Antica Osteria VS Domicile

5:27:00 PM

Hey ho!! #Undecided here and I'm extra giddy because tomorrow I'm going to meet my hero, The Dog Whisperer himself, Mr. Cesar Millan!! Won the Meet and Greet (can you believe how lucky I am?!?!) no less!! But more on that later, will blog about the event for sure!

This entry, however, is not less exciting because it's restos reviews!! And this time we're writing it differently as we're going to compare the 2 (relatively) new restos in Surabaya.

Behold...

Domicile and Antica Osteria (Note: Antica Osteria's exterior photo from Haphap.com - we didn't take any ourselves... yeah, some bloggers LOL)

Since we're doing comparisons, let's tackle the first point. Also a major one in my book, the ambiance. Antica Osteria, you're up!

Yes, it does have the homey atmosphere... At least that's how I felt the moment I stepped inside.

Loved the green checkered curtains and the mismatched chairs!

This place reminds me a lot of the other Italian resto (also owned by a native Italian), Casa Fontana. Loves the steak there! Which is a rarity for me personally when it comes to Italian restos, but I digress!

I haven't checked my fact (so it might be wrong!), but I believe this place used to be an old house and they just revamped it and turned it into a resto... I could be wrong, but it sure has that vibe...

See, it's homey... #Pink's hunny could be just lazing around on someone's couch hahaha.

I was late - as usual, so #Pink took this pic alone. Some friend she is LOL...

That's another corner of the resto - which is the view from my seat.

And that's me... Busy checking out the menu... Love the paintings on the walls!

Full team (sans Baby Boy's nanny whom took the very pic - she's getting good...)

The boys... Noticed someone unfamiliar? Yeah, that's Elwin, hubby's friend. He's only 17, his big bro is #Pink's nephew's (I repeat, NEPHEW!!!) friend.

#Undecided & #Pink.

The centerpiece.

Love love love this corner (especially those 2 little lanterns behind Baby Boy).

Heyyllo, this is #Pink's turn now! I got the task to show you the interior and ambiance of Domicile Kitchen and Lounge. If Antica Osteria is homey, very European and comfortable, Domicile is like their happening, cooler, more fashionable cousin *LOL*.

The view of the entrance and dessert display/cashier area from our table

This was our very first time in Antica Osteria, hunny and i been to Domicile before for my niece BB's 14th birthday party (such a fancy place for 14 year olds...) and we loved it (that's why we're dragging #Undecided and her hubby here!) We went there once more just a few days ago when KC and CL came, and #Undecided and hubby also went there again with #Undecided's family! Can you see that we're already obsessed?

Oh, Domicile's also one of the "It" restaurant to hang out in Surabaya lately. If you come here at noon, you'll see plenty of socialites lunching, and more importantly-taking endless pictures (some even hire professional photographers, a fact that i find highly amusing :D) for their social medias (according to Katherine, because Domicile's gloomy lighting it's not ideal to take pictures there at night. So true! LOL).

Hunny with the menu

The guys just got haircuts (and bangs trims from #Undecided and i) by Ndaru like, not an hour before *LOL*
And my bang is a tad too short!! Damn it, Ndaru! :D

Hunny trying out an artsy fartsy pic *LOL*

Group photo :D

Hunny was playing with his NX 300 and change the setting so the pictures can look brighter, much to our protests because it looked TOO BRIGHT, in #Undecided's words "Like in someone's couch, so not attractive! LOL. But it's good for taking photo pictures, so we went back and forth between the two settings >.< please don't mind the inconsistency.

When we were dining, we heard a screech and a tiny hurricane blew to our table at the form of our friend, N haha. So we dragged her *kicking and screaming* to take some pictures with us #naturally. We always joked that we can form a "Big Face Group"

Can you believe that lucky B just gave birth less than a month (when this picture was taken, it's almost a month ago i think)???? Skinny as a pole! Damn jealous!

Loving the brick wall... We accidentally stood in the wrong positions (oh yes, of course we have our own sides!) and felt awkward and weird, until we realized what the problem was! Then we switched positions and we can haz nice piccies again!

And that's our corner. There's a lovey dovey couple in one table, and lovey dovey hubbies in another haha

The famous spot where people sometimes have to queue up to take picture at *LOL*. What's behind the wall? Toilets *LOL*

#Undecided said the whole atmosphere reminded her of a cafe in Bali.
Yes, the moment I stepped inside, I felt like I was in Ultimo (Seminyak, Bali)! For those of you whom have been to Ultimo before, am I right or am I right? Hehehe...

Resist the urge to fling yourself in the pool, it's really shallow! LOLOLOL

Which one of the two atmosphere that i prefer? I can't choose! I actually like both for a very different reason! One is homey and comfy, but also like it was nowhere in Indonesia (authentic Italian feeling, i'd say. Hey! I've been to Italy! So i am qualified to say that!) and the other is cool and very pleasing on the eyes. I'd feel more pressurized to dress up to go to Domicile though (because everybody who goes there dressed up to the nines, i can't count how many girls i saw wearing the coveted Valentino inspired flared midi skirts i am obsessed about at the moment, and not the cheap kind) while you can dress a little more relaxed in Osteria. But it's still a nice restaurant so maybe leave you ratty tees at home?

Same here, can't choose! LOL. So since we obviously need to have a winner, let's move on to the next point: the food and beverages.

#Pink's hunny's drink!? I can't remember...
BB... Isn't it YOUR drink???? Virgin mojito or something?
Hoh it was mine!? LOL... It doesn't look like a mojito to me from this pic LOL.

Hubby's iced tea? Maybe...
NO BB, this was #Pink's hunny's lychee iced tea, see the white object in the bottom?

The free appetizer. Didn't eat any, can't comment. #Pink?
I had a bread stick, it was so so hehe

The pasta carbonara. Baby Boy and I had it last time. #Pink ended up finishing Baby Boy's pasta so basically we had the same thing that night LOL. It was quite creamy, but a little too bland for my liking, had to add sprinkles of cheese and then it was okay.
It was way too bland for me, not my cup of tea-or bowl of pasta LOL

#Pink's hunny's dish. Can't remember the name... They were yum yum for me. But some said the sausage was too salty (night and day from my pasta!)
I remember it has a very funny name, I Love Pig or something like that since everything in this plate was made from pork! Totally not halal! It was like, the best dish of the night hehe

Hubby always opts for Babyback Ribs whenever we go out. And this time was no different. He didn't like this one though, said it was dry. I tried some and IMHO it was a bit chewy (ribs should be juicy and loose from the bones, right?)
And the portion.. My, i can't even see meat on those bones! My niece ordered a Babyback ribs in Domicile and on the contrary-it was HUGE! Like, 5 times this portion or something. But it wasn't fantastic either, not juicy enough.

For me personally, Antica Osteria's dishes were just so so... They weren't disgusting and downright inedible, but I wouldn't be going back there out of cravings hehehe...

Me neither! It was OKAY, but nothing to rave about. Pretty pricey too (spent almost a million for those dishes you see up there, 3 pastas-one pork platter-one baby back ribs-5 drinks and three deserts. You'll see the deserts later.

Now moving on to Domicile's menu *drooling on cue*, now this is a total opposite!

Something something pizza (you don't expect me to remember, don't you? Besides, i didn't order it!)
It's Bacon, Cheese & Beef Carpacio Pizza!! Order this one, people... And don't toss out the green veggies (I believe those are rucolla leaves)! Eat them with the pizza. OMG super delish!!

Whenever you see #Undecided's hubby nomming like this, you'd know that it's good. This however reminded them of a cheap pizza in ECC though *LOL*, so maybe we can go to ECC instead for a cheaper version?
Corrections, bb... the pizza in FoodFest (it's a little joint called Coffee Addict). They serve very yummy (and very cheap!!) pizza.

Complete opposite when it comes to the tone of the photos *LOL*, sorry it was after we protested that the pictures looked too bright that hunny adjusted it back to normal mode :p

Which apparently is a huge mistake when it comes to food-photographing! Too dark! It's #Undecided's hubby's carbonara tagliatelle, i think!

#Undecided's hubby's the pickiest eater out of the four of us, since i've tasted the baby back ribs in Domicile before, i advised him against it because i don't think it's up to his standard. I highly recommend pastas, pizzas and rissotos instead. He ended up liking his dish a lot!

#Undecided's Black Ink Pasta, i tasted a bit before and told her to try it

And she totally loved it! In my opinion it's very creamy and yummy, and you won't smell anything fishy (if you're worried)
Loved it, bb? Loved it?! No, I don't love it... I worship it!! LOL. Seriously, it's THAT good... And I don't even eat sashimi, but that slightly seared tuna slices are just superb. The shrimps were fresher the first time I had it, though... The 2nd time around, they weren't as fresh, but I'm just nitpicking because can't find fault in this dish! Seafood lover out there, go try!

Back to bright lighting *LOL*, hunny's seafood risotto. Hunny's got a slight obsession with risottos, and there aren't much good risottos available in Surabaya. Domicile's definitely one of the nicest ones.

We've tried seafood risotto and mushroom risotto in Domicile, both are equally good. Even Baby Boy's totally addicted on their mushroom risotto! He said "It's the best!" LOL

My Vongole Linguine *admiring the bright and clear photo*

I tried a strand of my nephew's vongole linguine before and really loved it, it's slightly spicy and addictive! It's my default order now in Domicile!

On BB's birthday i decided to ignore CW's instruction not to order meat (because in her experience, steaks in Domicile tend to be kinda dry). I ordered a Veal Milanese, and it didn't agree with my tastebud. Maybe because i do not care for breaded anything, since hunny said he actually liked it #weirdo. It (and the less than juicy BabyBack Ribs) scared me off any meat in Domicile ever since, but when KC and CL were in town a few days ago, we went there for dinner and CL ordered a tenderloin.

It was actually okay! Maybe because we kept on pestering the waitress and reminding her to make it medium rare (because they really tend to overcook it) and it was cooked right (i'd say it turned out to be medium well though *LOL*). It was huge (comparable to the whopping price of IDR 300.000/portion) though, and although it was pretty nice, i still prefer to go to Hungry Jeff's instead for juicy (not to mention, way cheaper) steaks.

Now, everything that we mentioned above were YUMMY and it's totally mouth watering just describing them. But the next item is the dish that scarred me for life. It's the 2nd worst thing i've ever put in my mouth after natto *HUEKS*!!!!!

Foie Gras

It looked pretty but one bite traumatized me! YUCK YUCK YUCK YUCK!

LOL. The foie gras... I won't even go there... Let's just say that some things are better left ~~unsaid~~ untouched. This one tops that list.

Moving on!!!

Let's talk dessert now... These are what we got from Antica Osteria.

Molten Lava Cake. Who puts whipped cream on top of Molten Lava Cake?! *horrified*

But in their defense, it was good! Very yum cake! Probably not as yum as CL's (my sis-in-law, so i could be slightly biased LOL), but 10x better than Domicile's! It's tiny, though :p

My dessert. Apple pie something something with vanilla ice cream and cinnamon dusting. More like giant pie crust (look how thick it is!!!) with some apple on it LOL. Wasn't too thrilled about this. I'm still on the mission to finding the best apple pie (so far CL's apple pie is the best I've had - she's not my sis in law, so I'm not biased! LOL).

Baby Boy's ice cream.

And here are our desserts in Domicile :

Mille Crepes with some wine sauce.
Correction bb, not wine, the menu says it's infused with Chivas.
Oh. Yeah. I just remembered it was some sort of liquor, that's all *LOL*

It was quite pretty but not super nice. It was not like, bad... But it was nothing to rave about. I've had much better mille crepes in Pancious, much softer and fluffier. The layers in this cake is just WAYYY too thick. Each layer should be super thin that you almost can't taste it between the whipped cream (i do not like whipped cream but i didn't mind it in mille crepes) , but you can totally taste it in this one! Oh, and we can't sense the wine whatsoever!
Again, not wine, but Chivas. LOL. To me the lifesaver in this dessert is those little dots... Those are jams (or maybe compotes?!). Maybe instead of putting small dots like that they should just put more LOL.

N recommended the lava cake here so we ordered one

It looked okay and ooze just right, but the color was off (too light) and i realized why when i had a taste: it was milo cake. LOL. Tastes just like milo! It was fluffy (at the point of being TOO fluffy), but i much prefer Osteria's lava cake than this.

So for me, i liked Antica Osteria's dessert (or at least the molten lava cake) better than Domicile. I love Domicile, their pastas are yums, but i wouldn't bother with desserts. I've tried their creme brulee too and it was just okay (i might blog about BB's birthday to show you their other menu...). But in general, i 100% like Domicile better than Antica Osteria. I can see myself going back there over and over again (plus the fact that one of the owner's an old friend of hunny's make it easier for us too book tables *LOL*).

Amen, sista!! LOL. I say one of the best pastas I've had in my life (up to par with Pancious', maybe even better!). On my 2nd visit I sampled several more dishes (it was a family affair, so I got to try bits of everything LOL), like Wagyu Burger (which was yum), Aglio Olio (which was also yum), the Babyback Ribs (which was okay, not fab, but edible and significantly juicier compared to Antica Osteria's ribs), and Quatro Formagi Pizza (which was okay but hubby and I would opt for the Beef Carpacio one any day!)

And the service is just awesome. We didn't have to wait for years for our food to arrive. Which is always a plus!

Price wise, i'd say Domicile's slightly more expensive than Antica Osteria when it comes to steak, etc? But the pasta, pizza and dessert's about the same price. We spent IDR 860.000 for all those stuffs we shoved down our throat, and there were just four of us (but we did order a lot of things! LOL).

So, the big winner?