AOKI Japanese Cuisine Gran Mahakam Hotel Jakarta

April 3rd, 2014. This was my first time been in AOKI Japanese Cuisine which is located in Lower Lobby Level. We have to walk across Mahakam Bar and Lounge in Lobby Level. Then we will find stairs that heading directly to AOKI.

AOKI Japanese Cuisine has now revealed itself as the most stylish dining venue in the city. With a modern and private concept, our signature Japanese restaurant will serve authentic Japanese delicacies that will leave your senses completely amazed. With a warm combination of earthy and natural palette, this refurbished restaurant is illustrate dark wooden walls with touch of flower pattern wallpaper, blurring glass with overlaid laser-cut decorative ornamentation as panel dividing wall to separate between the public and private realms, comfortable white and lime green leather chairs and sofas, spacious natural wooden center piece table, black marble flooring and warm lighting effects are just some of the elements used to underscore the property’s five-star standing.

AOKI have many private rooms with sliding doors, but they also have public dining rooms, with beautiful wallpapers and flowers and candles. Lovely place to dine with your loved ones. I was amazed by their decorations. Neat but romantic.

Done with the environment, let me show you the cuisines :)

BEVERAGES

Ocha (hot and cold)

First they served hot ocha, but you all must know that I prefer cold ocha, so I ordered the cold one. :)

Soursop Juice 65k

I love soursop juice. A little bit sour, a little bit sweet, a little bit lovely. Remind me of myself. Sweet and adorable. Hahahaha.. ok, I think I have too much confidence right now. Please, behave!!

APPETIZER

Fresh Crab Salad 89k

Crab Meat and tofu with sesame dressing.

This was the starter. The appearance was not really appetizing. But when you put it in your mouth, you will be surprised. Heavenly delicious. Err.. actually it looked like a boat. :D A boat with crab meat and tofu hihihi..

Special Fresh Crab Hand Roll 75k

Crab Meat and Tuna Wrapped in Soy Paper.

Mamenori (まめのり), or soybean paper, also referred to as mame-nori-san (まめのりさん), are thin wrappers used as a substitute for nori, and may be used as a spring roll wrapper or as a dessert wrap.

AOKI was very creative. This hand roll was very similar to temaki sushi. But the usual temaki use nori sheet, AOKI use soy paper. Soy paper is more delicate than nori, but sometimes people don't like nori, so they used soy paper instead. The crab meat and tuna were very enticing and generous

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Sake Yaki Maki 109k

Rolled Crab Meat and Salmon on Top.

The name sake is believed to originate from the verb sakeru or to tear. The salmon was always cooked in Japan until recently and was one of the fishes that tore, or “flaked” easily when cooked. Thus the word sake (abbreviated term for tear) eventually took its place.

This sushi was very delicious. The feeling was like.. "Yo man.. there's party in my mouth. Everyone's invited!!" The aftertaste was to-die-for. The crab meat and salmon were dancing like there's no tomorrow. They add avocado slice on top and coated it with mayonnaise. Spectacular!

Crunchy Inari Sushi 85k

Rolled Skin Salmon with Japanese Bean Curd.

Inari Sushi is a pouch of fried tofu filled with usually just sushi rice. But AOKI made it differently with skin salmon. They add tobiko on top, made it prettier. The taste? Crunchy and sensational!!

Kaki Age Tempura 95k

Ebi and vegetables tempura with sweet and sour sauce.

First, I thought it was bakwan (vegetables fritters). Then, I saw that the bakwan was on top of some veggies and sauce. I looked at it and said to myself, "Wow, this is a new way to eat bakwan." But then, I realized, it's not bakwan. It's kaki age tempura. Hihihihi..  The sweet and sour sauce were balancing the taste of this tempura. I like the texture of it, light but crispy. The ebi was juicy and sweet.

Special Gyu Enoki Maki 95k

Rolled Beef with Enoki Mushroom.

I didn't surprise when I found out that this was one of AOKI signature dish. It was very simple dish. Enoki mushroom rolled with beef, and filled it with melted cheese. I love melted cheese. Ooooh so in love. It tasted so sweet, like dipped in teriyaki sauce. The crunchiness from enoki mushroom, the juice from the beef and the stringiness from the melted cheese, one word for this dish. Awesome!!!!

Spicy Beef Tenderloin - Wagyu 245k

with sesame and sweet sauce.

OMG! This is super-duper delish. The wagyu was tender and juicy. I was a little bit nervous because its name was spicy beef. But when I put it in my mouth, I melted. Yup, it's not the juicy beef that melted in my mouth, but it was me. Hihihi.. The sesame added a richness in this tenderloin. The sweet sauce made it perfect!

MAIN COURSE Dry Sukiyaki - USA (Sirloin) 399k

If you like sukiyaki, you should try this menu from AOKI.  AOKI served this sukiyaki a bit different from others. The beef and the vegetables cooked separately. I tried the sirloin beef from USA. Actually, if you don't like sirloin, they have rib eye instead. AOKI used shitake mushrooms, chinese cabbage, tofu (bean curd), onion and shirataki noodles. AOKI served this sukiyaki with rice and scrambled egg. You can see the result, below.

Shirataki (白滝, often written with the hiragana しらたき) are very low carbohydrate, low calorie, thin, translucent, gelatinous traditional Japanese noodles made from devil's tongue yam (elephant yam or the konjac yam). The word "shirataki" means "white waterfall", describing the appearance of these noodles. Largely composed of water and glucomannan, a water-soluble dietary fiber, they have little flavor of their own.

DESSERT

Mochi Ice Cream (Matcha, Vanilla) 50k

This was a cute dessert. Mochi is the most Japanese of desserts, made of a sticky ball of sweet rice flour. Actually, mochi is known as japanese version of marshmallow. The texture was smooth, silky and easy to chew. It was a little bit similar to marshmallow but more sticky. I was hoping they had chocolate ice cream in it, but unfortunately, only matcha and vanilla. You shouldn't miss this matcha when you eat at AOKI.

Es Kopyor Durian 90k

This es kopyor durian quenched your thirst right away after you sipped it. The durian was very aromatic. The sweet-smelling from the syrup mixed perfectly with the kopyor and durian. It's unforgettable. Well, durian is always good. My hubby could eat a big fat durian all by himself. *sigh* Sometimes I could see that he wished I didn't like durian, so he could eat all alone hahahaha.. Too bad!! I love durian too hohohoho

I couldn't thank AOKI enough for those outstanding food. I love Japanese food. And, I can tell you frankly, those food from AOKI: superb!!

Gran Mahakam Hotel
Jl. Mahakam I No.6, Blok M
Jakarta 12130
Telp: 021-7209966
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