Gaia.

If you feel bored with the regular dining experience, then go to the 46th floor of The Plaza office tower, and let Altitude satisfy your cravings with Italian, Australian and Japanese delicacies in the sky.

This new dining space in the heart of Jakarta boosts the uniqueness of the three countries' dishes, perfectly served with a breath-taking view from the top of the skyscraper by three restaurants.

The three are Gaia by OSO Ristorante with North Italian cuisine, Salt Grill with modern Australian delicacies and Enmaru with Japanese seafood delights. All three restaurants are also available in Singapore.

Besides the world-class restaurants, Altitude is complete with a bar providing more than 230 selections of wine, including Barolo Bricdel Fiasc, Chateau Margaux, Amarone Costasera Riserva, La Poja IGT Veronese, Batasiolo Barolo Cordadella Briccolina, Beringer Pinot Noir, Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle and Laurent Perrier Cuvee Rose Brutare.

The overall area of Altitude, which is also available for private parties, covers 1,200 square-meters with around 350 seats.

Afternoons and evenings are the best times to enjoy the food and view on offer, although daytime offers its own kind of magic.

Gaia serves the finest classic North Italian flavors. In Jakarta, executive chef Kenny Lim has collaborated with Italian sous chef Marco Caverni in transforming Gaia with their philosophy.

Lim and Caverni display their specialty by serving varieties of Italian food. Their homemade pasta, such as spaghetti, linguine, penne and stracci, are cooked with special ingredients, allowing guests to feel each of their authentic flavors.

Penne mixed seafood with tomato sauce, for example, is among Gaia's favorites on the menu. It is a wonderful dish of perfect pasta and well-cooked seafood (prawn, squid, mussel, fish) with soothing tomato sauce and a good drizzle of cheese.

Delicious desserts like tiramisu, panna cotta and crostata also deserve a mention.

The restaurant serves a light, yet entertaining tiramisu dessert that goes great after a fine main entrée, instead of making you feel too full.

'The tiramisu is the most emblematic [dessert in Italian cuisine]. Here, the tiramisu should be elegant, beautiful and not heavy,' says Gaia's founder Diego Chiarini.

Gaia's light food style is also applied to its interior design. Using an elegant wooden design and flower details on the pillar, your dining experience is made even more pleasant while staring at the sunset in a perfect seating spot.

The Italian bistro serves up to 110 people, with a private room for 12.

Now onto the Australian dishes.

Salt Grill, which was first established in Sydney in 1999, is brought to Jakarta by its own well-known restaurateur, Luke Mangan.

Mangan brings a modern Australian cuisine concept that adopts strong diversities of cultures. In Jakarta, one of Mangan's best chefs, Marjon 'MJ' Olguera, takes the role of executive chef.

MJ serves guests with a list of premium dishes such as Chateaubriand ' Harvey, Western Australia; char grilled asparagus with pancetta; onion rings; roast garlic; bone marrow and madeira sauce; and grilled barramundi ' a fresh Barramundi fish cooked with high standard ingredients with a perfect moist texture bursting with a fresh lemony sauce.

'My cooking style is fun. I like to be a bit dainty sometimes, a bit of presentation, but it's pretty much food in a simple style,' says MJ, adding that Salt Grill's signature dishes are mostly designed to share with dining companions.

Salt Grill also serves its signature, liquorice parfait dessert, as well as its chocolate soufflé.

The restaurant seats up to 130 people. MJ not only cooks the best dishes in the kitchen but also serves guests with a friendliness and warmth, giving you an impressive dining experience with delicious food.

Going east, Enmaru, which won Japan's No. 1 Izakaya in 2010, welcomes diners with a unique menu with the freshest ingredients, by executive chef Tsuchiya Yusuke in collaboration with sous chef Takahashi.

The two chefs create delectable Japanese food, using only the freshest and best selection of fish imported from Tsukiji Market in Tokyo.

Uni, hotate, kanpachi, madai, akagai and hirame are several selections on the Enmaru sashimi menu. Meanwhile, Enmaru's roll sushi is its most talked about dish.

The restaurant can seat up to 110 people.

Besides the seafood menu, Enmaru also serves a high-grade beef menu such as wagyuharami wasabi and wagyuharamioroshi-ponzu, which have a tender texture, a unique flavor and an aroma that comes from a unique grilling technique, only using special charcoal to grill.

Both Salt Grill and Enmaru apply dark wooden material to warm their interior designs. Salt Grill offers a fiery ambiance, while Enmaru, with additional stone elements, successfully brings an authentic Japanese atmosphere to Jakarta.

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' Photos courtesy of Altitude

Altitude
The Plaza, 46th floor
Jl. M.H. Thamrin Kav. 28-30
Phone: 021 29922448

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