Hey ho, the well known Red Tomato is changing name and you should know about it! I was lucky to be amongst the first people to know about this, and well, changing name is probably for their own good. Red Tomato sounded old and a little rejuvenating is definitely needed. So, here we were, Red & Co in Plaza Indonesia.
Interior-wise, I honestly couldn’t see much difference. But perhaps it’s because my visit was during the month of Ramadhan and all their wine/liquor collections were all covered up. Even so, the place looked comfortable enough for people to come by and stay for a good chat with friends.
I took a glimpse of the menu first hand and found many selections quite mouth-watering. Funnily, the number of selections for both food and beverages are almost equal. So, positively, Red & Co is making sure that their lovely patrons won’t ever be thirsty. You want juice? Checked. You want coffee and tea? Checked. You want mocktail? Checked too. Oh, you want beer? Checked! They even serve dessert drinks which I’m sure will be lovely and fulfilling.
Well, but it’s me we’re talking about and you know I’m more interested in food because hey, I’m a foodie! So, head down here for some revelation of the red! :p
# Truffle Fries (IDR 65 k)
I’m a big fan of truffle, and the truffle fries was bombarded with truffle and grana padano cheese, sooo, there’s no complaining here.
# Red & Co Lomie Noodle Soup (IDR 85 k)
I first thought it was Tom Yum Soup! But then again, the good aroma of this lomie gave it away. It was amongst the most favourite dishes we tried that day.
# Pork Belly Fried Rice (IDR 75 k)
Another favourite! Who can resist the pork belly temptation? I definitely can’t. The combination of spicy fried rice with the savouriness of the pork belly was good enough to have me screamed for more.
# Oxtail Fried Rice (IDR 95 k)
Tried this and thought that it lacked seasoning. The fried rice was a bit more to the bland side, but the grilled Oxtail helped make it better. I just wished they could add a bigger chunk of Oxtail for this fried rice.
# Bebek Goreng Cabe Ijo (IDR 95 k)
Love love love this Bebek Goreng Cabe Ijo, mostly because of the ass-kicking green chili. It was spicy and hot, just the way I liked it. The fried duck was pretty good, as the meat was tender inside. But if I am allowed to give input, the duck might need more seasoning to give extra punch to the overall dish.
# Dancing Pasta (IDR 85 k)
The star of the day! As the name suggests, the pasta isn’t actually dancing. Well, they top the pasta with katsuoboshi, so the katsuoboshi ‘dances’ (because of the heat of the pasta). The pasta itself is cooked with generous amount of seafood such as mussels, clams, prawns and squids. The result was an amusing rainbow of flavours. Well, for me it’s simply the winning dish here in Red & Co, mostly for its uniqueness and distinguishable character.
# Poached Chicken with Hainan Rice (IDR 85 k)
Another dish from the Asian department. The chicken here is a bit different because of the chosen method of cooking it. The chicken is poached until it reaches desired tenderness. In this way, the chicken will have a softer and smoother texture. Honestly, it didn’t work for me. I appreciate the significant tenderness, but it somehow loses the essence of the Hainanese Chicken everyone knows (and loves). But anyhow, I’m giving up a good point for the effort.
# Watermelon Park (IDR 45 k)
I’m all into mocktail, and eventually picked a glass here. This concoction is made of watermelon chunks, cucumber, vanilla syrup and lemon. I liked it pretty much! It’s sweet and refreshing. Hard to dislike this delicious glass.
Well, I personally see much improvement with Red & Co. Guess they’re actually heading at the right direction. Price-wise, I do think it’s pretty steep, adjustment is recommended to suit the decreasing power of buying these days.
Putting that aside, for those who are familiar with Red Tomato, you should give Red & Co a chance and have a taste of whatever they offer. Do try their Dancing Pasta and Red & Co Lomie Noodle Soup! Tell me what you think about it.
PS. You can always find me on instagram @prawnche 😉
RED & CO. | JAKARTA
PLaza Indonesia, LB #61
Jl. M.H. Thamrin No.28-30, Menteng, Central Jakarta
Phone: +6221-31900386
Facebook: Red & Co
Instagram: @rednco
