Having my attention got stolen by its tempting molten lava cake, FJ Bistro successfully made me browsing for more information about its restaurant. Apparently it's no more a new comer, and they've even been long well-known for not only their restaurant but also their delicatessen.
The empire resided at South area, taking over the second floor of a huge two-storey building at Kemang. The first floor was such distraction for me as they were occupied by several shops with contemporary-designed clothing. So there I were, getting stucked for awhile before finally going upstairs.
Having the intention to serve families with members using wheelchairs or those who brought strollers (at least in my guesstimate), the venue was equipped by elevator. Well, I might need to add the guests who were too lazy to take stairs as well in the list as I did belong to this last group *LOL*.
Reaching the second level, my friends and I were greet by FJ's awesome interior, being classic, elegant, yet pretty casual at the same time. They might sound kinda contradicting, but I thought that's what looked like in actual as the venue was decorated with the combination of wooden texture and white colors that made overall appearance looked luxurious, as well as live green plants that gave more refreshing and relaxing ambiance. This made the visitors looked kinda various as well, ranging from those dressed formally in suits and dresses, to the ones who were more casual with shirts and pants.
The 'green look' was surely not wasted as the restaurant provided outdoor seating, where the guests could enjoy the atmosphere of getting back into the nature. It's like a quite private open-air balcony, being surrounded with green walls and tall trees. The green alley was also a perfect spot to take panoramic snaps, giving the scenery of a beautiful garden. I seemed to have complete package of foods for the day; both the eyes and the soul!
Those who preferred the indoor area would also get spoiled by the cozy tone since you would feel as if you're sitting in the middle of gigantic living room with many sofas sitting next to each other. For having heavy meals, you might fancy the spot with high tables more, but if you jusy came for chilling, low-table spaces or even the seats by the long bar table might suit you best.
The long and huge bar table wasn't merely decoration as well since FJ Bistro did have long selections of cocktails, mocktails, and other alcohol-based drinks. Not only that, fresh juices and smoothies were also there to serve those who had higher health-concern.
Red Defender (IDR 60k)
Quenching the thirst with something healthy, my friend opted for this blend of red grape, watermelon, and strawberry. The name was quite funny for me personally as it seemed like kind of super hero. Taste wise, nothing so special to be highlighted as my friend said that it's pretty similar to common watermelon juice since this fruit dominated the whole flavor.
FJ Fruit Punch (IDR 65k)
Same as other fruit punch in any places, the ingredients were mainly orange, pineapple, lime, guava, sprite, and grenadine syrup. A great refresher in the middle of hot and sunny Jakarta, blending both fruits and soda. It might taste pretty sweet in the beginning so you had to let the ice cubes melt first, before enjoying the drink.
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| Complimentary Bread |
The dishes offered here gave you quite rich options with International concept being provided, serving Indonesian, Japanese, Western, and many more types of cuisines. Thereby, this bistro might suit various types of preferences; those who loved lighter ones like bread and sandwich, or heavier ones like pasta, or Indonesian-taste ones which couldn't get full without rice.
Aglio Olio Pasta (IDR 120k)
From the pasta selections, you're actually having several choices from spaghetti, fettuccine, penne, even linguine and capellini. The classic sauces like bolognaise, carbonara, marinara, and aglio olio were definitely served there. This time we opted for the last as it's the one suiting everyone's preferences. For the proteins, again it's left to the guests to pick, where they provided seafood, bacon, or chicken. Blue prawn was the special topping, sold at slightly more expensive price. Ours were that 'ngok ngook' (read: pork) one and it's such pleasure to know they were quite generous in giving the toppings. Yeah, at least they didn't disappoint us as the price was quite expensive for this simple dish despite that the size was indeed huge.
The taste was generally pleasant as the pasta was cooked al dente, the oil and garlic taste were bold and the smell were so seductive, and most importantly the bacon made it yummier by becoming the 'extra-spice kick' for the dish with its salty taste and crispy texture.
Honestly speaking, at the first sight this ox-tongue rice bowl wasn't that appealing to me. The rice looked quite a lot compared to the beef and again it was another pricey dish. However, when I started diggin' into the bowl, having some spoons of it, I figured out that the ox-tongue slices were actually a lot!! Only because the rice was indeed too much, causing me at first thought that the bowl was dominated by rice.
I loved how all ingredients in the bowl were well-blended that every single spoon out of it were so tasty. The ox-tongue slices were perfect in texture as well, being juicy and tender, perfectly paired by the warm fluffy rice, just like the typical Japanese one. Though I might want to recommend them to reduce the rice portion a little, I guessed there might be guests who fancied such huge portion.
Red Velvet Pie (IDR 62.7k)
When you later made a visit to the place, you would get why I couldn't resist ordering the dessert. Simple reason, when you firstly reached the venue, you would be firstly greet by the cake display. Not following the mainstream, I didn't go for the chocolate ones but the Red Velvet instead.
Well, unfortunately I kinda regretted my decision as the cake didn't really suit my dessert preference, particularly my kind of red velvet. Sorry to say, but it was overly creamy for my palate. I also wished the peanuts more to nougat alike instead of merely peanut chunks :( . I guessed I should've gone for its specialist - the chocolate ones.
In a nutshell, FJ Bistro was a great space to spend time for chilling or meeting-ups regardless it's a formal or a casual one. Though you had to 'dig a bit deeper into your pocket' when dining here, the heavy meals were overall enjoyable. Happy to share another nice option in Southern Jakarta! Perhaps the next one to try would be their Rooftop Bar (FJ on 7), FJ Grill, or FJ Patisserie and Rotisserie.
Taste: 7.5/10
Place: 8/10
Service: 7.5/10
Price: 7/10
Thanks for reading! :)
FJ BISTRO AND DELI
Address: Jl. Kemang Raya No. 6, Jakarta
Phone: (+62 21) 7182 736
Operating Hours: Mon - Sun 12pm - 11pm
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Inputs & comments: jessicagaby@ymail.com
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