Chef Kamil at Mediterranea

Meet Camille Massard Combe (aka Chef Kamil). Camille is the proud owner and chef of Mediterranea, a traditional French and Mediterranean restaurant in Jogjakarta, Central Java.

Bonjour, Camille. Firstly, please tell us how you adopted the Indonesian name Kamil?
There’s a simple explanation for this. When I arrived, I realized that people started to write my name in this way and I found it quite fancy and local, so I adopted the name ever since!

Where are you originally from?
I’m from France bien sûr madame. But both of my parents’ families were originally from the North of Italy. I was born and grew up in Paris. I stayed for three years in the southwest of France, working as a chef as well.

You came to Indonesia in 2008. What was the reason for this visit and why have you stayed ever since?
At first I came to visit a friend for a holiday and I really liked the place. Then I decided to try my luck with a small restaurant, which has been quite successful, so I decided to stay.

What is it about life in Jogjakarta that you love so much? How does it compare to Bali or Jakarta, for example?
I like that it is a human-sized city, with a kind of village feeling, despite fast changes that have happened over the last five years. Jogjakarta is known as a big city but I still like it. Bali and Jakarta are definitely too packed for me.

What would you say would be the best day out in Jogjakarta, for someone who has never been before? And where would be the best place, in your opinion, for breakfast, lunch then dinner?
Of course you have to visit the main attractions like Borobudur temple and Prambanan temple, and so on. Also visit the southeast coast where they have beautiful white sand beaches. Finish up by climbing Mount Merapi, one of the most active volcanoes in the country. For breakfast, I would say have it in my kitchen with my wife and I, for lunch definitely enjoy it in my restaurant, and for dinner as well! I work 15 hours a day, six out of seven days a week, so you are most likely to find me there. There are plenty of other nice restaurants in south Jogjakarta as well.

Shish Kebab by Chef Kamil

You opened a now well-known eatery in Jogjakarta called Mediterranea Restaurant, serving traditional French and Mediterranean cuisine. How did you go about starting this venture?
After a few experiences, I wanted a large space with my own decorations. I tried to upgrade this place regularly and apparently the people like it. The restaurant is a full concept; food has to be very good but the cosiness is also important. I like that my customers take their time to eat, so they need also a nice place to enjoy the food and their surroundings.

What is the most popular dish on your menu? Have you had to make any of your recipes more Indonesian to better suit the local palate?
Mushroom risotto with duck breast on the grill is the most popular, I would say. I stick to the French traditional taste and I really enjoy that my Indonesian customers have discovered new flavours from my restaurant. It’s a part of my job.

Why did you choose Jalan Tirtodipuran for your venue’s location?
I fell in love with the post colonial house that the restaurant is in. Jalan Tirtodipuran is also one of the nicest and most quaint streets in Jogjakarta where you can find some antique shops and famous batik factories.

What challenges have you faced training local staff to cook French food?
It’s a daily challenge. I have to make my staff excited to cook using French techniques to prepare the meals. I also have to introduce them to new flavours and tastes. It’s not always easy to make them embrace a new culinary culture but it’s a very interesting challenge for me and I enjoy it.

Where do you get your produce from? Is it locally sourced?
I really try to use local products as much as I can. It’s a real issue for me. I feel extremely concerned about this matter, but of course, for example, olive oil is imported. I only use imported products when I cannot find it here. In the future, I really would like to grow some organic vegetables and use them daily in my restaurant. This will happen soon.

What are your future plans? Any plans to expand?
I have many plans in my mind, but I will keep it in the box for now.

Do you see Jogjakarta being your home for the foreseeable future?
Yes, for sure. I have one kid and the second one is on the way so we won’t be moving anywhere. I still feel that Jogjakarta is a nice family-friendly place to live.

Where is your favourite place in Indonesia?
This is a difficult one, but I would say the majestic volcanoes around Java.

And finally, what is your favourite Indonesian expression?
Nanti dulu, which means ‘later on’!

To meet Chef Kamil, visit Mediterranea Restaurant, Jalan Tirtodipuran no 24A, Jogjakarta.
Phone: +62 274 371052

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Tapas Movida Cipete is going through some changes and it is all about the menu! After opening a branch in CITOS Mall with the original more casual menu, Spanish-British executive chef and owner, Manuel Verdaguer, has decided to get back behind the oven and let his imagination go wild to create a gourmet menu more attentive to details, presentation and combination of flavours. 

Tapas Movida is one of the few restaurants featuring Spanish tapas established that far south in the city, and is well known amongst the residents of Cipete and Cilandak. The tapas restaurant opened its doors in 2011 with the goal of offering Spain’s most famous delicacies, tapas, to Jakartans. Tapas is the Spanish word for appetizer and is some sort of equivalent to the Indonesian Padang; small portion meals. It is designed to be shared and encourage conversation around the table.

If the tapas concept remains, the original Cipete branch is stepping up its game to offer a more upscale gourmet menu, with more researched taste combinations and fine presentations. In order to do so, chef Verdaguer has decided to get back in the kitchen and get in the full creative mode. Indonesia Expat was invited to have an avant-goût of his new creations and even if it is still on the working board, we were particularly pleased with the huevos rotos, poached egg with chorizo, baked potatoes, fresh greens, cherry tomatoes, red pepper sauce and churros ice cream sandwich with chocolate sauce. The new menu will be revealed later this month. But don’t worry, the good old classics will remain, such as albandigas con salsa de tomato picante (meatballs in spicy tomato sauce) or Palla de marisco (Spanish rice with seafood).

Along with a reinvented new menu, Tapas Movida is also launching Latino Night starting October 10^th. Just in time to practice for the annual Latin Ball! Beginner salsa lessons will start at 7.30pm until 8.30pm, followed by a social dancing evening of salsa, bachata, merengue, reggaeton, with a live DJ.

Also taking advantage of his British heritage, the chef has also launched a good old full English breakfast menu, including English bacon and sausages, hash brown potatoes and black pudding, of course, with a Spanish touch, featuring authentic Spanish cheese.

Chef Verdaguer was born in Spain and grew up in England. Before moving to Indonesia in 2007, he worked in several Michelin stars restaurants and hotels in the UK, such as Café Royal, High Park Corner and Grosvenor Hotel.

Tapas Movida Website: www.tapasmovida.co.id

Jl. Cipete Raya no. 66, South Jakarta

Email: tapasmovida@yahoo.com

Tel: 021 751 0851

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Our expert epicure continues an undercover operation to bring you the truth about Jakarta’s dining scene. No spoon is left unturned in the quest for honest, balanced reviews, from long-established favourites to the hottest new tables in town.

This month, young crowd magnet Social House. 

Gastro geeks everywhere will have noticed the recent trend towards a more relaxed, casual approach to dining. Escoffier may well be turning in his grave at the thought of Jason Atherton’s Pollen Street Social in London, or the speakeasy-style eateries of today’s Manhattan. No starched linens, no trolley service, no waiters in tails. A restaurant is no longer a formal beacon of good cuisine. It is a meeting place. A co-opted office. A concept: eat, yes – but socialise too.

Social House, darling of cool-kid restaurant group Ismaya, is Indonesia’s answer to the social-eating scene. A hipster joint like this wouldn’t be caught dead in a mall in New York, but this is Asia, so the east wing of Grand Indonesia is a fitting location. Trekking your way through the shops makes for a slightly less-than-glamourous entrance, but once in you are rewarded with an open and welcoming space. The pale wooden décor is offset by trees and bits of shrubbery bedecked with fairy lights. In true social style, the space is sectioned into functional areas: there are private rooms, a bar, a raised dining area and even a wine shop (with decent choice and average prices).

As all civilised socialising should, we began in the bar. There is an extensive list of particularly imaginative, if not always tempting, cocktails. I always think anyone who needs to dress their alcohol up as dessert (vodka crème brûlée, anyone?) doesn’t actually like drinking, and therefore probably shouldn’t. The wines by the glass, though lopsided with four reds and two whites, were reasonable quality and adequately priced. But since they have a wine shop, they could afford to add a few more whites to the list at least. We sampled a classic Californian, Robert Mondavi’s Woodbridge Cabernet Sauvignon at Rp.104,000, which was very agreeable, and through the course of dinner, both whites on the list, Alexis Lichine Sauvignon Blanc (Rp.85,000) and Domaine Chandon Chardonnay (Rp.144,000), which were fine.

Moving into the buzzing dining area, we saw almost every table was full, largely of groups of friends, chatting, laughing and generally making merry. So far, so social. If the mission here is to simply provide a place for the Jakaterati to have a moderate amount of chilled fun in funky surroundings – job done. But to truly emulate Atherton and co.’s Michelin-starred international social-dining successes, this place will need to impress with more than just atmosphere. The quality of the food, and the service, are key.

Alas dear readers, therein lies the rub. Because unfortunately Social House couldn’t help itself. Like a kid in a sweet shop, it just had to go for that all-encompassing catch-all of a menu, ‘international’, or as I like to call it, ‘indecisive’. Here, the food concept ranges from sushi, sashimi, noodles, fajitas, pizzas and pastas to the ubiquitous steak.

Restaurateurs of Indonesia: why, why, why, must we try to please everyone? You know as well as I do it’s impossible anyway. Yes, you’re located in a mall with a great variety of taste buds with fat wallets walking around in it. But that doesn’t mean you can successfully cater to them all.

Have conviction in your cooking and in your diners’ tastes, pick what you’re good at, and leave globe-trotting gastronomy to the hotel buffets.

Still. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em. So we did – and in part, we were pleasantly surprised.

To whet our whistles on this international gourmet-gallop, we started with ‘small plates’ from a couple of culinary canons. First up, crispy roti prata with thick seafood curry dip (Rp.69,000) was both an original idea and, frankly, quite moreish. The ‘dip’ was a medium-spiced, rich Malaysian sauce perfect for scooping up with that flaky, pastry-like bread. Successful.

Alongside this was a tuna maguro tataki with crispy garlic and ponzu sauce at Rp.75,000. The portions are not large, but the fish was convincingly fresh (though of course, not that spankingly, just-off-the-boat fresh you get in Japan), and the ponzu was tasty enough.

Finally, ‘fresh’ spring rolls with shrimp, chicken, egg and vegetables (Rp.69,000) were a little boring and under-loved. It just goes to show that trying to do too many cuisines under one roof is eventually going to produce some losers.

For something more substantial, we split the Wagyu beef burger with Brie, Emmental, eggplant, rocket, sundried tomato, Social House special sauce and fries. The burger patty itself was actually juicy, though the onion rings could have been crispier. Overall this was not a disappointment at Rp.165,000.

What was a let-down was the service. Disorganised, forgetful, and just a bit too casual (even for the social-dining concept), overall the team came off as essentially inept, albeit friendly. Like lots of places in Jakarta now, their hiring policy is evidently based on the coolness of your haircut rather than any sort of ability to get the job done.

I don’t need to restate that I prefer my steak without a side of sushi. But since nothing will change the sheer breadth of this menu’s dithering, we’ll put that issue aside, because Social House does have its good points. Yes, there are improvements to be made in the kitchen, and most certainly to the service, but all in all, I admit I would go back – most likely with a group of friends, and an emphasis on conversation rather than consumption. After all, even I have been known to socialise.

Cheque please!

Food: Rp.374,000

Drinks: Rp.437,000

Service: 10%

Total: Rp.941,000 (inc. taxes) for two

Social House Restaurant & Bar

Grand Indonesia East Mall 1st Floor, JL. MH Thamrin, No. 1, Jakarta 10320,

+62 21 2358 1818, www.ismaya.com/socialhouse

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BAM! That’s a bit what it feels like to eat at this new Jakarta restaurant. You’re not quite sure whether you’ve been hit by a bullet train to Tokyo or by the running bulls of Pamplona, but you’re pretty sure it tastes good up in there somewhere.

Chef Arturo Godó

Spanish-Japanese is what it’s all about – and it’s certainly a combination I haven’t come across before. Here, the idea is to share some small plates of Spanish-inspired food, and pair it with a choice from the extensive sake list. Chef Arturo Godó from Barcelona doesn’t claim to be an expert in all things Japanese – just in good quality food. It is the restaurant’s owners who suspected this Singaporean concept would work well in the middle of Jakarta, in one of its fanciest malls, opening up in June this year.

As it turns out, BAM!’s location is key. It must owe a big slice of its success so far to its third-floor position in Plaza Indonesia; Jakarta’s original rich-kid playground. This is evident with one look at the wine list: big-hitting bottles, mostly classic French reds from Margaux to Pauillac, all with hefty price tags. This, however, is nothing compared to the sake list, which is huge, and actually quite reasonable by bottle or carafe. The staff can advise on dryness, sweetness and temperature to fit your food – quite impressive.

Going with the flow – when in Rome, after all – we started with some dry, cold sake, and at the chef’s recommendation, the kampung egg with baby sotong (cumi-cumi in Bahasa – squid) and chorizo. Only the sausage here sounds Spanish, so you’d be forgiven for thinking you were about to taste an Asian sensation. But the dish turned out to be reminiscent of txiperones on the beach in Catalonia, lightly deep-fried and very soft on the inside. This was served rather innovatively at the table by the chef, who broke the yolk of a poached egg, and mixed it with an onion puree, the fried squid, and the pieces of chorizo. It really worked.

Next up was a plate of the good stuff. Tapas is not tapas without pata negra, and you cannot go wrong with top-quality ingredients, simply prepared and presented, as it was with the plate of Jamón Ibérico de Bellota (cured ham from acorn-eating pigs) and Pan Con Tomat (bread and tomato) we were presented with. Of course, Chef Arturo must import the ham from Spain, where its production is tightly controlled. It tasted nutty and fatty and wonderful. Apart from here, wherever possible, Chef Arturo uses local ingredients, such as seafood from Lombok and Medan.

Hokkaido Scallop

A real cross-cultural creation came next: a plate of stir-fried Asian veggies, adorned with a porcini mushroom foam, and some Spanish pancetta. Mushroom and bacon-y flavours always work well together, so that part was a success, and it was an interesting mix of local veggies. I can see this appealing to a local audience, as would the Hokkaido scallop, which came presented in a cocktail glass atop an avocado puree, green beans and crusted with some bottarga (a type of cured fish roe).

Chef Arturo took great care over the preparation of our next dish, a special Spanish-Japanese paella. Paella is one of those national dishes – like biryani, gumbo and risotto – that has many variations, from region to region. This one was in an authentic paella pan, with the right texture and consistency of rice. There was baby squid, and the stand-out ingredient was the special Spanish sausage Chef Arturo gets from Bali – this was very authentic; chunky, meaty and spicy. On top there was a riot of Japanese mushrooms (enoki, shiitake and shimeji) with fried garlic, rocket, and thin red onion slices. Overall, this was filling, spicy, and more than a little different from your usual Spanish rice dish.

Spanish-Japanese Paella

Not to be outdone, next up was a lovely small dish of imported Spanish prawns, chargrilled. The chef came over to mix the prawns together with the meat and juices squeezed from out of the heads (every Catalonian knows that’s the best part), and for a zingy local touch, chilli sambal and a squeeze of limau topped things off. Like the kampung egg, this fusion fared well.

Saving the best for last, the star dish was probably the Charcoal Grilled Spanish Pork. Chef Arturo estimates almost every table that comes in orders one of these – and so should you. Thinly sliced and very soft, yet crispy on the top, this flavoursome shoulder was served with a Japanese-influenced mustard mayonnaise, chunks of fennel braised with thyme and a Spanish paprika-spiced balsamic sauce. Muy bueno, arigoto.

We would have loved to try the Spanish cheese platter, but with just a little room for something sweet, Chef Arturo offered us a caramelised banana with banana ice cream, chocolate crumbs, and a crème anglaise made with rum. I’ve had banana-based desserts in Java before and recognise them as popular in Asia in general. It wasn’t too sickly or rich, so makes a good option for a light dessert.

All in all, BAM! is certainly an interesting new concept for Jakarta’s diners, and one that looks set to be popular. All you need is a pair of castanets and a kimono and you’re good to go.

—

BAM! Tapas and Sake Bar

Lantai 3, Plaza Indonesia, Jl. MH Thamrin, Jakarta Pusat

+62 (0) 21 29924222

www.bamtapasandsake.com

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Chef Kazumasa Yazawa

The premium Japanese restaurant OKU opens today, April 1, at Hotel Indonesia Kempinski Jakarta. The dining venue, helmed by Chef Kazumasa Yazawa, offers a modern take on Japanese cuisine while also keeping its traditional flair. Chef Kazumasa Yazawa, better known as Chef Kaz, intends to bring life and a story to the dishes served, in line with the Japanese culture.

“In Japanese culture, we believe that we take the spirits and souls from the ingredients’ origins and use them to replenish ourselves, so we are giving honour and gratitude to the organisms that originally housed those spirits.”

The name OKU represents the culinary journey that diners will have the chance to embark on, as it refers to the layers of an onion. Resonating with this, the restaurant wishes to please guests with multiple layers of meaning and experiences, and offers them new ways to approach innovative dishes.

OKU’s Interior

Chef Kaz was previously the Executive Chef at the Japanese restaurant Izy Dining Restaurant and Bar in Singapore and oversaw the award-winning Waku Ghin Restaurant at the Marina Bay Sands. With a wealth of experience under his belt, he aims to embed his cooking philosophy into his dishes.

“My cooking philosophy is simple: all of my creations are made with absolute respect towards all the products and ingredients that are used.”

OKU will certainly be a valuable addition to Jakarta’s dining scene, as General Manager of Hotel Indonesia Kempinski Alex Pichel says, “We firmly believe that this is the only true Japanese dining experience in Central Jakarta that caters for both business and leisure, and we look forward to welcoming hotel guests and discerning local diners to the restaurant.”

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Let’s be real.

When we travel to Bandung, most of us simply want to hide away in our five-star luxury hotels and sip on expensive cocktails during happy hour. We want to fill up on the international breakfast buffet, followed by a long, leisurely swim in the infinity pool. Sometimes, we just want to fall asleep during a Balinese massage at the spa. The children, if any, get to splash about in said pool or stomp about in plastic, climate-controlled playgrounds.

If we travel through town, it’s usually with a car and driver directly to the outlet malls, of which there are plenty; retailers selling last season’s wares, leftover sizes and decent knockoffs that could pass for the real deal if not for labels like ‘Tommy Hiflicker’ or ‘Adidos’. We see a volcano or two. We tour a tea plantation or a local organic farm. Our dining experience is limited to whichever restaurant rates highest on Trip Advisor or caters heavily to foreign tourists as suggested by hotel reception.

The signature ayam goreng found in many Indonesian restaurants

However, on a recent weekend trip to Bandung, I was pleasantly surprised by the local restaurant scene. Around every tree-lined corner, there seemed to be new coffee bars and eateries serving murtabak, burgers, Mexican food, ayam bakar or bakso tahu. Wide pedestrian walkways close to where we stayed also made it easy to explore.

Bandung is an expat foodie’s dream: a place where you can find everything from expertly crafted Melbourne-style coffee to traditional Sundanese cuisine all in one neighbourhood.

Admittedly, if there’s one thing we can’t stand in our family, it’s that morning cup of hotel coffee. Usually brewed en masse – in machines that have been used for years and could do with a good break down and cleaning – the beverage usually tastes of burnt toast ends and dregs. If desperate, we bring our own beans and travel with a hand grinder to make our own in the hotel room. In a country like Indonesia, one would think the hotels would serve better coffee considering the associated history; it is called ‘Java’ after all.

Through a random post on Twitter, we found Cultivar Coffeehouse, located conveniently behind our hotel in the Dago district of Bandung. This led to an amazing discovery of the perfect trifecta of local food retailers. As Cultivar is relatively new and off the radar, we had to trust this one effusive tweet, but the risk paid off.

Cultivar’s coffee business is built on using beans that help support the local industry, and promotes fair trade between farmers and retailers. Its special house blend of Arabica from Bali, Sumatra and Sulawesi is outstanding. As the shop does its roasting in-house, the purveyors extract a gorgeous aroma, redolent of creamy milk chocolate with a hint of white pepper. There is an all-day food menu, but we came here especially for the coffee. The single origin coffees are a must-try with most beans having low to medium acidity from areas such as Flores and Aceh. What we would not give for an establishment like Cultivar within walking distance of our residence in Jakarta!

As I was waiting for my flat white one morning, a little shop overflowing with locals caught my eye. I couldn’t resist the call of a place this popular, so I meandered over and peered through the front door. What I saw was chaos. Ladies with banana-leaf lined metal trays and tongs jostling each other for colourful local snacks and traditionally prepared meals. It was early in the day so much of the food had just been placed on display, but many items were already sold out. I made a mental note to come back the next day an hour earlier.

Sari Sari is a cake and pastry shop that specializes in Indonesian snacks, sweets and light meals. It is housed in a somewhat generic western house-like setting. The interior is similar to a bakery with rows of food accompanied by labels and prices. There are a few tables that run from the front to back, with patio seats outside. The bakery is air-conditioned and quite lovely if not for the daily morning rush of people trying to grab the tastiest morsels first. A corner is allocated for kerupuk of all different varieties and brands, mostly for visitors to bring back home as gifts.

However inconspicuous this place may be, the popularity is earned and real. Most locals go to Kartika Sari, another famous cake shop just a few minutes down one of the main roads, but Sari Sari is just as good (if not better) because of its limited production. The shop is open from 6am to 7pm daily, but some popular items run out almost an hour or two after opening.

The food I sampled was fresh, delicious and well-made, which is so different from what one usually sees at the traditional markets where sanitation and suspect cooking methods might be an issue. The prepared foods are from a number of regions so there is quite a display. The egg and vegetable murtabak and otak-otak are scrumptious as are the lumpia basah. We returned the next day to load up on snacks (which they arranged meticulously and beautifully in a box) before taking the train back to Jakarta. They made a perfectly light, mid-day meal in the cabin as we sped by scenic terraced rice paddies and tumbling waterfalls.

Karamba is an open-air restaurant located adjacent to Cultivar Coffeehouse. It has a spacious dining room and serves very good Sundanese cuisine. The nasi liwet komplit came with fragrant rice, ayam goreng, an accompanying sayur asem (sour vegetable soup), lalab (a side of fresh vegetables), salted fish, fried tofu and tempeh. Most prominently, there was a massive and intensely spicy mortar of sambal tomate. The amount of sambal rivalled my entire meal, but I was unable to stop. Each bite was highlighted by the sour, spicy and little bit of sweet from the fresh tomatoes and red chillies. My accompanying iga bakar was syrupy from the kecap manis and tender from the long roast time. These two items alone were large enough for two people to enjoy.

Cultivar Coffeehouse

Address: Jalan Sultan Tirtayasa 26, Bandung

Telephone: 022 2051 0521

Website: www.cultivarcoffeehouse.com

Sari Sari

Address: Jalan Sultan Tirtayasa 17, Bandung

Telephone: 022 420 6517

Karamba

Address: Jalan Sultan Tirtayasa 26, Bandung

Telephone: 022 423 3229

Website: www.karambabandung.com

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A friend of mine once asked me, “What are the 5 largest cities in Indonesia?” Confidently I replied, “Jakarta, Surabaya, Bandung, Yogya and maybe Medan.” “Nope, you’re wrong,” he said. “It’s North Jakarta, South Jakarta, West Jakarta, East Jakarta and Central Jakarta.” While I don’t think he was technically correct, his point was clear. This city is just too big and even if you (like me) tend to stay in one general area to avoid being stuck in traffic – there are still so many new places opening all the time that it can be difficult to find them all.

Fortunately, there are some very excellent mobile apps that will show you what’s around your immediate location. This week I’ll take a look at a few that make finding local restaurants super easy: buUuk, Google Places, Toresto and Tasterous.

buUuk for iPhone and Android, is the granddaddy of all restaurant apps. Developed in Singapore, buUuk launched its Jakarta content with the launch of the iPhone 3G way back in March 2009. It covers over 2000 locations in Jakarta and is by far the most accurate and detailed app around. You can do just about everything with this app – leave reviews, vote, share on Twitter and Facebook, save favourites, sort by rating and location and even add listings directly on your device. The downside with all these innovative features is that the app can get a bit confusing to use, but if you stick with just a few (“top rated” and “nearby”) you’ll be just fine. It’s free and no sign up is required.

The native iPhone and Android Google Places app (BlackBerry users can only access via the browser I’m afraid) was released in January this year and it’s awesome. It is super powerful and the ratings and comments that you leave in the app appear on Google’s search results for the world to see. It covers all sorts of locations – bars, ATMs, gas stations, hotels and of course restaurants. Owners of restaurants need to claim their venue (not many have so far) and it seems most hotels are added automatically. One standout feature is that the app uses your phone’s digital compass to show not just the proximity but the direction of the venue as well – something I’ve never seen before and has proved to be very useful. Like buUuk it’s free and you only need to login if you want to leave a review.

Toresto for iPhone and Android was just released a month ago and it’s great seeing a Bandung-based developer get in on the restaurant location space to compete with the big boys. At the moment the only content it has is the restaurant’s name, address and phone number (the “menu” and “promo” tabs are blank on every one I checked), and quite a few of the geotags are incorrect but these shortcomings will hopefully get corrected in due course. Free with no registration required.

I really struggled to find a good local BlackBerry restaurant locator app so I was quite excited when I heard about Tasterous for BlackBerry. It seems to be a very interesting

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