Panang curry with duck breast and lychees, from Mango Tree Bistrobar. (JG Photo/Sylviana Hamdani)
Jakarta. Indonesia’s capital has long been a haven for food lovers. In every corner of the city, eateries and restaurants abound offering cuisine from every corner of the archipelago and the world. Each seems to have found its own niche among the city’s discerning diners.
One type of cuisine that has grown in popularity in recent years is Thai, encouraged in part by the growth of budget airlines that have brought the two countries closer together. And restaurateurs have been quick to exploit the increased interest in the Land of Smiles and its dishes.
“Thai cuisine uses similar ingredients to much of the food we are used to in Indonesia,” says Joscelyn Muliadi, director of Mango Tree Bistrobar at Plaza Senayan in South Jakarta. “Thus it has almost similar flavors, albeit more sour and spicy.”
Joscelyn says the flavors are “never boring. Every bite tantalizes the tastebuds and increases the appetite.”
The Muliadi family owns the franchise for the Coca Suki restaurants and Mango Tree Bistrobar in Indonesia. These restaurants offer authentic Thai cuisine and are only getting more popular, Joscelyn says.
The first Mango Tree Bistrobar opened at Epicentrum Walk in Kuningan, South Jakarta, in November 2012 and it has been a favorite haunt of the Kuningan office crowd ever since.
Following the success of its first restaurant, the group decided to open another branch at Plaza Senayan.
“Plaza Senayan is a central, easily accessible location,” Joscelyn says. “The mall is popular, so it’s a good way to boost the restaurant’s brand.”
The new Mango Tree Bistrobar has a quite different decor from the first one. It offers a muted, classy ambience with its whitewashed brick walls, sleek black panels, industrial-style steel chandeliers and pop-art wall paintings that give the restaurant a swanky feel.
At the heart of the restaurant is a sleek long marble bar that seats 12 people, with an illuminated cabinet featuring premium wines and spirits in neat rows.
Across from the bar is the glass-paneled open kitchen, from where guests can see their meals being prepared.
Chef Peerapong Kuvajuntranun from Bangkok and his team offer authentic Thai cuisine with creative twists.
“We only use the best fresh ingredients for our foods,” he says. “And we make everything new each day, including the pastes and sauces.”
Freshness is paramount here.
The classic tom yum seafood broth, for instance, is infused with fresh herbs and spices that give off a heady, inviting aroma. The saffron-hued soup is creamy, yet light, and the flavor is a mix of sour and savory.
“What makes it so special is that we use fresh lime juice, instead of the readily available and commonly used lime powder,” Peerapong says. “And we also use our own homemade tom yum paste.”
Another Thai classic is the papaya salad, made with grated young papaya mixed with crushed peanuts and hard-boiled salted eggs.
The result is an interesting mix of sweet, sour and savory tastes.
The chef’s recommended main dish is the grilled beef neck, from the menu.
The beef is served in lean slices on a platter, with mango salad and authentic jim jaew sauce on the side. The meet is soft, yet sinewy, which makes it enjoyable to chew and savor over a dinner conversation. And the sticky sauce coats the meat in a sweet and spicy flavor.
Another of the chef’s recommendations is the Panang curry.
It’s a mild curry that diners can choose to have with various meats or vegetables. I found the curry with barbecued duck particularly good. It comes with lean cutlets of duck breast in thick curry sauce, topped with fresh lychees.
Lychees might seem an odd accompaniment to a curry dish, let alone one with duck, but the combination is a winning one. The fresh sweetness of the lychees explodes in the mouth, and the taste goes well with the savoriness of the curry and the duck meat.
“In my opinion, it’s the champion among all the dishes on the menu,” my dining companion gushed.
Mango Tree Bistrobar has also worked with Bangkok-based American celebrity mixologist Joseph Boroski to create a whole new range of cocktails based on Thai herbs and spices.
The most popular ones are the Muay Thai Kick and the Krungthep Cocktail.
The Muay Thai Kick is an amber-hued cocktail made with bourbon and coconut palm sugar, which is then infused with fresh pandanus leaves for a sweet-smelling aroma. The drink tastes both sweet and bitter.
“It’s the strongest among all our cocktails and a favorite among our male clientele,” Joscelyn says.
The Krungthep Cocktail is made with Thai tea, London gin, fresh tangerine juice and a dash of pure honey. Served in a highball glass, this sunny-hued drink is topped with foy thong , a Thai dessert made from egg yolk, over a bed of crushed ice.
The drink tastes sweet and refreshing, with a hint of citrus aroma from the tangerine.
“It’s a favorite of our women clientele, as well as mine,” Joscelyn says with a smile.
That kind of flavor comes at a price, though. The cocktails cost Rp 150,000 ($13.35) before tax.
Appetizers go up to Rp 65,000++, while the mains are priced between Rp 43,000++ and Rp 135,000++.
Mango Tree Bistrobar plans to open another restaurant in Jakarta and Seminyak, Bali, by the end of this year.
Mango Tree Bistrobar
Plaza SenayanLevel P5Jl. Asia AfrikaSouth JakartaTel. 021 572 5338
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