Jani Journey Journal

, by Anjani Disti

[Jakarta] Your Wish is Onokabe's Command

All You Can Eat (or simply AYCE) restaurant has been a huge deal for the past few months here in Jakarta. Starting from the shabu-shabu, grill, western, Japanese, Korean and so on. But have you ever found a restaurant that offers everything (like literally everything) in one place? If 'NO' is your answer, let me introduce you to Onokabe.

Onokabe is a restaurant with all you can eat concept that lives to its name. I don’t know if it is true, but from what I read across the internet, ‘onokabe’ is a term adapted from Javanese words ‘ono kabeh’ which literally means they have it (or ‘ada saja’ in Indonesian). Shabu, grill, Chinese food, Japanese food, Korean food, western food, and even Indonesian food. You name it, they got it.

I came there last Monday with Nadia, my friend. Getting in to the restaurant, we were greeted with this clean and modern vibe with a fun and young touch. You can really tell by the color scheme and ambiance through the outlet. The staff are very helpful and informative about the menu. When we ask some of them, about what they recommend, they confidently suggest us with a few different menus which drives us crazy because it made us want to try them all.

Dimsum, sushi and some Indonesian snacks such as ‘risoles’ and ‘kue lapis’ is just a small example for what they served. They have this special buffet counter that serve a lots of Indonesian dishes such as ‘Pindang Telur’, ‘Nasi Kuning’ and also ‘Gulai Nangka’. The drinks served are also considered a lot compared to other AYCE restaurant. They have ice tea, ice chocolate, syrup, soda, coffee, and much more. Endless option, endless possibilities, but unfortunately limited stomach. LOL. And now, moving on to the main course, the shabu and grill meals.

We chose the chicken soup and tom yam kung for the shabu meals. To Nadia and I, both of the soup taste was very nice. The chicken soup broth taste was very light and full of flavor. While the tom yam kung has this sour and spicy taste that leaves your palate feel fresh. However, as the time goes by, the tom yam kung soup reduce and thicken. This made the taste kinda salty. The toppings for shabu meals are put in the conveyor belt that pass our tables. You can just pick whatever you like from the conveyor belt and put it into your hotpot.

For the grill meals, they put the meats and other stuffs at the counter in the middle of the restaurant. There are so many options to choose from. Beefs, chickens, wings, sausages, clams, and the list still goes on. We tried a bit of everything on the grill sides. I love the thinly sliced beef marinated with some sort of savory sauce. While Nadia, prefer the beef slices with a sweet marinating sauce and sesame. The meats served are fresh, juicy and you can really taste the sauce absorb through the meat, which only means that they took the meal preparation seriously.

On the dessert section, they got not only one or two choices, but five choices. Marshmallow, chocolate, waffle, ‘Es Campur’, fruits, Indonesian sweets, and most of all bottomless ice cream. You guys know how weak I am for ice cream, so yeah, I’m 100% sold to this. So paying just around IDR 157K per person after tax and service is definitely worth every penny for something like this.

I honestly can’t stop talking about Onokabe. The wide varieties that they offer definitely perfect for a big party with lots of people who has a different preference in terms of food. Like if your friends or family looking for shabu meals? Check! They want the grill ones? They have lots of option for this! Want some unlimited ice cream? Oh definitely yes! They even got their own Indonesian meal buffet table. It's like what customer's request, they serve it to your table. Now tell me who could beat that?

***

Onokabe

Pluit Junction, G Floor

Jl. Pluit Selatan Raya

Pluit, Jakarta Utara

DKI Jakarta, Indonesia

(+62) 21 2266 9855

Opening hours: 10AM – 10PM (everyday)

Food: 4/5

Ambiance: 4/5

Price: 5/5

Service: 5/5

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, by Anjani Disti

A Food Journal

[Jakarta] Food from the East

Se’i has been one of the most wanted food in Indonesia’s culinary world probably since about a year ago. If you are not familiar with the word Se’i itself, it is a term for a local cuisine from East Nusa Tenggara. If you are not familiar with it, se’i is a thin cut sliced beef marinated with a lot of salt to be later smoked with a special kind of wood. This se’i craze started in Bandung and I’ve been an avid fan of one particular se’i restaurant there. Right when I heard Jakarta has their own restaurant that sells se’I, I literally lost my mind.

Se'i Lidah Reguler with Sambal Matah

Came to the restaurant on Sunday afternoon, I thought the restaurant will be packed of people but surprisingly it wasn’t that full. Since I came with a few friends, we decided to try each one of the menu listed. We order the Se’i Sapi Reguler (IDR 38K), Se’i Ayam Reguler (IDR 25K) and Se’i Lidah Reguler (IDR 42K). Each Se’i dishes came with a small bowl of local sambal; Sambal Lu’at, Sambal Matah and Cabe Ijo. We also add Nasi Jeruk (IDR 8K), Sup Brenebon Reguler (IDR 35K) and Es Teh Manis (IDR 8K) to make our meal complete.

Se'i Ayam Reguler with Cabe Ijo

I FRIGGIN’ LOVE THE SE’I SAPI. The beef was tender and juicy with a bit of salty and crispyness that made my meal taste interesting. However a huge disappointment came from the se’i lidah. The lidah (beef tongue), came out very dry and really hard to chew. I hope this was just a bad day at the kitchen, which means I need to come there again to try their se’i lidah once more. Meanwhile the se’i ayam was nice as well but not something over the top for me.

Se'i Sapi Reguler with Sambal Lu'at. BOMB!

The Sambal Lu’at was something out of this world. It has the perfect balance of spicy and sour, without overpowering the taste of the se’i itself. As for the rest of the sambal, it was nice but since I’ve tried so many Sambal Matah and Cabe Ijo, I cannot tell the difference between these sambal and the one from other places. Meanwhile the soup was quite tasty. It has this rich but very light beef broth flavor. The fillings in the soup (kidney beans and beef slices was also given quite generously. It was a perfect complement to the se’i dish.

Sup Brenebon Reguler

Honestly, I’ve been an avid fan of se’i for the past year. It was something that I always looked for every time I went to Bandung. To me, se’i from Se’ilera taste great and definitely worth your money. Even though I had some bad luck with the food that time, doesn’t mean I won’t come back again for their good stuffs.

***

Se’ilera

Jl. Kesehatan Raya no 30

Bintaro, Jakarta Selatan

DKI Jakarta, Indonesia

(+62) 813 8015 7212

Opening hours: 10.30 AM – 9 PM

Food: 4/5

Ambiance: 4/5

Price: 4/5

Service: 4/5

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, by Anjani Disti

A Travel Journal

[Labuan Bajo] Travel Diary

Even after a year after the trip, I still got so many questions about my trip to Labuan Bajo. Some of the questions were about the itinerary, the boat, the crew, the trip and so on. So after a very hard memory recall (since I am that forgetful), finally this post is done! Please beware that this will be a super long (but full of tempting pictures) posts. Hopefully this will persuade you guys enough to go to Labuan Bajo soon!

Day 1 – 10^th of August 2018

I flew from Soekarno Hatta Airport around 10 AM in the morning with Batik Air which flew directly to Labuan Bajo Airport. The total trip was about 3 hours as I arrived around 2PM (please note that there is a time difference between Jakarta and Labuan Bajo). We were picked up by our tour guide and he took us to the hotel, where we are going to stay the night before our life on board begin.

Spent the rest of the afternoon by chilling by the pool with my cousins. Get some dinner at the hotel and then went straight to bed. Well, I honestly was super excited about the whole thing that I can’t even sleep well through the night. Thank God, I didn’t overslept!

Day 2 – 11^th of August 2018

Our tour guide pick us up at the hotel around 9AM in the morning. He took us straight to the harbor where our boat have wait to sail the sea with us. Oh by the way, since we are going to spend 5 (five) days at the boat, made a brief stop at a local supermarket to buy some drinks and snacks. Well they provide us with food, but I still want my own snacks, LOL.

Back to the boat, I was in shock when I first saw the boat. It was a 2 (two) story (or deck? Idk) boat with 3 bedroom, 4 bathroom, 1 dining room, 1 kitchen, 1 captain’s room (connected with crew’s bedroom) and this is the best part, 2 lounge deck! Amazing isn’t it? They also have a smaller boat pulled along for us to go from the boat to the island’s shore.

While my family and I are admiring the boat, the captain sail to Pulau Kelor, our first destination. It was a quite small island with a huge rock for trekking. I had a hard time getting my way to the top, however the view up there was very worth it. After that, we went to Pulau Rinca for our first Komodo dragon encounter.

And right before sunset, we went to Pulau Kalong, to see the bat get out of their lair. The view of bats getting out their lair against orange skyline was something magical. It was really really breath taking.

Island list: Pulau Kelor, Pulau Rinca, Pulau Kalong

Meals provided: Welcome drink and snacks, lunch, afternoon snacks and dinner

Day 3 – 12^th of August 2018

On the third day, as we enjoy our breakfast served by the crew, the captain took us to Pulau Padar for another trekking. It was a very long, exhausting trekking for me but GOSH the view was so amazing! I even cried a little when I was on top.

Next, we went to Pulau Komodo, the biggest island with the supposedly most Komodo in Flores. Since it was not mating season, most of the Komodo dragon hide all the way into the jungle. Well it is not actually jungle, it was their main habitat. Something similar like a jungle but a dry jungle. Do you know what I mean? Definitely no, LOL. Anyway, kinda sucks we didn’t see a lot of Komodo dragon, but we are very pleased to learn about Komodo in their natural habitat from the local ranger.

After that, we went to the highly anticipated Pink Beach. Which somehow doesn't look pink at all in this picture.

Island list: Pulau Padar, Pulau Komodo, Pink Beach Island

Meals provided: Breakfast, snacks, lunch, snacks and dinner

Day 4 – 13^th of August 2018

The next day, we went to Gili Lawa Island for a morning stroll at the beach with wild deers. I was a bit afraid of them since their horn was very intimidating to me. But somehow they are very gentle and didn’t even bother us walking around them. We were meant to do a little trekking to the top of Gili Lawa that day. However since a couple of weeks ago, there are some incidents that burn the Gili Lawa, we are not allowed to climb to the top.

After that, we went to the Sembilan Island and Sebayur Island for snorkeling. I really can’t get enough of snorkeling when I was in Labuan Bajo. The underwater view was drop dead gorgeous! Sadly I didn’t take a picture of it though.

Island list: Gili Lawa, Sembilan Island, Sebayur Island

Meals provided: Breakfast, snacks, lunch, snacks and dinner

Day 5 – 14^th of August 2018

Early morning, some of my family went trekking to the top of Kanawa Island. I didn’t go along with them, because I need a quiet and relax morning (read: lazy). After that we went snorkeling at the Bidadari Island. Spend the rest of the afternoon at Sabolo Island, where along the shore there were a cute little beach hut that you can rent to relax or even sleep.

Island list: Pulau Kanawa, Pulau Bidadari, Pulau Sabolo

Meals provided: Breakfast, snacks, lunch, snacks and dinner

Day 6 – 15^th of August 2018

Went to our last island hopping stop, Burung Island. You can climb up and do a light trekking all the way to the top of this little island. After that, we went to our last island to do another snorkeling before we say goodbye. Captain took us back to the harbor and then they took us back to our hotel. Where we stay for another night before our flight the next day.

Island list: Pulau Burung

Meals provided: Breakfast, snacks, lunch

***

Overall, I am really satisfied with my trip to Labuan Bajo. All of the crew was nice and very helpful. I remember they patiently wait for us who really need a lot of time to get to the top of the island while trekking. Also they kinda fun to hang out with in the evening where there are nothing to do on board. I still remember how my cousins put some music on blast and dance with them all night. LOL!

As for the moneywise, if I’m not mistaken, my family paid around IDR 30.000.000 for 6 persons this life on board tour. All expenses paid already include:

Full AC two deck boat, crew (4) and guide (1)
Pick up and drop off service from/to the airport and hotel
Pick up and drop off service from/to the hotel and marina
A piece of Kain Tenun Sumba for each passengers
Three time meals, snacks and bottled water during the trip
Snorkel gears
Tax

For every experience that I had and also considering how gorgeous the boat was, I think it was worth every penny. Please note that my family paid this trip early in 2018. So probably there will be a lot of changes in terms of price of the tours.

So that’s conclude my trip to Labuan Bajo last year. I hope this will encourage you to travel more, especially around Indonesia.

***

Top tips for Labuan Bajo Life on Board Tour:

Wear a high SPF sunscreen/sunblock. While I was there, the sun always feel very intense. I remember on the 3^rd day, my skin already getting darker and my Caucasian uncle got a pretty bad sunburn. Reapply them every hour so your trip won’t be bothered by a sore skin.
Bring something for entertaining yourself. At some point of the trip, our phones get no signal at all. It is not a big deal when you lost the signal in the daylight. But in the evening, you could get very bored. I suggest you to bring some books or even some board games to play with your friends and family.
Wear a diving boot. If you have an extra cash, I really recommend you about this one. Since you’re going to spend most of your time playing in the beach and getting in and out of water constantly, wearing these boots will make your life easier. I wear flip flops the other day, but my feet keep sinking into the sand and the sides of my feet get scratched by some pointy rocks.
Prepare yourself physically (and mentally). During the trip there will be a lot of hiking and swimming in the ocean. It will look hard, it will looks like you cannot do it, but trust me you can do it. The hiking was fine even though some parts of the hill was hard to climb. Swimming can be hard since you will be swimming on the ocean against the strong current. I really recommend everyone who want to come here to do a light jogging daily before your travel time. Just to prepare yourself from all the hiking and swimming.

***

PT. FLORES KOMODO TOURS

Emanuel House, 2^nd floor

Nai Roa Street, Gg Lerikson

Maumere, Flores

East Nusa Tenggara, Indonesia

www.flores-komodotours.com