Mini Asian Sloppy Joes.

What happens when Western Angus short-rib meets Indonesian green chili sauce and Italian carbonara marries Japanese soba noodle? The Belly Clan has the gastronomic answer.

The restaurant and bar, located in the prime location of the Intiland Tower Lobby on Jl. Jendral Sudirman in Jakarta, offers a comfortable ambiance for brunch, lunch, dinner and supper with around 100 seating capacity and up to 250 people for a standing party.

Besides the usual tables and chairs, the establishment also provides a kitchen bar, which allows guest to savor the dish next to its semi-open kitchen.

The Belly Clan certainly offers a pleasurable menu which incorporates Asian influences in to Western dishes.

For starters, the restaurant offers creamed spinach with breaded fried egg and mini Asian Sloppy Joe (sliders with minced beef, sunny-side up eggs, lettuce, mayonnaise and tomato ketchup).

The Short-rib “Stockyard” Angus with green chili sauce and Soba Carbonara (Soba noodle in creamy carbonara sauce with beef bacon, bell peppers, aged parmesan and crispy basil leaves) are among the tempting main courses offered on the menu.

As an establishment within Jakarta’s main area for business and offices, The Belly Clan lists a good amount of refreshing food and beverages.

“The concept of The Belly Clan is fusion, we only serve the fusion of Western style and Pan Asian cooking — Japan, Vietnam, Thailand, Korea and Indonesia. Our dishes are comfort foods, which most people are familiar with,” marketing director Amanda Florencia Setiawan tells The Jakarta Post.

Aimed at professionals and expatriates The Belly Clan realizes that it has time limitation to serve the dishes, especially during lunch hour.

“That’s why we categorize it as a semi fine dining restaurant. It is not too proper and not too casual either,” she says, adding that the restaurant also a provides valet parking service for guests.

One of the restaurant’s signature dishes, the short-rib with Indonesian style green chili sauce is a great companion for lunch or even dinner.

To give a taste punch its huge-sized short-rib mix nicely with the green chili sauce and it iso served with pomme puree as well as seasonal vegetables of broccoli and carrot.

“It is truly a fusion dish of the West and Asia. The dish was inspired by the fact that here, in Indonesia, we often find fried chicken or fried duck with green chili sauce. We thought the chili mixed nicely with the ribs, so we brought it up here,” said executive chef Hengky Efendy.

Hengky revealed that the menu takes some serious preparation time.

“We need to boil the Angus short-rib for about three hours, before we marinate it with the chili sauce overnight,” says Hengky.

Another interesting dish is Barramundi fish with matah chili sauce. The raw shallot chili sauce originates from Bali.

“Matah chili sauce is usually oily but ours is a dry. The level of spiciness is adjustable, especially with expatriates, who are among our frequent guests. We use Barramundi fish because it offers perfect freshness with some spiciness to bighten up the flavor,” he says.

“Matah chili sauce is quite popular with those who have been to Bali,” added the chef, who has worked for British celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay at Marcus Wareing at The Savoy Grill in London, Gordon Ramsay at The London in New York as well as Gordon Ramsay at MAZE in Melbourne.

Other dishes on the menu include crab fettuccini (fettuccini in a Singapore chilli crab sauce), Wagyu beef burger (toasted sesame bun, kimchi, cheddar cheese, served with truffle fries), Orange-Yuzu glazed chicken (roasted boneless half chicken, sweet corn, with orange yuzu and honey sauce).

For dessert, delights such as bread and butter pudding with butterscotch sauce and pannacota with black sesame sauce will pamper your appetite.

The restaurant offers various non-alcohol and liquor drinks. In the non-alcohol division, Belly Rainbow – fresh juice consisting kiwi, strawberry and orange – will recharge your body and mind with its unusual sour taste.

Feel like savoring a glass of liquor after a rough night at the office? Try the vodka-based Madam Choo with grapefruit and lemon juice adorned with rose petals. Or perhaps the Brandy-based Great Wall with amaretto, cinnamon and orange.

The Belly Clan wine recommendations include 2004’s Louis Roederer Cristal from France, 2005’s Opus One from Chile, 2004’s Chateau Lynch Bages from France, 2006’s Wolfblass Black Label from Australia or 2008’s Allefrini Amarone from Italy with prices up to Rp 6 million (US$ 623) per bottle.

Besides personal dining, the restaurant also provides rooms with a Wi-Fi connection for private gatherings.

The Belly Clan Restaurant and Bar
Intiland Tower Lobby
Jl. Jendral Sudirman Kav. 23, Jakarta
Enquiries: 021-57906000
www.thebellyclan.com

— Photos Courtesy of The Belly Clan

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