In France, a bistro means a small restaurant that serves moderately-priced meals in a modest setting. This is where you can usually find home style and more rustic meals that are far from the rigorous fine dining standards.
Following the ever increasing number of spots in Jakarta that’s eager to adopt ‘the Parisian way of eating & drinking’, comes Branché, a casual French style bistro in the uber hip neighborhood of Senopati. The word branché itself is the slang word for hip or trendy in colloquy French, and it seems that such is what the place would want to appear.
Spanning three floors complete with attic and roof top area, Branché probably has one of the most spacious dining area in the neighborhood. The theme of the design is the evidently still popular industrial style interior and exterior; with exposed floor, walls, black partitions, frames and windowpanes, to the metal stair cases. This place definitely sings out ‘warehouse chic’ loud and clear.
What I do love the most though, is their attic space in the third floor with its glass rooftop that promises an abundant of natural light during the day (perfect for those bright instagram shots) and beautiful view of the night sky at night. The attic area leads to the open air rooftop with a sweeping view of SCBD’s skyscrapers, both with minimum spending cap.
Helmed by Chef Raka Wiradhika that has quite the experience working around the world, Branché’s food consists of not just french-inspired food, but almost anything that’s popular for the Jakarta masses; from light bites, sandwiches, meat, poultry and fish main courses, to pasta, pizza, and even the Asian favorites that are pretty much omnipresent in Jakarta’s cafes and, in this case, bistros.
For starter, I tried the Seaweed Salad, with the sweetened crystal seaweed on a bed of lettuce, tumbled with corn kernels, whole cashews, sliced apples, oranges and a drizzle of sweet lemon dressing. Definitely a very nutritious salad packed with a lot of crunch.
For main course, I tried two of their five signature dishes; first the Wild Salmon Marine, with panko-crusted salmon served with pureed potatoes naturally colored green with herbs, served with sauteed shimeji mushrooms and torched Japanese cucumber. The panko did give the salmon a pleasant texture, and the fish meat was cooked to perfection.
I also tried the Chicken Au Vin, two pieced of chicken thigh braised in red wine sauce, served with pieces of carrots, mushrooms and shallots on a big portion of mashed potato. Definitely a rustic meal that’s fit to feed two.
I hardly had room for anything more but before I can complain, my Creme Brûlée Muffin came to my table. And it is exactly that, a large vanilla muffin that has been scooped out to give room for the creme brûlée or french egg custard, and garnished with berries. But instead of sprinkled with sugar and torched for its characteristic layer of caramel, chef Raka gives caramel lovers even better substitute with a brandy caramel tuile on top.
As the night falls, I saw more people coming in and crowding around the bar. And who doesn’t like to end a meal with a slight tipple? I tried one of Branché’s signature cocktail, the Fleur De Lis with vodka, lychee liquor, white wine, soda, and dill leaves. Such a refreshing end note! Other than the cocktails, Branche also offers a good selection of drinks, both alcohol and non-alcoholic. For the coffee, they don’t beat around the bush and opt for the trusted Tanamera blends and brews.
Branché Bistro
Jalan Senopati No. 33, Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta
Phone:(021) 5734448
http://ift.tt/12nMZGp
Hours: 10AM–12AM
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