Cilantro, the new bistro on the block
Dewi Santoso, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Americans call it Chinese Parsley or Coriander, Chinese call it Wan Shui (thousand years), and Indonesians call it Daun Ketumbar. Universally, Cilantro (pronounced sih-Lahn-troh) is known to be an "appetite" stimulant and has been cultivated in all parts of the world for thousands of years.
The plant creates a bright, fresh "green" flavor in dozens of ethnic cuisines. Thais use it to zest up their curries, the Vietnamese to add fragrance to their soups, and the Chinese to enliven their famous stir fries and sauces. And these are the reasons Fredella Nugroho chose "Cilantro" as the name of her newly opened restaurant.
"We decided to use a common name that still sounds chic. At first we came up with different names, but then we decided to use Cilantro as it symbolizes the rich diversity of Asian cuisine," Fredella, Cilantro Asian Bistro and Lounge managing director, said.
The new bistro is located on the 46th and 47th floors of the Wisma 46 Kota BNI building on Jl Sudirman in Central Jakarta.
Unlike many restaurants that specialize only in one type of cooking, Cilantro offers many varieties of Asian cooking, from Thai, to Chinese, to Japanese.
This Pan-Asian cooking concept, Fredella says, is intended to provide as many food alternatives as possible to diners so that they will not be bored by the same menu over and over again.
No wonder that in a table there will be several kinds of meals from different countries. For an appetizer, the bistro recommends its thod man goong (Thai prawn cake). Served in a portion consisting of six pieces, the breaded prawn is deep-fried (just like crab cake) with Thai chilli sauce on the side.
Then, to further satisfy diners' tastebuds, the house offers pan-fried scallops with avocado sauce, stir-fried shredded U.S. beef with szechuan sauce, and its special home-made nenek moyang (ancestors) bean curd.
There is a great variety of desserts ranging from mango pudding and assorted Thai desserts to cheesecake with blueberry sauce and deep-fried ice cream.
Although the prawn cake is not as satisfying as it sounds (at least not as delicious as crab cake is), the bean curd is definitely a must-have item for tofu lovers.
Especially made by Cilantro's chefs, the six square bean curds are deep-fried and topped with seaweed. Crispy on the outside and yet still soft on the inside, the bean curds are served with brown Chinese sauce. Just a first bite will give diners the assurance that the food is worth the try.
The crispy szechuan beef is served with red, green and yellow paprika, and onions. It has a bit of a sweet and sour tastes, and yet it still retains the savory taste of the szechuan cooking style, though it may not be hot enough for hot-sauce lovers.
For the scallops, however, diners who dislike avocado may want to ask the chefs to put the sauce on the side for as succulent and juicy as the scallops are, the avocado sauce tastes quite strong and may not be to many a diner's liking.
But diners do not have to worry as they can always opt for different varieties of Thai, Chinese, and Japanese food, or even dim sum (Chinese dumplings served in small portions) for a change.
To wash everything down, diners are offered more than 100 types of wine from countries such as France, the United States, and, most popularly, Australia. For those who do not drink wine, Thai ice tea or Cilantro ice tea may be just the ticket.
While the Thai ice tea is not as thirst-quenching as the original in Thailand, the house special Cilantro ice tea is surprisingly refreshing.
With two thin slices of lemon, two slices of apple and a touch of mint, this tea is obviously a winner.
As if its chic concept of mixing different styles of Asian cooking was not enough, Cilantro offers a nice lounge in which one can smoke and take a look at the city down below. A wide selection of cigars, mainly from Cuba, is to be found in the glass case.
For its special New Year package, Cilantro offers a number of menu sets consisting of seven meals plus one type of dessert at prices ranging from Rp 200,000 (US$23.5) to Rp 400,000 before tax per person, including a glass of Moet Chandon.
Granted that the view is not as magnificent as that of a certain revolving restaurant in South Jakarta, Cilantro can still be proud of its locally designed and manufactured furniture. Therefore, instead of trying to make it sound as foreign as possible, the restaurant should just stay elegantly local.
In short, what Cilantro lacks in by way of a view, it certainly makes up for in taste, especially, its nenek moyang bean curd and Cilantro ice tea.
Cilantro Asian Bistro and Lounge Level 46 Wisma 46 Kota BNI Jl.Sudirman Kav. 1, Central Jakarta. Phone: (021) 251-2822 Fax: (021) 251-2833