UNBOXING MY SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 9!

This is a random blog post, one that I don't plan to do, but finally here for good fun. So I just got my new phone: Samsung Galaxy Note 9 which is currently the hottest phone on the market right now (uhyeah)! Initially didn't plan to get one, but just in time for my iPhone to act like a bitch and for the SIM card reader to be broken! After bringing it to the service center, as usual, it will take me at least 1,5 months before getting it back! I really can't deal with the time as my work requires me to be online most of the times, so long story short, got this phone and I'm planning to just bring my phone to a trusted reparation center in Ambassador... or if you have any let me know please guys!

I don't do a lot of product unboxing so apology in advance if you expect more, this blog post wouldn't be the review of the phone, that would be for another blog post.

The Samsung Galaxy Note 9 is available in four different colors: Midnight Black, Lavender Purple, Metallic Copper (with matching S Pen colors) and Ocean Blue, which I currently own along with the eye-catching yellow S Pen, aside from what some people are saying about the yellow color, I think it matches beautifully with the Ocean Blue color! There are also two kinds of storage capacity that depending on what you fancy.

UNBOXED!!! Below is what you'll get when you purchase the unit!

Charging device with USB cable and slightly larger head port compared to the previous series, AKG headsets with the rubber caps and additional USB. I haven't yet tried the headset, just this thing with me when I have my new phone and I just want everything inside to be as virgin as they can LOL!

PHONE SPECS:

- 162 mm (6.4", full rectangle)/160.4 mm (6.3", rounded corners) Quad HD+sAMOLED

(2960 x 1440 - 516 ppi)

- Single: 1 Nano SIM & 1 MicroSD (up to 512 GB)

- Hybrid: 1 Nano SIM & 1 Nano SIM/1 MicroSD (up to 512 GB) 

- Super Speed Dual Pixel 12MP OIS (F/1.5-1.4) with Super Slow-mo

- 8 MP AF Selfie Camera

- Iris Scanner

- S Pen with Remote Control

- 128/512 GB Memory with 6/8 GB RAM and 10nm 64-bit Octa-core processor

- Stereo Speakers and Earphones tuned by AKG with Dolby Atmos support

- 4000 mAh Battery

- Wireless Charging (charging pad required)

- IP68 Water & Dust Resistant

PRICE:

- 8 GB RAM with 512 GB storage: IDR 17.999.000,-

- 6 GB RAM with 128 GB storage: IDR 13.499.000,-

Just at just how sleek this phone and the S Pen is!!!

As this post is written, Samsung Galaxy Note 9 really is the flagship product from the Note series, or maybe from every Samsung mobile phone products on the market! I have been using the phone for three days and one good thing that I really notice is the GREAT GREAT life battery! I feel like I've been on my phone for the whole day replying texts and emails, I didn't remember charging the phone along the way and when I charge the phone at home the battery was still at 40-50% which is UNBELIEVABLY GOOD! Normally I would have to charge 1-2 times for my iPhone to survive.

If I am doing the update on this blog post, next time I'll focus on the S Pen and camera performance! Honestly I haven't really explored the camera and there's barely any picture on my phone, like dead honest, so stay tuned for the real world camera performance on various lighting, and whether it can be the 'enough' substitute on days when I am too lazy to bring my camera! Thank you for reading!

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KAM'S ROAST INDONESIA - PANTAI INDAH KAPUK

I AM SO HAPPY TO LET YOU GUYS KNOW THAT KAM'S ROAST (GOOSE) IS FINALLY IN INDONESIA!!! For those who are not familiar, Kam's Roast Goose is a highly popular roast goose restaurant originated from Hong Kong and their Hong Kong branch has been awarded the Michelin star for years now, so you know what they say, when it's Michelin awarded, it better be good!

Before you read further, unfortunately what I am about to say next will let a lot of people down, Kam's is highly famous for their goose, but after further internal discussions about the market and the tough AVA regulation they decide to change their signature product with ducks, their Singapore branch also has no goose on the menu, that's why they prefer to be called Kam's Roast instead of Kam's Roast Goose.

I went here for a quick lunch with sis and you know I am an observer, especially for little details, I don't have to get in with the details, but I saw this man who (according to the waiters) is the person who grants franchise permission, and he was so busy serving the customers and making sure of this and that, I can tell that this restaurant and what they have in store are supervised carefully by the Hong Kong team (prolly after being awarded by Michelin), even the current restaurant manager is the Singapore branch's restaurant manager, I believe he's here for training purpose as well.

Since they're still at their soft opening days, not every menu is available, they currently have no soup and porridge (heard it's coming in a few weeks), but rice and their signature Hong Kong noodle are available! The price tag for most of the food are not the cheapest, but fair considering all the ingredient is imported for major quality control, expect to spend IDR 300-400k for two, still, way cheaper that what you have to spend in Singapore for two!

Wonton Noodles - IDR 59k 
Aside from Wonton Noodles, the other one available at the moment is the Seasonal Vegetable Noodles (IDR 39k) which I translate as plain noodle (minus the wonton), they also have the Wonton Soup (with 6 pcs of wonton - IDR 59k). I like the fact that the noodle's pretty springy (even though the one in HK felt a tad springi-er for me) with this eggy aroma that I fond of from Hong Kong noodles! The noodle's topped with shrimp roe for fragrance and a hint of flavor. I have to let you guys know that if it's your first time having Hong Kong noodles like this kind, don't expect the kind of seasoning like our local's "Mie Ayam", they're lighter and more plain in flavor, and while you can have it just like that, the noodle's sometimes meant to be paired with other toppings like meat, wontons for more kick and fun.

The wonton was decent: meaty and quite tasty.

NOW MOVING ON TO THE ONE WHICH GOT ME SUPER IMPRESSED, or should I say, #TERNANGIS2018 - THE MEAT PLATTER AS SEEN BELOW!!! Aside from the roasted goose, one of Kam's signature product which gained it some recognition is the "Toro" Char Siu (BBQ Pork Ribs - IDR 180k), it was such heaven on my palate!!! The "Toro" is made from premium pork belly which is marinated and seasoned with their secret sauce then perfectly cooked afterwards, I had one of those "melt in your mouth" moment yesterday! It's super juicy, fatty, and tender in the same time, such a beautiful harmony of flavors and I am infact, CRAVING FOR ONE!!! LEGIT MUST TRY!

The Pork Belly's intentionally seasoned to be a tad salty but I LOVE IT! I think I have not eaten a pork belly this good in a while, I mean a lot of good ones but the crunchiness and the fattiness of this pork belly is on a different level, again maybe the imported ingredients? Why can't pork belly like this be paired with Babi Guling seasoning I swear it would be cray good!

 SO GOOD I CAN'T :"(

 Roast Duck (1/4 Upper - IDR 170k, 1/4 Lower - IDR 180k, Half - IDR 310k, Whole - IDR 548k)

I think my picture kinda did the justice this time, as you can probably see, it's so thick, so meaty and fatty in the same time and I promise you I didn't alter the image LOL! Even tho there's still a difference between goose and duck as they have their own unique character, the roast duck was not bad at all: still meaty, still tender with the base seasoning that's already good enough, but if you fancy, their signature plum sauce is served separately, for preference, but I really didn't need one.

I don't know, but even from my first visit, if they can keep up with the quality and performance, I honestly think this will be one of those restaurants in Pantai Indah Kapuk that can actually survive for a certain period of time (well let's hope longer), and one of those restaurants that when you think of good food (particularly good duck), worth the trip to PIK. Good luck and warm welcome to Indonesia!

Kams Roast Goose Indonesia

Rukan Crown Golf Blok D No. 2-3

Pantai Indah Kapuk

Jakarta Utara - 14460

Opening hours: 10 AM-10 PM

Average spending for two: IDR 300k

Dresscode: none

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MIE SEDAAP TASTY REVIEW

More and more companies (aka instant noodle giants) come with their very own premium instant chicken noodle and this time I am going to talk about Mie Sedaap's "Tasty", it has been on the market for a couple of months now and I heard they're getting quite a buzz that's why I want to try it myself!

At the moment, the retail price per pack is at IDR 7k, I don't know if it's the Alfamart promotion or something but I got the buy 2 get 1 deal which is nice!

PACKAGING

Let's start with the packaging! The overall was simple and clean, all products (one pack of noodle & seasoning and one pack of seasoned chicken topping) wrapped in this thin carton box and to be frank with you I love the simplicity as they don't produce a lot of waste while still keeping things clean. What I love the most is the cooking steps at the back, sign of a good informative packaging.

Noodle close up! They're using curly noodle for this product!

WHAT'S INSIDE?

The seasoned chicken topping plays a huge role in products like this as they determine if they're... good. I got the topping out and put it in a small bowl to see the portion they're giving, and I found it's pretty proper for a single serving. The chicken topping alone was beautifully seasoned with this amount of savory goodness that I appreciate! It does remind me of the topping "bakmi ayam". Another one that differentiates Mie Sedaap to its peers is how they add in crispy fried chicken skin as toppings, before I opened the pack to check out the fried chicken skin, I already expected something that's uber crunchy and cooked with Vacuum Fryer, yes it's crunchy, yes it's not greasy, but why did it taste more like fried shallot to me? Or maybe the amount of fried shallot was more dominant compared to fried chicken skin.

Seasoned chicken topping approved!

How you want your noodle cooked really depends on how soft you want it to be, it really is preference so this time I can't judge whether you over cook your noodle or not because it might be intentional, while I like mine to be a tad al-dente and they have the suggested cooking time at the back of the packaging, but remember: YOUR CALL.

One thing that I have to point out is the soysauce that's in the packaging is salty soysauce, so if you're expecting the sweet soysauce, you might have to outsource, the overall flavor character gravitates more towards the savory one, I have friends who expected the overall to be sweet, but remembering food is super flexible, you can always add in this and that to find the character of flavor that you want, for example you can add in more soysauce or chili flakes or this and that, even a fried sunny side up LOL! Anyway in this experiment I didn't include the chili sauce in as I don't normally like chili sauce in my noodle.

But the product alone was pretty decent for me, it kinda reminds me of Mie Sedaap Goreng only a bit fancier in terms of packaging and flavor on my palate... or is it because of my hands? HAHAHA kidding, but yes I would recommend you guys to try it, and if the promotion's right, you better catch the deal.

Thank you for reading!

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TROPICOLA BALI

It was a beautiful day today, I was at Bali's freshest beach club along with the blue sky, great weather, some good companions (and my camera if it counts)! Bali is currently still in "Winter", the photos in this post were indeed taken on a sunny day, but it was not that hot & humid, Bali's weather during times like this is perfect! Just perfect!

I am already back in Jakarta now, the past few days spent in Bali were for solid work purpose, my flight was at 2 PM earlier today so I had some free time before going to the airport to catch the plane so I briefly visited Tropicola for the sake of curiosity (and content for the blog can't deny). Anyway, I knew Tropicola from a friend who went here and sent me her story update (thanks Sal!), apparently this is owned and managed by the same people behind Motel Mexicola and Da Maria! Prior arriving here I had this image in my head about how this place will appear before my eyes, and it was exactly the vibe that I had in mind: 80s retro Miami-Acapulco-Palm Springs leaning pool club with bright pop pastel colors, supporting details such as clean lines, symmetrical grids, everything here PLUS the bright day just made everything better! I can really imagine people doing fashion editorials here, I wish I could have more time to explore and took more pics tho, defo next time!

The minimum charge for day bed is IDR 800k while none for regular dining tables, I was so busy from the morning that I didn't have time for breakfast, hence lunch here. The food menus here were mostly Western feast cuisine that are carefully curated, along with some familiar Western menus like burgers and pizzas (they even have open kitchen for wood-fired cooking). If I'm not mistaken I think I saw they have THREE bars in this beach club, not sure why.

Honestly when I scanned the menu, some menus felt so tempting, but due to the limited time and me feeling not so adventurous that moment, I played it safe with the burger (IDR 110k) which was just okay and a tad dry. Cassandra (my friend) ordered this cheesy corn dish (pic below) that I didn't try, but she liked. For the drink I had the TropiCOLA (IDR 40k), which is their own Coke recipe, maybe it's just me but I kinda got the hint of coffee in the drink, still pretty refreshing but if you want full blown Coke just get a regular Coca Cola for sure LOL!

I heard the seafood and Tomahawk are good here, and the cocktails too, I really can't give you full overview thoughts on the food, I mean I only had burger bitch, I might need to have 2-3 highlight dishes for a solid food review, so take this review as my thoughts on mainly the vibe of this hot spot (which I like), I just hope it didn't end up like Motel Mexicola since I am never the biggest fan of their food, they have to step up the food game, so genius with the concept and design but not so much on the food, I can see great potential to be completely frank.

Tropicola

Jalan Pantai Batu Belig No. 5

Seminyak, Bali 80361

0361 - 9343 636

Opening hours: 11 AM-midnight

Average spending for two: IDR 300k

Dresscode: none

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Map for Tropicola Bali

SIBLING ESPRESSO - SEMINYAK, BALI

GREETINGS FROM BALI! I just landed earlier today and I am currently in my hotel room, watching YouTube for hours and now bored, so I thought I might do a little blog post since I have not been posting for a week, not that I am lazy, infact I have so many things that I wanna share to you but they're quite long and they take more time to finish, so don't be surprised that by the time the blog posts are finished you might see four entries in a week! STAY TUNED.

I was on a morning flight (by the way out of topic but my flight earlier today was so good, so smooth and I've never been calmer, not sure why) and by the time I arrived really the one thing that was on my mind was COFFEE! Initially wanted to go to Revolver/Pison but my friend told me there's this NEW coffee shop that's just opened in Seminyak called SIBLING ESPRESSO! It's easy to guess that this is owned by 8 Degree Project who also runs Sisterfields, Bikini and Bossman as they're all located on the same line, precise neighbors.

This will be a VERY short review since I literally only got one Iced (bon)Soy Latte (IDR 52k), but I promise you that when I revisit this coffee shop I will update this blog post. Sibling Espresso is located where Expat Roasters was, I am not sure about the beef that happened between them, but from what I heard they're no longer together hence Expat now moves to Petitenget, it might be a sensitive topic to touch so I'm not diving deeper, but anyway design and interior wise, not much different from what it was, but I gotta admit I love the branding and the logo on the cup looks CHIC!

Cold pressed juices here, something to try next time.

My thought on the iced soy latte: not bad, the coffee was more to the fruity and acid kind, but I honestly still prefer the intensity and balance of the Revolver's and Pison's Iced Soy Latte, just letting you know that it's not my final review of this coffee shop and not to mention I heard they have sandwiches here! You gotta stay tuned to my Instagram Stories because that's where I updated a restaurant/cafe review the fastest, and most of the times... CANDID!

SIBLING ESPRESSO

Jl. Kayu Cendana (next to Sisterfields)

Seminyak, Bali 80361

Opening Hours: 7 AM - 5 PM

Average spending for two: IDR 100k

Dresscode: none

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Map for Sibling Espresso Bar