Kahyangan: Dining pleasure like in heaven
Kahyangan: Dining pleasure like in heaven
Kurniawan Hari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
High on the top floors of the Wisma Nusantara building on the
prime street Jl M.H. Thamrin, a special place for dining has been
serving customers for years.
Although low profile, the restaurant is always packed with
visitors.
It's the Kahyangan, a Shabu Shabu restaurant on the 28th, 29th
and 30th floors of Wisma Nusantara, that was once Jakarta's
highest building.
Kahyangan, which means "place of the goddess", is not a cozy
place with bright tables or soft chairs, but rather a
conventional dining place with red carpet and cream walls.
Although a little bit backward compared to other modern cafes,
the venue offers delicious cuisine as well as breathtaking views
of Jakarta.
First opened for the public in 1973, the restaurant keeps its
interior design intact. The management has for some time planned
renovations, but many loyal customers want to keep it just the
way it is to preserve their memories of dining there in times
past.
"This restaurant was serving customers even before I was
born," said Sugeng Purnomo, assistant public relations manager of
Hotel Nikko Jakarta here on Thursday.
According to Sugeng, the Kahyangan is one of the Nikko's means
of attracting guests.
With its 244 seats available every day, the restaurant has
served countless guests, including VIPs, state officials,
business tycoons and celebrities.
Political leaders often come to satiate their palate while
discussing latest issues there. If visitors are lucky, they could
can seats to get the best view of the city during lunch or
dinner.
"We often turn away guests because all the seats are occupied.
We suggest customers book ahead," said Daniel Yunus, a waiter
supervisor at the restaurant.
For lunch or dinner, the Kahyangan offers two set menus -- the
Kahyangan Course and the Kentjana Course for Rp 228,000 (US$22)
each.
The Kahyangan Course consists of shrimp cocktail for a
starter, thinly sliced prime ribs and assorted vegetables with
steamed rice for the main dish and fresh fruit platter or ice
cream as a dessert.
Meanwhile the Kentjana Course offers home-made smoked salmon
as a starter and the main dish and dessert is the same as the
Kahyangan Course only it uses U.S. rib beef instead of prime
ribs.
For those wanting a la carte, they can pick Shabu Shabu's
premium kobe beef for Rp 695,000 ($67) or Shabu Shabu's beef for
Rp 495,000 or Shabu Shabu prime ribs at Rp 228,000.
They can get additional dishes like kobe beef at Rp 650,000,
prime ribs at Rp 198,000, seafood at Rp 148,000 or chicken for Rp
138,000.
Japanese noodles and bean curd are also available at Rp 18,000
each. Meantime, a bowl of steamed rice is offered for Rp 10,000.
One thing that makes the Kahyangan different from any other
Shabu Shabu restaurant is its home-made ponzu sauce.
So delicious is the sauce that a visitor once paid for a set
menu just to bring some home.
It tastes somewhat like a combination of lemon, fish broth and
ketchup or kikoma.
While waiting for the waiter to prepare the dishes, a plate of
rempeyek kacang (fried peanuts in rice dough) is served.
The dining begins with a starter, home-made smoked salmon. If
not in a set menu, this dish -- served with green capers, onion
rings and lemon wedges -- is offered for Rp 64,500.
Then comes the main dish, consisting of various vegetables and
a big plate of thinly sliced U.S. rib beef. All of them are
cooked in the center of the table.
Combined with the restaurant's special sauce ponzu, the dishes
really bring us to Kahyangan -- the place of the goddess. Heaven.
Kahyangan Shabu Shabu Restaurant
28th, 29th, 30th floors of Wisma Nusantara
Jl. M.H. Thamrin 59, Jakarta
Phone: (021) 230 1122
Opening Hours
Lunch: 11.30 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Dinner: 6.30 p.m. - 10 p.m.