AW Kitchen Jakarta by Akira Watanabe Plaza Senayan Jakarta

June 26th, 2014. I had dinner at AW Kitchen Jakarta. AW Kitchen is named after the chef of the restaurant, Akira Watanabe. Located at Level 4p Plaza Seanayan, AW Kitchen is a restaurant that serve Italian-Japanese cuisines. Actually I've never heard about this restaurant, until one of my friends told me about this place. He said he's been waiting for this place to open in Jakarta. So, I was curious. :)

As usual, I didn't take many pictures of the place. Let others did that. I prefer took detail pictures for my own satisfaction :) So please enjoy my pictures.

DRINK

Mocktail of the day: Fraise Aigres

Fraise Aigres means strawberry tart. It's French. But in this drink, there're strawberry, kiwi and lime. So, you could imagine what's the flavour, right? It's really a thirst-quenching drink. Definitely. I have no idea why they name it strawberry tart. Hmm, maybe you can use your imagination that you drink a strawberry tart hehehe..

COLD APPETIZER

Black Angus Beef Tataki with Soy Truffle Sauce 108k

Pan Seared Black Angus Tenderloin Beef Tataki in soy grated daikon sauce with a hint of truffle aroma.

This was a salad with Japanese style. You can eat this whatever you like. You can mix all the ingredients in the plate, or you just eat one by one. It's all your choice. I prefer mixed them all together. You can taste the truffle aroma mixed with soy grated daikon sauce. They made a beautiful teamwork :D

Tataki (Japanese たたき: "pounded" or "hit into pieces"), also called tosa-mi, is a manner of preparing fish or meat in Japanese cuisine. The meat or fish is seared very briefly over a hot flame or in a pan, briefly marinated in vinegar, sliced thinly and seasoned with ginger (which is ground or pounded into a paste, hence the name).

Daikon, also known by many other names depending on context, is a mild-flavored winter radish (Raphanus sativus) usually characterized by fast-growing leaves and a long white napiform root. In culinary contexts, "daikon" or "daikon radish" (from its Japanese name) is the most common in all forms of English, although historical ties to South Asiapermit "mooli" (from its Hindi name) as a general synonym in British English. The generic terms "white radish", "winter radish", "Oriental radish","long white radish", etc. are also used. Other synonyms usually vary by region or describe regional varieties of the vegetable. When it is necessary to distinguish the usual Japanese form from others, it is sometimes known as "Japanese radish" or "true daikon".

Tuna Salad with Japanese Radish Sauce 65k

Tuna tataki marinated in soy sauce, with a grated daikon dressing.

It's a little bit similar with the previous dish. The difference was the meat. The tuna replaced the beef. And the dish served without truffle. But still tasty, because the soy sauce was very strong and delicious. They cooked the tuna perfectly. Not overcooked, and still made some part juicy. At first, I doubted the radish sauce, but turned out it was brilliant.

HOT APPETIZER

Fried Fish Ball with Shrimp and Scallop 85k

Fresh shrimp and minced scallop meat wrapped and fried in thinly sliced Japanese Gyoza's skin

I dunno when was the first time I fell with fried fish ball. I think.. err.. cannot remember hahaha.. When the server put the dish on the table, I was like, "Hmm, where's the fish ball? Where? Where???" SURPRISE!! It's inside the thinly sliced Japanese Gyoza's skin. Fhiuuuh.. what a relieved. So, the fried fish ball with fresh shrimp and minced scallop meat wrapped altogether. The texture was crunchy and crispy. And it tasted shocking. Shockingly delicious!

PASTA

Spaghettini Pescatore 148k

Tomato sauce with plenty of assorted seafoods such as tiger shrimp, clams, green mussels and squid.

It's gigantic. Really. Gigantic. And the seafoods were generous!! Tiger shrimps, clams, green mussels and squid were everywhere. The pasta was cooked perfectly al dente. Based on tomato sauce, it's like marinara sauce, but not very strong. In fact, the tomato was light. So, it's only enhance the flavour of the seafoods, not overpowering the real flavour.

Spaghettini in Garlic Oil with Spicy Cod Roe and Japanese Mushrooms 138k

All time favourites! Spicy cod roe and assorted Japanese mushrooms

This pasta also cooked perfectly al dente. The mushrooms were Shimeji, Shitake and Enoki. They were all delicious. They put lots of nori, it seemed like we ate nori with pasta as the condiment hahaha..

Shimeji (Japanese language：シメジ, 占地) is a group of edible mushrooms native to East Asia, but also found in northern Europe. Hon-shimeji (Lyophyllum shimeji) is a mycorrhizal fungus and difficult to cultivate. Other species are saprotrophs, and buna-shimeji is now widely cultivated. Shimejiis rich in umami tasting compounds such as guanylic acid, glutamic acid, and aspartic acid.

The shiitake (Lentinula edodes) is an edible mushroom native to East Asia, which is cultivated and consumed in many Asian countries. It is considered amedicinal mushroom in some forms of traditional medicine.

Enokitake (榎茸, エノキタケ, Japanese pronunciation: [enokitake], /ɨˌnoʊkiˈtɑːkiː/), also Enokidake (榎茸, エノキダケ, Japanese pronunciation: [enokidake],/ɨˌnoʊkiˈdɑːkiː/) or Enoki (榎, エノキ, Japanese pronunciation: [enoki], /ɨˈnoʊki/) is a long, thin white mushroom used in East Asian cuisine (such as that ofChina, Japan and Korea). These mushrooms are cultivars of Flammulina velutipes, also known by the name, golden needle mushroom or lily mushroom. Wild forms differing in color, texture, and sliminess are called winter mushrooms, velvet foot or velvet stem, amongst other names.

RISOTTO

Risotto in Ikasumi Sauce (arrow squid ink) 88k

squid ink risotto

I loooooooove this dish. Why? First, it's a rice dish. Second, it tasted sooooo delicious. I love the fact that they put cheese so generous. The rich taste of ikasumi sauce is well worth it. And this is a full dish. I mean, if you eat this dish, you will have your tummy full hahaha.. Best pasta dish for me, actually. Recommended.

Risotto /rəˈzɒtoʊ, rəˈzoʊtoʊ/ is a north Italian rice dish cooked in broth to a creamy consistency. The broth may be based on meat, fish, or vegetable. Many types of risotto contain butter, wine and onion. It is one of the most common ways of cooking rice in Italy.

MEAT MAIN DISH

Black Angus Sirloin Beef 198k

with choice of wasabi pepper sauce or porcini sauce or garlic sauce or ginger sauce

The sirloin beef was cooked perfectly. Sometimes they cooked the sirloin beef too dry, hard to chew. But this black angus sirloin beef was near perfecto, just like I want. The sauces were unique. There are 4 kinds of sauce, but they only serve 3 of them, no garlic sauce that night. I prefer the porcini sauce and the wasabi pepper sauce. Oh yeah, I was in love with the potato gratin. It was moist, creamy and buttery. So delish.

The sirloin steak is a steak cut from the back of the animal.

Wasabi (わさび（山葵）, originally 和佐比; Wasabia japonica or Eutrema japonica), is a member of the Brassicaceae family, which includes cabbages,horseradish, and mustard. It is also called Japanese horseradish, although horseradish is a different plant (which is often used as a substitute for wasabi). Its stem is used as a condiment and has an extremely strong flavor. Its hotness is more akin to that of a hot mustard than that of the capsaicin in achili pepper, producing vapours that stimulate the nasal passages more than the tongue. The plant grows naturally along stream beds in mountain river valleys in Japan. The two main cultivars in the marketplace are W. japonica 'Daruma' and 'Mazuma', but there are many others.

Boletus edulis, commonly known as the porcini (as well as penny bun, porcino or cep), is a basidiomycete fungus, and the type species of the genus Boletus. The flavour has been described as nutty and slightly meaty, with a smooth, creamy texture, and a distinctive aroma reminiscent of sourdough. Young, small porcini are most appreciated by gourmets, as the large ones often harbor maggots (insect larvae), and become slimy, soft and less tasty with age. Fruit bodies are collected by holding the stipe near the base and twisting gently. Cutting the stipe with a knife may risk the part left behind rotting and the mycelium being destroyed. Peeling and washing are not recommended.

DESSERT

Banana and Strawberry Tiramisu 68k

I never thought that banana and strawberry and tiramisu will make a good threesome LOL.. But turned out, they were singing harmoniously together. The tiramisu wasn't very strong, it didn't ruin the taste of banana and strawberry. The texture was also mild and rich by their own uniqueness.

Tiramisu (from Italian, spelled tiramisù, [tiɾamiˈsu], meaning "pick me up" or "lift me up") is a popular coffee-flavoured Italian dessert. It is made ofladyfingers (Italian: Savoiardi, [savoˈjardi]) dipped in coffee, layered with a whipped mixture of eggs, sugar and mascarpone cheese, flavoured withcocoa. The recipe has been adapted into many varieties of cakes and other desserts. Its origins are often disputed between Italian regions such asVeneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Piedmont and others.

Chocolate Profiterole 68k

This was my favourite. The profiterole was tenderly crunchy. Once you put it in your mouth, the cream filling burst gracefully and you'll feel foodgasm lalalala.. But, true, this was very delicious. It was beautiful too. The presentation was gorgeous with the red, green, yellow and orange colours. Looked appetizing.

A profiterole, cream puff (US), or choux à la crème is a French dessert choux pastry ball filled with whipped cream, pastry cream, custard, or (particularly in the US) ice cream. The puffs may be decorated or left plain or garnished with chocolate sauce, caramel, or a dusting of powdered sugar.

Pana Cotta and Berry Sauce 58k

A little bit disappointed with the texture. Too dense. The flavour was unbeatable, but the texture, far from my expectation. I think they need to make the texture softer. But, no need to change for the sauce. It looked pretty too. Just improve the texture.

Panna cotta (from Italian cooked cream) is an Italian dessert made by blending thick cream, egg white and honey. The blend is then baked in abain-marie in a low oven. The original panna cotta really does feel and taste like "cooked cream," but requires very careful monitoring of oven temperatures and timing. Alternative recipes, mostly used in restaurants outside of Italy, use simmering together cream, milk, and sugar, mixing this with gelatin, and letting it cool until set. It is generally believed to have originated in the Northern Italian region of Piedmont, although it is eaten all over Italy, where it is served with wild berries, caramel, chocolate sauce, or fruit coulis. It is not known exactly how or when this dessert came to be, but some theories suggest that cream, for which mountainous Northern Italy is famous, was historically eaten plain or sweetened with fruit or hazelnuts.

Thanks AW Kitchen for the dinner. Hope to see you again soon, to try your other recommended food :)

AW Kitchen by Akira Watanabe Pasta House
Plaza Senayan 4th fl. #CP409
Jl. Asia Afrika No. 9
South Jakarta 10270
Phone: 021-57906071
FB Fan Page: AW kitchen Jakarta
twitter: @AWkitchen_JAKARTA