Stylish Italian seafood at Hotel Mulia
JAKARTA (JP): Dropped off mistakenly outside the Hotel Mulia's ballroom, I entered and walked straight into a wedding. Trying to catch a glimpse of the bride and groom, it became apparent that I had arrived just in time for a free dinner.
Unfortunately, with no batik shirt and with a reservation at the hotel's il Mare restaurant, not to mention my dining companion waiting upstairs, I realized that tonight was perhaps not the ideal time to reacquaint myself with old ways. I took the wide staircase leading up to the huge lobby where my dining companion, C, was sunk deep into a sofa reading a novel, as is her habit.
Hotel Mulia, located on Jl. Asia-Afrika in Senayan and opened in 1997, is a fairly recent addition to the capital's five-star hotels but, on the evidence of this visit, whoever invested in it will not be long in waiting for a return.
Maybe it was the proximity of the House of Representatives that accounted for tonight's activity in the lobby. Did the group of men in suits in the corner make up a faction? If so, was the group in the other corner a rival faction? It was fun to think they were, but short of going to ask them, this was always going to remain idle spekulasi, and was best left behind. Which is what we did as we made our way to il Mare.
The il Mare is an Italian seafood restaurant. Having never been to Italy myself, and aware that C had, I asked her to tell me something about the country and its food. While dipping into a complimentary plate of bread of all shapes and forms, complete with butter, olives, oils and other Mediterranean treats, I heard tales of poor breakfasts consisting of pappy bread enlivened only by great coffee.
I learned that pizzas were not eaten every day, but saved for special occasions, rather like satay in Indonesia. My personal recollections started and stopped with the time polenta was cooked for me by an Italian student called Sergio in a tiny boardinghouse in Kings Cross, London. We decided to order some to see how it compared.
The starters -- seafood soup with saffron and prawn polenta -- came quickly. Faintly red, and piping hot, the soup was delicious. Chunky, meat-like pieces of fish floated among the mussels, which tasted of nothing less than the sea itself.
Regarding the prawns, C said that "either they were very fresh or the chef is very good". I took one and thought it more than likely that they were both fresh and the chef was very good. As for the polenta, Sergio's attempt -- a glutinous sticky goo, (sorry Serge) -- bore only a slight resemblance to il Mare's version, which was in a league of its own. Both taste and texture were so subtle that it is difficult to describe in words: I can only advise the reader to try it for him or herself.
Main courses followed, both of which come highly recommended, The risotto with clams was primarily nutty and creamy, with the clams being content to speak only when they were spoken to. C's grilled baramundi fillet was served with a pleasantly sweet, brilliant red tomato sauce and accompanied by asparagus and mashed potatoes.
The service throughout was attentive and unobtrusive. A thoughtlessly ordered desert contained Cointreau, and was quickly changed, with the waitress's sincere apologies, for a 100 percent halal cheesecake. Although one might of thought that in a country with 90-odd percent of its population Muslim, dishes containing alcohol could be identified as such.
One other point concerned the thorny issue of drinking water in restaurants. With the bill reaching Rp 375,000 (including starters, main courses, deserts, coffees, a glass of house red and a fruit juice), having to pay for water seems just a little mean.
Afterwards we went upstairs to CJs to see for ourselves its legendary leopard-skin sofas. These and the overall vibe suggested that place was an ultra-cool attempt to recreate the atmosphere of a '70s downtown New York bar/club.
However, the entertainment provided -- an all singing all dancing group -- were threatening an "action set", and fearing the effect of this on full stomachs, we decided to save CJs' glitter for another time.
--Epicurus