Italian food and sweet sounds at Balemang Cafe

There used to be a time in the late 1970s and early 1980s when one of Jakarta's pitiful answers to Italian food was Rugantino, an Italian restaurant located in Blok M, Kebayoran Baru. With its red-and-white checked tablecloths and the right amount of seediness, it evoked the fantasy of a mafia-favored joint, where mobsters greedily sank their teeth into piping hot pasta after a blood-splattered day at work.

Sounded great. Except for one thing -- the menu. It didn't do justice to the vast Italian gastronomic repertoire.

Today, thankfully, the selections simply abound. But, for connoisseurs of fine Italian cuisine, or seasoned travelers who have delighted in the refined simplicity of pasta at its authentic best, it still ain't enough.

While the more feasible franchises like Pisa and Spaghetti House still don't seem to have any idea what certain pasta dishes should taste like, other more up-market restaurants like Ambiente, Il Punto, Alessandro Naninni, Zigolini, Maxi's and VaBene are just too costly for the average diners. And while most cafes such as Coterie, Twilite Cafe, and Cafe de Paris in the Kemang area serve Italian food, there still lingers the feeling that pasta has undergone immense modification in this country.

While quality ingredients may already meet the standard that was simply unattainable a decade or two ago, there is always the question of the right proportion. And because of the resulting bastardization of taste, people often accept that a bolognaise sauce should be all right as long as it tastes of chopped meat and tomato sauce.

It was surprising, thus, when one Balemang Cafe, the newest addition to the burgeoning selection of cafes in the Kebayoran Baru and Kemang areas, recreated that rare dining experience with its exquisite seafood soup. The texture of its tomato broth is just right -- not too thick and not too clear -- and its delicious fragrance suggests a hearty helping of butter and parsley. With mussels and flaked fish, this soup has enough ingredients for a meal in itself.

The soup was followed by a supremely tasty portion of Spaghetti with Seafood Sauce. The spaghetti was al dente, and there was just the right proportion of the tomato-based sauce to go with it. The sauce was neither too thick, too sweet, nor too tangy, suggesting a delicately-proportioned combination of olive oil, garlic, tomatoes, wine, aromatic herbs, and just a dash of chili sauce to add some spice. Coupled with a generous spread of succulent fish fillets, prawns, squid and mussels, the whole dish suggested a chef who has been raised on Italian food or, at the very least, has had a very good Italian mentor.

The cafe offers a tantalizing selection of Italian dishes, including Linguini with Clams, Ravioli Neapolitan, Papardelle in Salmon Sauce, and Fettucini with Shitake Mushroom Sauce. That they turn out to be the creations of one of the former chefs of the VaBene Restaurant is not surprising. With prices averaging at Rp 13,000 (US$5.40), pasta comes highly recommended in this place.

Balemang also offers a delightful variety of Asian specialities as well as the standard steaks and lamb chops. Prominent are the Beef Shanghai, Barbequed Beef Ribs, Chili Prawns, Mie Goreng, Nasi Goreng, and the highly-touted Bebek Bengal, priced reasonably between Rp 6,900 and Rp 12,000.

However, being the cafe's self-professed gastronomic brainchild, the Asian menu ironically lacks the gastronomic understanding of its Italian counterpart. The Bebek Bengal falls short of expectations, sporting a blandly-presented mound of white rice accompanied by two pitifully thin slices of fried crispy duck with more skin and bones than flesh.

Since its construction in the middle of last year, the two- storied already promised to be a force to be reckoned with. Sprawled imposingly over two lots on Jl. Wijaya -- one of Kebayoran Baru's central business arteries -- it has a catchy exterior of blended yellows, a pitched roof with wide overhanging eaves, clear glass windows overlooking the main street, and a solid Balinese door. Accentuated by Balinese adornments, this is yet another stab at vernacular architecture -- a trend increasingly visible among cafes in the Kemang and Kebayoran Baru areas.

But if you are the type to whom atmosphere matters, then there's one tiny hitch. Perhaps too bent on making an impression, Balemang's architecture is a study in eclectic confusion. Combining Balinese props, flowing silk material hanging from wooden beams, traditional woodcarving, gold-trimmed parasols, a Twilite Cafe-like T-shaped upper floor, a humungous video screen playing the latest film version of Chaplin, amben-type seats against the windows where diners squat on elevated ground and eat from short tables, stone-pebbled floors, brassy staircases, gallery-style paintings on art deco walls, there comes a point when atmosphere turns into overkill.

Furthermore, the overstuffed dining area gives a sense of clutter and imbalance, with tables too near each other and the lighting too focused on the goods on the walls. Add to all that different live bands performing full blast after 9 p.m. each night, you can get everything in one package, if you get the drift.

But to some, the live music is precisely the main attraction. Talented local bands pay tribute to the 1970s and 1980s on Mondays and Tuesdays, go Latin on Wednesdays, and are devoted to the Top 40 hits over the weekend. Guest Filipino bands such as the Club Fame Band can also be seen every weekend for the next two months.

"It's great," said Irwan, a thirty-something lawyer who is a regular customer. "While it's not exactly the place to have a quiet tete-a-tete over a cup of coffee, it definitely is the place for after-dinner drinks and hip music. The snacks are also tasty."

Balemang certainly has its clientele, reflected by the sheer number of cars in its parking lot every day since its opening. If you crave pasta, enjoy mainstream music, and are generally the cafe-type, swing by. Honestly, they don't often come any better than this.

-- Epicurus