Ron’s laboratory, above, serves up a unique array of desserts. (Photo courtesy of Ron’s Laboratory)
As the fast-paced Jakarta metropolis spurs its inhabitants onwards in a frantic 24/7 rat race, it seems the only saving grace is the city’s hang-out places to unwind with friends and family.
One such recently opened spot is Ron’s Laboratory at Grand Indonesia Shopping Town, Central Jakarta. The dessert house offers unique gelatos, sorbets and refreshing drinks.
“For me, the word desserts is the opposite of stressed,” said chef, founder and co-owner Ronald Prasanto.
“When I’m stressed, I eat desserts,” he added, with a laugh. “It usually helps to improve my mood.”
The 32-year-old is both a chef and a coffee expert. In early 2010, Ronald established the Avantie Can Cook restaurant in Teraskota Mall in BSD, Tangerang, with his cousin.
Ronald’s culinary expertise is self-taught. When he was still studying in university, Ronald also worked as a dishwasher in one of Jakarta’s five-star hotels for a couple of years. During his spare time, he learned cooking from the hotel’s chefs.
On the internet, he got to know a famous Spanish chef who later introduced him to the secrets of “molecular gastronomy.”
“We exchanged knowledge,” the self-taught coffee expert said. “He taught me about molecular gastronomy and I taught him about coffee.”
According to Ronald, the exchange of knowledge expanded his culinary horizons.
“Molecular gastronomy is how we present food and drinks in a fun way,” he said. “And I think the fun is really worth its difficult processes and expensive ingredients.”
“After all, fun is what we live for, isn’t it?” Ronald added, with a mischievous smile.
With two of his good friends, Ronald then set up Ron’s Laboratory and brought all the fun of molecular gastronomy to their new place.
The dessert house offers a rich variety of gelatos, sorbets, coffees, teas and milkshakes made with molecular gastronomic techniques.
(Photo courtesy of Ron’s Laboratory)
A favorite gelato at Ron’s Laboratory is the red velvet.
The crimson-hued gelato looks very appetizing. There are three large scoops of it served in a medium-sized carton cup. A faux syringe, which contains a milky white substance, sticks out from the gelato.
“The syringe contains cream cheese, which nicely balances the sweetness of the gelato,” Ronald said.
With the syringe, the guests can easily inject the suitable amount of cream cheese to balance the flavors.
Each gelato comes with a different accompaniment.
Avocado gelato, for example, comes with dark espresso in the syringe. The result is a delectable combination of bitter-sweet flavors in the dessert.
Vanilla gelato comes with a dash of caramel sauce, which results in a pleasant blend of sweet flavors.
The house’s gelatos have a smooth silky feel and delicate flavors. When swallowed, they don’t leave a lingering milky taste at the back of the tongue.
According to the chef, the gelato’s smooth texture and clean aftertaste is the result of molecular gastronomy techniques in the cooking process.
“It’s made with liquid nitrogen, which freezes the gelato at 197 degrees Celsius,” he said. “The colder it is, the smoother the texture of the gelato will be.”
According to the chef, the use of liquid nitrogen to freeze the gelato is perfectly safe as it is not eaten and used only during the making process.
“About 70 percent of the air we breathe contains nitrogen,” he said. “For molecular gastronomy, the nitrogen is condensed to a liquid form that has a very cold temperature. This is used to freeze the gelato blend and then it evaporates into the air.”
Liquid nitrogen is also used to make some of the gelato’s toppings. The dragon’s breath, for example, is made of popcorn dipped in liquid nitrogen.
The popcorn tastes crisp and icy cold in the mouth. And when you munch them, your mouth and nostrils emit thin tendrils of mist, just like dragon’s breath in movies.
Ronald also uses liquid nitrogen to make the house’s iced americano. Visitors enjoy a mini performance from the chef when making this simple drink.
Ronald poured steaming liquid nitrogen into the iced water in a tumbler glass. Upon contact with the liquid nitrogen, the nitrogen hissed as it boiled and evaporated, freezing the water. The chef then poured hot espresso on top of the ice.
For a minute or two, the coffee and water remained separated, the dark espresso sitting on top and the ice below. Then slowly, the hot espresso melted the ice, trailing down to blend with the water.
“The taste is not much different to other iced americano, but the show is fun for the guests to watch,” Ronald said.
Ron’s Laboratory mostly uses Italian coffees for its espresso-based drinks.
“Italian coffee best complements the flavors of our gelatos,” he said.
The dessert house also serves Indonesian coffees, such as Aceh Gayo from Aceh, Sumatra, and Sunda Hejo from Bandung, West Java, for its manual brews.
“Like women without make-up, manual brew is coffee at its purest, unadulterated state,” he said. “You should drink it straight without adding any sugar to it.”
To make manual brews, Ronald uses high-quality coffee beans, which he grinds and brews in a glass pot with steaming hot water.
“The speed and consistency of the pour determines the taste of the drink,” he said.
The Aceh Gayo that I took was full-bodied, bitter and a little acidic.
“Don’t worry,” Ronald said. “All the coffees in our manual brews are Arabica, which contain 50 percent less caffeine. It won’t upset your stomach.”
Ron’s Laboratory plans to add more desserts to its menu soon. Coming up next is mung-bean gelato.
“I was inspired by the traditional dessert from Solo,” he said. “During my childhood, my mother often made this drink and served it with brown sugar.”
At the dessert house, the gelato will be extracted from real mung beans and served with a choice of liquefied brown sugar or coconut milk in a faux syringe.
The dessert house also plans to add homemade lava cake and souffles to its menu in a couple of weeks.
Or if you want to get creative with your gelatos the dessert house allows you to bring your own unique ingredients, at no additional cost, to add to your gelatos. The chef will then combine the ingredients into your gelato for a new and interesting flavor especially made for you.
“Ron’s Laboratory is a place where the guests can have fun and experiment with their food,” he said.
Ron’s Laboratory
Grand Indonesia Shopping Town West Mall
Jl. MH Thamrin No. 1, Central Jakarta
Open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
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