Atmospheric alfresco at the Dharmawangsa
JAKARTA (JP): "You are fortunate -- we've got the Garden Barbecue tonight," the waitress said as she ushered us to our seats where we were going to dine alfresco in the Pergola Terrace.
The Garden Barbecue is a fixture on Friday and Saturday nights at the Jakarta Restaurant of the Dharmawangsa Hotel in Kebayoran Baru. On weeknights it is the place of the Jakarta Market.
The atmosphere in the Pergola Terrace was casual and the mood was accentuated by attentive waiters dressed in white polo T- shirts and beige slacks. The tables were placed far enough apart for diners to enjoy their own privacy but close enough to be part of the crowd. A quartet played on a nearby stage while Yuyun sang the blues and played the saxophone.
Bonus points for ambience were well deserved, as we took in the charming contemporary symmetrical architecture. The facade of the four-story hotel surrounded us on three sides, the fourth opened into a skyline that was unhindered by buildings. In fact, during the meal I often felt like I was somewhere else, in Bali perhaps, and not in Jakarta -- there were no tell-tale signs to remind me of the city.
Sitting there in the cool of the evening, we took a long time to survey the menu as the ambience encouraged animated conversation and gentle banter. Actually, the menu had been decided for us; the Garden Barbecue has only a three-course set menu priced competitively at Rp 92,000 and all we had to do was choose our drinks.
We chose Nirwana (Rp 65,000 for a jug for six), a refreshing nonalcoholic cocktail of fresh banana, pineapple and orange. There was a free flow of iced water throughout the meal.
The first course was a chopped salad of romaine, red, green and yellow capsicums and onion rings. It arrived in an unusual "container" of a big round bread hollowed out with its top crust removed. It was served with a choice of brownish, thick "balsamic roasted onion dressing", reddish "smoked chili dressing" or the ubiquitous Thousand island dressing, plus garlic bread.
The garlic bread was made from the thick top crust of the "salad bowl" and cut into wedges like a pizza. It was warm, having just been toasted, and lightly buttered and "garlicked". It took the edge off our hunger without spoiling our appetites for the main course.
The main course came in a large round blue-and-white Delft platter consisting of barbecued beef steaks; lamb; chicken breasts; white snapper fillet; seafood skewers; Gindara steaks; and stuffed squid. The portions were ample, "as Pavarotti is ample!", said one of our meal-tasting companions.
The beef cuts were rib eye and tenderloin. Both were done to perfection -- medium rare, juicy and tender -- and were an instant favorite at our table. I thought mine was delicious au naturel, but another diner enjoyed his with bearnaise sauce. There was also exotic papaya and honey barbecue sauce and the all-time favorite black pepper sauce to choose from.
The lamb skewers were lightly flavored with rosemary and olive oil. The chicken thighs and breasts were in marinated barbecue sauce.
The seafood skewer consisting of a half lobster and grouper was fresh and succulent. The delectable squid stuffed with vegetable couscous was a winner at our table.
On the side were baked potatoes topped with chives and "bacon" bits, grilled vegetable skewers and curried pineapple coleslaw. The coleslaw reminded me of acar; light, zesty, crunchy and refreshing, it was an ideal accompaniment to the meats and seafoods.
Dessert was a choice of four types of sundaes and fresh fruit cocktail. I chose the fried banana split and asked for only one scoop of ice cream, vanilla, instead of two as I had eaten enough. It came in a coupe drizzled with chocolate sauce and two "split" fried pisang raja banana on the side, and a wafer stick and a generous portion of whipped cream.
We shared a fresh fruit cocktail which came beautifully served in a half hollowed-out watermelon. The cubed pineapple and watermelon were served in a refreshing sea of lemon grass and watermelon juice.
We ended an enjoyable evening with Italian Illy coffee (Rp 15,000) and freshly baked almond biscotti (complimentary). The bill came to around Rp 150,000 per person.
The Garden Barbecue is a great event for good friends to hang out under the stars and have a delightful evening while the band plays on. The barbecue you can buy; the ambience is priceless.
-- Epicurus