Afternoon Tea in Jakarta: Shangri-La Jakarta Afternoon Tea

Up until now, I still don't know whether people actually do "Afternoon Tea" for luxury, lifestyle or daily needs, well, if it comes to me, I think I am pretty much in between, not exactly needing it but in the same time whenever I am meeting a client and have a slightly more relaxed conversation on the afternoon without having heavy meals, then I go with 'afternoon tea'.

FYI I sometimes wonder if the correct term is either "Afternoon Tea" or "High Tea", because sometimes I notice it's written "Afternoon High Tea" or both mentioned. Probably no right or wrong, but I personally love using the term "Afternoon Tea" for no specific reason.

The term 'Afternoon Tea' is slightly turning from its most basic definition, because technically it could also mean "having your tea in the afternoon", most basic DIY if not having a stand alone tea or with some breads or homemade cookies, but nowadays, it is not a strange scene that most fancy hotels and restaurants are now 'marking' their own signature afternoon tea, and of course *ahem* in a fancier way. I do love afternoon tea for its fashionably delicious presentation and the yummy cakes, but sometimes I found it hideous that people would spend let's say 500k just for snacks and tea, and but that's their money and I don't have the power to control it, but still... *scratch head*

So I went to the awesome Shangri-La Hotel Jakarta to try out their Afternoon tea in the Lobby Lounge. FOR THE RECORD, what they refer as "Classic High Tea" set is going to only be available during 3 PM - 6 PM (daily) for only IDR 185k++, well for hotel as notable as Shangri-La, I was quite stunned that the pricing was quite reasonable-affordable.

The set already included free complimentary of scones, which by the way were dead good and that strawberry marmalade and clotted cream to go along.... MAZOR ZOMG! Not to mention they have these sweet little treats like the butter cookies and the chocolate cookies which were also good.

White sugar and brown sugar blocks.

SCONED to 'death', frankly speaking, Shangri-La's version of raisin scones were not like those you've probably tasted before in life, they were way smoother and softer, almost bread-like texture but that buttery flavor and scent was just addicting.

The "Classic High Tea" set consist of three towers of treats starting from the sweet to the savory ones:
Tower one: SWEET SECTION, consist of Chocolate Trilogy Layer, Vanilla and Fresh Raspberry Creme Brulee, Pecan and Maple Tarlet.

Tower two: COLD SECTION, consist of: Dill & Yuzu Marinated Prawns with Avocado in Brioche a Tete, Grilled Baby Vegetables with Pesto Aioli on Rocket Bread, Beef & Enoki Teriyaki Rolls on Dark Rye Bread with Cornichons.

Tower three: HOT SECTION, consist of: Lemongrass Marinated Chicken Lollies with Mango and Sago Dipping, Prawn Tempura and Healthy Vegetable Chips, Mini Beef Fillet Mignon Rosini Burger with Duck Foie Gras.

Okay, I would spill my unbearable emotion here because apparently... Shangri-La's Classic High Tea set happened to be one of the best I've had so far. Let me start with the sweet section: the desserts were created nicely and definitely professional looking and my favorite one gotta be the Chocolate Trilogy Layer! It was just chocolaty, in a way rich but not overpowering, smooth mousse texture that wouldn't make you feel noxious, it was just a lovely dessert. Both the 'hot' and 'cold' section were also memorable, my favorite one from the cold section was a tie between the Grilled Baby Vegetables with Pesto Aioli on Rocket Bread or Beef & Enoki Teriyaki Rolls on Dark Rye Bread with Cornichons. Both were pleasant! Meanwhile, hard call but I EVENTUALLY LOVE EVERYTHING from the hot section, the tempura was simple but yet delicious, the fillet mignon burger was also pretty decent even though the Foie Gras was a little lack of seasoning and the Lemongrass Marinated Chicken Lollies was the bomb!

In a nutshell, having this set brought back the memories of the not-so-worth-it amount of money that I've spent in other places, definitely more expensive than this but not as pleasuring as Shangri-La's.

Pecan and Maple Tarlet

Chocolate Trilogy Layer

Left: Vanilla and Fresh Raspberry Creme Brulee, Right: Chocolate Trilogy Layer, 

Left: Grilled Baby Vegetables with Pesto Aioli on Rocket Bread, Right: Beef & Enoki Teriyaki Rolls on Dark Rye Bread with Cornichons.

Lemongrass Marinated Chicken Lollies with Mango and Sago Dipping

Mini Beef Fillet Mignon Rosini Burger with Duck Foie Gras.

Lemongrass Marinated Chicken Lollies with Mango and Sago Dipping, Prawn Tempura and Healthy Vegetable Chips, Mini Beef Fillet Mignon Rosini Burger with Duck Foie Gras.

Prawn Tempura and Healthy Vegetable Chips

After having a glorious afternoon tea, Joris walked us to the herb garden just behind the famous Shangri-La pool, it's one of their personal CSR campaign to contribute to the society, community, and environment by running the "GO GREEN" campaign. The garden was not exactly spacious, but it looked like it's pretty well care taken and oh, the plants here are all organic.

I also managed to learn some new words I never knew before! Totally virgin for this one.

SO GREEN, eh!

If you consider yourself an "Afternoon Tea" enthusiast or you're just a human being with appetite, then I would highly recommend you having Shangri-La's "Classic High Tea" creation. Top to bottom..wasn't disappointing, and yet, told you guys that this is one of the best flavors I've tried so far, how can you not believe me? LOL!

A little recap, for IDR 185k++, you're getting the "Classic High Tea" set which consisted of the high tea towers, Shangri-La's signatures scones and selections of tea, coffee or hot chocolate to accompany you (pictures above).

It was a fine afternoon well spent with chit chats and delicious treats, Special thanks to Joris for the kind invitation! Pleasure meeting you after some time ;).

Shangri-La Hotel Jakarta (Lobby Lounge)

Lobby Level Shangri-La Hotel Jakarta

Kota BNI Jl. Jendral Sudirman Kav. 1
Jakarta 10220

021 - 2922 9998WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM

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email: eatandtreatsindo@gmail.com

Yellowfin Sake Bar and Kitchen Jakarta

Got invited by Yellowfin Jakarta for a scrumptious dinner time (thank you!) and this post will be talking all about it!

As you know (or don't), Yellowfin is a Japanese restaurant which is also a part of the OPCO group which is also running some other restaurants like the classic Portico, Koffie Warung Tinggi, Stark Bierhaus and to the newest joint: Hello Howdy Holla Hey Ho in Grand Indonesia, bet it won't be stopping here soon, looking forward for more ventures from the giant!

Yellowfin itself currently has two branches: one located in Grand Indonesia and another one that I went to was its first and main outlet located in Senopati (just across Anomali). I've been checking out (or at least looking) at Yellowfin because physically, this place is eye-catching with all those hanging lamps outside the restaurant but since I haven't got the chance, plus reading some mixed reviews, I kinda hold myself back a while ago.

The restaurant area was surprisingly quite spacious, it could hold around 60-80 people based from what I experienced visually. The venue was decorated majorly with wood materials and it had that rustic mood to it while still having that Japanese sense to it. During the night, the lighting was pretty dim but I honestly think the dim lighting was actually the quality for the dining venue because it lived up the ambiance.

Yellowfin is also known as a Sake Bar so you're going to find tons of sake bottles used as decoration elements.

They also have private dining area for two groups (12 each) and there will be minimum charge applied due to the reservation, around IDR 2 mil to spend minimum.

Private corner.

First before I start showing you the food pics, I am pretty much FUMING MAD with blogspot because they tend to compress the friggin photos! The photos below suddenly appeared to be taken with some old douche camera with grains all over the photos, Those weren't even looking like that as I am looking at the computer folders right now *sigh*.

Ponyo
IDR 35k
Ponyo is one of some Yellowfin's signature mocktail creations. Technically it's mango puree mixed soda water, passion fruit and passion fruit syrup. This was pretty refreshing and I love how well the flavor was balanced and the dose of sweet and sourness.

Green Tea Lemoncello
IDR 100k
This particular beverage is one of Yellowfin's signature cocktail and sake creation. It actually tasted like Tequilla, only with the mixture of sake. DO have the sugar-coated lemons after you had a cup to neutralize everything, surpisingly this was pretty decent.

Gyu Tan
IDR 70k
This was one of the appetizers served on the dinner. Their take on Gyu Tan (or simply known as Ox tounge) was just really close to perfection! Thin sliced uber tender juicy Gyu Tan served with the-of-so-delicious Miso sauce. Bet you're going to be very addicted once you tried this because it's THAT good plus it had that grilled, wok-ish aroma that rush up your appetite. You probably going to be surprised because it tasted so much like actual beef meat.

Asparagus Bacon
IDR 45k
Short to say, the Asparagus Bacon was another success. The Asparagus was cooked 'pan-seared' and the bacon was just tender and juicy (instead of dry and crispy) which I love. The bacon they're using here is pork and since I am such a sucker for pork dishes, this was friggin good!

Ebi Tempura Spicy Salad
IDR 48k
Now this one had the more interesting play of flavor and texture comparing to the previous two. It was crunchy, sweet, savory, sour... playful but still pretty much fun and enjoyable! This was not spicy as what stated on the titling. I honestly didn't really experience the Ebi because it was either minced or being cut to be ultra tiny but I did 'bump' into the mushrooms, short to say this one worth your try.

Spicy Maguro Onigiri
IDR 25k
They also gave two of their signature onigiri creations: the Spicy Maguro Onigiri and the Shake Onigiri (with Salmon - below). The onigiri was pretty big for a personal size, tried both of the onigiri but I must say that I was fond of the Shake Onigiri because first, I am really fond of Salmon, and secondly the meat was more generous comparing to the Spicy Maguro one, again I didn't find any spicy hint from the onigiri.

Shake Onigiri
IDR 25k

Hamachi Kama Teriyaki
IDR 140k
Hamachi is the Yellowtail fish which also happens to be the icon of the Yellowfin! If you look at the logo, it would be devastatingly hard to cook this because it was just cute! Anyway, this dish was one of their most famous as well as best sellers and I HAVE TO AGREE! It was seriously really really good with juicy smooth meat even after being deep fried and grilled. Gotta give credit to the outstanding cooking skill of the chef. I would grant this as one of the best fish courses I have eaten so far in my life. VERY RECOMMENDED!

Ebi Creamy Spicy Yaki
IDR 148k
This could made me teared up because of HOW GOOD this is. The prawns were big, really fresh and smooth and all that creamy dressing was just beyond my expectation. There's something about this dish that had its own class but you're aware that it's not intimidating.

Gindara Saikyo Yaki
IDR 165k
I must say that Yellowfin is such a champion and serious with their fish courses, again, didn't fail to impress me was this Gindara Saikyo Yaki! The Gindara (black cod) was marinated in Saikyo Miso overnight and that's probably why the seasoning absorb pretty nicely to the meat still leaving it to be juicy and smooth!

Ogura Ice Cream
IDR 25k

Yellowfin was just the awesome place to have great Japanese food (or Japanese seafood) and since I experienced it myself, I must say that I was pretty much impressed by how awesome the food was I could shed friggin tears of happiness! Especially that Hamachi Kama Teriyaki man... hmm! Pricing wise, I honestly think the food pricing is still pretty much reasonable, even if they're expensive, they're expensive for certain reasons.

DON'T STOP READING!!!
Celebrating their second anniversary, Yellowfin is having a special All You Can Eat promotion for their Sushi, Salad, Yakitori, Chahan and Miso Soup) for IDR 199k, every Saturday and Sunday 11-2 PM. Great freaking deal!

NOT ONLY THAT...

Win a chance to travel Japan for two by joining Yellowfin Kihada Chan competition this MAY!

The terms and conditions are very easy: you just have to dine in Yellowfin, collect the stamps and fill in the "passport"! This passport could be the real deal for you as the gateway to JAPAN!

Japan is such a country with worth loving culture and I bet everyone wants to go there!

Keep updated with the information regarding to the Japan trip from the social medias (below).

WHY THE HELL do I need to type this in the middle of the night. Better off to 'tie' myself with the blanket so I won't cheat for the fridge!

THANKS FOR READING!!!

Yellowfin Sake Bar and Kitchen
Jl. Senopati Raya No. 42
Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan
021 - 722 0394 // 0812 1969 0077
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM

FACEBOOK || TWITTER || INSTAGRAM

email: eatandtreatsindo@gmail.com