JP/Prodita Sabarini
When I see a deep red hue, it reminds me of fiery passion, courage, and the willingness to take risks. Seeing red also prods my appetite.
So when I stepped into Shangri-la Hotel's Rosso restaurant for lunch, I felt a burning desire to eat.
The Central Jakarta's five-star restaurant specializing in Northern Italian cuisine is true to its name -- Rosso means red in Italian -- being decked out with red circular couches and chairs blended with dark wooden tables. The courteous wait staff, dressed in red, shuffled quietly about their duties amid the curvaceous Art Nouveau -- red -- sculptures. Even the chef, Italian Alessandro Santi wore a red uniform instead of the traditional whites.
The two-year-old restaurant is Shangri-la's essay at a new dining experience for its guests. Before Rosso, the hotel hosted Margot for ten years, offering French fine dining. Shangri-la spokesperson Yuska Lutfi Tuanakota said it was difficult to sustain a French high-end restaurant because so many of the ingredients had to be imported.
They opened an Italian restaurant to replace Margot. Remnants of the French ambience resonate in the high ceilings and classic painted murals.
"If Margot is a high-class Victorian girl, Rosso is more like a woman wearing a long red Valentino dress with stilettos," Yuska said.
"Sultry. That's the word," he quipped.
Yuska warned me I would not find pizza in Rosso's menu, despite any Italian presumptions I may have.
"Pizzas are more common in southern Italy, where many peasants live. They work in the fields so they need something that can be eaten cold and will last long. So bread and wine are more present in the food of the south," he said.
"We specialize in northern Italian cuisine. In the north, there were royal families living there, you have kings and queens and they would want something fresh, something that the cook would prepare for them and served fresh. So there, they have pastas, spaghettis, raviolis," Yuska explained.
After chitchatting about Rosso's history, Yuska and I headed to the antipasti section. Mouth watering selections of light dishes were presented beautifully. I chose buffalo mozzarella with oven-baked tomatoes scented with oregano and grilled shitake mushrooms. I took a spoonful of olives and one intriguing fruit that I found out later was capers.
The creamy mozzarella blended nicely with the light acidity of the tomatoes. The mushrooms were chewy and slightly sweet. And after munching the smooth olives, the crunchy texture and the exciting sour and stinging taste of caper was a delight.
"We want to give guests a sense of an Italian picnic without having to be under a scorching sun," Yuska said.
Yuska ordered broccoli cream soup for both of us, which was smooth and gave a placebo feeling of being healthy. Other soups on offer include potato and porcini soup, and seafood soup.
One thing that I noticed about Rosso's selection, there was a wide range of vegetarian dishes. Yuska explained the kitchen gave a lot of attention to its vegetarian menu.
For the main course, I chose from Rosso's vegetarian menu. Ravioli stuffed with eggplant with tomato salsa and thyme was simultaneously filling and refreshing.
A variety of pasta, risotto, and pesce was available. Risotto with radicchio and quail; rock lobster spaghetti with tomato bisque; homemade fettuccine pasta with pecorino romano; and oven-baked cannelloni with crab and broccoli were all on the rolls.
Meanwhile for fish and meat-based dishes, the menu has sea bass fillet with extra virgin olive oil, creamed potatoes, asparagus and tomatoes; roasted rump of lamb with herb crust on grilled polenta with marinated peppers, among others.
I stuck to the Italian classic tiramisu to round out my lunch.
From Oct. 20 to Dec 23, Rosso has a new program Red, Set, Go, in which they are giving customers 50 percent discount cards.
"You can ask to the receptionist for the card. You can ask for one, two or four cards," Yuska said.
The card depicts Santi, the icon of Rosso dressed in red.
Alessandro describes his creations thus: "light, simple, low in fat, easy to eat and understand. When you spend your time cooking for the likes of Prince Albert of Monaco, Naomi Campbell, Jennifer Lopez, Tina Turner as well as the stars of Formula One, you are expected to serve something high in delicious but low in guilt."
That was true for me. I left Rosso carrying no guilt, just satisfaction.
For reservation call (021) 574 8463
