Arts Cafe by Raffles Hotel Jakarta - Part 2

Continuing my Sunday brunch experience at Arts café by Raffles hotel; as you are well aware, the second part of this blog is Dessert! I call this a love letter for Arts café desserts.

I am a big fan of chocolate and what excited me more than anything from this Sunday brunch is the Chocolate Gallery by Pipiltin Cocoa and they do take their chocolate seriously.

A little bit about Pipiltin Cocoa itself, it is a local micro producer that loves to process chocolate right from the bean that are sourced from arrays of cities of Indonesia such as Pidie Jaya, Aceh, Tabanan-Bali, and Glenmore- East Java.

This exciting collaboration is named Chocolate Gallery and located inside the ARTS café on level 1 of Raffles Jakarta and it is chocolate haven!

So what are you waiting for, let’s start!

Thai Young Coconut Ice Cream

This one is a must write dessert I find for the dessert section. This is by far has the most interesting look in presentation and taste; using white chocolate shell as a bowl; you can put coconut ice cream for the sweetness, then passion fruit for sourness with chocolate crumble to add texture inside.  Everything combined has what people called it “amusingness”

Besides those chocolate desserts that you can find on the section, arts also have these five outstanding menus prepared by the dessert chef. You can order it separately during your lunch or dine in there as an a la carte.

Chocolate Soup (IDR 90k)

By hearing the name, I expected to see a bowl of hot chocolate that as creamy as clam chowder soup but I was wrong. It turned out to be a ball of dark chocolate with a hole on top and inside there seems to be nothing as it was deep and dark with a side serving of a hot jar of milk-chocolate that looked like a sauce (that is hot). To feast on it you have to pour the hot “milk chocolate fruit paradise” into the hole on top and let it break the chocolate shell which began to melt and when stirred it blended together to become a chocolate soup!

Not only that the soup itself was fascinating there are more surprises; the inside of the chocolate ball was chocolate ganache, milk chocolate mousse, white chocolate soil and almond chocolate cake, YUM!

Feasting with the big spoon, the chocolate soup was so rich, thick and fruity. The chocolate itself is not as sweet as I imagined it would be, perhaps because the shells of the chocolate ball was made with high percentage of dark chocolate.

Chocolate flower Pot (IDR 80K)

The appearance may just look as the usual Chocolate Flower pot but what make it different is the twist of 58 percent dark chocolate layers that consists of blueberry sponge. It does taste incredibly different from other flower pot I have tasted before. Aesthetic wise the chocolate flower pot dessert looked better than others I have seen as they added on raspberries as the flower and edible leaves on top of the dessert. Do keep in mind that the size might be just too much or big for one person to finish up even though it is just so engaging.

Signature “Crushing Hat Box”

They called it Signature but I think it Is spectacular. First time this dessert served on my table, I thought it was a chocolate cake (kue bolu chocolate) but indeed it was a chocolate box that made by pure chocolate. It is similar to the chocolate soup on how you eat it which is by pouring the hot thick salted caramel fudge on the side to the top of the chocolate box. Then you wait until it melted and there you can see the surprise inside the box. It is vanilla ice cream!

So far this dessert is one of my unforgettable moment during my Sunday brunch, not because I was fooled at first by the appearance but also the combination of the texture and the right balance taste of the saltiness and sweetness from the salted caramel fudge, the smoothness from the vanilla ice cream and the sourness from the raspberry makes the dish complete. Such a clever dish!
 

Raffles Green Choco (IDR 75K) and Raffles choco Nut (IDR 75K)

The last two reviews would be the chocolate drinks. Both drinks look like milk shakes as the texture is smooth and thick and have the combinations of fresh milk and chocolate.

The Raffles Green Choco, there is green tea and white chocolate then blended together with added spices such as chili powder, salt and honey.  It has a very interesting taste but I personally would rather have my matcha milk shake plain and straight forward.

Raffles choco nut has a very interesting combination. Besides chocolate and fresh milk, the do add cocoa powder, peanut butter cream, cashew nut and more interestingly CHEDDAR! My expectation was just not too high on this one but turned out that this drink was surprisingly tasy. It does have a very unique taste in a good way BUT I guess the Nutty flavor was a little bit too much otherwise it could have blown my mind.

I am pleased with what I experienced over here; such good food and awesome desserts. The only problem that I was really annoyed was how am I going to lose weight if what they serve here is blatantly delicious. Arts café by Raffles hotel Jakarta is my favorite buffet brunch by far.

Arts Cafe

Raffles Hotel Jakarta
Ciputra World 1
Jl. Prof. Dr. Satrio
Jakarta

+6221 2988 8080

IG : @raffleshoteljakarta

Please follow @whats_up_jakarta for more updates

Arts Cafe by Raffles Hotel - Part 1

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:

1. 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

2. 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. 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!