There’s something truly energizing about a plate of good and filling breakfast before starting our day. And there are times when a bowl of plain porridge just does not cut it, whether you want to admit it or not! It is the most important meal for the day for a lot of reason, but for me, it is because how much we look forward to it, and how the taste of good breakfast lingers will stay with you throughout the day.
In Jakarta, what also has taken center stage recently is the ‘brunch’ culture in the last year or two; the art of spending prolonged late breakfast bordering to lunch and deserve to the highlight meal of your weekend. There are plenty of places that take breakfast and brunch very very seriously in Jakarta, but one that took our notice is Benedict, which just recently opened its second outlet in Pacific Place after its first one in Grand Indonesia.
The doecor takes the same classic-rustic style, though Pacific Place’s Benedict is divided into two spaces, indoor area, and an semi-outdoor seating area that is the only one in the floor that allows smoking. I personally like the idea of semi alfresco dining on 4th floor of this SCBD building.
A flick through their gazette style menu, which by the way is a free copy that you can bring home, it doesn’t take a lot of bragging that this restaurant takes breakfast items to great height. The rest, are all day dining menu that are still breakfast friendly, and you will not want to share with anyone. Although the classic breakfast items like the steak & egg and the namesake classic Egg Benedict are drool-worthy, I could not help but wonder what’s a Japanese Benedict like?
As it turns out, mine was two perfectly poached eggs sitting on chicken hamburagu and shitake rice, topped with spicy ‘dynamite hollandaise’ and seaweed. To me personally, the chicken hamburagu was the surprise element. A great mix of taste and if you’re the kind that just has to have rice for any meal off the day, this is perfect for you.
The second breakfast item that caught my attention was ‘Egg in a Jar’ that’s apparently quite popular among the Instagram crowd especially for its presentation: a mix of soft boiled egg, beef bacon, ‘mac & cheese’, mushrooms in a jar, then topped with potato ‘foamed’ right in front of you, with toasted brioche. For me, this dish would be the closest thing to Indonesia’s much-beloved ‘party in a bowl’ mix of bubur ayam. The softness and decadence of the potato foam, and egg yolk, strong flavor of the mushroom, and the crunch of the bacon bites all collides in one big bite.
I also could not resist venturing to the pasta page. Benedict has some serious pasta contenders that are just hard to resist. I picked Mushroom Ragout Tagliatelle because I’ve heard good things about it, oh yes. Porcini mushrooms, pesto, chicken are tumbled in with grated grana padano cheese and truffle oil.
And third, as in Indonesia, your true taste for local street cred is really how good is your nasi goreng dish is, Benedict takes serious pride in their Nasi Goreng Kebuli, which came exactly how it was portrayed in the menu: topped with thinly shaved (not sliced!) lamb shoulder that is incredibly tender and far from gamy smell, sunny side up egg, and emping crackers, a must have condiment for any nasi goreng kambing!
Benedict recently also launched their From Crop to Cup coffee options from their ‘coffeebar’, all using the Benedict Blend of 100% Indonesian Arabica coffee from Toraja, Dolok Sanggul, and West Java. In addition to the beans, the restaurant’s group barista Day Hendratno also highlights other locally sourced products such as coconut, pepper, and palm sugar.
I tried the refreshing Coconut Cold Drip Coffee that blends fresh coconut water with 12 hour drip coffee. For fans of more milky coffee, the Coconut Latte, to be enjoyed with a small-spoonful of palm sugar and coffee beans, would be the sure choice. It is endearing to see more young Indonesian baristas (and chefs, for that matter) to bring the amazing local products to their plate.
So, where are you heading for breakfast this weekend?
Benedict
Pacific Place Mall, 4th Floor, Jl. Jenderal Sudirman, SCBD, Jakarta
Phone: 021 57973742
http://ift.tt/2hhRdqz
http://ift.tt/1OUwlUA
from What's New Jakarta http://ift.tt/2hhQcis
via IFTTT
No comments:
Post a Comment