Friday, October 24, 2014

Wondrous Presentation at Eastern & Oriental

Reflected by its name, E&O brings out the distinctive combination between Eastern and Oriental foods. Every dishes served here are so unique that I believe it is almost impossible for you to find them in any other restaurants. Their dishes might have similar main ingredients with the ones available in other restaurants. However, the way they serve them were highly innovative and the presentation was indeed mind-blowing!

Before going to the review, I want to apologize in advance as I could not provide the pictures for all the savory dishes. I went here with my office colleagues and we were so hungry so you could guess what happened once the dishes reached the table. Besides, I was afraid everyone (including the dragons in their tummy :p) would shout at me if I asked them to wait for me taking pictures of the food.

Pad Thai with Prawns, Beansprouts, Garlic, Chives, Peanuts and Chili Tamarind (IDR 125k)
What impressed me the most from this dish was the rich combination it brought out. Though it was just pad thai, it contained so many ingredients, which were beautifully served together on the plate. Actually, the rice noodles itself just tasted so-so. However, I had to admit that the prawns were so fresh. Maybe if several years from now you asked me what I remembered from this dish, the only thing I would mention was its prawns.

Peking Duck Fried Rice with Thai Curry Powder, Cherry Tomatoes, Pineapple and Chili (IDR 95k)
Yeah, this was a plate of fried rice. However, what made it turn to be more than just something ordinary was the peking duck put on top of the rice. It was so tender that having 1 slice only was definitely not enough. The fried rice itself was quite luscious, but I didn’t find anything exceptional from it.

Roasted Thai Style Chicken with Kafir Lime Sweet Chili (IDR 110k)
This chicken was a new menu here. It was perfectly cooked and the texture was lovely. The sauce itself was nice, but I guessed it still needed improvement for better taste.  

Twice-Cooked Beef Short Ribs with Sweet Fish Sauce, Cucumber and Nam Pla Prik (IDR 185k)
Sooo.. this was the award-winning savory dish! I loved every single thing about it. The beef was flawlessly cooked, making it to be super tender and juicy. Not stopping there, the sauce was also remarkable, certainly an impeccable companion to the dish!

Black Sticky Rice with Lychee, Ginger, Golden Treads and Mango Ice Cream (IDR 45k)

 

Yeay! Finally we arrived at the dessert part. Ok now I could start seeing a smile in your face as FINALLY, you could find pictures! This dessert’s presentation was beyond words. Compare it with the black sticky rice you bought from abang2 with gerobak for breakfast. Though the main dish was similar, the presentation was so different and the combination was surely poles apart. I loved the taste as it had balanced sweet level and the combination with lychee was surprisingly great. Though the mango ice cream tasted quite good, I didn’t think it suited this dish and I preferred to enjoy the two of them separately. One more thing, I didn’t say that this beat the abang2 version, especially if I considered the price :p.

Cocoa Ganache with Peanut Butter Palm Sugar Ice Cream and Honeycomb Crumble (IDR 50k)
 

I was really in love with this dessert because of 2 main reasons, I loved chocolate and I was a big big fan of peanut butter. Coming with the combination of that 2, this one was surely irresistible for me. The palm sugar ice cream itself was quite unique and the taste was not bad at all.

Mocha Cappuccino Ganache with Honeycomb and Coffee Granita (IDR 45k)

If you prefer coffee to chocolate, you might go for this instead of the previous one. However, I guessed you would find problem eating the honeycomb as it came in big piece and it was really hard to break it. I guessed it might be much better to serve it in the form of crumble like in the previous one. Personally, I loved the cocoa ganache more than this cappuccino one.

Nutella Steamed Buns with Coconut Ice Cream and Vietnamese Coffee (IDR 55k)
To be honest, I thought this dessert was quite over-priced. Yes, the Nutella steamed buns indeed tasted great because yeah, what could go wrong with Nutella. However, I didn’t think the price had to be that high. I didn’t think there’s anything special with the coconut ice cream and the coffee. However, in terms of appearance, the way it was served was marvelous.

Durian Panna Cotta with White Sticky Rice (IDR 55k)

Among all E&O’s desserts I’ve tried, this was of course the BEST and the UNBEATABLE one! Though the white sticky rice came in quite small size and you only got 2 of it, but the generous portion of the durian panna cotta itself certainly made the sticky rice problem forgettable. The texture of the panna cotta was perfectly moist and the durian flavor was so strong! A must-try for any durian lover!

Elderflower Cooler (IDR 45k)
This mocktail was indeed a perfect answer for the super hot weather of Jakarta. Combining Elderflower syrup, grapefruit, orange, ginger ale, and soda; it was surely a refreshing one!

All in all, I enjoyed my dining experience in E&O. The spacious place was really cozy for spending quite long time. For the service, the waiters/waitresses were highly responsive but it took quite long time for the chefs to prepare for your dish. Talking about taste, the dishes were great, as long as you picked ‘the right one’. However, remembering that each of their dishes was cooked uniquely, each person’s ‘right one’ might differ. So, you might try it by yourself to find your ‘right one’.

Taste: 8/10
Place: 9/10
Service: 8/10
Price: 7.5/10

Thanks for reading! :)


Eastern & Oriental
Address: Menara Rajawali 1st Floor
Phone: (021) 5761 645
Operating hours: 11am – 1am



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