My Very First Kitchen Table at Otel Lobby Jakarta

A chef's table is a table located in the kitchen of a restaurant reserved for VIPs and special guests. Patrons are served a themed tasting menu prepared and served by the head chef. (Wikipedia)

Every foodie must have dreamed about it at least once in their life to have a feel of dining behind the scenes, in the kitchen with all the mess, steam, screams, clings and clatters. It just so happen that I had a chance to experience it a while ago in one of my favorite food place on invitation by Ve Handojo and the head chef herself, Chef Maya Aldy.

As it is with corporate CEO who usually influence his company, the same thing applies here at Otel Lobby. I see the kitchen is somewhat a representation of who Chef Maya is and how she likes to do things. It is totally the opposite of Gordon Ramsay in the TV. It was a rather calm evening, where most things are done in perfect order. I suspect it was intended, the calm was to double the surprise Chef Maya have for us in the meals.

The whole experience felt like a living rendition of Stars, a pleasant 7-minute song by Fun. Long enough to listen to but doesn't bore you, in fact it comes with jolts of excitement, change of pace, and high pitch falsetto in between. 

Excitement
The first of those was Foie Gras & Duck Confit in Salak Sauce with sliced red & green apple. Served as the opening meal, it continues what Chef Raj left behind on our previous dinner. Playful with an attitude. And a jumpstart for my appetite. If I were a chef, I'd be sitting and thinking "why didn't I thought of that ..."

Change of Pace
Tomato Tart with Mushroom on Pineapple & Tomato sauce. Sweet but not to the edge of being repelling.  As I savored it slowly and feel the play of texture. Everything in the dish was just right for me. The acidity, color, presentation. I'm not a tomato fan, but yes, I'd come back just for this.

Falsetto
The high pitch exclamation came nearing the end of the dinner in the humble form of Mascarpone ice cream. Served with fruits, it enhanced the mix of flavors. Added with the crisp caramel-like bar. I was hooked from the first bite. Overall, every one of the 7-course dinner was a hit in their own way, but I suppose its no fun telling them all here. Its a personal mystery you can uncover yourself. =)

Not only the food but also the companion of Ve Handojo, Jen from Jenzcorner, Daniel Kaurranny, Kenny Santana and Imel Budiman has also played a part in making my very first kitchen table experience a pleasant one. I went home with a smileful of happiness and the tunes of Fun at the back of head playing as the soundtrack.

"And I'd be saying that you, you're always holding on to stars. I think they're better from afar..." 

Cheers to more night like this,

Fellexandro Ruby
Food Conversationalist & Photographer

Munch on my tweets @Wanderbites 

Karē Frenzy at Mr. Curry

"Mr. Curry was a legendary chef from Curry Land. Together with Mango-nyan, they travelled the world in search of the ultimate curry. They finally stumbled upon the finest curry in Japan & now are coming to introduce the goodness of Japanese Curry." 

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While sounded a little corny, the description they put out in their website reveals more that it meets the eyes. Mango is the very ingredient that shaped their curry. It resulted in a proportionate mixture of sweet and savory that's more suitable to the Indonesian tongue, as compared to its spicier counterpart, Indian curry.

As I recall there's only several foodplaces to go to in Jakarta. While my favorite is still my hometown Bagan Siapi-api pork curry, Mr. Curry is definitely one of the select few to consider. As another establishment under Ismaya Group you can expect a good combination of strong concept, creative execution and continuous innovation. I discover these on my last visit to Mr Curry at their newly opened joint in Pondok Indah Mall 2.

To cut the story short, let's have dinner shall we?

Korokoro Tofu - Crunchy exterior, soft interior. Perfectly enjoyed with chilli dip.

Korokoro Tofu was the first meal summoned to jumpstart my appetite. It did just right with the bite size diced tofu. Crunchy
exterior meets soft interior. Dip it in the chili sauce that accompanies it for an extra kick.

For the mains I had Chicken Katsu Curry, Curry Ramen, Assorted Mushroom Omurice, and Spaghetti Curry. Among them all my favorite was the Omurice and Curry Ramen.

Chicken Katsu Curry - Your typical katsu with Mr. Curry Original Sauce

Assorted Mushroom Omurice - Go for Tomato rice instead of Butter rice.

As someone who love egg, my tastebud was entertained by the well cooked buttery omelet blend in very well with the mushroom sauce. And the great thing is that you get two sauce for the price of one. I had fun tasting them in turns. I don't think you'll get bored with this dish. Especially with the option to change into tomato rice, and several other interesting sauces and toppings. I'd definitely come back to Mr. Curry for this.

My second favorite is the curry ramen which I personally consider as the most promising meal in the menu. Why? Cause you see in the photo a crowd of toppings but when it arrived, it was nothing more than a pair of egg cut in half and a slice of salmon. Disappointing knowing that its a small improvement that Mr. Curry can bear I guess. On a side note, I loved the idea of having a ultra thick curry broth on a ramen which I rarely find anywhere else.

Ramen Curry - Especially attracted by the thick soup. More toppings please?

Manggo Smoothie - Sweet, fruity, lovely thick juice. Like!

In between the meal, these two drinks was the thirst quencher. A fun, fruity, refreshing Mango Smoothie and the equally refreshing Berry Lassie for those who fond of soury taste. It is a bit hard to describe precisely the taste of lassi, but just so you have an idea, it is a yogurt-based drink originated from India.

Berry Lassi - For those who fond of soury taste.

As the dinner getting near to the end, I was presented with these two lovely desserts. Macha Caramba and A Dash of Fruit Splash.

Matcha Caramba - A must try!

There's something different about Macha Caramba. Its green tea ice cream connects very well with the toasted bread. And the interesting part is that all sides of the cubical toast gets toasted equally. Word from the kitchen is they brought a specific oven from Japan just to get it perfectly toasted. Give it a try and then you'll know what I meant.

Along with the Omurice, this is another menu I'd surely crave for from Mr. Curry. Plus it's definitely worth the price tag.

All in all it was a belly satisfying night. Many thanks to Mila and Grace from Ismaya who made the night enjoyable despite of the long two hours traffic just to get to the place. It was all worth it I guess.

Until the next tasting, so long Biters.


Fellexandro Ruby
Food Conversationalist & Photographer


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Mr. Curry
Pondok Indah Mall 2, Restaurant Row, Level 3
Ph: 021-75920666
T: @mrcurry_

Taste Hopping At Jackrabbit - Cuisine & Libations

Hey Biters, I bet Jackrabbit's hype has reached you in one or other way. As for me it was the reputable Chef Juna Rorimpandey and his appearance on Masterchef Indonesia that reached me first. I personally haven't watch even one single episode, but heard numerous praise and 'boo's around it. Well, Jackrabbit is where Chef Juna stars as the executive chef. I've been wanting to try this place and just as my belly cried out for it, somebody heard it and made it happen. That somebody is Goorme - a leading food portal in Indonesia - which invited me and a bunch of hungry renown food bloggers / netizen for a brunch date. I said Yes! Yes! Yes! And here's a little write up for you Biters.

We were presented with at least fifteen selections of freshly created cuisine. See, by fresh I mean new recipes made purposely to fit in the 'brunch' theme, and not fresh as in fresh from the oven. As excited as I was to try out, most of my mood head to a downfall when the foods presented was barely warm. Cold, for a lack of better word. Probably because they were resizing their kitchen, as a result, it took them quite a while to cook the meal.

I did not get to taste all of them, I'm just gonna lay out some, and I'm gonna start with the one that appealed to me the most. The hero of the day : Lamb Chop! (178K)

I find the medium-well cooked meat was savory, juicy, and a little on the salty end. But, gotta say the yoghurt mint sauce was intense. Who would have thought to mix the two and use it as a dip on lambs? And the best part for me was that the yoghurt overpowered the mint, cause my tongue just hate minty stuff (I know some of you will find this weird). I like this for it brings new experience to my tastebuds.

The runner up champion would go to Beef Chimichanga (58K). Imagine a thick layer of beef wrapped in tortilla crepes skin, topped with a mix of chopped tomato, radish, oh and the beans on the side is an interesting add on. Beware though, this might be daily menu for foodies in Latin America, but not for our Indonesian tongue. You gotta have quite a welcoming affection toward unfamiliar taste, but it will be worth it ; )

This one up here is what they call American Hearty Pancake. Although I would oppose the size that barely reflect America. I mean, in my head an American meal wouldn't be so supportive to your diet by laying only one slice of bacon and one wiener sausage to accompany the lonely chunk of butter. Tastewise, this feels like any other home-made meal. The bacon that I tasted was overcooked. I don't know if Americans like it crispy as a cracker, I know I don't. I wouldn't go so much as recommending this one, BUT! This one follow is a definite must-try. HA! I purposefully slip it in the middle of my post, so the lazy readers who skim through it wouldn't find it. Lucky you! Yes you! Meet the top of the pop, the super scrumptious Chocolate Lava Cake.

Let me tell you this, you could have any meal that you want at Jackrabbit, but you wouldn't wanna miss this one as dessert.I don't know if its because I had this after a stream of so-so food, or is it because of the fact that its free. YES! Its free for grab if you checked into your Foursquare and show it to the waiter. Now there's another freebies for you Biters who read through the post front to end. =P

Allow me to retell this sweet chocolate tale. I love how the warm soft cake melts in my mouth as the hot chocolate lava disperse and do wonders on every single taste bud. This is no less than scrumptious. And if you desire more, try mixing the caramel ice cream (top left) with the lava cake. You just got super scrumptious! I can't stop telling how good this one is, but I know I have to step on to the next one.

Meet, Jackrabbits' Apple Pie.

If you're up for soury flavor, this one's for you. For me, the sprinkle of cinnamon on top was a little bit too much, and the ice cream didn't make it any special. Wouldn't hurt to try though, cause it comes for free as well (look at above paragraph if you just skimmed through here =p)

There you have it. A sweet end to the taste hopping. Even sweeter cause I got to catch up and meet with fellow bloggers. Thanks for the company dear people with a little less food on the table, Lolo, Jendry, Imel, Sara and Tony =) Oh, I forgot to mention, the last two desserts are not in the brunch menu. Let me repeat, you can find them on their main menu. Got it? Alright.

All in all it was one happy day. You know us men, a happy belly is more than enough to put a smile on our face. And by men I meant both of us 'men' and wo-'men'. Right? ; )

Happy Hopping.


Fellexandro Ruby 
Certified Fat Magnets & Photographer

Munch on my tweets at @wanderbites