Restaurant Review: Sabrosa, Jakarta

Oct. 22 (Jakarta Globe) As someone who has spent my life around restaurant kitchens, I can’t help but be enthused when I meet chefs who are truly passionate about food. Abdul Halim Hafiz, head chef at the recently opened Sabrosa, fits that bill.

First, some quick background on the restaurant itself. Sabrosa only started serving customers at the end of September and is still in its soft opening phase as Abdul finalizes suppliers and his menu. The restaurant is owned by Aprilia Djojorahardjo, Lisa Tumbelaka and Lonny R Mahendra, all of whom are newcomers to the hospitality trade. They know what they want though and, with the help of Abdul and experienced restaurant manager Agus Permana S, look likely to succeed in their venture.

The decor is modern/elegant, with soft lighting, inconspicuous abstract paintings and pots of white orchids throughout the room. The mocktails we sampled were delicious so I expect the cocktails will be also, and the preliminary wine list features offerings from around the world. Add to that an attentive and knowledgeable staff, and I can easily see Sabrosa becoming the next place to see and be seen by Jakarta’s beautiful people.

But all of that pales beside the true star of the show — Abdul’s food! I was delighted to see a selection of tapas on the menu and my colleague Lisa and I ordered three to begin — garlic chicken, mushroom with garlic and seafood croquette. Tapas are Spanish-style nibbles and each was merely a few bites, but what delicious bites they were, with delicate details that were truly impressive. Tiny mushroom caps were filled with garlic pesto and topped with roasted cherry tomatoes, each set off with a tiny deep-fried mint leaf. Fine strips of chicken breast were wrapped about slivers of zucchini and fresh thyme with slices of roast garlic alongside, and a seafood-filled potato croquet was served beside a barely cooked piece of salmon atop a shelled shrimp.

We decided to share a main and chose the grilled fillet of Norwegian salmon with crispy skin. To accompany the dish, we were offered a choice of fried or roast potato and salad or steamed vegetables. The salmon was served on a bed of potato mash with al dente asparagus spears, roast garlic cloves (Abdul, like myself, seems to be a fan of the pungent bulb) and a light drizzle of balsamic vinegar and oil. We had chosen roast potato, which came as a rosti-style cake of interwoven potato strips, and a salad of assorted baby leaves. The fish was perfectly cooked and the simple presentation allowed each individual flavor to be appreciated in its entirety.

Lisa suggested sharing a creme brulee for dessert, a suggestion I resisted until told by a staff member that Sabrosa’s brulee was well worth sampling. I usually avoid this most cliched of ’70s-style sweets, but Abdul’s dessert was indeed a unique twist. Rather than the usual ramekin of custard topped with caramelized sugar, we were served a bowl with the custard resting in a red berry coulis, topped with a latticework of spun sugar and a scoop of refreshing strawberry sorbet.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that Abdul studied and trained in Jakarta, although he has since worked in Jeddah, Bahrain and on an exclusive private island in the Seychelles. Jakarta diners should be pleased he has returned.

Restaurant Review: Royal Kitchen, Bellagio Mall, Jakarta

Oct. 15 (Jakarta Globe) I’ve found that a good standard for judging the quality of any ethnic restaurant is to be aware of how many diners of that ethnicity frequent the establishment. If the Chinese restaurant you’ve chosen has no Chinese diners, it’s probably best to go elsewhere for your dim sum fix. With that in mind, I was pleased that every table except mine at The Royal Kitchen Indian Restaurant & Bar was primarily, if not totally, occupied by Indian diners.

I was not surprised, however, as the first signs we were in for an authentic Indian repast came when my friend John and I arrived at the restaurant. We were shown into the room past a small shrine featuring a statue of Ganesha — the Hindu elephant-headed god — and bearing sweet-smelling incense and offerings. The ambience continued in the dining room where soft lighting and mellow Indian music set off silver settings on embroidered cloths atop comfortable dark wooden furniture.

We started our meal with tandoori grilled chicken drumsticks, tender enough that the meat fell from the bone and complemented perfectly by the creamy mint sauce our attentive waiters brought to the table. We followed that with Mutton Rogan Josh, as well as a dish of fresh mushroom and chopped spinach flavored with garlic called Khumb Aur Kachi Mirch Ka Masala, dhal and a selection of breads and steamed basmati rice.

Many Western diners prefer lamb to mutton, but my Indian friends who cook taught me long ago that mutton, or even goat, is a much tastier option, providing it is given slow cooking time to make it tender. Restaurant owner Deepak Malik told us the Rogan Josh was simmered for at least four hours, which resulted in soft, succulent cubes of meat in the thick, rich tomato and onion gravy. The naan, with plenty of garlic and fresh parsley baked in, was the ideal accompaniment to scoop up the gravy and light, fluffy Basmati rice. The vegetable dish was also excellent, with thick pieces of mushroom blending well with the chopped spinach and spices.

Although the silver dishes didn’t look to hold a lot when brought to the table, there was more than ample food and it was all we could manage to share a Matka Kulfi for dessert — a homemade ice cream flavored with saffron and pistachio. Served in a tiny clay pot, it had a sweet saffron overtaste and a faint flavor and texture of pistachio. The delightful presentation continued with our coffees, which our waitress poured from silver cup to dish and back again to mix the coffee and sweetener before we drank. The small cup of sweet coffee rounded out our meal well.

The Royal Kitchen also serves a Chinese menu, but I would definitely recommend going with the Indian specialties. The restaurant serves a lunch buffet Monday through Thursday for only Rp 55,000 a head, plus tax and service, or a corporate brunch on Friday and Sunday brunch for Rp 65,000 plus, plus. A second Royal Kitchen also opened recently in Balikpapan.

The Royal Kitchen Indian Restaurant & Bar
Bellagio Boutique Mall, ground floor
16 Jl. Kawasan
Mega Kuningan Barat Kav. 3-5
South Jakarta
Tel. 021 3002-9975

Restaurant Review: Capocaccia, Pacific Place, Jakarta

Oct. 08 (Jakarta Globe) When I started reviewing restaurants for this paper, I asked many friends for recommendations, and the name Capocaccia kept coming up. Having finally sampled its food, ambience and service, I can understand why.

A colleague and I took a short stroll from our Plaza Semanggi office to Capocaccia at Pacific Place and arrived suitably hungry. The restaurant bills itself as a gourmet panini bar and I was very much looking forward to some European-style delicatessen treats.

After a busy day, we were both ready for a cocktail so ordered the Martini Assoluto for Wendy and a mojito for myself, with mineral water alongside. The martini was visually stunning, with orange, strawberries, kiwi, grapes and apple all visible in the glass, but lacked in the way of taste. My mojito, though not as pretty, was a well-mixed classic, though perhaps a little sweet (and Indonesians do seem to prefer more sweetness in food and drink).

The menu itself was full of products I constantly search the city’s stores for, not all of which I have managed to find. Buffalo mozzarella, arugula, Culatello (Parma ham), Bresaola (spiced cured beef), smoked tuna, swordfish and salmon — the list goes on. Restaurant manager Nugi Adhiat Nugraha told us almost all the products, especially the meats, were sourced from Europe.

We began with a Bresaola salad of spiced cured beef, arugula, mushroom, corn and shaved parmigiano, served with char-grilled panini. Nugi explained that the dish was intended to be eaten with the fingers and demonstrated pouring oil and balsamic vinegar on our plates first to dip the salad ingredients in. I was surprised to see corn kernels as an ingredient and wondered how easy they would be to eat by hand with any sense of delicacy, but found it easy enough to do if I used a piece of beef as a wrapper. I’m a huge fan of bread with balsamic and good olive oil anyway, so the addition of the tasty meat, cheese and vegetables added to my pleasure in this dish.

Capocaccia is best known for its sandwiches so we opted for a Caleno, with raw ham, deer milk cheese, arugula, tomato and truffle oil; and a Rosolino, with turkey breast, arugula, tomato and tartare sauce. Both were served on fresh bread rolls baked on the premises and with a satisfyingly crisp crust, and with a copious amount of the main ingredients. The cheese in the former was rich and creamy and the truffle oil gave an earthy flavor.

We were pleased to have chosen a salad to begin as bread, even when it is this good, is very filling and neither of us had room left for dessert. Had we managed it, though, Capocaccia offers the Italian classics of Panna Cotta, Tiramisu and Tartalino, along with fresh fruit salad, with or without ice cream.

The interior of the restaurant has two levels with a long and well-stocked bar on the ground floor, in addition to tables outdoors for those who, like us, enjoy watching Jakarta’s passing parade. We dined early in the evening and the music being played was mellow jazz selections, but Capocaccia also features DJs on Wednesday and Friday nights. The kitchen closes at 11 p.m. on weekdays and at midnight on weekends but the bar stays open late.

Restaurant Review: Stammtisch at the Tavern Pub, Aryaduta Hotel Jakarta

Oct. 01 (Jakarta Globe) There’s something about being told items are forbidden that can make them all the more tempting. In this predominantly Muslim country, pork and alcohol fits the bill. To sample both, one can fly off to Hindu Bali, where roast suckling pig is a favored delicacy, or instead take a taxi to the Aryaduta Hotel Jakarta, which hosts a German stammtisch each Monday in its basement Tavern Pub.

Resident hotel manager Robert Kunz, a native of Germany, says stammtisch translates as gathering, and is a large part of Bavarian culture.

“Usually the men gather once a month on a selected day,” he said. “They gather together, they eat together, they drink together, they exchange about work, politics and fun.”

When guests are seated at the stammtisch, they are brought an ashtray with a bell attached, in addition to a selection of freshly baked pretzels. The tradition, Kunz explained, is that anyone who rings the bell is expected to buy drinks for everyone in the room. The rule is applied loosely at the Tavern, but Kunz said at many stammtische it would be treated very seriously.

Dinner was a buffet laden with heavy Germanic fare, and the humble pig featured in many guises, from roast hocks with crunchy crackling through smoked pork loin and several types of sausage. The chef will happily carve your roast for you, and the tender white meat set off by the crisp crunch of the skin is a taste I hadn’t realized I was missing until I sampled it liberally, doused with a tasty gravy. Sides of spaetzle, sauerkraut, potato and beet salads were also on offer, as were Bavarian-style beef rollmops, but pork is definitely the focus. The bread selection, another German specialty, was also excellent.

But, as good as the food is, and my friend and I ate ourselves into a hog-fed heaven (Katrin didn’t even leave room for the strudel dessert she had been rhapsodizing about since our arrival), the stammtisch is mostly about the gathering.

Beer is included in the buffet price, and regulars have their names inscribed onto their tankards. The weekly event has been going for about 20 years, Kunz said, and the tavern is the oldest German restaurant bar in the city.

“We have hard-liners who come every single night, it doesn’t matter how’s the weather, unless they are away on holidays.”

Newcomers are just as welcome as old friends, however, and we were quickly made feel at home by the regulars.

“You always meet new, interesting people,” Kunz told us. “You can make new relationships, new friends.”

The hotel chain is also hosting Oktoberfest on Thursday and Friday at the Aryaduta Hotel Jakarta, and on Saturday at the Aryaduta Hotel and Country Club Karawaci. Kunz said the ballroom would be dressed as a traditional German beer tent with a nine-piece Bavarian band flown in to play.

“There will be drinking games and telling jokes, and they’ll all be in traditional clothes,” he said.

“The people, with the music, they set up first on the beer benches, like you can see here. They will most probably start on the benches to sing and dance to the music. When the alcohol level increases, they will be on the tables, but this is all traditional like you can see on the TV.”

Tickets for Friday were sold out but still available as of Wednesday for the Thursday and Saturday events.

Tracie Barrett is a Jakarta Globe copy editor who formerly worked in restaurants.

Stammtisch At the Tavern Pub
Aryaduta Hotel Jakarta
Jl. Prapatan No. 44-48
Central Jakarta
Tel. 021 2352 1234
info.jakarta@aryaduta.com

Restaurant Review: Rustique, Plaza Senayan, Jakarta

Sept. 17 (Jakarta Globe) I try to avoid superlatives in reviews, but at Rustique Grill and Wine I ate what was unquestionably the best steak I’ve ever tasted, and I’ve dined at some of America’s (and Australasia’s) finest (and most expensive) steakhouses. The secret — executive chef Fany Hermawan dry-ages his own beef, hanging it in a temperature- and climate-controlled storeroom for from 18 to 40 days, depending on the particular cut. The result — beef so tender that both myself and my dining companion lay down our cutlery after our first bites, sat back and breathed “Wow!”

Such a treat on its own would bring me back regularly, but Rustique does not rest on its signature dish alone. The restaurant, which celebrated its second anniversary on Aug. 1, also offers innovative seafood dishes, inventive takes on classic dishes and truly sinful desserts.

Chef Fany’s family moved to Australia while he was still in school, and before returning to his native Indonesia he trained and worked at some of that country’s most acclaimed restaurants. The Australian influence can be seen in the fresh, innovative combinations on his menu. Joining him in the kitchen recently is Japanese chef de cuisine Shigetoshi “Gio” Uramoto who, after 10 years in San Francisco restaurants, brings his own style of Japanese-American-European fusion .

A quieter but just as important presence in Rustique is co-owner Christoph Darjanto, who has taken the lessons learned from a family of restaurateurs and created a space that is comfortable and welcoming while still impressively elegant.

My friend Lisa and I had already decided we would sample Rustique’s steak as a main course and wanted to share a seafood dish to begin, but had difficulty selecting from the interesting choices. We finally settled on a seafood salad, featuring squid, prawns, scallops and fish in a spicy dressing atop a bed of warm sauteed carrot, zucchini and yellow pepper. The julienned vegetables complemented the seafood well and we quickly cleaned the plate.

On the meat menu, either rib-eye or sirloin steak is available in various weights, or non dry-aged tenderloin or tenderloin wagyu beef. There is also a grilled meat sampler, offering Australian rib-eye and US tenderloin alongside chicken in a coconut sauce, or diners can select from prime rib, chicken breast or lamb rack.

We had come for the steak, however, so ordered a dry-aged rib-eye, medium-rare. From a choice of eight sauces and nine side dishes (including potatoes served six ways), we selected a red wine jus, a mushroom jus, sauteed spinach and sauteed mushrooms.

We completed our meal with an orange custard pudding with hot orange sauce and a dark valrhona chocolate fondant with hazelnut praline ice cream. The chocolate dessert contained a hot sauce offset perfectly by the ice cream and I was tempted to lick the plate clean.

Rustique has a warm, softly lit decor, with an open kitchen, brick walls and huge black mirrors opening out the space. The staff are attentive without being annoying, a balancing act that is not always easy to achieve. Add in an extensive wine list compiled by the head bartender, who recently placed fourth in an international sommelier competition, and there was nothing we could fault the restaurant on.

Rustique Grill and Wine
Plaza Senayan
Level P4 #413
Jl. Asia Afrika No. 8
Jakarta 10270
Tel. 021 5785 2760

Restaurant Review: Maroush, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Jakarta

Sept. 10 (Jakarta Globe) I shared a house in Cambridge, England, with a Moroccan couple for six months and my memories of that time are of sweet mint tea, made any time guests visited and served from a silver teapot in delicate glasses, the warm smell of exotic spices and the wonderful dishes the wife made in her tagine, so tender the meat fell from the bones.

So a visit to Maroush — the Moroccan and Middle Eastern restaurant in the Crowne Plaza Hotel — was eagerly anticipated.

Walking through the metal studded doors of the restaurant, one goes from the bright marble of the hotel’s lobby to a rich, warm Mid-Eastern decor, where the aroma of spices merges with the sweet smoke from burbling shisha pipes.

The restaurant can be sectioned off using draperies and dark wooden doors and also has two private rooms available for meetings, meals or parties. The green room seats eight in an elegant setting and the more sultry red room has a stunning hand-carved table that comfortably holds 14 seated diners. I chose a round table near an exterior window with a long sofa strewn with cushions and soft enough to sink into and want to stay.

My friend was joining me there and I’d arrived a little early, so I ordered Moroccan tea while I waited and found the sweet, mint-filled beverage as good as my housemates used to make.

When Nataya arrived, we opted to begin with a mixed mezze plate, to sample a few of the cold appetizers. The metal plate arrived with the dips garnished with boiled eggs and a cucumber and tomato salad, and accompanied by pita and Turkish lava bread. The selection included hummus, a spiced eggplant dip and a salad with char-grilled peppers — all good and I especially enjoyed the eggplant laced liberally with garlic, tomato and olive oil.

We followed the mezze with a hot appetizer from the many available, selecting the fresh tuna in filo pastry. The dish combined the tuna with onion, harissa and finely chopped capers, the flavor of which permeated the filling, in a feathery paper-thin golden pastry.

Nataya doesn’t like lamb so we chose chicken as our main dish, cooked in a tagine with lemon and olives.

As I expected, the chicken was wonderfully tender and the vegetable-laden stew rich and tasty, with the saltiness of the olives undercut by the acidity of the lemon.

Maroush is also a good option for those who don’t eat meat as the menu offers many vegetarian options, from appetizers to a full page of tempting main dishes.

We rounded off our meal with a selection of pastries, including baklava — layers of filo pastry surrounding chopped pistachios sweetened with a homemade honey syrup — and filo stuffed with almonds and cream.

The baklava was too sweet for me but enjoyed by Nataya, and I happily finished the less sweet filo choice, which came lightly dusted with cinnamon and icing sugar and served on a vanilla sauce.

Chef Abderrahim Touqo also custom makes Moroccan mini pastries, cookies and other sweets, which can be ordered in advance or bought at the restaurant’s new patisserie.

Maroush has an extensive wine selection and a champagne bar featuring bubbly by the bottle, glass or in cocktails.

The shisha lounge offers 10 flavors for those who enjoy the sweet smoke, and there is also a selection of well-priced cigars, from Cuba, the Dominican Islands and Indonesia.

And for a truly authentic experience, outside of Ramadan the restaurant also features belly dancing on Friday and Saturday nights.

I plan to enjoy that, and sample the lamb, on a subsequent visit.

Restaurant Review: Dapur Babah, Jakarta

Sept. 03 (Jakarta Globe) Stepping through the doors of Dapur Babah Elite feels like stepping back in time. My friend Maria and I arrived an hour late, having battled through Jakarta’s traffic for more than two hours before she gave up, parked her car and we took motorcycle taxis the remainder of the way. But the bustle of modern Jakarta disappeared as we entered the restaurant, to find ourselves in an old-style tea shop, with antique tea sets, glass jars of cookies on the counters and photographs of distinguished Babah families on the walls.

Babah is the term used for the culture that resulted from the intermarriage of Chinese settlers and Javanese women during the Dutch colonial era. Babah cuisine was a fusion of both culinary traditions, with the addition of a Dutch influence.

Similarly, the decor of Dapur Babah is a melange of cultural influences, featuring antiques and artifacts from as early as the 17th century, and statues depicting Chinese, Hindu and Buddhist gods. Owner/designer Anhar Setjadibrata, who also owns Tugu Hotels and is an avid collector of Indonesian antiques, refurbished and decorated the two 1940s shop-houses in which the restaurant is located, creating a series of rooms all with their own unique atmosphere and fascinating stories.

The staff are well-versed in the history of the mementos and a visit to dine easily turns into an enjoyable history lesson.

Our visit was hosted by sales and marketing executive Meggie Windari, who graciously showed us through the various rooms, explaining the history behind the furnishings and photographs as we went. My favorites were the Tao bar with its mix of Indonesian, Hindu, Thai and Buddhist influences and the outdoor terrace, inspired by an early Babah kitchen.

Maria preferred the Chinese-inspired room, complete with a goddess to watch over it.

Meggie had ordered our meals for us and we started with fried tofu, served with petis — a sweet black shrimp paste — and acar — a spicy salad accompaniment containing cucumber, shallots and chili. The creamy tofu went well with the paste and was brought alive by the bite of the acar.

A chicken soup with galangal followed, also containing rice noodles, tofu, potato, tomato, Chinese cabbage and boiled egg. Served with kerepuk rambak — crackers made from cow skin — and sambal , this was similar to soto ayam but with the addition of Chinese flavors.

Both of us happily had seconds and this dish has become my favorite version of chicken noodle soup, and the one I’ll crave if I’m ever in need of a tasty pick-me-up. Maria, who is Javanese herself, said it tasted like a homemade soup to her — a great recommendation.

Our main meal was more of a fusion item, bringing the Dutch influence into the mix as well. Described on the menu as a “modified schnitzel of thinly-sliced rolls of tenderloin wrapped in minced shrimps with cheese in the middle, batter-fried in egg and breadcrumbs,” it was not a dish I would have chosen myself, fearing the flavors would not mesh.

Served with a tomato-based sauce, steamed vegetables and fries, the dish was well-presented but, unfortunately, not to the taste of either of us. The minced mixture surrounding the meat lacked an identifiable flavor and the sauce was overpowering.

We rounded off our meal with a shaved ice dessert, a refreshing mix of fruits, including baby coconut, and avocado in a sweet syrup.

Food Fast: A Ramadan Novice Goes Without

Aug. 27 (Jakarta Globe) I was invited to review a Ramadan buka puasa (breaking of the fast) buffet this week and decided I could only do it justice if I actually fasted. I’d recently arrived in Indonesia on the occasion of last Ramadan and knew little about it apart from that it was a month-long renunciation for Muslims.

Having decided to fast, I wanted to learn more so questioned Muslim friends and colleagues and read Islamic Web sites. I’d previously known that Ramadan involved renouncing food and sexual relations between sunrise and sunset but hadn’t realized it was a total abstention from drinking also, including water.

Not only that but one is expected to avoid immoral behavior and anger and exhibit patience, tolerance and compassion. As one friend told me, “You basically have to rein in your emotional outbursts and be more tolerant.”

I read on the IslamiCity.com Web site that fasting is prescribed in the Koran “in order that you may learn piety and God consciousness.” It went on to say that the act of abstinence was not meant to starve those fasting, but to be “an act of worship like prayer. It enables people with plenty to empathize with those who have very little in this world.”

I can’t fault any of those reasonings and, despite not being Muslim, felt I would also benefit from fasting with those precepts in mind.

Preparing for the fast

I asked friends observing the Ramadan fast what best to eat for sahur — the predawn meal — and got as many answers as people I asked.

“Eat plenty of fiber and succulent vegetables and fruit but no protein.”

“Eat a balanced meal with protein.”

“Treat it as an evening meal.”

“Eat what you regularly would.”

“Eat whatever’s in your fridge.”

All my advisers were clear on the need to drink a few glasses of water and avoid tea and coffee because of their diuretic effects. I seldom eat breakfast, having coffee and a few squares of chocolate in lieu most days, and eating what’s currently in my fridge would constitute a fast anyway so I made a trip to the store and bought fresh fruit — pineapple, oranges and mango — and a bottle of pomegranate juice. I prepared the pineapple the night before, leaving the mango and orange for the morning.

And I should have had an early night but a friend I hadn’t seen in years was passing through Jakarta for just one night so I went for dinner with her and her new husband instead and went to bed not long before midnight, having set my alarm for 4 a.m.

Too early o’clock

I’ve been wakened by the call to morning prayer outside my bedroom window every morning at around 4:30 a.m. for the past year, so didn’t think a half hour earlier would be a big deal. But it wasn’t easy to drag myself up and I definitely wasn’t accustomed to eating at that time. I took the pineapple, mango and an orange from the fridge, decided using a knife was beyond me at that hour and couldn’t be bothered peeling the orange, so ate chunks of pineapple while standing at the sink then took a glass of juice and one of water to my computer room, which overlooks a mosque. By the time I’d drunk both it was imsak — about 10 minutes before the morning call and time to begin my fast. I assume most Muslim families rise a lot earlier than I did to eat sahur. or they wouldn’t manage much food.

Following the subuh (dawn) call to prayer, I practice some God-consciousness of my own, then fall back into bed for a little more sleep.

6 a.m.

My usual morning routine is to rise about 6 a.m., check and answer e-mail (many of the important people in my life are on different time zones) then head to the pool with a cup of coffee, four to six squares of chocolate and the morning paper. My morning swim wakes me and I enjoy what passes for breakfast while perusing the paper. I’d thought I would miss the coffee this morning but it’s not a problem, though I do find myself at work earlier than usual without my usual routine to follow. Being patient and tolerant is going well so far, but I am the only person in the office.

Midday

The call to prayer began a few minutes ago so I took a break to go outside and be thankful for the people and advantages I have in life. My friend and desk-mate has told me how fasting can become such a tranquil cycle that by the end of the month it’s almost a disappointment to stop. Because family members all rise to share sahur then meet again to break the fast, quality time together is more common during Ramadan. Add in the calming and focusing effect of the ritual prayers and I can already see that the process would be beneficial.

In practical terms, it’s the daily habits that are harder to break so far than actually eating or drinking. The main time I leave my computer screen most days is to refill my water glass and I have to consciously find something else to do to allow myself short breaks. I’m missing my morning coffee but not particularly hungry, although I often forget to eat till late if it’s a particularly busy day so an empty stomach is nothing new. One of our interns has been baking for us regularly over the past few weeks and she’s brought a banana cake in today, which would go perfectly with the coffee I’m not drinking.

5 p.m.

It’s a little less than an hour until maghrib (dusk prayers) and half an hour until a Muslim friend and I will head to the Ritz-Carlton Pacific Place to break our fast. I’m looking forward to eating, although far from ravenous, and will enjoy a cool glass of water, or even juice. It hasn’t been too difficult though, and my major problem was changing ingrained habits, rather than craving food or drink.

In keeping with my goal of remaining calm and tolerant, I’ve been much quieter than I usually am, something noticeable to those around me. I feel I’ve also been less productive and have definitely been working and thinking more slowly than is my norm. I feel I’m in a semi-sedated state, which is no doubt ideal for spiritual contemplation but not so effective in terms of output. Even typing these words is taking me longer than usual and, although I don’t physically feel loss of energy, the mental effects are obvious.

The morning after

I was up and at the pool at my usual time this morning, and truly appreciated my morning coffee (no chocolate in my empty fridge), then ate the fruit I intended for yesterday’s sahur as breakfast.

The most important thing that came from my single day of fasting was a greater appreciation not only of food but of all I have in my life to be thankful for. I’m grateful for my friends, and enjoyed the many supportive comments I received on Facebook, especially the “Happy fasting” messages from Muslim friends doing the same. Going without food and drink for a relatively short time was easy physically, but I have a sedentary job in an air-conditioned office and was very much aware of how much more difficult fasting would be for many people. I expected patience might be difficult when hungry and found it to be the opposite, but didn’t enjoy the feeling that my brain was only running at half-speed. And, although I thoroughly enjoyed the buka puasa meal, the experience for me wasn’t so much what I went without, but what I learned.

I feel more connected to the culture and primary religion of the country I currently live in, to the friends and colleagues I spend my time with and to the luxuries I enjoy compared to many of the people around me. I’ll try to hold to the lessons I learned and remember when I next take a bite of food or a sip of a drink to not only be thankful for having it, but to be conscious of and try to help those who don’t.

Restaurant Review: Ritz Carlton Jakarta, Pacific Place, Jakarta

Aug. 27 (Jakarta Globe) I experienced my first Ramadan fast this week, along with millions of others around the world, although mine was only for a day and not a month. I was fortunate to have been invited to break my fast in good company with great food and stunning city views at the Ritz-Carlton Jakarta, Pacific Place.
Throughout Ramadan, the Ritz-Carlton is serving a buka puasa (breaking of the fast) buffet, featuring Ramadan specialities and Middle Eastern dishes. Working with guest chef Hany Mounir from the Ritz-Carlton Sharm el Sheikh in Egypt, the kitchen team had prepared an abundance of dishes with which to break the day's fast.
I arrived with a Muslim friend and colleague shortly before magrib (dusk) and we were barely seated when the call to evening prayer began, indicating time to break the fast. My friend Novia had informed me that most people break their fast initially with something sweet and I knew that dates are a popular treat during Ramadan so was not surprised to find plates of dates placed on each table, ready for hungry guests. We were also offered hot tea as we were seated, not usually a favorite drink of mine but, with the addition of sugar — another aberration for me — the perfect refresher after more than 12 hours without food or drink.
A table at the restaurant entrance also held more dates of different type and origin, small pastries and sweets for those who preferred them to fruit and kolak – an Indonesian dessert based around palm sugar and coconut milk, with pandanus leaf for flavor.
The Ritz-Carlton has decorated its restaurant with a Middle Eastern flavor for the Ramadan season, with sheer flowing draperies, Moorish lanterns and some staff in Morocco-inspired garments. The theme is picked up in the Middle eastern dishes, which included lentil soup, a whole baked white snapper flavored with Eastern spices, prawn shish kebab, majboos rice, chicken shawarma, kebbeh and assorted mezze on the evening we dined. Also on offer were a good number of Indonesian dishes, Indian options, a well-stocked salad bar where staff would toss greens to order and a carvery offering roasted ribeye beef — one of the most popular choices on the night — and marmalade barbecued chicken.
The buffet contained a cornucopia of seafood as well, which I took full advantage of. Executive chef Sean MacDougall said it was a deliberate choice to include a good selection from the sea, as it isn't something locals necessarily eat often. And a good selection it was. I started with fresh oysters, prawns and smoked salmon, sampling both the regular and mustard varieties with accompanying shredded horseradish and capers. I then moved on to a selection of items in tiny tasting dishes — Thai prawn salad with featured a prawn on a bed of spicy carrot salad; slices of tuna lightly seared so only the edges were cooked, leaving the center red and moist, and served with a wasabi-based sauce; and fresh Vietnamese-style spring rolls with crisp vegetables and clean spicy flavors (I returned for seconds of those and the oysters). Novia opted for the sushi, which she recommended, and I was also tempted by the salmon sashimi with a teriyaki dressing.
The seafood selection also included, in addition to those already mentioned, a Mediterranean seafood stew and an Indian fish curry. It's quite likely there were more as I didn't have room for the Indonesian dishes, which covered two buffet stations on their own.
There was also an extensive selection of juices, teas and traditional drinks available, although I wanted only water after my initial cup of tea, to rehydrate after my fast.
We did leave a little room for more sweets at the end of our meal, although not enough room to even begin to sample the vast selection. We both chose refreshing sorbets to round off our dinner and I added strawberries coated in chocolate from a fountain. The baklava, tiramisu, custards and other choices all looked delicious, but neither of us needed any more to eat.
The meal would have been enjoyable at any time with its myriad of choices, but I appreciated each distinctive dish even more after having spent the day in anticipation while I fasted.

Restaurant Review: Sailendra, JW Marriott, Jakarta

Aug 20 (Jakarta Globe)
I doubt there is a reader of this paper who is unaware of the bomb attack in JW Marriott’s Sailendra Restaurant on July 17. But perhaps fewer know that the restaurant reopened for business on July 29 and its staff are eager to renew their acquaintance with regular guests and welcome new customers.

My colleague Paul and I headed there on Sunday to try the restaurant’s brunch, although some workmates expressed nervousness about our choice of dining venue. I, in contrast, think the hotel is probably one of the safest places in Jakarta right now, a belief borne out when we arrived and not only went through a metal detector and had my bag checked, but were also patted down by security staff.

Restaurant manager Michael Scott said that although the incident had obviously affected numbers, regular guests were returning and the staff were happy the hotel had reopened as soon as possible.

The restaurant had more than 100 guests the day it reopened, he said, and the day we dined, despite being in the middle of a long weekend, it had bookings for 74.

Sailendra is one of three restaurants in the hotel that have weekend brunch available, with Pearl offering Yum Cha and Chinese dishes, and Asuka providing fresh sushi, sashimi and other Japanese dishes. An Asian Brunch Marathon package is also available for both Pearl and Asuka.

But we’d chosen Sailendra, wanting to show our own support for the staff, and arrived to a smiling welcome and an impressive array of food.

After being seated, we were directed to the juice stands, and offered a choice of other beverages from the bar. The inclusion of free-flowing alcoholic beverages adds Rp 100,000 to the cost — about the price of one drink in most high-class establishments in Jakarta.

I began my feast at the seafood bar, where oysters, prawns, crab and green-lipped mussels shared space with sushi and sashimi. I consider fresh seafood, oysters in particular, an ideal indicator of the quality of a buffet and these were great, still tasting of the sea and perfect with fresh lemon and ground pepper. We also had grilled lobster tails with dipping butter brought to the table, and duck livers, which Paul hadn’t tried before. Being a fan of liver in most forms, and especially pate de foie gras, I thoroughly enjoyed the liver, although it was a little salty for Paul.

The only problem I had, in fact, was one of plenty. There was such a good selection that choosing was difficult and sampling everything was impossible. From Western dishes to a fine array of Indonesian, Indian, Thai and Chinese options, it was all any gourmand could ask for. I concentrated on dim sum and Thai options, with fresh vegetables and fresher flavors, while Paul took on the Indian choices.

And when I truly thought I couldn’t manage another mouthful, we got the piece de resistance — apple strudel. It was divine, a perfect blend of fruit and spices in a delicate fluffy pastry, served hot with whipped cream and vanilla sauce.

Brunch will continue throughout Ramadan, although bottles of alcohol will be moved out of sight as a mark of respect for Muslims observing the month-long fast. But if you’re there at that time, you’re obviously not fasting, so remember to save some room for the strudel.

(Tracie Barrett was a copy editor at the Jakarta Globe who previously worked in restaurant and hotel management.)

Sailendra Restaurant
JW Marriott Jl. Lingkar Mega Kuningan,
South Jakarta, Tel. 021 5798 8888
Brunch Rp 238,000 - Rp 338,000
11:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Restaurant Review: Sushi Tei, Plaza Senayan, Jakarta

Aug. 13 (Jakarta Globe) As a still reasonably new resident of Jakarta, I get first impressions of many restaurants from the comments of my Indonesian colleagues. So when I said I was going to review Sushi Tei and a good number of those colleagues offered to join me, it boded well for my dining experience.

On arrival at the Plaza Senayan outlet on a Thursday at 7 p.m., the crowd of people waiting for tables was another positive sign. My colleague Ade informed me that the Sushi Tei restaurants are always full, another good sign, especially in the current fragile economy.

We were expected, so quickly bypassed the waiting list and were taken to a table.

The restaurant also offers seating at the sushi bar, where a conveyor belt constantly tempted diners with dishes made freshly by the many chefs on duty.

I’m a huge fan of pickled ginger, as is Ade, so we both enjoyed the copious container of it on the table while we waited for our menus to arrive. This was where I found we’d had a slight miscommunication — the newspaper had been invited to review the restaurant but I’d not realized our meal would be chosen for us. But I would have asked for recommendations anyway, trusting good staff to know their best dishes, and the selection was excellent.

Drinks arrived first, a strawberry soda and a Matcha Fusion, which was a blend of Japanese green tea, green tea ice cream and honeydew syrup.

Both were a little sweet for my taste but I’ve found the palate of most Indonesians sweeter than mine, and the mix of fresh strawberries and soda was refreshing.

The first dish to arrive was salmon sashimi — four good-sized pieces of fresh, high-quality fish that disappeared quickly. This was followed by a salmon belly soup that was wonderful. The salty miso broth was perfectly balanced by creamy bricks of tofu; salmon belly so tender it almost melted on my tongue; shiitake, enoki and shimeji mushrooms; a green vegetable and noodles.

Next to come to our table was a jumbo dragon roll, which I’d been told by friends is a signature dish for Sushi Tei. The presentation was cute, with a dragon’s head and body fashioned from the ingredients, and was both tasty and filling.

So filling, in fact, that we probably didn’t require anything more, but also received a mixed tempura dish, featuring shrimps, fish, pumpkin, eggplant and carrot, all set off by a crisp tempura batter. The eggplant especially was excellent — the creaminess of the cooked vegetable an ideal contrast to the batter.

By this time I’d acquired a menu to see what else was on offer and was impressed by both the range of dishes and the design of the menu. Each item was accompanied by a photograph good enough to make your mouth water.

The Sushi Tei concept originated in Singapore and the franchise is now in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Bangkok, Sydney and, of course Indonesia, where one company holds the master franchise. Having first opened here six years ago, the company now has 12 outlets, six of those in Jakarta, and Ade tells me each has a different decor and subsequently, a different feel.

Assuming that all have the same high standard and good food, I can understand why so many of my colleagues wanted to accompany me here.

Restaurant Review: Vegas Bar and Grill, Bellagio Mall, Jakarta

Aug. 06 (Jakarta Globe) A wager isn’t something I expect to find on a restaurant menu. But when the name of the restaurant is Vegas, it seems only appropriate.

The new menu at Vegas Bar and Grill offers its signature dish, the Gut Buster Burger, for free, provided that the diner can finish what’s on the plate. I’m a light eater so wouldn’t even try to attempt it. But I had high hopes for my colleague’s appetite on the evening we dined there.

Vegas has been open since November but just changed its menu two weeks ago. The changes were intended to reflect the venue’s mission statement — good simple American food with great service in a fun atmosphere.

The fun atmosphere is obvious as soon as you walk in to find an essentially open air venue with a long bar, comfortable sofa seating, as well as more traditional tables and chairs and two pool tables. The large room is surrounded by netting rather than walls and the roof can be opened at will.

This being Indonesia, the open setting means mosquitoes are a problem despite zappers and scent repellants, but the moment a waitress noticed I was being bothered, she brought a repellant spray to the table.

The pool tables were being put to good use by a group of young businessmen, four of whom, the staff informed me, had managed to polish off the Gut Buster on a previous visit. The venue apparently can fit up to 400 customers and would be an ideal place for a party, particularly with 2.5 liter pitchers of beer (complete with an ice-filled cooling compartment) for Rp 130,000.

The fun aspect also comes in with the restaurant’s themed days: karaoke on Mondays, competition play station on Tuesdays and barbecues each Sunday.

The lunch menu is also a bargain, with seven choices for only Rp 35,000 ($4) each.

I’d chosen Thursday to dine at the restaurant and found that it was Ladies’ Night, with two for one cocktails for the fairer sex.

I ordered a Lynchburg Lemonade and found it as good as any I’ve tasted in the United States. My friend chose the same and we ordered starters without first making a game plan for his upcoming challenge. The spicy chicken nachos were tasty with plenty of sour cream, salsa, chicken and cheese, although I personally would have enjoyed more spice. However, I happily eat raw chillies so making any dish spicy enough for me takes it beyond most diners’ comfort levels. Our second starter was jalapeno poppers, which I found had an enjoyable bite.

Our mains were the Gut Buster for my friend and a more ladylike 200 gram Tex Mex burger for myself (burgers are available in 200 or 300 gram sizes). I was tempted by the bbq menu, but Vegas specializes in burgers so I couldn’t bypass them. Both burgers were served with fries and coleslaw and the Gut Buster — 500 grams of meat in the patty and an oversized bun to match — looked truly intimidating. My mother once told me never to eat anything bigger than my head and, for that reason alone, I would have had to pass up this particular treat.

All burgers are freshly made of ground Australian beef on homemade buns and make the fast food travesties that use the same name look and taste like cardboard cutouts in comparison. My Tex Mex came with lettuce, tomato, beef patty and fried onion rings, as did my friend’s monstrous meal, but with the addition of salsa, sour cream and guacamole. The meat was well-seasoned and moist, but even the smaller portion proved too much for me.

My friend, who shall remain nameless out of embarrassment for him, barely managed half of his burger and only a few of his fries. He assures me he’ll do better next time.

Tracie Barrett is a Jakarta Globe copy editor who previously worked in restaurants.

Vegas Bar and Grill
Bellagio Mall, Mega Kuningan

Restaurant Review: Social House, Grand Indonesia, Jakarta

July 02 (Jakarta Globe) Despite its location on the Harvey Nichols premises in Grand Indonesia, the Social House restaurant, bar and winepost is not part of the UK-based luxury lifestyle store but a separate entity owned by the Ismaya Group, which also owns Blowfish, Dragonfly and Puro, among other such establishments.

And although not part of the lifestyle store, Social House fits in well with Harvey Nichols, with walls of pale wood shelving elegantly displaying many of the delectable items available on the same floor in the store’s food market. An extensive wine store displays a large selection of bottles from around the world to accompany your meal, four of which were available by the glass on the night we visited.

Social House has three separate menus: breakfast favorites offering classic breakfast and brunch dishes (eggs Benedict, toasted bagel with smoked salmon and cream cheese); interesting tofu-based additions; a pizza, tapas and dessert selection; and a more extensive choice of sushi, soup, salads, sides and mains.

My friend and I arrived planning to sample from the main menu in the main dining area, but when we saw other friends by the bar, we decided to join them there. Situated on a corner of the building two floors above street level, Social House’s bar has fabulous views over the fountain and statue at the Hotel Indonesia traffic circle.

With windows that fold back completely, one can perch on a stool overlooking the chaos that is Jakarta’s traffic while enjoying a cooling breeze far above the fray. If you arrive early in the evening, as we did, it’s a wonderful spot at which to sip a cocktail while watching the sun set over the city streets and the sky grow dark behind the well-lit fountain.

However, only the tapas menu is available in the bar area. I was later told that this is to create a distinct ambience in the different areas and to reduce serving time by not overloading the kitchen.

While perusing the menu we ordered drinks, mine being a well-blended Cuban mojito with plenty of fresh mint to complement the Bacardi and soda.

The menu offered 5 types of pizza, 8 tapas and 15 desserts, and an afternoon tea set for two is also available between 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. each day.

We chose a pizza topped with ham, caramelized onion, oregano, tomato, mozzarella and arugula; chicken and vegetable spring rolls with a sweet-and-spicy dip; and lamb ribs with lemon barbecue sauce. The pizza was delicious — a thin crisp crust cooked to perfection and a tasty mix of ingredients set off by the peppery tang of the fresh arugula.

Our spring rolls were beautifully presented, two thin tubes standing tall in a glass alongside strips of carrot and cucumber alongside the sauce. They were good, but not great — the flavors were not distinct, merging into one, and the sauce, though sweet and tasty, displayed little spiciness beyond the slice of red chili atop it.

The lamb ribs quickly made us forget that quibble though (and I hail from New Zealand, where we are fiercely proud of and just as fussy about, good lamb). The meat literally fell off the ribs and the sauce was thick and rich, making for a faultless match.

We ended our meal with another classic — a New York cheesecake served with balsamic-marinated raspberries and a selection of other berries. The tang of the berries set off the creaminess of the cake well. The restaurant also has a full selection of coffees, special coffees and a homemade grandma’s iced lemon tea with which to round off your dining.

I will return to try both the breakfast and dinner menus, but wish I could have enjoyed a plate of oysters from the dinner menu while also admiring the view from the bar area.

Social House
Harvey Nichols, Grand Indonesia
East Mall, Level 1
Jl. Thamrin No. 1
Tel. 021 2358 1818