Bistro Garden: Enjoy the ambience

If first impressions count, than Bistro Garden is a real winner. Yet the image invested in the name may indeed fool some. It is neither a proper bistro in the French style (busy, informal, but entirely professional) nor a garden in its strictest sense.

Forget linen tablecloths and dining underneath apple trees. This is one of those fashionable new places on the 3rd floor of glamorous Plaza Senayan where it's smart to be seen, preferably in your latest Max Mara ensemble with a mobile phone in hand.

In fact, Bistro Garden completes the shopping mall's Golden Triangle of "rooms with a view", which includes the stylish Cafe Wien and Alessandro Nannini.

In its place used to be Mama Mia Cafe, famous for its almond- flavored iced coffee and nothing else.

But while Bistro Garden seems to want to change all that, its claim to fame will not come from epicurean finesse but from its sophisticated ambience.

And lovely it certainly is. Though the most streamlined of all its up-town counterparts, Bistro Garden is extremely well designed.

Outfitted in camel wood, blended yellows and yellow-blue upholstery, it teaches us a thing or two about proportion. The mustard blinds also suggest common sense: they protect us from the glare of the afternoon sun, as well as adding depth to the color scheme.

The service is friendly, although could be better coordinated. The maximum price for two persons is Rp 100,000.

The culinary emphasis is on popular, if slightly unimaginative food, and is none the worse for that.

In fact, the menu reads like a checklist of multicultural favorites that may send faddish customers groaning over the absence of nouvelle cuisine (Peking Duck risotto, anyone?). But there is definitely something here for everyone, with a good balance between simple and complex, light and hearty.

Try this for selection: Nachos, Calamari, Bruschetta and Jalapeno Peppers for starters; Fish and Chips, Chicken in a Basket and a limited variety of pasta and sandwiches for light alternatives; and Lamb Chop, Beef Ribs, Top Sirloin Steak and Veal Piccata for heartier main courses.

Add to those Hainan Chicken Rice, Asinan Jakarta, Beef Teriyaki and Blachan Fried Rice under Asian options, and Plaza Senayan doesn't have much need for its food court anymore.

It's also pretty much hit-or-miss.

We were impressed by the beverages, the only section where the word "enterprising" can be applied.

The Banana Smoothie was smooth enough, although it could stand a lighter hand on the honey.

The Papaya Surprise fared better, tasting so deliciously wicked it was an instant hit. What's more, there are at least a dozen more juicy tongue-teasers to whet the appetite.

Wine is also available by the glass, which is a rarity here. It is also temptingly cheap at Rp 9,000 per glass.

But any semblance of color and dash stop with the drinks. The Jalapeno Peppers were tasty but way too salty, prompting much speculation about whether the chef had actually added extra salt to an already very old cheddar cheese.

But if we really had an ax to grind it was to do with size and quantity.

Are portions being rationed here? Is this the new high concept for innovative restaurants in an ailing economy?

Slap the standard price but cut the serving in half? Hey, austerity is one thing, but stinginess is quite another.

My Buffalo Chicken Wings ventured further down disappointment lane.

There was more batter than chicken, and an unappetizing batter at that.

The bland presentation made it worse, smacking of Jakarta's so-called "Western" restaurants in the early 80s with their thick french fries, uninspired salad, tired vegetables and horrible gravy.

All-white may be London's latest gastronomic fad, but there is a huge difference between that and unpalatable food on a white plate with two skimpy lettuce leaves and a soggy tomato on the side. Is this cluelessness or indifference?

Our main courses of Grilled Salmon in Butter Sauce and Lasagna di Firenze were quite up to the mark, though in a by-the-book, entirely unremarkable way.

But they were at least accurate. Representative, but a long shot from memorable.

Desserts fell flat on their faces. An order of Profiteroles means four minuscule cream puffs with too thick a dough, a frozen base and cream as un-fresh as it comes.

Your best bet would be a fruit platter or the strawberry (forget the cream). At the very least, fruit will always be fruit.

We'll definitely come again, but maybe only for coffee and long, heart-to-heart chats. And occasionally we may willingly forget taste and forgo flavor so that we can stay even longer to savor all that glorious ambience.

-- Epicurus