Union's Red Velvet Cake

IDR 50k (before tax)

This is the holy cake I talked about earlier.

It's not just a red velvet cake, it's Union's Red Velvet Cake. Hands down, for me this one is the best red velvet cake in Jakarta! What? Gonna throw me with rotten eggs? Please do, but before that, make sure you have this slice of Heaven. I bet one is not enough. For the price, I think this one is the most expensive red velvet I've ever had but it just worths the price! The portion is also big, you can also share this slice for two.

The cake is moist with a little touch of rhum, the caramel nut crumble is also delish and actually smells nice :). You know how I am not a very big fan of overpowering cheese flavor. The cream cheese is nice and definitely not overpowering (for my liking).

Pandan Cake

IDR 40k (before tax)

Surprisingly, I love this cake! I thought it's going to be an ordinary yet boring pandan cake but to be honest, this one is different! I love how the cake is so moist and smooth, and the pandan cream just melts in your mouth. The pandan taste is somehow not overpowering, everything is just positive for this cake. Gonna give it to this one for completely changing my first impression :).

By the way, the pink beverage behind is Strawberry Tea (IDR 25k - before tax)

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Ramen. Everytime I hear this word, my imagination starts creating this illusion of an amazing foodporn resulting a deadly craving which leads to imaginary foodgasm. Okay, I don't mean to be filthy, but trust me, what I'm about to write was actually already been told from the title of this entry.

I rarely labeled something with "the best" unless I feel like something is deservant.

Last week, I am extremely honored for being invited for an exclusive menu tasting session at Tsurukamedou Ramen by Chef Masayuki Nomura. I've been hearing about this ramen and wanted to try it out for myself, but suddenly, one email notification put a smile on my face, it's a total blessing.

Tsurukamedou is located at Taman Ratu Kemuning, Greenville. This is its first branch in Indonesia, they already owned 8 other branch spread around Japan. In case you're wondering why they don't manage to fit itself at Pantai Indah Kapuk (which is like the Ramen kingdom in town), I'm going to that later.

So, why Tsurukamedou and what does it actually mean? Tsurukamedou is a word consisting the word "Tsuru", "Kame" and "Dou". "Tsuru" means crane (aves), "Kame" means turtle and "Dou" means a dome, so the word "Tsurukamedou" itself means cranes and turtles in a dome. In case you're wondering, no, they don't sell crane and turtle meats here. Crane and turtle are respected animals in Japan according to the ancestor's belief.

Prepare yourself for an amazing foodporn. OMG I am so mouthwatered right now.

Tonkotsu Ramen

IDR 45k

Hands down! This is the reason why I labelled this ramen as "THE BEST RAMEN IN TOWN!". Basically, it has everything I've ever wanted in a ramen: thick yummy broth (I prefer pork over chicken), yummy thin noodles (which I'm loving the fact that they are using it!), Tamago to die for, Chasiu that will let you mouthwatered for hours even more when you realized you've tasted it.

BROTH: I always prefer pork bone broth over chicken just because I simply love it. The broth was cooked for long hours (according to the manager, it's around 16 straight hours). For me, the broth is thick but less oily, which is good, and there's something about the thick broth that when you put it in your mouth, it just melts and the flavor just stays on your tounge for a moment, so good.

NOODLE: They use thin noodles and not those you've probably had at different outlets, the thing with the thin noodle is when you lift it with chopstick, the broth is carried along with the thin noodles (despite the broth is literally thick), but this is why I think in this case, the thin noodle works with the broth and I think it's genius. According to what the manager told me, the thin noodle is what most authentic Japanese ramen restaurants are applying.

TAMAGO: I personally think it's a total must that tamago is half-boiled, so in this case, Tsurukamedou's Tonkotsu pass the verification (LOL). I don't like cooked tamago, when I'm eating ramen with cooked (and sometimes overcooked) tamago, I definitely put it away from my bowl because it will ruin the taste. I don't know if you like it, I just don't.

CHASIU: OMG this is certainly the best chasiu I've ever had, period! First, it's so thick! most of my experience having ramen, I find the chasiu to be sliced very thin, but this one, you'll have three slices of thick chasiu. Second, they are very well seasoned! It's marinated with special ingredients from Tsurukamedou before they're being served along with the ramen. The fat is the bomb! It's so juicy and yummy I can't emphasize enough!

One bowl of this and I am full! but wait, the surprise is not over yet.

Tonkotsu Shisen Ramen

IDR 45k

Being served with another bowl of ramen. If you're looking for more chasiu and "hotter" ramen, this one is a good recommendation.

First impression, it's soooo HOT and SPICY. I am not very good with spicy food and I tend to sweat a lot and this one actually succeed to cause me sweat like crazy. Still with the thick yummy spicy broth and tons of chasiu, this one should be considered for you who love spicier touch of ramen.

If you're wondering where the nori, tamago and mushroom are, they're not being served on this menu, it's because they want to keep the spiciness alive and in Japan itself, those are not being served along with spicy ramen. I think Tsurukamedou really applies everything that the Japanese outlets are doing, well, I personally that nothing is wrong with it, in fact, I kinda love it because sometimes all I want to experience is something truly authentic, well, at least on the presentation and the culture of serving. You shouldn't always depend on the market, sometimes the uniqueness and the belief of quality is the reason why the market follows you, and you'll end up having your own "market".

Tori Karaage

IDR 25k

The karaages are very well seasoned and fried nicely. This is certainly the appetizer that I'd love to recommend you guys. I love the fact that they're using soysauce for the dressing of the coleslaw instead of mayonaisse. This should come as appetizer but this came at last, I should've finished them all because it's so juicy, but the delish ramens have had me enough. So many delicious food but my stomach apparently has its limit.

Without any hesitation, I'm going to label this THE BEST RAMEN I'VE HAD IN JAKARTA!! PERIOD. I don't care if you're going to throw rotten eggs at me for this is based on my experience, still wondering if any future ramen could beat this.

Just because that it's not located at PIK or any other "busy" culinary street, it won't be successful, I DO HAVE high expectations for this ramen, I believe that when you have quality, you'll survive, I just think that you need to try this out for yourself because believe me, it's so good you'll probably agree on putting this on top of your list. This one is a strong contender.

Friendly reminder just like what I've mentioned before that this restaurant really applied its original Japanese tradition, so you won't find a lot of choices, except for ramens and some rice dish (chahan), come on, you're eating at a ramen house, I bet you'll probably aware that you'll have ramen, right :).

By the way, I'm still dreaming of having my bowl of ramen in a simple stall like this, I think it just adds the deliciousness to 100%, environment affects!

*photo courtesy of Google*

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Jalan Ratu Kemuning Raya Blok A2 No. 82

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