Mediterranean theme a feast for all the senses

By John Aglionby

JAKARTA (JP): Trying to be all things to all people is a risky business, particularly when taste buds are involved. The resulting potpourie is often a recipe of disaster that is nothing to nobody.

So covering the contrasting cuisine of the whole Mediterranean, from the rain-filled plains of Spain to the heights of Mount Olympus, and from bombed-out Beirut to the market in Marrakech, in one go is not something to be approached lightly, if at all.

But undertaking this challenge is what the Jakarta Grand Hyatt is currently doing and, it has to be said, is doing extremely well.

The secret of the success is that the cornucopia of food is a buffet and not a set meal, enabling one to choose which countries' kitchens to visit and which to bypass in the whirlwind gastronomic tour of Southern Europe, the Near East and North Africa.

And by the time the mini-festival ends tomorrow evening, three completely different menus will have been provided, giving regulars the opportunity to taste pretty much a little bit of everything the region has to offer.

The starters were nothing special, Egyptian hummus and a curious clear soup of undiscernible nationality being the only obvious items on offer.

I decided to miss out on both as the aroma of the cooked-while-you-watch seafood stew with garlic bread was too tempting to resist. And the taste more than matched the smell.

A natural progression would have been to move on to one of the many salads on offer. But again my senses were diverted away from the octopus salad, the scallop salad and the eggplant salad with vitello tomatoes by the Sharwarma served with pita bread.

Most people would describe this as a kebab of sorts but it was unlike anything I had ever eaten after a night on the town while at university. The pita bread was too small and crispy -- it snapped and crumbled at the slightest touch -- and was impossible to eat politely. But the meat was tender, the toppings authentic and the light yoghurt acted as an delicious glue.

At this point I decided to forsake the French lamb ribs, the Empanadas with meat and spinach, the pan-fried chicken with bellpeppers and garlic, the Catechino and lentils, the snapper and wine leaves with Talina sauce and all the other colorful dishes on offer for the desserts.

All my life I have wanted the dessert course to come first and all my life I have had to impatiently sit through savory courses, remembering not to eat too much. But with a buffet it is a free- for-all and so there was no one to stop me going on to the sweet, sticky puddings as and when I wanted.

Again the choice was overwhelming and several visits were required to do the selection justice. Top of the pops was the Turkish Um Ali, a bread pudding soaked in rosewater and milk, brought to the boil and finished off under the grill. However not far behind were the Leche Fredda, the ricotta cheese torte, the tartufo cake and the Baklava.

After all that there was no space for the ice cream. This regular feature of the Hyatt's buffet had been adapted to fit in with the theme. Chocolate and vanilla were still on offer but were complemented by the more Mediterranean flavors of Sangria and Sabayon.

Where there is food there has to be drink in my book and the cocktail of mixed fruit juices was more than adequate for my lunchtime needs. For those desiring something stronger a selection of Mediterranean wines was on offer.

And don't worry you Hyatt regulars; the sushi, smoked salmon and roast beef were still in their usual places -- although even executive sous chef Ivan Suardi admitted it was stretching thing to describe them as Mediterranean.

Perhaps the greatest drawback came at the end, i.e. getting the bill. Rp 48,000 before drinks, service and tax are added is not cheap. But if one works hard enough at the job in hand and is not in the calorie-counting business, the Grand Cafe is well worth a visit in the next two days.