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Foreign chefs drop by Jakarta for Ramadan eats
During the holy month of Ramadan, there are plenty of places in the city to begin and break the fast
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During the holy month of Ramadan, there are plenty of places in the city to begin and break the fast. In fact, several hotels are flying in chefs from around the world to celebrate the month in style.
For example, the Four Seasons Jakarta will host guest chef Hossam Saeed Mahmoud, from the hotel's counterpart in Cairo.
When breaking your fast, head over to the Seasons to savor some unique offerings of Egyptian fare. Guests can enjoy a variety of hot and cold dishes, including mezze, magdoush, shish tawook, Egyptian sharwarma and lamb machboush to accompany their Eftar, along with mouth-watering desserts such as baklava, om ali and mahalabiya, among other favorites.
At the Ritz-Carlton's Airlangga restaurant in Mega Kuningan, guest Chef Mohamad Jaber from the Marriott Amman, Jordan will be serving up his special creations.
The tajil or sweet dessert section will include jus kuram stew as well as dates and fried banana, while the salad bar will consist of hummus, thabouleh, Arabic potato salad and fatoush.
Hot items on the menu include Lebanese sausage, safiha, mini sorar, zatar, arabic Rice, chicken Lebanese, hamour Harra style, samak with tahina sauce and Gedra rice. A live carving station will also be set up, where guests can enjoy shawarma, ouzi lamb and samac hara.
Or stop by the Arabic station to sample aish saraya, um ali, coulage and rice pudding.
In the heart of South Jakarta, Bimasena, near the Dharmawangsa Hotel, will present a special buffet in the Lobby Lounge, for those looking to break the fast the old-fashioned way.
A warm and cozy atmosphere, filled with 1001 Arabian nights charm, conjures up images of desert palaces, accompanied by serene music, candles and Indonesian hospitality.
Diners can recline on plush cushions and delight in traditional Indonesian delicacies from various cooking stations, including beef and chicken martabak, tahu sumedang, tempe mendoan, pastel, and loempia semarang.
Soto tangkar iga Betawi, nasi liwet, ketupat sayur, bakso loncat will also be on offer at Bimasena while lobster thermidor, Chinese roasted duck, Black Angus prime ribs, and 300-day grain-fed striploin round out the menu.
Thirsty? "Tarik" tea from Aceh and serabi solo can wash down your dining selections.
The JW Marriott Hotel in Jakarta will be hosting its Greek food festival at the Sailendra Restaurant from Sept. 2 through 19, with guest chefs Glymidakis Christos and Efstratios Fragis visiting from the Athens Ledra Marriott Hotel.
At the Sailendra, the fast can be broken with an assortment of Greek cheeses, such as feta, graviera, haloumi and metsovone.
Main dishes include tzatziki salad (made of yogurt with cucumber and garlic), gyros with pita bread, lamb souvlaki, shrimp mikrolimano soup (made from tomatoes, feta cheese and angel hair pasta), seabass spetsiota (seabass done in the style of Spetses), Greek-style mezze and moussaka (made with baked eggplant).
For dessert, don't forget to try the baklava, galaktoboureko (milk cake), rizogalo (creamy rice pudding) or halvas (a mixture of semolina, nuts, raisins and cinnamon).
