Magnolia: Tasty titbits and lyrical muse at Plaza Senayan
Les Coffier, Contributor, Jakarta
Magnolia, Plaza Senayan 2nd floor, Jl Asia Afrika No.8, Central Jakarta 10270, tel. 5725244, e-mail: magnolia@cbn.net.id
Beneath the tall magnolia's shade; Have poured the soul of music round; Whilst breezes breathing sweetness strayed; And stole away fair maiden's heart.
Don't be put off by this florid poetry prominently displayed adjacent to the main entrance of Magnolia, a newish restaurant- cum-wine bar on the second floor of Plaza Senayan, Central Jakarta. The place offers a welcome haven from the hubbub that characterizes the mall and you can unwind there well after the main part of the plaza has closed. This means that it is also handy for post-cinema drinks or snacks.
Location: From the main entrance of Plaza Senayan go to the second floor and you will find the restaurant on the right-hand side, toward the back. There is also a back entrance, with direct access from the car park, which can be used when the main part of the plaza has closed.
Hours: 11:30 a.m. to 12 midnight every day (last food orders around 10 p.m. during Ramadhan, 10:30 otherwise). Major credit cards are accepted.
Looks: It's difficult to pigeonhole Magnolia. Is it a restaurant with a long drinks list or a wine bar that offers a tempting range of food? Either way, the trendy, minimalist decor, as you might expect, makes extensive use of the magnolia (dark cream) color, which works quite well when the lights are dimmed at evening time. It can comfortably seat around 50-60 people and has an integral, open-plan kitchen.
The magnolia flower motif is repeated extensively, in the light clusters and the flower-shaped wine storage area that dominates one wall. The place has been designed very much with the fairer sex in mind, and I wouldn't be surprised if, in time, it became a favored lunchtime venue for the high-powered secretaries from the nearby office blocks, if it hasn't done already.
Although the atmosphere was more hotel brasserie than shopping mall cafe, I somehow felt it was a bit like an upmarket, latter- day version of the railway station tearoom in that classic film, Brief Encounter. That was where, against the backdrop of a stiff- upper-lipped postwar Britain, Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard had their famous illicit, but restrained, liaisons.
The polite, helpful but unobtrusive magnolia-clad waiting staff simply helped to reinforce this impression. Instead of trains roaring past at regular intervals there were groups of "mallrats", straining for all they were worth to see just who was with whom inside.
What's it got: Magnolia is intended to be primarily a place for drinks rather than food, as the former take up fully 10 of the 14 pages in the menu. Despite this, the waiting staff said that most guests tended to eat there.
As well as the normal range of drinks, like shakes, smoothies, juices, soft drinks, coffees and teas, there is an impressive range of wines, both red and white, mainly from Australia, France, California and New Zealand.
The food available included tapas (mini-dishes, originally from Spain, eaten as starters), plus salads, soups and pastas, as well as rice, seafood and meat dishes, sandwiches, desserts and a special kiddies' menu.
Taste factor: The two of us started with two tapas dishes: smoked salmon with asparagus, and Peking duck. The salmon and asparagus complemented each other perfectly, but at Rp 29,000 the portion seemed on the small side. The duck was much more satisfying, at least in terms of sheer bulk, as it came wrapped inside a pancake with hoisin sauce for good measure.
Main courses were angel hair with curried minced chicken, and nasi lemak (rice steamed in coconut milk and served, in this case, with an array of cooked chicken, fish and steamed vegetables).
I know other reviewers have written about the angel hair, but it looked like the most enticing item in that section of the menu, and I was curious to see how it would turn out. The "angel hair" was very thin pasta, almost like vermicelli, and the chicken was spicy without being too fiery. The nasi lemak was well presented and the fishy part, cooked with chili, was suitably fiery.
For dessert we tried a single portion of Dian's apple mozarella, again chosen out of sheer curiosity. A waitress told me that Dian was one of the restaurant's owners, and presumably the dish was her creation. It was a very pleasant combination of thinly sliced apple (with the skin still on) grilled with a small piece of mozarella cheese on top and served with roasted hazelnuts.
Drinks were a cola, cookies 'n' cream milkshake and a cappuccino. The shake was prepared without any added sugar and tasted, well, just like cookies and cream -- delicious.
Price points: The whole meal described above was Rp 232,000, including 11 percent tax and 10 percent service charge. Although some of the tapas were on the expensive side for what you got, main courses, at Rp 30,000 to Rp 40,000, were reasonable.
Minus points: The disadvantage of eating in an open-fronted restaurant in a shopping mall is the risk of being gawped at by passersby but many, I suspect, go there to pose and find the attention quite welcome.
Verdict: Certainly worth trying, but don't forget to wear black (stylish) and leave your cellphone prominently on the table while you dine (de rigueur).