BIJIN NABE BY TSUKADA NOJO INDONESIA - PLAZA SENAYAN

A few days ago a very good friend of mine asked me to go out & had a dinner with her at this place which I totally had no idea being new, she kept on referring to this restaurant called Bijin Nabe in Plaza Senayan which weird enough I've never heard of (normally new places always get around my radar) so there we were setting our dinner date, I knew this restaurant was new literally upon arrival and looking at fresh flower bouquets placed outside the store and my friend told me that this Bijin Nabe restaurant is highly popular in Singapore and if you don't make any reservation you might need to queue 2 hours just to get in (and with the possibility that they'll run out of certain broth).

The restaurant was spacious with grand design and I don't know, but it's giving me this 'expensive' vibe (you know what I mean when you go to a luxuriously decorated restaurant and thinking it's going to be expensive) and not to mention it's located in Plaza Senayan *ahem*, anyway at the center of the restaurant you'll find this seating area with ginormous deco which almost looks like an installation art to me of hanging wood blocks and lanterns hanging above, totally the design highlight of the restaurant, and further across there's a condiment station where they display the fresh ingredients.

Because this restaurant's signature meal is their beauty hot pot and highly renowned for their collagen soup, that's what I would recommend most here! They have 5 kinds of Bijin Nabe here (Original, Spicy, Seafood, Sukiyaki, Shabu-Shabu) but my friend raved about how good their Seafood Bijin Nabe was when she had that in Singapore so we had one of that, and another Spicy Bijin Nabe both in medium size! The Bijin Nabe then served with over 15 kinds of hot pot condiments such as vegetables, meat and Japanese traditional dishes and ingredients aka "Ojyubako" and paired with four ingredient-sauces: Red Pepper & Garlic, Green Onion Oil, Yuzu Pepper and Chilli Sauce.

...AND I AM SUCH A BEAUTY POT VIRGIN FYI SAY WHOOT WHOOT!

If you feel like having more stuff in your bijin nabe then you can defo add more ala-carte vegetables, meat, rice and noodle or if you fancy something else aside from the bijin nabe-hood, they also have various Japanese ala-carte menus to choose like Soup, Salad, Japanese starters, Spring Rolls, Sushi, Tempura, Oyakodon and Desserts to finish!

Price range for the Bijin Nabe here starts from IDR 370k (medium) to IDR 680k (large), and the ala-carte menus from IDR 50k, as for the drinks they have various soft-drinks, smoothies, juices with price ranges from IDR 10k-40k, I was deeply tempted to have their Green tea and Azuki Bean Smoothie but I didn't want to feel bloated so I went for the good old cold ocha!

We also ordered a few light bites while waiting for the Bijin Nabe to be prepared (alibi), so we opted for the Tuna-Mayonnaise Gyoza that's served with 5 kinds of mayo dipping sauces (Original, Red Pepper, Yuzu Pepper, Curry and Tartar), one Chicken Namban and this Chawanmushi stuff with crab (I don't know the name)

Tuna-Mayonnaise Gyoza - IDR 40k

I don't know why but the flavor didn't stick with me so I kinda forgot how it tasted and not to mention I dip a generous amount of Tartar Mayonnaise and ironically I only remember how the Tartar sauce tasted, but it was beautifully crunchy on the outside with generous filling.

Chicken Namban
A winner! Beautifully crispy and juicy with tasty Tartar sauce and Goma dressed lettuce. Absolutely delicious combo!

My friend ordered this I don't know the name

I was pretty surprised with the Bijin Nabe when they're presented to my table as they came in this jelly like collagen that slowly melt to this beautiful hot tasty broth, and I gotta admit watching the collagen melt was pretty satisfying to the eye *weirdo*.

Spicy Bijin Nabe - IDR 298k (medium), IDR 430k (large)

Seafood Bijin Nabe - IDR 368k (medium), IDR 650k (large)

Condiments for the Spicy Bijin Nabe, here you'll get chicken, tsukune (chicken meatball), tofu, vegetable, shimeji & enoki mushroom, Okra, White Cabbage, Corn, Lotus and more...

Spicy Bijin Nabe - IDR 298k (medium), IDR 430k (large)

I expected the spicy version to honestly be a little spicier and I notice that the soup had this slight Mala-like character (not sure if it's really Mala tho but it tasted like one) that again I expected to be bolder, something about the overall flavor that's a bit floating like it needed more seasoning to taste right for my liking, however everyone's palate is different so if you're someone like me who loves the bolder kick then you can always ask for additonal ingredient to build up your own flavor.

Ingredient for the Seafood Bijin Nabe, might look like a little portion but wait until you mix everything.

Seafood Bijin Nabe - IDR 368k (medium), IDR 650k (large)

Now after you put everything in, it doesn't seem to little eh?

I gotta give it to my friend tho for ordering this because this Seafood Bijin Nabe totally rocks! The collagen broth was bold without tasting like it's coming from a lot of MSG (but did taste Umami and fresh), salty but delicious salty not the fucked up salty kind, and the ingredients here were super fresh: fresh fish, fresh seafood, fresh vegetables! If you ask for my favorite then I'm definitely rooting for the seafood one!

Throughout finishing the Bijin Nabe, we ordered a plate of ramen because we thought that would even make the eating more interesting, and another tip, ok this might sound weird but I like it when you cook all the ingredients together and after quite some time the side of the pot started having this collagen crack or whatever you call it and it's so good and salty and such a random pleasure that's not guilty (well yes after you eat the whole damn thing).

Spent IDR 1.1 mil for everything you're seeing in this entry? Worth it? Of course. I think we kinda over-order because we didn't finish the Bijin Nabe LOL! Too bad I didn't go for their original version and more tempted to try the spicy one, had a good feeling that the original Golden Jidori Chicken Soup one would taste BOMB, but it was such a fun dinner time, great friends and great food makes great dinner!

Welcome to Indonesia and I really hope you're doing well here! Good luck!