Dining with themes of love, and Chinese flavor

Dining with themes of love, and Chinese flavor

By Sudibyo M. Wiradji
Contributor
Jakarta

Scattered cafes and restaurants in Jakarta are gearing up for
the Chinese New Year and Valentine's Day with many eateries
planning to offer special menus and romantic treats.

Despite the unfavorable weather these days, with flooding in
several parts of the capital recently, cafes and restaurants are
fully committed to providing their best services for their
customers wishing to celebrate the Valentine's Day on February 14
and the Chinese New Year, locally known as Imlek, that will fall
on February 12, 2002.

In many of the city's cafes and restaurants, outside or inside
hotels, celebrating Valentine's Day has become a tradition that
attracts regular customers. With over 500 cafes and restaurants
available, Jakarta has its fair share of options for celebrating
the events while dining out.

As love is the central theme of Valentine's Day, all are
prepared to have romantic themes, in their choice of decorations,
entertainment, events, food and drinks.

Colorful flowers will decorate Planet Hollywood restaurant
with the seating capacity of 300 persons. "Guests will feel as if
they were in a flower park," Planet Hollywood's Assistant Sales
and Marketing Manager Maria S. Tenggono said.

With 'Endless Love' as the theme of the program, the
restaurant will present vocalist Andre Hehanusa who will sing
love songs. Planet Hollywood will offer up an "endless love menu"
at Rp 250,000 (about US$24) per person, including roses for all
the ladies as a gift.

Guests will have their choice of the soup of the day or a half
portion of the Caesar salad for the appetizer, pepper steak,
barbecued chicken or sword fish for the main course and New York
cheese cake for dessert.

Hard Rock Cafe, the popular international franchise, will
feature the country's top pop band, Dewa. On a heart-decorated
stage, the group will belt out a number of love songs. Entry
tickets are priced at Rp 75,000 including snacks and drinks.

Known as one of the most popular places to hang out, Kafe
Pasir Putih or Pasir Putih Seafood Market in Kemang, southern
Jakarta, is set to organize an event called 'Romantic Seaside'
that allows guests to share their most intimate moments with
their sweethearts or company in a seaside atmosphere.

Not to be missed is an event called Fortune Teller at Planet
Hollywood and Pasir Putih Seafood Market. "If you want to know
what the future has in store, our Fortune Teller will tell all of
what lies ahead for both of you," Fitri of the Pasir Putih
Seafood Market said.

If you join the celebration of Valentine's Day in Movenpick
Marche Restaurant, you will be treated to a three-hour session of
non-stop love songs, starting from 7 p.m. that will send you
soaring to new heights. The restaurant will also hold what is
called a 'Love Message Contest' in which the guests will be asked
to write their own words of love on a piece of paper and
demonstrate what they have written after their paper is drawn.
Attractive awards such as hotel vouchers and CDs will be
available for the winners as tokens of appreciation.

A 'mouthwatering heart-shaped cake', blueberry and banana
crepe with orange sauce, homemade tiramisu and chocolate mousse
are available at the Movenpick Marche Restaurant's pastry
counter. Australian franchise DOME will serve its special menu,
with favorite cuisine, gourmet pie at Rp 160,000 for two,
including a flower for ladies. If you have a yearning for
authentic Japanese dishes, Puri Yoshiko must be your choice.
Special menus on offer for Valentine's Dinner include sushi mie,
tempura and sukiyaki at Rp 250,000 net.

A Valentine's Day with an Italian flavor can be had at Maxis
Cucina Italiana. The restaurant will prepare a dinner for Rp
150,000 per person. With 'show to the heart' being the theme,
Fashion Cafe will specially prepare menus like Claudia, New York
Steak and Fashion-Fashion at Rp 75,000 per person.

Two days before Valentine's Day, many of the city's dining
sites will offer dinner with a Chinese flavor, with lampions,
candlelight and the like adorning the red-dominated interior, to
celebrate the Chinese New Year.

Highlighting the Chinese New Year celebration will be the
performances by the Barongsai Chinese Lion Dance at the cafes and
restaurants, including Planet Hollywood, Movenpick Marche
Restaurant, Fashion Cafe and News Cafe.

The Chinese performances were banned for the past three
decades in this country during the Soeharto administration.

With the theme the 'Year of the Horse, Planet Hollywood will
not only feature the Barongsai Chinese Lion Dance show but also
Chinese dances and a fortune teller, at no additional charge.
Regular and special menus are available for guests wishing to
celebrate the New Year.

The glamorous Fashion Cafe with a catwalk will feature a
Chinese fashion show. Batavia restaurant, in North Jakarta, will
prepare special menus at Rp 2 million. "To celebrate the Chinese
New Year, we will serve dinner for the family, with the menu to
feature Chinese cuisine," said Batavia restaurant's PR executive
Yani Rachma, adding that the planned performance of Barongsai has
been canceled due to the floods that have inundated the
courtyard.

Not to be missed is also a food exhibition featuring Asian-
style noodles at Movenpick Marche Restaurant from Feb. 11 to 23,
2002. kwetiau, stir-fried vermicelli Singapore style and Thai
fried noodles, just to name a few, are noodle-made specialties
available at the restaurant's Asian Counter.

If you wish to celebrate Valentine's Day or Imlek, cafes and
restaurants in the capital will await you. Perhaps, it would be
advisable for you to come a bit earlier or else you might not get
a table. "Every time Valentine's Day is celebrated here, our cafe
is always full and even the number of guests exceeds the seating
capacity of 250 persons," a spokesperson for News Cafe said.