Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Transformation from Duck Hater to Duck Lover by Holyduck



Having been successful with Holywings, now this restaurant group spreads its wings to the world of Indonesian cuisines with its newly opened restaurant, Holyduck. Located right on top of Holywings PIK outlet, the venue is not a gigantic one, yet spacious enough for typical restaurant in PIK area. It brings out the Balinese concept for its design, making the venue covered with paintings representing traditional Balinese costumes and the music completed with traditional Balinese instruments. Even when you take the stairs going up to the spot from Holywings, you can already feel like back to nature with the flowers all around you. Great food for the eyes, isn’t it?



Represented by the name, this new comer in town mostly sells duck-based dishes, including its appetizers. However, you needn’t worry if you’re not that big fan of duck, since they do serve chicken-based ones and mostly all the menu are available in both duck and chicken. When I firstly knew about dish, my heart actually cheered as I was not that much into duck. Well, when chicken’s available I would surely go for chicken. But pssttttt! For you who’s now thinking about the same thing as me, wait until you read the full review and be ready to get surprised ;)



So at that time, I was actually visiting the place with my other foodie friends (@yennymakanmulu, @fionatjo, @leonardtjoe, @whats_up_jakarta, and @designerdoyanmakan), who’re all duck lovers. So guess what? Yes, absolutely they started to order anything with duck. Luckily, they’re also curious to try the chicken so I could be a little bit relieved since I would still have my part in case the duck didn’t suit my palate LOL.
 
Lumpia Bebek (IDR 27.5k)
The truth was then revealed by the finger food, which kick-started our lunch in Holyduck; Lumpia Bebek (IDR 27.5k). It was basically crispy springrolls with duck and vegetable stuffing. When I firstly looked at the dish, I thought it would just taste like any other spring rolls commonly. Nevertheless, this golden brown little fellas successfully surprised me with its scrumptious taste! Not only the stuffing was generously given, but also the dipping consisting of peanut sauce and sambal combrong faultlessly came as perfect companions to the springrolls. When people said that first impression did significantly matter, I couldn’t agree more as this first meal indeed got me at my very first bite.  

Sate Lilit (IDR 35k)


Not satisfied with one appetizer only, we also went for Sate Lilit (IDR 35k); chicken and fish satay served with Balinese herbs. I always loved Sate Lilit and great news, this one did not fail to satisfy me as well. It was well-seasoned and I could say that it’s comparable to the original one I usually had in Bali.

Next one was the ‘Trio Kwek-Kwek’. Well, probably not all of you were aware of them as they’re the children trio when I was in elementary. Okay forget about that, I was going to talk about the three duck-based dishes we ordered; Signature Crispy Duck, Bebek Betutu, and Bebek Lombok Ijo (IDR 77k each). Not stopping at the appetizer only in surprising me, Holyduck once again pampered my taste bud with something I said I didn’t fancy in the beginning. All these duck were extremely good!! Well, too good to be true for me! They all came in very tender texture and they didn’t have that duck smell or after-taste, which were the two biggest problems I typically had with duck.

Signature Crispy Duck (IDR 77k)
Urap
Bebek Betutu (IDR 77k)
Plecing Kangkung
Bebek Lombok Ijo (IDR 77k)
Though all of them mainly contained duck, each had its own uniqueness. The first one would best suit those who’re in love with anything fried, the second would please those who liked soupy dish with rich combination of herbs, while the third would delight those who’re fond of grilled meal and spicy sauce. Another interesting fact, each of them were served with different types of veggies; first came with urap (boiled veggies with shredded coconut toppings), second with plecing kangkung (boiled water spinach with red chili sauce) and third with sauteed cassava leaves with Teri. All the veggies were so fresh and luscious as well, made me wondering that being healthy should be no more hard. Just to note, the pairing of the main dish and the veggie were actually the ideal combination offered by the restaurant, but the guest was always open for the option to request for other type of veggie. My personal favorite was urap as I was kind of addicted to almost anything with coconut.


Kacang Panjang Kalasan (IDR 22.5k)
Adding more greens on the table, we also tried Kacang Panjang Kalasan (IDR 22.5k); long bean sautéed with the blend of coriander, candlenut, turmeric, shallot, and garlic. Not much thing to say, Indonesian was undeniably talented in mixing spices and Holyduck immaculately prove they’re one of those gifted Indonesians.

Having been mesmerized by the duck, I still did not want to miss the chicken, particularly since it was the most distinctive one for me. Why is that so? It’s due to the chicken dish my friends and I ordered; Ayam Pelalah Bali (IDR 68k). I’d never in my lifetime heard of the term ‘Pelalah’ before, thus I was curious yet excited to figure out how it actually looked like. Being served on the table, I then found out that it’s shredded chicken with Balinese traditional Matah sauce; yes those tons of chilies and onions. Hands down to this dish, it’s not the name alone making it become so special, but the taste did turn it to be my top of mind from Holyduck. It might be a little bit too spicy for some people, but if you belonged to the spicy-tolerant gang, this was immaculately heaven! The texture was as tender as the duck and as the chicken was complete shredded already, hence it’s also the simplest one to be enjoyed.

Ayam Pelalah Bali *Top Right* (IDR 68k)
In the end, Holyduck had impeccably shifted my perception toward duck. If all duck in any other places could taste this awesome, from now on I would hate duck no more and I would probably even welcome my own self into the duck-lover club.


Taste: 9/10
Place: 8/10
Service: 8/10
Price: 8.5/10


Thanks for reading! :)


Holyduck
Address: Ruko Crown Golf B 52-56 lvl.2, Jl. Pantai Indah Selatan 1 Blok DA No.2, Pantai Indah Kapuk, Jakarta
Phone: +62 878 8711 1168
Operating Hours: Mon – Sun 10am – 10pm


Find me on:
Inputs & comments: jessicagaby@ymail.com

No comments:

Post a Comment