Pepy from Indonesia Eats, yesterday inform me that she's moving her blog about Indonesian food and recipes into a new home: Indonesiaeats.com, so please update your bookmarks accordingly.

Pepy's Indonesia Eats, currently holds the #1 rank on our Indonesian Food Blog List, under Food Creation category.

Should you are not already an avid fan of her Indonesian cooking recipes, and wonderful Indonesian food photos, I strongly suggest you to visit her blog. (byms)

One of the thing we really missed from our previous cities we lived in; Jakarta and Bandung, is the availability of decent All You Can Eat (AYCE) restaurant. Surely Bali is abundant with hotels who provides buffet breakfast/dinners, but options sometimes are quite limited, or budget wise it tends to soaring high, especially with the 21% hotel tax applied.

The option we always like is Hanamasa; a chain of restaurants specializing in providing all-day AYCE diner which specializes in Japanese food. There are two main menus available; Yakiniku, and Syabu-syabu (or Shabu-shabu, depends on how you usually pronounce it). Though the price has been steadily increasing from time to time, thankfully the quality always follows. For example, if on the beginning the buffet only includes the food, later on they adds other menus into it so customers have a better options. Latest addition I noticed back in my living in Jakarta years is the addition of Robatayaki (Japanese satay/kebab), and desserts, including Ice cream. Hence for those who loves AYCE restaurant, and especially Japanese food, there's no substitute for Hanamasa. This fact has also been proved with their years of business in Indonesia alone, which I believe has passed 20 years at the moment -- starting from the late 80's, which fit the promise implied in the name, "Hana" which mean flower, and "Masa" which meant continuous grow

And if two years ago we found out with a bit of disappointment that Bali does not have Hanamasa, yesterday afternoon I just got this surprising news that Hanamasa is opening in Bali!

Well this is against all of our previous assumption that Hanamasa will never open up any branch in Bali due to the Balinese Hindu diet that forbid eating beef, which they're make up about 95% population in this Island, making Hanamasa can only relies on the 5% of population to uphold their business, and seasonal tourists.

Well I just glad that they did, and hopes my assumption is wrong. It also anticipates very well the closing down for renovation of Aji Sai in Kuta Centra Park that has reached about 9 months now, who used to serve Japanese AYCE menu on weekends.

Hanamasa Bali opens at Jalan Drupadi, nearby Renon, Denpasar; a location choice that considered a bit odd by Bali's good food hunters, since it's not a main road. However judging from a drive by last night, they don't have a trouble finding customers.

Should you need a direction to Hanamasa Bali location, please refer to the map below:

Or view it on Google Maps by clicking this link.

As for the pricing, according to Hanamasa website, its IDR 98,500 for adults, and IDR 81,500 for children. Price applies for both Yakiniku and Syabu-Syabu menu; Tax are not included. (byms)

Hanamasa Bali
Jl. Drupadi, Renon-Denpasar
Ph. (0361) 264960

There's this new place opening in Sunset Road, Denpasar, Bali, which called "Plaga", and they're specializing in Indonesian food.

Judging from their facebook page, Plaga Resto Bali looks like it has a nice and cosy interior, with both dining tables and sofas which is suitable for either a dinner or a hang out; not to mention that they're also providing free WiFi.

Though situated in a ruko-like premise, it looks like it's big enough to cater for a large batch of customers.

They have an interesting choices of Indonesian food from different regions, along with some interesting choices of desserts, like the hard to find Klapertaart. And it applies Halal standard according to the owner, along with not providing beef as you can see from the menu below, which meant it's safe for both Islamic diets, as well as for general population of Denpasar who doesn't consumes beef.

You can visit Plaga Resto Bali page on Facebook for more detailed information, or visit straight to their premise at Sunset Road, between the Bali Shell Museum and the Gas station (nearby Carrefour). (byms)

An interesting article posted on Jakarta Globe yesterday about the tendency of restaurants in Indonesia to prioritize foreigners; a situation which based from stories of my fellow (Indonesian) good food hunters tend to be true, up to some degree.

However it usually applies on major tourist destinations like Jakarta and Bali, while everywhere else the symptoms are less severe; since there are not much foreigners to prioritize anyway.

Please follow the link below to read the article:

The Bitter Truth: Why Do Foreigners Get First Class Treatment? | The Jakarta Globe

For you coming from a big city in Indonesia to Denpasar, you might immediately notice that Denpasar is really in shortage of good movie theatres! In fact at the moment there's only two cinemas open in Denpasar, and only one of them is worth mentioning: the Galeria 21.

Adding salt to the wound, the Galeria 21 only have two theatres! That is why there would still be long queue after a week or two for a movie (if the movie hasn't been kicked by other next in line movie), because the theatres can only contain so few visitors at a time!

One of the happiest moment related to this matter happens last night, when me and wife and Z finally put our steps in this new shopping mall in the centre of the city, the Denpasar Junction. It's when I saw the big banners hung right beside the main entrance that says "Denpasar Junction XXI will be opening soon"

If you are unfamiliar with the "XXI" code, it's the signature brand of movie theatre made by the 21 Cineplex of the Subentra Group; a business conglomerate in Indonesia which basically monopolize the movie distribution in Indonesia. Subentra Group has two subsidiaries to handle its affairs: PT Camila Internusa as the film distributor and PT Satria Perkasa as handler of the theatres’ management. Back in 2003 they hold about 59% ownership of all movie theatres in Indonesia.

Though nowadays its dominance has been facing challenge from the new player; Blitz Cineplex, there's still a lot of gaps to catch on, and in the end it benefiting us the customers with the increased quality provided and lowered price.

However, referring to comments on its Foursquare spot: Denpasar Junction XXI :: Denpasar, Bali, the banner has been hung there for a while, and there's no information about its progress either on the web.

I just hope that effect of the banning on Hollywood movies will quickly disperse, and whatever stalling them for so long will be solved, and the new cinema development would resume.

As a side note, Denpasar Junction itself is a pretty much unexplored area for me and wife, since even after almost 2 years of us living in Bali the place provides only a small attraction. The place itself is on most part empty; that is without open stores and lots of lots are still unoccupied. However on the ground level there are signs of live: the crowded J.Co Donuts and Bread Talk outlet, the phenomenal Solaria outlet, a fancy restaurant with free WiFi, a new shabu-shabu restaurant we visited last night, Baskin Robbins stall, and a work on progress Roppan outlet which will sell a Japanese style toast.

I guess when the theatre finally opens, this nice and critically located shopping mall will get its much required flow of customers. That is, if the Denpasar Junction itself survives the tax and zoning regulations issue they violated. along with the legal dispute. (byms)