Bumbu's seasoning spices up eclectic decor

Bumbu's seasoning spices up eclectic decor

"Where does one get a good, reasonably priced Indonesian
meal?" friends visiting the city recently asked me.

An expansive wave in the direction of my local roadside food
stall would not have sufficed, even though the food-loving
mother-of-three who runs it makes a mean rice-meat-and-veg take-
out.

They were looking for somewhere a little more refined, where
the fried chicken would not come with an extra topping of bus
fumes and where there would be a more substantial chair than a
rickety wooden bench.

So I took them to Bumbu, which opened about six weeks ago
under the shadow of the soaring Landmark Center towers on Jl.
Jend Sudirman. I'd been once before, on the recommendation of a
Greek-American financial consultant, and thought it deserved a
second visit.

If its name, Indonesian for seasoning, conjures up images of
delectable local offerings served in traditional surroundings, be
prepared for a shock.

There is no other way to describe the surroundings than
tastefully eclectic but at odds with the cuisine. One thing the
restaurant-cum-cafe is not is a potpourri of Indonesian designs,
a bit of Java here, Sumatra there and Sulawesi yonder.

No, it is more modern Western minimalism combined with a twist
of Louis Quatorze. One could be in any European or American city,
except that the chairs would look more at home in Versailles than
downtown Manhattan. And it still feels new, as if the furniture
has just been unwrapped, and the place is still trying to develop
its own personality.

Don't let this put you off. The almost characterless
atmosphere -- more reminiscent of the Wendy's next door and not
improved by tinny 1970s and 1980s muzak blaring out at too high a
volume -- should change over time and the food is, on the whole,
well worth it.

There are few frills, which makes a refreshing change from the
many places in town that try that little bit too hard to be
clever. Just as JP Bistro at the Hotel Aryaduta prides itself in
its basic Western cooking, Bumbu can justifiably take pride in
its Indonesian equivalent.

Top billing would have to go to the ayam panggang kecap, or
barbecued chicken in a soy sauce. It is by far the best I have
had in Indonesia and worth going back for even if nothing else
is.

But good dishes rarely come by themselves, and whatever you
choose from the menu of 30-odd items should satisfy both your
quality and quantity controls.

None of the dishes was small and so unless you want, for
example, liters of Soto Betawi -- a deliciously subltle meat and
vegetable broth -- order several dishes and share them among your
group.

Few native Jakartans would say many of the dishes are spicy
enough, a tasty exception being the ikan Bumbu balado -- spicy
fish wrapped in banana leaves -- but there is plenty of homemade
sambal on hand for addicts for whom any meal is incomplete
without a bath of spicy sauce to drown their fare in.

Other dishes that, while not being mind-blowing, were
delicious, included the udang saus mentega -- prawns in a butter
sauce -- ayam bumbu -- chicken in a mildly spicy soup-like sauce
-- and the sate ayam. But really anything, however basic it
sounds on the menu, and most of the items do, should hit the
appropriate spot.

Even though it is near the back of the menu, the martabak -- a
concoction of vegetables encased in a delicate crispy batter and
then fried -- serves as a great appetizer.

The only culinary complaint we had was the vegetables. The
sayur asam, a mixture of vegetables in a tamarind-flavored sauce,
and gado-gado were both on the dull side, and the kangkung
balacan spicy greens were overcooked.

As the rupiah disappears further and further down the world
currency waste pipe, more and more people are paying closer
attention to restaurant bills. But at about Rp 30,000 (US$5.30) a
head Bumbu will not bankrupt you, or not this week anyway.

-- Epicurus