Mama Goose

Recommended by a friend, i went to try Mama Goose. It is a charming restaurant with a warm ambiance tucked in a busy Panglima Polim street. It occupies the second storey of Common House,  an eco building with vertical garden exterior. 

 

The logo

Mama Goose is a brainchild of five people who developed friendship in Sydney, Australia. According to the website, the name Mama Goose was chosen from a character in children book. The name is a reminder on how the character nurtures her goslings, providing the best quality available.

I love Mama Goose’s ambiance since the moment i get off the car and walk through the main door and alley until I climb the stairs and arrived in the foyer of the restaurant.

As a non-smoker, I picked a table in the non-smoking section. Mama Goose area is mainly reserved for the smoking section. There are only about 4 tables in the non-smoking section, which is located separately with the smoking one. So the ambiance of both section is slightly different.

I ordered Gyu Tan Don (60K) a sweet and spicy sauteed gyu tan served with fresh chilies, spring onions and Japanese rice.  Although some cuts of the gyu tan or literally cow’s tongue are chewy, it tasted good and well seasoned. However, I think this dish is quite ordinary. 

Gyu Tan Don

My companion ordered Dory with Lemon-Caper Butter (50K), pan fried dory fish with lemon-caper butter, baked baby potatoes, and mixed greens. I tried the dish and love it! The dory is perfectly fried, crisp on the outside while still moist and tender in the inside. The lemon-caper butter tastes nice. The only thing lacking from this dish is the portion. I can't get enough of it! :)

 Dory with Lemon-Caper Butter

 

For the drink, I ordered lychee iced tea. It was similar to other lychee iced tea, refreshing!

There’s always room for dessert! So we decided to order 3 Kinds Creme Brulee (35K). The creme brulee consists of three pots of creme brulee vanilla, nutella, and coffee. I am not really fond of the consistency of the creme brulee. I found it a bit too lumpy, not as smooth as i expect it would be. As for the taste, i like the vanilla and coffee one. The nutella one is too sweet and went far below our expectation. 

 

3 Kinds Creme Brulee

Overall, I think Mama Goose has brought new colors to the culinary world in South Jakarta, providing a rather affordable food with good quality and interesting range of menu. I would definitely come back and try their other dishes.

Mama Goose

JL. Panglima Polim IX no.16 Jakarta Selatan 12160

021) 722 9292 

mamagoosejkt.com

MON - THU
FRI - SUN

OPEN
OPEN

10.30 AM - 11.00 PM
10.30 AM - 01.00 AM

- See more at: http://mamagoosejkt.com/about/#sthash.Wh8FIc8P.dpuf

OPEN:

MON – THU    10.30 AM - 11.00 PM

FRI – SUN    10.30 AM - 01.00 AM

Tokyo Skipjack

I heart steak! 

It’s one of that few dishes that I crave every once in a while. Meat suits me perfectly, because according to Peter J. D'Adamo, outlined in his book ”Eat Right 4 Your Type”, O blood type is considered as the hunter, so it is recommended to eat a higher protein diet such as red meat. Eventhough the theory is widely criticized, I feel happy of the existence of this theory as a self-justification to eat a lot of meat! :) 

Anyway, I have been wanting to try Tokyo Skipjack, as i have seen it posted in many social medias and heard some good  and even excellent reviews about it. And finally i was able to pay visit to it last Saturday, September 21st 2013.

photo courtesy of the Beat Magazine

Tokyo Skipjack is a local steak restaurant with a Japanese twist to it. It was established in 2012 (Hesei 24) and conveniently located in Bulungan area, just across Bulungan sports complex, attached to Cosmo Japanese Supermarket. 

I arrived there at around 7.30 PM without any reservation. It turned out that the place was quite packed with hungry meat cravers. It started with a little difficulties in finding parking spot due to heavy rain, followed with getting a table in the corner of the outdoor area which is not so comfortable. So it is highly recommended to reserve a table if you are going on Saturday night.  

Tokyo Skipjack keeps their menu simple. They serve sirloin, tenderloin, and rib eye steak, with option of US or NZ meat. They also have 500 gr Porter Steak (275K). The price for the NZ meat is quite affordable, Sirloin (75K), Rib Eye (85K), and 95K for Tenderloin steak (all 200 gr cuts). Those modest price includes 2 side dishes and a sauce to choose. This is where the unique selling point of Tokyo Skipjack is at. A Japanese twist to a steak! 

There are 4 side dishes to choose from: Mitsuba Mash, Corn Batayaki, French Fries, Green Salad with Japanese Dressing. As for the sauce, there are 4 sauces to choose from. There are Homemade Barbeque, Creamy Mushroom, Japanese Chimichurri, and Wasabi Butter.

I ordered NZ Sirloin Steak medium well with Japanese Chimicurri sauce, accompanied with Mitsuba Mash and Corn Batayaki. The steak was well cooked. It was quite tender and juicy. Mitsuba Mash is basically mashed potato with bits of mitsuba leaves. The taste is not too dry and not too creamy, nice for you who prefer to have a less creaminess in a mashed potato. But for me, i prefer to have the mitsuba mashed creamier with a softer texture. The Corn Batayaki itself is not extraordinary, the taste is just like grilled corn that I use to have in Puncak. 

 My dish (apology for bad picture quality)

For me, the highlight of the night is the sauce. It was the first time for me tasting chimichurri sauce, so i don’t really know how it should or normally taste like. But I kinda like the refreshing and tangy taste. Chimichurri is a sauce for grilled meat orginated in Argentina which is made from parsley, garlic, olive oil, oregano and vinegar. I also tried the Wasabi Butter and I actualy liked it better than the Chimichurri. The combination between the wasabi and butter is just perfect. The sauce is buttery with a hint of spiciness and flavour from the wasabi, but not too overpowering. Love the unique taste!

Overall, the place and the ambience is quite OK. With the price range and what you get, it is worth the money. Worth trying for meat eaters who wants to explore new twist to an ordinary steak!

Tokyo Skipjack
Jl. Bulungan No. 16
South Jakarta, JKT 12130
(021) 9972 5000 
tokyoskipjack.com