Ryoutei Aoi at Le Meridien Hotel Jakarta

I am surprised at how much Indonesia has developed at a very astounding pace. I will pick the availability of Japanese Food as an example. Twenty years ago, the only Japanese Restaurant that I knew were only Hoka-Hoka Bento and Japanese Restaurants which are located in 5 Star Hotels. Today, I will be very surprised if you do not find Japanese Restaurant in any shopping malls in Indonesia. The authenticity of these Japanese restaurants is however questionable. Even the most popular ones, Sushi Tei is not considered authentic by many Japanese Food enthusiast.

Today, I am going to share my dining experience in my favorite Japanese Restaurant in Jakarta, Ryoutei Aoi at Le Meridien Jakarta. My family has been a regular at this restaurant for at least 13 years and up until now, the food and service has never been disappointing.

 Dragon Roll (150k++)

This dish is not included in the menu since it is considered as Japanese Fusion but you can order it from the waitress. As a Dragon Roll Lover,  please trust me, Dragon Roll at Ryoutei Aoi is by far the best Dragon Roll I have ever tried.

Gindara Teriyaki Set (265k ++)

The Gindara Teriyaki does not look appetizing, but do not let the appearance fool you. Out of all Gindara Teriyaki I have tried in Indonesia, in terms of taste, Gindara Teriyaki at Ryoutei Aoi is the most similar to the one in Japan.

Aoi Kaiseki Bento (295k++)

This is my staple dish in Ryoutei Aoi. Beautiful in appearance and taste really good too. The tempura is crispy and is not soggy at all, the Salmon Teriyaki is cooked beautifully, the side dish also taste really good too. 

My favorite dish was this dish called Gyuniku Ishiyaki Gozen but sadly, they do not have it anymore. Please heed my warning and do not visit this restaurant during dinner time since just like many other Japanese Restaurant, the price of the food is much more expensive on dinner service. The price tag I included here is lunch price.

Overall, this restaurant is one of my favorite restaurant in Jakarta. If I ignore the price tag, I will visit this restaurant more than once a week but since it is very expensive, I usually just go here once in a blue moon. If you do try eating here, ask to be seated in their tatami room because the ambiance is very nice.

Ryoutei Aoi

Address: Le Meridien Jakarta 

JL. Jend. Sudirman

Jakarta, 10220 

Phone:(021) 2513131

Pecel Madiun and Sate Ponorogo - Jakarta (Cikini)

Growing up in Indonesia, I, just like many if not most Indonesian, am in love with this dish called satay (sate). Sate is very popular in Indonesia and it is one of the "must have" dish for Indonesian Restaurants. There are many variation of sate all around Indonesia, but the most common way to serve sate is grilling the sate and coating the sate with peanut sauce, which is one of the reason of my addiction towards sate.  

Today, I am going to share you my favorite Satay Joint. I have always been referring to this place as Sate Ponorogo until my friend corrected me a while back. The real name of this restaurant is "Hadir" and it is located in Cikini area. I have been a regular to this restaurant since 2001 because it is close to my house and my school.

The restaurant's specialty is their pecel madiun, sate ponorogo, and rawon. I usually just order their sate ponorogo and pecel madiun simply because I do not like rawon.

Pecel Madiun
I am biased towards anything with peanut sauce so I am not gonna comment too much on this one. Speaking from nutrition though, since it is full of vegetables I assume it is healthy.

Sate Ponorogo

One of my favorite variation of sate. The sauce is little bit sweeter and creamier compared to Sate Madura and the sate itself is so tender, juicy, and full of flavor.

Other thing I like about this restaurant is the cost of the food. Earlier this week, just before the fasting period, and my food only cost me Rp.60k++ for Pecel Madiun, Sate Ponorogo, and tea. Very affordable if you are tight on budget. Please note that sate ponorogo is made entirely of white meat, so it can be an alternative sate for those of you who are on diet. Sate ponorogo is good by itself and if you think the peanut sauce is too high on calories you can just consume the sate by itself. 

This restaurant is very clean but it does not have air conditioner and is very modest in appearance. If you prefer to do takeaway, as of lately I have seen many Go-Jek officers doing takeaway for their clients from this restaurant so feel free to do so.

Rumah Makan Hadir

Address: Jl Rp Soeroso No. 34, Gondangdia 

               Jakarta Pusat, 

               Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta 131140 

Phone   : (021) 3106792

Amuz Gourmet Restaurant - Jakarta

Hello, everyone. Last month was my parents' wedding anniversary and to celebrate this special day, we decided to have a fancy dinner in a restaurant called Amuz.
The restaurant is located in Energy Building, SCBD and the building itself (except for the parking area) is very fancy.
As expected, the restaurant itself is very fancy and since it was Sunday evening, there were just 4 groups who dined in the restaurant including my family.
The waiter is very knowledgeable about the menu which left me wondering if the water have tried every single item which was included on the menu.
After some deliberation, we decided to go with the degustation menu (5 course for the parents and 6 course for the kids).

        As usual, the meal began with complimentary bread which are surprisingly good
                                           

  Amuse Bouche - Breaded Fish, Cuttlefish, and Shrimp Ball

Grilled Honey Balsamic Quail

 1st course for the 5 course menu, seasoned well but I find the meat a little bit chewy which is quite a let down for a restaurant of this level. 

Marinated Yellow Finn Tuna, Sweet Juicy Heirloom Tomato Nicoise

1st course of the 6 course menu. Beautifully plated and taste really delicious.

Grilled Duck Liver Foie Gras

2nd course of the 6 course menu. Needless to say, one of my favorite dish that evening. The pistachio biscotti, plum jelly, red wine plum, and of course the duck liver itself is soooo good. 

Crispy Seared Tasmanian Salmon

2nd course of the the 5 course menu. One of my least favorite dish since the taste is a little bit bland.

Crispy Roasted Duck Leg Confit

3rd course of the 5 course menu. Who doesn't love duck confit? Crispy and juicy at the same time.

Crispy Roasted Fega Barramundi Fillet

3rd course of the 6 course menu. If you taste the fish by itself, the taste is a little bit too salty for my palate. Try eating them together with the pepper, shallots, and  parsley juice and I think the taste is just right for my palate. 

Pan-fried French Veal Onglet

4th course of the 6 course menu. One of my favorite dish that night. It is Veal Onglet, what can I say about this dish? Tender, juicy, and very flavorful, even though I find the addition of green onion a little bit overbearing. Just omit the green onion if you don't like it.

Pre-Dessert

Perfect for a transition dish between main course and dessert.

Guanaja Chocolate and Mocha Ganache Gourmandise

Dessert for the 5 course menu. Beautifully plated and taste super delicious.
I just love frozen kahlua.

North Sumatra Passion fruit Parfait

Dessert for the 6 course menu. This dessert also taste superb.

Overall the dining experience was really superb, the waiters were really friendly and the service was top notch. The dining service took around 3 hours and the food was served on the right timing so I did not feel stuffed and bloated after dinner.

The downside was the price tags which are quite high. The 5 courses cost around 650k++ w/o wine and the 6 courses cost around 725k++ w/o wine.

If any of you guys wants to try the lunch set, the 2-4 courses lunch cost around 250k-350k, a very good deal for a French restaurant.

If you are French Food enthusiast, you might want to put Amuz on your to-eat list.

AMUZ Gourmet Restaurant

Address: Jl. Jendral Sudirman Kav 52-53

               The energy Building 2nd Floor

               Special Capital Region of Jakarta 12190

Phone   :(021) 2505064

Welcome

Hello everyone,

My name is Edwin and just like you guys, I like to eat.

Trying out new food and spoiling my taste bud is one of my hobbies.

This hobby of mine was developed when I was studying in the United States, where it is very easy to find good and reliable reviews over a website called yelp.

When I went back to Jakarta for good, I was very much disappointed with the lack of information of good restaurant here in Jakarta. 

There is no website where I can just search a name of restaurant and find reviews or menu of that restaurant.

Based on this situation, I decided to open this blog to share some insight about the restaurants I have visited.

Once in a while, I might post some recipes that I have tested myself.

Stay tuned, will start posting some reviews soon.