like it very much! You have to try it! The price is very cheap, for about 10 – 15 K per portion.

Nasi Gandul Pak Memed

 

Jl. Dr. Cipto 12 A

Semarang

Phone: (024) 3559928 / 0813-325743117

 

Sate Sapi Pak Kempleng

At the beginning, Sate Sapi Pak Kempleng (beef skewers Mr.Kempleng) peddled by Mr. Sakimin (the real name of Mr. Kempleng) from village to village. His son, Mr. Sumorejo has expand the business by settled the stall at Diponegoro street. Now the restaurant has been handled by Mr.Hamzah, the 3^rd generation of this family.

You can choose the satay/skewers by yourself. They served the meat, fatty part, intestines, tripes, liver & lung.

They cut the meat bigger size than ordinary skewers I’ve ever ate. When they start to grill the skewers, the aroma is really made my tummy dancing. I only order 5 pieces, because my stomach can’t take it anymore. It came with peanut sauce with slices of cayenne chili & red onion.

I mix it all, then here it comes….my first bite! OMG, the meat is so tender, blended perfectly with the peanut sauce. The spiciness of chili added the richness of its flavor. The fatty part skewers is melted in your mouth. The intestines, liver & lung are very tender & scrumptious. They’re all marinated first with brown/java sugar and herbs. Two thumbs up! Price 25 K per portion.

 

Sate Sapi Pak Kempleng

 

Jl. Diponegoro No. 265

Kab Semarang – Ungaran

Phone: 024-6922176