Paradise Dynasty -- Neutral

The Paradise Group started off in Singapore and it is now expanding into Indonesia. Dynasty is famous for its la mian and xiao long bao. The food items on the menu are inconsistent, with some being delicious while many others are just average. For the price, it's not worth it. However, the food is still undeniably good.

For appetizer we had Szechuan style cow offals. The sauce is just chili oil with Szechuan peppercorns, which is boring. I expected a more complex flavor, perhaps from cinnamon or ginger.

The la mian also lacks flavor. Since the stock is presumably made from pig knuckles, I expected it to be very rich like the stock for ramen. Maybe they didn't use as much pork knuckles, though, as I found a lot of undissolved pork skin in my bowl, which thickens the stock but doesn't add much flavor. The pork and egg are delicious, but the stock could've used more seasoning. Also, the la mian doesn't have enough protein content. Instead of being chewy, the noodles are extremely soft without any bite. Jade Imperial serves better la mian at 2/3 the price.

Cooking tip: if you want perfectly boiled eggs, the trick is to not boil the eggs. Eggs aren't meant to reach 100 degrees Celsius; they're already fully cooked at an internal temperature of roughly 70 degrees. However, most of us don't have the luxury of controlled-temperature water baths. You can place your eggs in a pot of water, bring it to a boil, and then immediately turn the stove off. Let the eggs rest for 10-12 minutes for soft-boiled and about 15 minutes for hard-boiled. The eggs will never be overcooked because the water will have cooled off sufficiently once the entire egg is the same temperature as the water.

This is the famous 8-flavor xiao long bao. The dumplings are full of soup but contain almost no meat. The cheese dumpling is surprisingly the tastiest. The ginseng flavor is quite strong, so your reaction depends on whether you like ginseng or not. The other "flavors" are gimmicky; I doubt they put enough truffle, crab roe, or foie gras to make a difference, if any. For about 10k apiece, this is hardly worth it. The xiao long bao at Depot 3.6.9. is better since it contains more meat and is therefore more filling, and they're sold at 1/3 the price!

The sweet and sour pork have a nice crunch but the batter is somewhat hard. My main gripe is that the batter is thicker than the meat. Overall a delicious dish.

The fried chicken has been brined beforehand, so the meat is very tender and juicy--as good as it can get. The outside is very crunchy, something that Indonesians will certainly love. The dipping sauce is just plain mayo, though, so there's not a whole lot of flavor except for the succulent meat. If they can come up with a tastier sauce, I would definitely come to eat this regularly.

Cooking tip: brine refers to a solution of salt and sugar. There are many variations, but I use Alton Brown's recipe for brine: 1 gallon of chicken broth, 1 gallon of water, 1 cup of salt, and 1/2 cup of sugar. Brining unfurls proteins, preventing meat fibers from coagulating unevenly. The meat will also retain more moisture when cooked. If you want to "brine" beef, you can sprinkle a big chunk of beef with salt and leave it for one hour, then wipe the salt with paper towel.

In conclusion, Paradise Dynasty offers many tasty dishes, but some need improvements. You should come here if you just want good food and don't care about the price. I would label this as excellent if the prices were a little lower, but currently it's just not good value for your money. When you eat here, try the xiao long bao and decide for yourself whether you like it or not; avoid the la mian.

Boncafe -- Excellent

Boncafe is a classic steak establishment in Surabaya with many outlets. The prices are quite steep, so prepare to dish out at least 70k per person.

The fried chicken skins have always been my favorite. Sometimes the chef derps and it turns out chewy instead of crispy, but this rarely happens. Easily the best appetizer on the menu.

 

As you wait for the steak, the server will bring you a dinner roll and some butter. The delicate roll comes from its bakery chain, Bon Ami. The steaks come with vegetable and potatoes. The meat here is very tender despite being cooked well-done. (Note: You want your steaks cooked well-done due to the low food hygiene standards in Indonesia. However, I trust Boncafe enough that I'm happy when my steak turns out medium-well.) The picture above is the Tornedo, which has ham wrapped around the steak. The one below is the black pepper steak. Always ask for extra gravy, free of charge. Cover the entire hotplate with gravy; it makes everything taste better.

The desert line is just fine, but it's hard to justify the 25k price tag on the desserts. I'd say skip dessert. Any fancy dessert or drink will cost an arm and a leg at 30k apiece.

Overall Boncafe consistently serves great steak and dining experience.

Shichidon -- Good

This lovely restaurant offers quick Japanese donburi. For the price, the food is really good. They offer a combination of yakiniku, katsu, and curry to go along with your rice or udon. The yakiniku is pleasantly sweet and the katsu uses a nice thick cut of chicken (unlike someplace like Sushi Tei, where the breading is thicker than the chicken...). The curry tastes a little watered down, but I don't mind when I get a lot of meat. The yakiniku curry udon offers the best flavor by enriching the curry with the savory beef. I think the food is mostly reheated, but hey, they still taste good.

 

Update: I came across the Shichidon at Galaxy Mall. In addition to the donburi, they sell ramen. I must say, I was pleasantly surprised. For a fast food joint, the ramen is better than in most full-service restaurants.

The Kambodja by Frangipani -- Good

With the 50% lunch discount throughout Surabaya Town Square, The Kambodja is a good deal for the large portion of food it offers. The restaurant offers a wide selection of traditional Indonesian food including duck, seafood, fried rice, and many others.

I forgot what this is called, but this is delicious. The spicy and tangy sambal will make you salivate while the beef rendang will awaken your sense of smell with the blend of herbs and coconut milk. The rempeyek (thinly fried batter) adds some crunch so you don't get bored with the texture.

The fried rice isn't anything special, but the portion--wow! This can feed two people for around 15k during lunch. The shaved ice dessert has tender young coconut and fermented sticky rice, always a delicious combination.

The soft-shelled crab is covered with many thin films of fried egg and served with sweet and spicy soy sauce. This dish is too oily for my taste, but you can see the amount of skill needed to make this. If they can remove most of the oil, then this dish would be worth ordering.

I previously tried the grilled chicken rice in Frangipani, which is also offered in The Kambodja. The rice is wrapped in charred leaf, which adds more to the presentation than the actual taste. It contains chicken cooked in coconut milk and some anchovies with green chili for a balance of rich and spicy.

Overall, The Kambodja offers decently good food for a good price. You don't want to go out of your way to eat here, but if you're in the area and looking for lunch, The Kambodja is always a solid pick.

De Sushi -- Neutral

I love Japanese food, especially sushi, but let's face it: there's no good sushi in Surabaya. De Sushi is no exception. The sushi served here is just chunks of rice dressed... erm, drenched in mayo in the hopes that it will eventually taste good. I am very partial towards traditional sushi (nigiri, temaki, gunkan) where you can taste the quality of the fish. Here, even if you omit the meat, everything will taste about the same.

This didn't get a negative review mainly because of the exceptionally cheerful and helpful staff. Even if the food isn't that good, if the servers do their best to make you happy, then it's pretty much impossible to hate the place.