Izakaya Kai Pluit Jakarta

September 18th, 2016. I heard about a new place around Pluit area. And once I knew it finally opened for public, I said to myself, "I have to go there!" Then, when my friends arranged to meet up this Sunday, I had plan to insist them to go there. Around 11:30am, I went to Kota Kasablanka to join Gaby. Tony, her boyfriend, would drop us at Emporium Mall. That morning, on our chat, Gaby said, "Can we eat dim sum?" And we asked, "Where?" She said, "Err.. I dunno. Just an option, I guess." That's why when I met her, I asked her again, "Do you really wanna eat dim sum? Don't you want to try this new place in Pluit area? They have Chocolate Red Velvet." And like I predicted, she replied with her sparkling eyes, "YES! I saw the cake yesterday! Take me there! Take me there!" Well, something like that. The reaction, I mean. LOL. So, after Leo picked us up, we drove to this new place. Izakaya Kai.

Izakaya Kai is a Modern Izakaya and Boulangerie by Adhika Maxi, Karen Carlotta and Tempura Master Chef Hitoshi Kimura. Located across Siaw A Tjiap, Izakaya Kai has 2 levels in the building. The first level is pastry shop and all day cafe. The Izakaya itself occupies the second level. The place is not very spacious but cozy enough for us. Too bad we cannot order first level food to go to second level and vice versa.

An Izakaya is a type of Japanese drinking establishment. The food is usually more important than in other types of drinking establishments in Japan such as bars and snack bars. They are popular, casual and relatively cheap. The name izakaya is a compound word consisting of “ i” (to stay) and “sakaya” (sake shop).

Kai means Time.

Cake Display Counter

Now, let's talk about the food and cakes that we've tried at the first level. Fyi, we are desserts freaks, that's why we sat at the first level. We will try the second level another time. :)

Crispy Salmon Soy Orange Donburi 80k

I was a bit hesitant to choose between salmon and pork, but they said, the salmon is very good. Therefore, I chose this crispy salmon donburi. And it was really good. I love salmon. I love to eat salmon sashimi in every Japanese restaurant. But.. it's never easy to find a delicious salmon when it's not served as a sashimi. And this is one delicious salmon. It's so seductive, I wanna devour it with lustful. The skin was ultra crispy with texture like bacon. Smoky, fatty and sexy. The salmon was moist, tender and juicy. Standout! You won't find any trace when you see the bowl. Hahaha..

Izakaya Kai Original Brioche Bao

French pastry ties the knot with Oriental taste. Whoaaaa.. Should they do the traditional Chinese or modern French? Hahaha.. Yup that's correct. Brioche is a pastry of French origin. It is similar to a highly enriched bread, and whose high egg and butter content give it a rich and tender crumb. And they use pork and salted egg yolk for the filling. Oriental taste, right? It's usually filling for chinese bao. Should we name it: Intercultural Brioche Bao? LOL. Well, I love the texture of the brioche. It's soft, tender and fluffy. Maxi gave this to us for complimentary. He said, "Please try this. Tell me about it later." And he said it with a proud smile. I knew it in a jiffy that it must be good. And.. it is! It's super good. If you think you have ever eaten the most delicious brioche or bao, you should try this. It's better than your most delicious brioche or bao. Believe me. Super addicting!

Goma Cake 45k

Black and White Sesame, Nougat, Vanilla

"Must be super creamy." The very first thing that came into my mind when I saw this cake. But.. when it touched my taste bud.. "Delicious and light." What a great combination in a cake. For this kind of cake, you will never say, "Too much." It's just perfect. Goma is black sesame. It's actually bring the sumptuousness touch to the cake. And it's very fragrant. The nougat and the vanilla aren't too sweet. They just did an impeccable job to the cake. Super recommended!

Matcha Chocolate Tart 50k

I need more matcha taste to this one. The chocolate was definitely the superstar here. My friends told me that it tastes similar with UNION's Chocolate Mint Pie without the mint taste. I didn't really like mint taste so I guess I prefer this one, then. Hahaha.. And yes.. I've never tried the chocolate mint pie. That's why I didn't know the similarity. The presentation is pretty. It's like there's fire on top of the chocolate tart.

Kaastengels Cheese Pie 50k

Frozen Brûlée or Melting Brûlée

It's basically a kaastengels pie with cheese. I'm not a huge fan of kaastengels, so I didn't expect anything from this pie. It's just pie with cheese taste and caramel brûlée on top. Usually Kaastengels are served in a traditional holidays such as Christmas, Eid al-Fitr or New Year. But Chef Karen Carlotta makes sure we can taste kaastengels every single day. Bravo!

Chocolate Red Velvet 50k

Last but not least. Applause to this mouthwatering, luscious, sexy, sinful, drop dead gorgeous cake. Karen Carlotta once made me feel amazed with her creation before, UNION's Red Velvet Cake. Then, she made me feel stunned with Red Velvet Pie, Red Velvet Sundae, Red Velvet Cheesecake. Now, she blew my mind with this Chocolate Red Velvet. Jaw-dropping! OMG the rhum. Chocolate and rhum and UNION's Red Velvet Cake are the sexiest things in the world. Well, all of you can say that I'm exaggerating. If you don't believe me, just go to Izakaya Kai. Open its door, and order it right away before it's sold out. Yeah, we almost didn't get the cake. We were so angry when they said that it's sold out. Yes, literally angry. Why? Because we ordered the cake before it's sold out. How come they sold the last slice to another customer? And then, like magic, they said they still have another whole cake. And it took forever to serve it to our table. Maxi already said earlier that they were still in a mess. It's not a bad mess. It's quite like a delicious mess. Yeah, mess with delicious cakes. What could go wrong?

Great job, Maxi and Karen. A thousand toasts for you guys. Here's to another place that will become my favourite every time I go to Pluit area. I cannot wait to be back there again to try their second level since I'm sooooo in love with Japanese food. Izakaya Kai, be prepared!

Izakaya Kai
Jl. Pluit Kencana Raya No.59
Pluit, Jakarta
Phone: 021-22663966
Instagram: @izakayakai