Enjoy Japanese specialties in Kemang at Oishi

Aida Greenbury, Contributor, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

It was a relief when a Japanese restaurant, Oishi, had the guts to venture into the South Jakarta bule neighborhood of Kemang more than a year ago.

Their menu sticks out amongst the usual "pasta, nachos and burgers" being offered by most eating establishments in the area.

The Osaka-style Japanese restaurant is strategically located on Kemang Raya, just opposite Kem Chicks. The traffic around it can be tough, especially during peak hours.

At the entrance, the "elastically challenged" resin replica dishes on display always managed to stop me -- something to chew over. My mind rushes back to the dark alleys in Tokyo full of similar front window displays. Somehow I feel it doesn't quite fit in Jakarta's current climate where the streets are packed with people suffering from a once-a-day diet.

But inside the restaurant, the atmosphere creates a completely different small world. It consists of two square rooms, downstairs and upstairs. The private dining rooms that can accommodate about 40 patrons are on the second floor.

The main area of the restaurant is downstairs and can seat about 80 people. There are two tatami rooms in each back corner, a long U-shaped sushi and teppanyaki bar and about ten individual tables. Between the bar and the teppanyaki cooking tables there is a narrow channel of flowing water, where the sushi chefs place their creations -- ready-to-eat sushi and sashimi on small floating plates.

Bright red and orange fish -- koi -- inhabit the glass covered U-shaped channel, which has been carved into the floor, surrounding the bar. The staff are donned in Japanese costumes and always greet me in Japanese, which I never quite catch. They are friendly, give rather fast service, and don't mind providing extra seasoning for your food.

"Since we opened in July 2000, we have gradually picked up more and more clients from different nationalities. The Japanese guests usually come for an early three-course dinner. The Indonesian and caucasian clients come both for lunch and dinner, and they usually order their favorite combination of meal box (bento) for lunch, and sushi, sashimi and teppanyaki for dinner," explained Singgih, the manager of Oishi Restaurant.

Being a fish lover, my first choice was the gindara teriyaki Set. The fish was succulent and flaky fresh. The richness and the sweetness of the teriyaki sauce were in complete balance with the freshness of the salads and its traditional condiments. The other teriyaki choices are beef, chicken or salmon. Stick with those and you can't miss.

Teppanyaki dishes are served with rice, salad, miso soup and desert. Watching the art of traditional cooking on a large iron grill in front of you while inhaling the fragrant steam doubles the joy of eating the food served directly from the grill to your plate. I found the meat or the seafood were as good as they could be but the accompanying fried bean sprouts and garlic tended to be a little bit too dry.

My favorite snack from the a la carte menu was the agedashi dofu (fried Japanese bean curd). Soft bean curd cylinders, which were covered with tasty batter, were soaked in thick fish sauce and sprinkled with bonito. The snowy colored bean curds melted right on my tongue.

The harumaki (spring rolls) were fried to perfection. The other Japanese snack, tempura -- which was originally introduced by the Portuguese, was light and crispy although the batter was rather excessive. And the yakitori (grilled chicken on skewers) was grilled with the right amount of herbs and sweet tare (the sauce used to baste the chicken).

Out of curiosity, I also ordered the shishamo (grilled pregnant fish). It was quite an experience. The plate came with two tiny pregnant fish on it; the fish were as big as your ring finger. They tasted slightly bitter and appeared over-cooked. But while I was eating it, my thoughts were of environmental issues rather than gastronomic reason.

Their udon was tasty and down to earth. The noodles were firm and thick and the soup had a warm after taste. A little disappointment with their nikinanban udon (beef udon) was that they included all the fat and the trimmings of the sliced beef.

Overall performance? Oishi is a great place for a visit. Excellent for Sunday brunch with the kids, as the staff are friendly with toddlers and the underground aquarium is interesting entertainment.

They also offer delivery, which is a very good move. Nothing is better than having Oishi's fresh tobiko, tako sushi (flying fish roe and octopus) or simply California Rolls delivered to your door.

"We emphasize the freshness of our products. We import about 70% of our seafood and meat from Japan and Australia. Our salmon is always transported chilled, not frozen. To wrap up our authenticity, we have a Japanese chef working with us who is responsible for the quality of the food we produce," added the restaurant manager.