the park lane – yennymakanmulu

January 31st, 2015. The Park Lane Jakarta invited some foodies again to have lunch at Riva Grill Bar and Terrace. It’s a special event, where Riva introduced new menus. The magic hands of Chef Deden will enchant us right away.

Welcome Drink

When we arrived, they served us welcome drink. A very exotic mocktail with lovely colour. I forgot the name. But it was definitely refreshing and thirst-quenching.

Complimentary Bread

SMALL PLATES MENU

FROM THE GARDEN

Green Spinach Salad 65k

Australian spinach, strawberry and roasted almond flakes with lemon and olive oil dressing.

Red and Green. It’s like the colour of Christmas. I never liked green colour, but when you mix it with red, it became my favourite colour, Christmas colour 🙂 Ok, let’s talk about the taste. As you all know, vegetables were not my favourite anymore, but I can eat vegetables if a must. Funny thing, this spinach is so delicious, I could eat a full plate of it. And actually the almond flakes were the star in my mouth. Nice starter for that day.

Thai Garden Mango Salad 75k

Coriander roots, lemon juice and chili dressing.

Mango salad. Hmm.. I love mango, but not in salad hahaha.. The presentation was beautiful. But, actually the mango salad was not as I expected. But I believe it was super healthy hahaha.. Well for me, mango salad should taste like a fresh and fragrant meadows. And this one lacked of it. Only sour and a bit spicy.

Spanish Potato Fritata 65k

With mesclun salad and fresh tomato sauce.

Love it. I always love everything that are cooked with egg. Actually it’s like omelette but with spanish style. It’s very tasty. The fresh tomato sauce really enhanced the flavour of this fritata. But, this was one of the best starters. You should try this one when you eat at Riva. Recommended.

Frittata is an egg-based Italian dish similar to an omelette or crustless quiche, enriched with additional ingredients such as meats, cheeses, vegetables or pasta. The word frittata is Italian and translates to “fried”.

FROM THE SEA

Salmon Tortelinni 135k

Truffle cream sauce.

For me, the presentation was pretty simple. The truffle cream sauce was outstanding with rich texture and sensational flavour. The tortelinni was in a right texture. It was good to eat salmon with great pasta and great sauce.

Tortellini are ring-shaped pasta, sometimes also described as “navel shaped”, hence their alternative name of “belly button”. They are typically stuffed with a mix of meat or cheese.

Sauteed Salty Prawns 130k

With 2 types of tofu, crispy garlic, spring onion, hot chillies and rock salt.

They used 2 types of tofu. I love the tender one 🙂 The prawn was salty *of course* and a little bit spicy. It’s also well-seasoned. But for me, it’s a little bit too chewy. I missed the crunch crunch feeling when I bite the prawn.

Lobster Bisque 130k

With Japanese shimeji mushroom and crouton.

The presentation was very simple. But the foam made it a little bit classy. I think every dish that is using foam is classy hahaha.. Well, the lobster was lovely. I didn’t find a smelly lobster there. It’s kinda thick and rich of flavour. Hmmm.. need more croutons 😀

FROM THE FARM

Javanese Oxtail Consomme 195k

With oxtail terrine and vegetable brunoise.

To make a perfect consommé needs a high skill. This oxtail consommé was delicious. A little bit too salty for me, but you can balance it with white rice *yeah rite Yen, you wish* The oxtail terrine was tender. How to eat this dish? Just pour the consommé to the oxtail terrine, just like the photo below. And voila, ready to eat the dish 😀

In cooking, a consommé is a type of clear soup made from richly flavored stock or bouillon that has been clarified, a process which uses egg whites to remove fat and sediment. A consommé is made by adding a mixture of ground meats, together with mirepoix (a combination of carrots, celery, and leek), tomatoes, and egg whites into either bouillon or stock.

A terrine (French pronunciation: [tɛ.ʁin]) is a French forcemeat loaf similar to a pâté, made with more coarsely chopped ingredients. Terrines are usually served cold or at room temperature.

Brunoise is a culinary knife cut in which the food item is first julienned and then turned a quarter turn and diced again, producing cubes of about 3 mm or less on each side, or 1/8-inch dice. In France, a “brunoise” cut is smaller, 1 to 2 mm on each side, or 1/16-inch dice. Some typical vegetables for a brunoise are carrots, celery, leeks, and turnips. The diced vegetables are blanched briefly in salty boiling water and then submerged in salted ice water for a few seconds to set the color. The brunoise is used as a garnish in many dishes; it is often used to garnish consommé. A brunoise should be consistent in size and shape, as this helps to create a pleasing and professional presentation.

Riva Spring Roll 85k

Chicken, prawn and foie gras with blue cheese dip.

I love how they make the spring roll. It’s not too big, and not too small. Just the right size. Can you imagine, with the size, they filled it with chicken, prawn and foie gras? Dip it into the blue cheese. Aaaahmaziiiing!! You won’t notice that you’ve already eaten them all by yourself.

Chicken and Scallion Kuo Tie 95k

Pan fried chicken dumpling with soy chili sauce.

Yeah rite. Chicken kuo tie. Errr.. I prefer pork. LOL. Pork Kuo Tie please! Well, I had to accept that I ate chicken kuo tie 🙂 The filling was generous. And it tasted delicious.