First Taste Of LOOBIE Lobster

This review is about my first taste of Loobie Lobster: a gorgeously grilled lobster cuisine with amazingly affordable price.



My best buddy, a young plastic surgeon, one day asked me to go with him to invitation from his friend Mrs. Lucy Wiryono (@lucywiryono) to visit her new project called LOOBIE LOBSTERS & SHRIMPS, or simply shortened as LOOBIE LOBSTERS (@loobielobster). This is "the younger bro project" of the famous Holycow! Steakhouse(s) managed by Mrs. Lucy and her husband Chef Afit Purwanto (@aafit).

As we know in global, lobsters are still, sadly, expensive cuisines. Not every people can have the luxury to eat lobster menus; only middle-up people may enjoy them in certain exclusive restaurants. My friend here, let's call him "Doc", is one of the lucky guys who can have such the luxury. Even more lucky: not only he could afford any fine dining but also he's one of the guys who can cook fine cuisine including lobsters. (Yes, he's actually a home cook. Quite a good one.)

Doc had been (self-) learning some stuff from recipes and books written by world famous chefs. His reading experience including books from Ducasse (21 Michelin stars), Ramsay (15 Michelin stars), Roux Jr. (2 Michelin stars), Lawson, etc. Doc explained to me, it is never easy to cook lobsters. An expensive ingredients may turn shitty if simple tricks go wrong.

Honestly, I'm more a food lover than a gastronomist. I didn't give a damn about all the theory, I was more excited about the concept Mrs. Lucy & chef Afit trying to sell: delivering fine cuisine within reach of everyone's budget.

It puzzled my mind to find out how it turned out to be, because the duo always have twists on every menu they created..... (remember the spinach as side vegs for their steaks?)

A Perfectly Grilled Lobster.....?

Along the way to the dining scene, Doc explained detailed things about lobsters. Based on his cooking experience, grilled lobsters will be a heaven on a plate when right charcoals are used, the cooking process is carefully monitored, and lobster is served as soon as it’s done. No need to elaborate sauces or strong spices, because the star on the plate should be the lobster itself. He prefers the entire process performed as simple as possible. Otherwise, it's gonna be chaos on a plate.

He emphasized the most important tip in grilling lobster: not to overcook it. Like all seafood, lobster cooks very quickly and is ready to serve in minutes. He explained, average-sized lobsters cooking over direct heat may be done in as little as five minutes per side, no need for 15-20 minutes. For him, numbers were not important (of course 'Man, we ain't talking about math exam, right?).The most important thing for him is simply by paying careful attention onto the lobsters' shells and their meat. A traditional approach.

He later concluded: unlike other grilled proteins with grading of “doneness” like “rare,” “medium” and “well-done”, such grades don’t apply to lobsters. A perfectly grilled lobster is achieved when the shell is very bright red and the thickest part of it's meat is opaque (solid white). As soon as these criteria are met, but not before, lobsters should be removed from the grill and served on a plate.

And that night I think we both agree on 1 thing: Chef Afit nailed it tonight. A perfectly grilled lobster on our plates! Spot on!

.....and where exactly this place at?

A couple of days earlier my buddy got the digital invitation in his mailbox from the owner, Mrs. Lucy Wiryono. As he phoned me and invited me to come along, who would say no to a free lobster menu?

And as the awaited Saturday night, Feb 9, finally arrived. So, I picked him up and drove my red speedster to Jl. Gunawarman No. 32, South Jakarta. Very friendly traffic caused us arrive there a little bit too early.

Actually, Doc was expecting some friends. After a few minutes texting his friend, finally he decided we jump off my speedster, get in and wait up there. Doc told me the owning couple divided invited guests into sessions, and we could be a couple of mins too early. But, what the heck---better than waiting inside a car, LOL.

One crew asked our ID politely, and Doc told her he got invited by Mrs. Lucy. Then she took us to available seats in the front-side corner of the room. Looking around a little bit, I could tell the place reminded me a lot of Japs-type small pubs: it's a simple-but-neat 6m x 6m cubicle room, painted all white from floor, walls, some chairs, and some tables. Some red plastic chairs and soft blue table-top menus give perfect accent. Big curtain-less windows up front would certainly help customers from outside to see if there are available tables in there.

The owning Chef came and introduced himself, and Doc told him he's an invited friend of his wife. Chef Afit such a polite and charming guy. A plus for this kind of business.

.....and what exactly we have on a plate?

We were presented with one portion of Whole Lobster Platter each. They arrived in less than 10 minutes. Exactly as our estimation. At the same time, Doc's friends arrived as well. And as they saw the arriving dishes, they ordered the menu right away, LOL.

The presentation was very much Indonesian (and we appreciate it so much!). It consists of (an equal to) a small bowl of white rice with tiny greenies topping, one grilled medium-sized lobster (looking at the presentation, I assume it's of the clawless-type? Ouw, and we actually served with 2 pieces of lobsters! Cakep! Arigatoo...), fried calamaris, and small companion of sambal of our choice. Such portion costed only IDR 95K. Very affordable! If you guys already prepare your wallet for expense of the usual lobster menu, for the same amount of Rups here you can enjoy 4 plates of Whole Lobster Platters!

 

There are 2 choice of sambals; the traditional Balinese Matah and the Spicy Garlic sambal. Matah is a fusion mixture of chopped shallots, chillis, lemongrass, and a little bit of lime and salt. While the other choice is of garlic-added chilli tomato sambal. We happened to taste both type. 

The Matah was good, I think it's a perfect fit to the lobster. It was not as strong as the classic Balinese Matah, but that's actually the stipulation: we cannot bring the side show stronger than the main event. The lobster should be the superstar. The Matah brought freshness and sharp stimulus to complete the rich flavor of the lobster meat.

My first guessing on the Spicy Garlic sambal was, honestly, nothing special. I thought it was just a chilli ketchup with added ingredients. But then I was wrong. Actually, this kind of sambal brought out its own uniqueness: it had different thickness and texture than the usual chilli ketchup as we started dunking the meat into this soft orange-colored dip. The fragrance and flavor of garlic are sensible but not too overpowering.

Conclusion: if offered which type of sambals then you guys should try both. As the Matah enriches the meat flavor, the spicy garlic would provide delicious enhancement of the meat seasoning.


For thirst quencher, there were lots of tea selection (Nestea brand, I guess). Also available to choose a glass of choco Milo or cappuccino. The glasses very large, almost similar in size to Oktoberfest glass, LOL. For details, please take a peek at the menu below.

For present moment, preg-mommies will be served free first drink. I believe that there's more to come in the future.

I felt satisfied. Doc and his friends were also satisfied as well (I could see their face mupeng as Chef Afit offered them some shots of white wine, LOL). Another breakthrough cuisine from the famous duo. Thank you 'Chef Afit and Mrs. Lucy, I will be coming soon (and often! LOL)

The Evolution Of Nike Air Jordan Basketball Shoes

So, Michael Jordan is having his 50th birthday next February 17.

Here's a look to the basketball shoes series that he made famous. Some of them are in my collection as well...

Here they are:

1. NIKE Air Jordan I - "The Notorious" (1984): The shoe that started it all. The original black and red version was barred by the NBA for "non-regulation colors". At that time, all basketball shoes in NBA are of the predominant whites.

I had this series in 1986, a year-and-a-half later than its original year. They were given as a present for my 10th birthday.





2. NIKE Air Jordan II - " The Italian Stallion" (1987): Michael Jordan won his first slam dunk title during The NBA All-Star Weekend in these shoes.

I bought this one, at that time I was a freshman in my junior high school team.





3. NIKE Air Jordan III - "Gotta Be The Shoes" (1988): This was the shoe that got even more popular at that time when a movie character played by Spike Lee declared the famous phrase--- "It's gotta be the shoes!". Michael Jordan won his first NBA MVP award wearing these shoes. And if we look even more thoroughly, this edition was the birth of the "jumpman" icon.

I didn't have this edition, I found the livery pattern too girly. Sorry...





4. NIKE Air Jordan IV - "The Taking Flight" (1989): Cleveland fans must remember these shoes very well; Michael Jordan wore these shoes when he hit "The Legendary Shot" to carry Chicago Bulls buried Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series. Bulls 3 - Cavs 2.





5. NIKE Air Jordan V - "The Fighter" (1990): Inspired by a World War II fighter airplane. During the year, Michael Jordan scored a memorable 69 points against Boston Celtics in a pair of these.


I almost purchased the previous edition. But as I saw this one, I made up my mind and let go extra money for this more 'macho' look. At that time, I was a freshman in my high school team.





6. NIKE Air Jordan VI - "The Promised Land" (1991): Featuring a Porsche-inspired pull tab as we can see in the photo below. Michael Jordan won first NBA Championship for himself and for the Chicago Bulls in these shoes.





7. NIKE Air Jordan VII - "The Pure Gold" (1992): 1992 was a good year for Mike. He brought home his 2nd NBA Championship title, his 6th scoring title, the Olympic gold medal (Barcelona, with fellow Dream Team members Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Pat Ewing, Charlie Barkley, etc).

The design of the shoe was borrowed from West African tribal art, the red and blue colors representing USA flag.





8. NIKE Air Jordan VIII - "The Strap In" (1993): Featuring a strap and a fuzzy "jumpman" logo. Although the strap looked cool and intriguing at that time, I cancelled my plan buying this edition since this edition actually one of the heaviest model of Air Jordans.






9. NIKE Air Jordan IX - "The Perfect Harmony" (1994): Sadly, the legendary Michael Jordan retired (and his #23 jersey hung up by the Bulls) to chase his dream of becoming a baseball player before the release of this shoe. He never wore them in a single NBA game.

I had this edition at home. I built my reputation as a sharpshooter during my college years in a pair of these.






10. NIKE Air Jordan X - "The Legacy Continues" (1995): Despite Jordan's retirement, his Nike shoes still released. On the sole of these was a list of Michael Jordan's accomplishments.






11. NIKE Air Jordan XI - "The Class Act" (1996): Baseball might be fun for MJ, but it was simply not his world. So, wearing these pair of shoes and the all-new #45 jersey, Michael Jordan in his first full season back after short retirement led the Bulls to a record 72-10 wins and a 4th NBA Championship title.

Michael Jordan also wore these in "Space Jam" movie.






12. NIKE Air Jordan XII - "The Dynasty Continues" (1997): Inspired by a 19th century dress shoe, shown by fancy metal ornaments at the upper part.







13. NIKE Air Jordan XIII - "The Black Cat Pounces" (1998): Not many people knew that "Black Cat" was actually Michael Jordan's secret nickname during childhood and teen-hood.






14. NIKE Air Jordan XIV - "Race Ready" (1999): Inspired by Michael Jordan's Ferrari, this was the shoe he wore when he hit "The Shot II" against the Utah Jazz in game 6 of NBA Final.

Take a good luck at the yellow shield with the "jumpman" logo, it was very much the resemblance of the prancing horse logo from Ferrari.








15. NIKE Air Jordan XV - "Speed of Sound" (2000): Oh, yes... Michael Jordan called it a career and retired again, prompting this XV shoes to feature the numbers 23/6/15 on the heel of the shoe: 23 was his jersey number, 6 was his sum of NBA titles and 15 was number of Air Jordan series until this edition.








16. NIKE Air Jordan XVI - "Marching On" (2001): The marching-boot design signifies Michael Jordan's move from the on-court player to the front-office executive.