Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Bistronomy Jakarta : Good Food And A Meet-Cute

Saturday, March 2nd, 2013

Dear Diary,

Today was splendid. Not in a winning-a-lottery surprise kind of way. Instead, today I was reminded, its the little things that adds color to my life. The little things that I often overlook being the ignorant prick I sometimes am. This heartwarming moment happened in the course of three hours in Bistronomy the newly opened foodplace in Ciranjang, Jakarta.







Was sitting in one corner, with a DSLR in hand and an Ahok-looking face, I suppose its almost impossible to not draw attention. I tried to reduce my presence as minimal as possible. I had my ordered secured. I believe I succeeded, until a cute looking face appeared on the other side of the window next to me. This girl stole my heart within seconds. I tried to make contact. The E.T - Elliott kind of connection, and I succeeded big time. She laughed at my silly face, a few minutes after I got her sitting across me, sharing the same table.

Meet Isabel ;)

And her playful side.

And her cheerful side.


As I fork in my Grilled Salmon Teriyaki with Wasabi, she had her nanny feeding her one spoonful at a time. Two decades apart but we had the time of our life for fifteen minutes or so. I reckon this must be how little Jenny in Big Fish feel upon crushing on young Edward Bloom. "When I'm 18, you'll be 28, and when I'm 28, you'll be 38, that's not much a difference." she said. Its a lot of difference though as it turns out. Same thing goes with my fish. Having wasabi boldly stated in the menu, I would only expect more of its influence in the dish. It ended up as a chunk of decor on the side of plate. While the teriyaki take on the fish really comfort the tongue, I still think they are taking the easy way out. Especially for the price that they printed on it.

Grilled Salmon Teriyaki w/ Wasabi (IDR 100k)




I asked her what's her name. "Isabel", she answered with lotsa giggles, right when my cold Edamame Vichyssoise arrived. I offered her to take a sip, but it appeared that what's on her plate was a lot more interesting. I myself find the Edamame equally interesting. A strong flavor of the japanese bean, marked with the green color, and the distinct smell of pureed bean, potato, cream and stock. My palate usually prefer warm dishes but I had to admit this one had win its approval, despite being a bit boring halfway through with its rather flat texture.

Edamame Vichyssoise (IDR 30k)


Shooting half eaten food, just because I can!



Right before my dessert came, the little queen made her exit as her parents called her out. Those little feet run in excitement towards the receiving hands of the father. Cliche but there's a tiny clinch in my heart. I smiled. Twice. One for that, and one for the huge Rare Mango Pudding that arrived right on time to sweeten the goodbye. It took less than three bites to get acquainted with this delightful dish. Hints of mango all over the place, even without the extra addition of mango sauce. I decided to go all the way though. It might went a bit overly sweet for normal people but hey, no such thing for this sweet toothed gentleman. Added with the crisp biscotti style topping, it was right from flavor, texture, to price.   An eight-out-of-ten closure to my lunch.

Rare Mango Pudding (IDR 55k)



Shooting finished mango pudding, just because I can!



There's only one thing left to do after all the eat-xercises: cleanse the palate. This cup of Twinings' very own Pure Camomile did exactly that and achieved what it is destined to do, it soothed and calmed me down.





Today is a good day. I'm writing it down to help me remember. Remind me dear self when I forgot what it feels like to take a pause and enjoy the tiny things in life. Remind me to realize that its not the light at the end of the tunnel, but also the light in the tunnel.

To infinity and beyond.

Fellexandro Ruby 
Food Photographer & Storyteller

More daily food thoughts and whatnots on Twitter at @wanderbites

I imagine more afternoon like this, with you.


---

Bistronomy 
Jalan Ciniru 1 No. 2
(Jalan Cikajang, the street next to Helen's Cake) 
Kebayoran Baru
Jakarta Selatan
Ph: 021-739-6655
T: @bistronomy_jkt



23 comments:

  1. rubs... those photos are so divine ya! anyway, Isabel is so adorable, likee me :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Cend! Great to have you stopping by. You are adorable indeed in your own distinctively humorous way. Kapan hayuk moleculargastro di Namaaz?

      Delete
  2. THAT rare mango pudding.... looks magical :o I don't know whether it's because of your always-perfect-lighting take, or was it already awesome by nature?

    (anyway please please pleaseee count me in for Namaaz, lol)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Everyone's so into the mango pudding. Haha. I guess its the color. Orange definitely looks more yummy than the pale green soup. The rest is the work of window lighting.

      (you're in umi for namaaz).

      Delete
  3. Nice touch with the surprise guest :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I always believe there's no such thing as coincidence. ;)

      Delete
  4. Jadi pengen cobain Bistronomy ini..kemaren lewatin abis dari Yeyo itu rubs......count me in jugaaaa buat Namaaz :P

    ReplyDelete
  5. Rubs, itu mango pudingnya menggoda imaaan!
    Foto lu emang beneran juara!
    Count me in jg dong buat Namaaz :p

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha, makasih Lin. Emang itu pudingnya drooling bgt klo dari foto.
      Yuk Namaaz! Berarti udah ada 3 orang: Umi, elo dan Cindy. Yay! Tinggal 4 orang lagiiii.

      Delete
  6. Even a little girl had crushed on you ya rubyyy haha! gileee....sumpeh itu mango pudding motonya gimaa, bagi2 ilmu dong *pemakaiDSLRbaru hahaha

    Eh count me in for Namaaz too by, sumpeh kali ini gw kudu curi ilmu fotografi elo skalian haha!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha, its the other way around, I kinda have a crush on her.

      Jangan curi ilmu pas Namaaz, Cha. Gelap di sana. Haha. Ntar yak gue bikin workshop, lo daftar. hehe

      Delete
  7. I want in for Namaaz! Here's my deal with eating alone : I don't think I will ever can manage it. I will feel overly self conscious and my mind will start playing tricks on me.. Gahh..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Self conscious : another way to say 'increased single awareness'. =p

      LET'S DO NAMAAZ!

      Delete
  8. This is--for me--your best post so far. I love the personal touch in your writing (not much of a food critic but i've never really seen a food blogger writing about a restaurant involving an encounter with a little girl), and the "Ahok-face" and "E.T." stuffs were cute little details. I'll try this one for sure. Thanks for sharing (again).

    cheers from Jakarta,
    Putri Soe
    SUPERNICE

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I kind have the same bond with this post as well. I astound myself when I'm finished with it. Haha. Anw, I always try to inject a human touch to a post whenever possible. Am a believer of 'who you eat with is as important as what you eat.' ;)

      Thank you Putri for taking the time to read the text. It took me twice the time to write than to edit the photos. Finally someone took notice. I'm superglad hearing your appreciation. *duh jdi kepanjangan saking hepinya* =p

      Delete
  9. nice writing, nice photo, rub.. as always..
    yuk Namaaz, kapannn..? hehehe..

    ReplyDelete
  10. I hate your photos. They hurt my eyes :"(. *LOL

    ReplyDelete
  11. Do make a review on Namaaz! :D :D

    ReplyDelete
  12. Beautiful pictures and great story to accompany!

    ReplyDelete
  13. love the story and love the pics! 憧

    ReplyDelete
  14. Nice writing nice pics! unfortunately, I had the worse experience in any bistro restaurant today at Bistronomy. Steak gone wrong (how wrong can you go with a steak?) Asked for medium rare, came well done after 1 hour later. Cranky hungry daugher had to eat it other no choice. The manager would have just taken the food away. Very rude manager and absolutely arragont Japanese chef, or whatever he was.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi there, sorry that you have to went through that. Consistency is indeed hard to achieve in any food place. But if you have to wait an hour, got an unwanted dish, and treated with no respect, its beyond the line. I hope they read your comment here and improve. =)

      Delete
  15. Not only nice pictures, but more important, it is a nice story. Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete

Real Time Analytics