European seafood makes bigger splash than Chinese<\/p>\n
By John Aglionby<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Is good food better than good sex?<\/p>\n
Before this week I would not have hesitated to answer no,
\nparticularly when considering what is usually on offer in Jakarta
\n(in the culinary department, I am talking about).<\/p>\n
Until Nov. 16, however, there are two seafood promotions in
\nthe capital that make it just that little bit harder to
\nimmediately come up with a negative answer.<\/p>\n
The first is at the Grand Hyatt's Chinese restaurant, Han.
\nHere the emphasis is very much on quality rather than quantity as
\nthe only special item on the menu is hairy crabs, shipped in from
\nKwong So province in China.<\/p>\n
Historically hairy crabs get fat in the Chinese lunar months
\nof September and October and are best eaten now, in November.<\/p>\n
They certainly are like nothing I have ever seen before. Along
\neach of their 10 golden-orange legs protrude hundreds of
\ncentimeter-long yellow hairs. After hairy, bizarre is the first
\nword that comes to mind.<\/p>\n
When the dish arrived at the table I thought I was about to
\nbegin a high school dissection class, not a gourmet meal.<\/p>\n
There were no frills attached at all, only hair. All that was
\non the plate was a curious pair of scissors, one arm of which was
\n10 centimeters longer than the other and tapered off into a fine
\npoint. This meal was clearly going to be hard work.<\/p>\n
And it was. The meat and roe both tasted excellent. The chef
\nhad steamed the hirsute crustaceans, thereby bringing out the
\nnatural flavors, and not encumbering them with anything more
\nfussy than some chopped ginger and Tsang Kwong vinegar.<\/p>\n
A major drawback was the accessibility of the meat. Even armed
\nwith an implement that would not have looked out of place in the
\nJeremy Irons thriller Dead Ringers, it took more time and energy
\nthan I would have wanted to expend to extract the food.<\/p>\n
While it did mean I was able to savor each mouthful that
\nlittle bit longer, at times I thought they should be paying me Rp
\n250,000 (US$75) to eat it and not the other way round.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, at the other end of Jl. Jend. Sudirman, Le
\nMeridien's La Brasserie restaurant has been turned into what can
\nbest be described as a seafood-lover's utopia.<\/p>\n
All one's senses are assailed even before one reaches the
\nrestaurant. In the entrance Oyster Master Cecile Pichot works
\naway with her special knife, prizing open oysters and clams
\nspecially flown in from her home, the north Brittany coast.<\/p>\n
Winkles<\/p>\n
To tempt you in she offers a sample. Once hooked, it is
\npractically impossible to escape her, or the seafood's
\naphrodisiac attraction.<\/p>\n
There are a variety of selections from which to choose but
\nthe best bet is Le plateau du Mareyeur.<\/p>\n
This \"fisherman's tray\", includes a little bit of everything;
\noysters, clams, prawns, shrimps, black crab and winkles (a type
\nof marine snail).<\/p>\n
It also comes with mayonnaise, lemon, vinegar, simple brown
\nbread and homemade butter. To appreciate it fully I would
\nrecommend a glass of white wine or three. For Rp 75,000 the
\nfisherman's tray is excellent value, especially as one extra
\nlarge oyster costs Rp 14,000, but is not enough for two people.<\/p>\n
So my companion and I had another, and then a third helping of
\noysters. Yes it was gluttony, but occasional self-indulgence is
\nalways good for the soul.<\/p>\n
The ambience is authenticized by a wizen-featured Frenchman
\nchurning away on a barrel organ. Take earplugs if you do not
\nappreciate Gallic folk songs (interspersed with the odd bit of
\nopera) but for me it added to rather than detracted from the
\ndesired atmosphere.<\/p>\n
I would definitely go back to both, but perhaps I should book
\na room as well and then seek a solution to my query...<\/p>",
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