“What is your favourite cuisine?”
Well, I got asked quite often about this question, and honestly, my answer often falls between American to Italian cuisine. But the truth is, without me actually realizing, Indonesian cuisine is one underlying favourite, one that exists without being asked for.
How’s not? I mean, I am an Indonesian and throughout my years of growth, I have been living by the mercy of almost all kinds of Indonesian cuisine, and let me remind you that Indonesian cuisine is one rich and complex cuisine, with many origins, and lots of distinctive backgrounds. At this point, it’s undoubtedly come as my staple food. And I think I dare to say the same for most (if not all) Indonesians.
But did you realize that our staple food, the rich yet often underrated cuisine, can actually be equal to the other international cuisines?
1945 is here to prove it. Located in a prestigious area and hotel – Fairmont Jakarta, 1945 Restaurant exists in the wake and trace of Indonesia’s Independence Day. Established just last year on August, 17th, 1945 is determined to showcase the true beauty of Indonesian cuisine. Even architecture and interior-wise, they manage to create a feeling of exclusitivity in a very Indonesian way. Their main dining area is one of the comfort zones, with a concept of fine-dining ambiance. They have great lounge and also a special egg room, a private egg-shaped room enough to occupy up to 18 people. Oh, even the music setting at the background is staying true to traditional Indonesian rhymes.
Taste-wise, I got the first hand experience just last weekend to taste their new premium menus, which honestly, stunned me in intriguing ways. I could feel that they are very determined to reimagine plenty of infamous Indonesian dishes in order to challenge its limit and improve its level of prestige. Its refers to the Indonesian cuisine.
Let me elaborate in detail about food and drinks that I tasted in that evening. 😉
# Fruity Lime Granita (IDR 50k)
My evening started pretty with this beautiful mocktail, icy lime granita with mulberry syrup. It’s simply refreshing and a good feat for a good day. I especially love the pungent fresh lime sensation. It’s a good wake up call for those who lack sleep. 😉
# Iced Soda Gandul (IDR 50k)
This is my second encounter with blue pea flowers in a drink. If you haven’t read my previous review in C’s Steak, then I will enlight you. Blue pea flowers are quite common around here. Sometimes you can meet these beauties on the street, but many of us actually have no idea that they’re edible flowers. In fact, blue pea flowers aren’t only edible, they produce unique sweetness if processed right. So, in this case, 1945 makes a pretty yet unique drink out of it. Not only pretty and unique, the taste was actually really great. The exotic flavour and sweetness, combined with the ginger soda made the whole drink worth your special attention.
# Rujak Manggaroska (IDR 110k)
Aside from those mocktails mentioned above, I did try their signature cocktail. Like I said, everything served here in 1945 is Indonesian, so their cocktail selections are faithfully Indonesian too. Like this Rujak Manggatoska, it is consisted of many ingredients such as red chili pepper, mango, kaffir leaves, tamarind, palm sugar, mango vodka, mango pickle and chili lime salt. The result is very exotic.
# Sayur Asem Octopus (IDR 95k)
“Sayur Asem” (Indonesian sour soup with vegetables) is never my cup of tea, figuratively speaking. I found many people around me that love this strange soup. Mom, dad and sis are always looking for this soup everytime we go to Indonesian restaurant. TBH, I wasn’t too excited for this particular dish.
Here, the presentation itself is rather unique. The prawn, scallop, shimeji and octopus are served dry on a wide and shallow bowl, and the soup itself is prepared in a small teapot. (Oh, did I mention that all the dinnerware is handmade in Bali? I’m in love with the plates and the bowls!) The how-to-eat instruction is simple. Just pour all the hot soup to the bowl and it’s ready to be enjoyed.
To cut short, this reimagined Sayur Asem Octopus managed to shove my skeptism away. The complex taste was so rich and intense, the seafood was fresh and the soup texture was rather thick, perfect to my liking. One thing that really captivated my appetite was the clean sweet-ish aftertaste! It perhaps will change my perspective towards “sayur asem” forever.
# Buntel Rice Burger (IDR 110k)
This is another creation, traditional lamb dish, but with a twist. Well, if you still think that Indonesian cuisine can’t compete with American cuisine, this will definitely be the one to prove you wrong.
When burger usually comes with beef/lamb patty and a bun, this comes with Indonesian buntel (lamb patty) and grilled rice cake. The taste of the buntel was very Indonesian, very clean, mainly because of the fragrant sweet soy sauce, and it was perfect to eat along with the rice cake. If I could be just selfish, I’d prefer a bit more of the daring typical buntel flavour (because traditional buntel usually has this rather intense lamb flavour). However, in a more open-minded perspective, I do think that this is perfect. I believe that people in general (and the majority of non-Indonesian patrons) will be able to appreciate and enjoy more Indonesian cuisine in this approach.
# Pepes Seafood (IDR 250k)
Another infamous Indonesian dishes, but of course, everything created by 1945 is expected to come with a twist. Despite its minimalistic presentation, I should warn you that this Pepes is packed with one heck of gorgeous flavours. Even more, the outer layer of the traditional pepes normally is banana leaf, but in 1945’s interpretation, the pepes is wrapped with phyllo pastry, which conveniently, can be enjoyed altogether with the flavourful inside. For this, I should actually give a standing ovation. *clap clap while standing* But really, I think that this is simply a brilliant move. Oh, wait, you probably think that, “Oh no, the essence of using banana leaf as the wrapping is that it could infuse the earthy aroma coming from the leaf”. So, to counter that, I should say that, funnily enough, the typical intense flavour was still all there. I don’t know how 1945 did this, but they nailed this like a true Indonesian. The basil gorgeous flavour was vividly there, along with the seafood goodness. Hands down the best Indonesian dish I’d ever tried.
# Martabak Wagyu (IDR 140k)
Unconventionally, 1945 recreates the infamous savoury martabak in the shape of a humongous money bag made of phyllo pastry. Interestingly enough, they also use one of the most premium meat, Wagyu beef, and duck egg as the filling plus a handful of pomelo. If you pay attention to my pictures above, you might see these little blocks of brown jelly cubes. Those tiny blocks are supposed to be the “dipping sauce”.
The result was pretty mind-blowing. The savouriness was spot on, and the wagyu beef was super tender. Even the brown jelly cubes could actually compensate really well for the standard dipping sauce. I bet no one has ever experienced this kind of sensation in standard martabak joints, at least not for now!
# Frozen Srikaya Soufflé (IDR 80k)
To close the wonderful experience, we had the Indonesian soufflé. The soufflé is deliciously filled with luscious frozen srikaya and it is presented with pandan-flavoured glutinous rice cake. The overall taste was pretty good.
Well, I know this post is super long, but I just tried to be as detailed as possible in writing about 1945 Restaurant. And yes, 1945 Restaurant impressed me that much, especially because it is one of those restaurants that was built with passion and love as the primary foundation in the very first place. They simply escalate the whole dining experience in terms of both taste and presentation, and more importantly, dining in here even makes me more proud than ever in our very own cuisine.
My suggestion? Plan your weekend (or weekdays are fine too!) this week with your partner, family or friends and be the judge for yourself. Plus, they are also having an exciting promotion! In celebrating 1945’s 1st Anniversary and also, Indonesia’s Independence Day, all patrons can enjoy 17.08% discount for every transaction (not including wine and cannot be combined with other promotions) with no minimum payment. That’s the more reason for you to visit 1945, right? 😉
1945 RESTAURANT | JAKARTA
FAIRMONT JAKARTA
Jl. Asia Afrika No.8
Gelora Bung Karno
Jakarta, Indonesia, 10270
Phone: +6221-29039179
Email: reservation@1945.co.id
Website: www.fairmont.com/jakarta/
Operational Hours:
12:00 – 22:00 (Lounge)
12:00 – 15:30 (Lunch)
18:30 – 22:00 (Dinner)
Dress Code:
Smart casual