Arts Café Sunday Brunch by Raffles café Hotel Jakarta is the perfect
place to spend on Sundays with the family. It is a scrumptious buffet and open
kitchen serving continental and oriental a la carte offerings with the backdrop
of vibrant artworks by the celebrated painter, Hendra Gunawan, well known for
his caricaturist, colorful style of painting that draws on an Expressionist
background. Expressionism art emphasizes on distorting objects to evoke
emotional effects of moods or ideas. The paintings in this restaurant is an
invitation to immerse patrons in a unique dining experience.
I do recommend the Sunday brunch although Arts Café opens
daily from breakfast to dinner; In the weekdays (Monday to Thurday and Friday
only until lunch time) the Arts café offers only a la carte menus and no
buffet. The buffet only available from Friday dinner and weekend.
Breakfast : 6:00AM to 10:30AM
Lunch : 12:00 noon to 2:30 PM
Dinner : 6:00 PM to 10:30 PM
Sunday brunch : 12:00 noon to 3:30 PM
The prices
for the buffet are as follow:
-Lunch at IDR 320,000++ per
person
-Dinner at IDR 380,000 ++ per
person
-Sunday brunch starts from IDR 550,000 ++
per person (Sunday brunch includes complimentary fresh juices and soft
drinks with five to seven special menus from the show kitchen to your table)
With IDR 400,000 ++ per person it gives you
free flow wine and beers alternatively.
And
free flow of champagne available for IDR 1,200,000,++ more.
As of right
now, there is promotion from BCA card holders that allow you to pay 1 for 2
during Sunday Brunch, make sure you make good use of it while it last!
Now that I
have the information jotted down, let’s move to the food experience itself. I
was impressed by how the open kitchen work; it allows patrons to take sneak
peek and judge by themselves how fresh and well executed on prepping the fish
and crustaceans for the sashimi bar and seafood stalls. Also getting up close
on how the chefs prepare their food to entice anyone’s appetite just by looking
them preparing the food.
There are
five main stations here in Arts café, the closest to the main entrance is the
dessert station which at the moment is collaborating with Pipilitin Cocoa
(can’t wait to try all the chocolate dessert!!!). The next station is the fruit
and beverage station followed by the light bites station then continue on with
the meat, sushi and seafood stations with the main course station as last but
not least.
I did (shamelessly)
try almost 90 percent of everything here in the buffet, so let’s see what I had:
Like I
mentioned that during the Sunday brunch there will be a la carte menus coming
from the show kitchen. I found all the dishes are unique and interestingly appetizing;
not just how they present them but also the bold flavor on every dish that is
just memorable. Here are those menus from the show kitchen:
- Mushroom veloute
I prefer my mushroom soup to be less
thick and this one has the right texture, the amount of the truffle oil was
generous and the fragrance can sure wake anyone’s appetite. In terms of presentation,
I do like how they make foam from the truffle and it comes with almond biscotti
and red pepper powder
- Chili crab bun
This one is what I described as unique;
Instead of using a typical Mantao bun and dip it in the sweet spicy chili crab
sauce and eat together with the crab, this dish is served in such a way that
you actually use your fork and spoon to eat it. The idea of using charcoal bun
is also smart because the black color will stand out against the creamy red and
yellowish sauce.
- Pan Seared Foie Gras
I rarely eat Foie Gras as it is hard to
find quality ones; it will smell if it is not done right and it might not look
appetizing if it is not presented correctly. What a pleasant surprise that the
dish is platted beautifully and delicious; with caramelized plum for the
sweetness, sprinkled with raspberry crumble and raspberry coulis for sourness,
then mushroom puree with spinach puree for color on top of brioche toast. The
size of the foie gras they served was generously aplenty.
- Lobster Ravioli
This is a unique dish! I would give a
standing ovation if I could to show how much I was impressed by the creativity
of using prawn mousse. They add lemon crumble to mask any smell of ‘fishiness’
(if it actually is present) and parmesan cheese with Vin Blanc (white wine) and
pea sprout to seal the deal. I do like this dish very much, simply magnifique.
- Seared Beef Tenderloin
This is the last course in the menu,
beef tenderloin that is platted with potato gratin, mix sprouts, pickled shallots,
carrot ribbon, cassia foam and topped with pumpkin puree. The beef itself is
tender and juicy; a big cut yet it was not chewy. Medium cooked with pink color
in the middle, a vision of perfection. I personally not a big fan of pumpkin
but the sweetness from the pumpkin goes very well with the juicy tenderloin and
it was a marriage in heaven.
PS : The food is so good that I have
decided to write it in 2 parts, the next part would be dessert, so stay tune!
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