HURRICANE'S GRILL JAKARTA - GUNAWARMAN, SENOPATI

THE HIGHLY ANTICIPATED HURRICANE'S GRILL IS (FINALLY) IN TOWN!

Brought by the Normi group, their first franchise is located in Gunawarman (Senopati) and I got the exclusive invitation to join the grand opening and media gathering, besides telling the brief background of Australia's very own favorite rib house, they also showcased some of their best sellers to us (and sample them a bit), and here I am now showcasing them to you!

 Hurricane’s Grill is located in Gunawarman street in Senopati, South Jakarta just across H Gourmet and Vibes.

A little background about Normi group, it’s actually a global fashion company which currently encompassing two major fashion brands: Heatwave and NORMI. The business is now being expanded around Southeast Asia countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines, and this year (2015), the group successfully acquired Hurricane’s Grill, the popular steakhouse originated from Australia. In Sydney itself, the outlets are spread evenly at areas such as Bondi Beach, Darling Harbor Waterloo, Top Ryde City, Surfer’s Paradise and Brighton Le Sands.

The look of the restaurant might be quite humble on the outside with their signature “hurricane” logo, but as soon as you’re in, it’s like a change of atmosphere. The interior actually felt classy with dark colors, dim lighting, wood application on certain areas, good air-conditioning and several spaces for daylight to light up the interior throughout the day. There are three main areas in this 250-seating capacity restaurants: the bar area, the main-dining area and the VIP area (including separated seating areas for smokers and non-smokers). I notice there was a second floor as I saw stairs heading above, but I don’t think it’s functioning yet.

The event kicked off with brief presentation from Mr. Imron J. Kusuma, the CEO of Normi group on how he managed to convince Hurricane's Grill to open its door for Jakartans, the thing is, he has been an avid fan of the rib giant ever since his days living in Sydney, but he told us that back then he only had the chance to eat there when he has enough money or most of the times, depending on friends’ birthday (LOL), long story short, couple of years forward - which is now - he finally brings a little piece of the memories to Jakartans: those who can relate (*ahem* Sydneysiders or OZ alumnis), and also to the new customers.

MEAL FOR MEAL PROGRAM
One of Normi group’s CSR program is “Meal For Meal” program in collaboration with Yayasan Tangan Pengharapan (Tangan Pengharapan Foundation). I just gotta tell you this story and you just need to read this:

A lady named Mrs. Henny gave us a little englightment on how she started this foundation, she used to live in Australia and has been Mr. Imron’s good friend since the school days, there she got married and actually lived in Australia and earn good living there (more like successful), until one day when she got back to Jakarta for a visit, she was stunned by the unfortunate kids who lived on the streets of Jakarta and couldn’t afford to even go to school. She was moved by what she saw with her very own eyes, and when she went back to Australia, she talked to her husband and asked the whole family to start this program, luckily, her husband was very supportive, but moving on wasn’t exactly always ABC easy as she had to argue with her in-laws.

Ever since she started this social project, it was without the help from anybody (monetary or sponsors), and she started out by funding four kids’ needs on her own (school, home and daily meals) and until now, there are more than 2000 kids guarded under her foundation. I was quite touched by how kind her heart is, also on how brave she is on deciding to leave all her glamorous life and dedicate her life to help others, it’s just rare nowadays, and I just hope that I could be like her and do what she’s doing. So this “Meal For Meal” program is decidated to them, for every purchase of main course in Hurricane’s Grill, a certain amount of money will be used to purchase the meals for the kids.

THE FOOD

 Here are some of the menus that you can enjoy here in Hurricane’s Grill Gunawarman, prepare yourself to drool!

 Please note that this is not a full review of the restaurant, but I am definitely coming back to surf more of their full rounds menus.

The range of their menu was quite big and the menus are exactly the same as the ones originated from Sydney, they claimed they didn’t want to do any changes since they really want to keep the originality of the brand, while hoping to be accepted by the Indonesian market. Their starters range from salads, series of rolls, prawns & calamari dishes, wings, mussels, scallops, boereworks, soup, potatoes and mushroom and their sides range from steamed veges, mash, rice, baked potato, onion rings, sweet potato chips and corn cobs.

 Beef Ribs (Full Rack: IDR 448k // Half Rack: IDR 358k)

 Signature Pork Ribs (Full Rack: IDR 548k // Half Rack: IDR 358k)

 Seafood Platter – IDR 1.288k (for three persons)

A culmination of all Hurricane’s Grill seafood and more: fried and salt & pepper calamari, mussels, garlic prawns, scallops, prawn villa moura and salmon.

 Mixed Salad – IDR 118k

 Southern Chicken Burger – IDR 238k

 Hurricane’s Cheese & Bacon Burger – IDR 238k

VERDICT:
Truth be told, this is my first time trying Hurricane’s Grill, and when I went to Sydney on last November, too bad I didn’t get the chance to try it, so this review will be based on the food that I tasted on the event, I can’t compare with the one in Sydney and I am such a first-timer. I gotta say that those of you who are reading this post right now and happen to be an ex-Sydneysiders, will be better in doing the judgement, but based on my visit, I must say that I found the ribs to be pretty good. My favorite would be the beef ribs, don’t get me wrong, I really like the pork ribs, it’s very meaty and lean, and I just love how the beef ribs had this extra smokey flavor that I am looking for in BBQ dishes, along with the tender and tasty meat. Overall, the sauce was THE BOMB! Sweet, savory and slightly tangy, just right on how I expected the sauce to be.

While for the burger, I really like the southern chicken burger, the flavor was quite unique with strong seasoning but not overpowering the palate, a tad spicy and crispy but tender chicken.

Besides the signature pork ribs and the beef ribs, they also have some other grilled menus such as: Baby Back Ribs (IDR 408k), BBQ Chicken (Whole: IDR 248k // Half: IDR 188k), Portuguese Chicken (same price as the BBQ chicken), Grilled Chicken Breast (IDR 188k) and steak selections such as Prime New York Strip (IDR 328k), Prime Rib Eye (IDR 388k), OP Prime Rib (IDR 428k), Mammoth T-Bone (IDR 548k), Hurricane’s Goliath (IDR 848k), Top Sirloin (IDR 258k), Prime Fillet of Tenderloin (IDR 388k) and Surf & Turf (IDR 368k), will surely give some a try on my upcoming visit and pairing them with some of their best selling cocktails, smoothies and wine selections (I notice a lot of Penfolds here so it’s better be good!).

Don’t hesitate bringing your kids here as they also have their special kids menus such as Junior Fish & Chips (IDR 98k), Junior Beef Burger (IDR 128k) & Junior Southern Chicken (IDR 128k).

COMBO MENUS:
This goes out to all the gluttons out there, if you think their ribs are not satisfying enough for you (in terms of size), here are some of their combo menus that you can enjoy:
- Steak & Pork Ribs/Beef Ribs/Chicken – IDR 548k
- BBQ Chicken and Pork/Beef Ribs – IDR 488k
- Portuguese Chicken and Pork/Beef Ribs – IDR 488k
- Meat Platter Pork/Beef/Chicken – IDR 988k

I am coming to try more of their menus! I posted a sneak peek on my Instagram and I was reading your comments, when some of you actually asked me about the price, most of you told me that the pricing here is higher than the one in Australia and some of you even told me that the portion is smaller, there’s even one comment that stated the full rack here is half of the half rack there. Geez, I wonder how big actually the ribs there as I heard that they flew all the proteins all the way from Australia, and there's no such thing as frozen meats here! Now I feel so sad for not making it on my last OZ trip, gotta go back soon!

GOOD LUCK HURRICANE’S GRILL, I hope what you have in store can be accepted by the Indonesian market! Thanks for reading!

Hurricane's Grill Indonesia

Jalan Gunawarman No. 20 (across H Gourmet and Vibes)

Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan 12110

021 - 5694 6188 / 5596 5947

Operating Hours: 11 AM - 11 PM

Average spending for two: IDR 1 mil

Dresscode: sporty casual

WiFi: yes!

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email: eatandtreatsindo@gmail.com

Map for Hurricane' Grill