[EVENT] Taste of Thai Bengawan Keraton at the Plaza Jakarta

April 14th, 2016. I was invited to Bengawan, Keraton at the Plaza for experiencing Thai cuisine. They had this chef from W Retreat Koh Samui’s very own Thai Master Chef, Chef Kun Bee.

Bengawan is the signature restaurant at Keraton at The Plaza, providing an authentic five-star dining experience. Located on the seventh floor with spectacular views of Jakarta, the indoor and outdoor restaurant provides a respite from the bustling city below, wrapped in lush foliage and surrounded by soothing water features. Open seven days a week for breakfast, lunch and dinner, including Sunday Champagne Brunch. Experience lavish authentic international classics exquisitely curated by the award-winning culinary team of Keraton at The Plaza. Using premium ingredients, Chef Gennaro Avagnale, the executive chef of Keraton at The Plaza, creates an international menu that is different yet familiar to the Indonesian palette.

Chef Kun Bee and her fruit carving creativity

Taste of Thai - April 10th to 24th, 2016.

Chef Kun Bee and Chef Gennaro’s culinary team has prepared a variety of signature dishes from Thailand. Indulge in the strong aromatic flavors of Thai food at Bengawan:

Everyday a ala carte for lunch and dinner starts 90k++ per person
Sunday brunch with a special Thailand corner:
1.750k nett per adult, inclusive of an endless pour of wines, beer, Thai cocktails and Pol Roger Champagne
995k nett per adult, inclusive of an endless pour of wines, beer and cocktails
695k nett per adult, inclusive of free-flowing soft drinks, fresh juices & sparkling water

Family Style Menu

Bangkok Pattaya

Thirst-quenching drink. So fresh, sweet and addicting. LOL. I asked for one more hihihihi.. Passion fruit and lychee and soda. Great combination, aight?

STARTERS

Yam Talay

Char-grilled local seafood with bird eye chili and lime dressing

Thai Seafood Salad. The ingredients were dancing in my mouth. The sweetness of fresh seafood and the sharp accent of lime dressing. Spicy, flavoursome and made from only the freshest seafood, it is one of the classic dishes from Thailand. Perfectly balanced. Recommended for those who loves sour and spicy at the same time.

Por Pia Sod

Fresh spring roll with cucumber, carrot and sweet chili sauce

Spring roll is always a good food for starters. It's small, healthy and delicious. Spicy and sour make a great combination. You can taste the crunchiness of cucumber and carrot, dip it into the sweet chili sauce. Perfect.

Yam Pla Tuna

Lightly seared yellow fin tuna with wing bean salad and sweet spicy dressing

Thai Tuna Salad. I love tuna. It's all about the texture. Mild texture with excellent taste. Lite food with a powerful punch of flavour. The seasonings are just right. Great twist on a classic.

SOUPS

Tom Ka Kai

Chicken soup flavoured with coconut milk and galangal

This is a classic Thai chicken soup with galangal as the main spice. It's my first time to try this dish. And I was in love. It was rich, creamy, flavourful and savoury. Definitely became a bowl of my favorite indulgent creamy coconut soup. A bowlful of heaven.

Tom kha kai, tom kha gai or Thai coconut soup (Thai: ต้มข่าไก่, rtgs: tom kha kai, pronounced [tôm kʰàː kàj]; Lao: ຕົ້ມຂ່າໄກ່, tom kha kai, pronounced [tôm.kʰāː.kāj]), literally "chicken galangal soup") is a spicy and sour hot soup with coconut milk in Thai cuisine and Lao cuisine.

Galangal /ɡəˈlæŋɡəl/ is a rhizome of plants in the ginger family Zingiberaceae, with culinary and medicinal uses originating in Indonesia. The rhizomes are used in various Asian cuisines (for example in Thai and Lao tom yum and tom kha gai soups, Vietnamese Huế cuisine (tré) and throughout Indonesian cuisine, for example, in soto). Galangal is related to and resembles ginger. While ginger tastes a little like galangal, most cooks who use both rhizomes would never substitute one for the other and expect the same flavor.

MAIN COURSE

Kaeng Mussamun Neua

Braised beef shank with crisp potatoes in Mussamun curry

Meltingly tender beef in massaman curry. It was my favourite dish. At first, I thought it will be as weird as Indian food. Well, I don't trust curry LOL. But, after one sip, I was mesmerized by the creation. The mussamun curry had a remarkably deep in flavor but at the same time had a lively fresh note. Recommended dish!

Massaman curry (Thai: มัสมั่น, rtgs: matsaman, pronounced [mát.sā.màn]) is a rich, relatively mild Thai curry that is an interpretation of a Persiandish.

Khao Pad Sopparot

Traditional Thai fried rice with pineapple, cashew nut and raisin

It's Thai pineapple fried rice. We can find it in every Thai restaurants in a pineapple boat. But here, it was served like any other fried rice with pineapple leaves as the garnish. I didn't really like the fried rice because it was too sweet for me. Beside the sweetness, I had no problem with the dish. :)

Phad Thai Koong

"Phad Thai" Stir fried noodles with tiger prawns and tamarind sauce

My second favourite dish. Love love love. I could not stop myself from digging it. It was tasty with a fresh and balanced flavour. I was obsessed with this dish. The tamarind sauce added a some flavour and acidity with extra kick. And what do you think about the tiger prawns? Yes, correct. So delicious!!!

Pad Thai, phat Thai or phad Thai (Thai: ผัดไทย, rtgs: phat thai, ISO p̄hạdịthy, pronounced [pʰàt tʰāj], "fried Thai style") is a stir-fried rice noodle dish commonly served as a street food and at casual local eateries in Thailand. It is made with soaked dried rice noodles, which are stir-fried with eggs and chopped firm tofu, and flavored with tamarind pulp, fish sauce (nampla น้ำปลา), dried shrimp, garlic or shallots, red chili pepper and palm sugar, and served with lime wedges and often chopped roast peanuts.

DESSERT

Trilogy of Thai Flavour

Stewed Lady Finger banana with sweet coconut milk, Sweet sticky rice with mango jelly, Seasonal fruits platter with sorbet tom yam

My favourite was the stewed lady finger banana with sweet coconut milk. The best! The banana was tender and sweet. The sweet sticky rice was just okay. But the sorbet tom yam was different story. It was so delicious I wanna grab my friend's plate. LOL.

Thank you Bengawan and Keraton at the Plaza for those delicious Thai dishes. I left my table with full tummy and happy face.

Bengawan Restaurant
Keraton at the Plaza
Jl. M.H. Thamrin Kav. 15 - 7th Floor
Central Jakarta 10350
Phone: 021-50302993
IG: @keratonjakarta