Tom's by Tom Aikens, The Langham Jakarta

Bahasa l English

A sunny weekend where the pandemic conditions in Indonesia have been getting better lately. Activities in public spaces are getting normal, so we can find some places with crowds. One of them is this restaurant which took a few weeks for me to make a reservation in advance because it was full every weekend. The Langham Jakarta has only been operating this year and has attracted great enthusiasm from Jakarta's community.

No exception with the restaurant which was built with a luxurious British concept and developed by a chef from England, Tom Aikens who manages a Michelin Star restaurant in London. Carrying the name Tom's by Tom Aikens with a variety of classic British dishes. The location of this restaurant is on the L floor, the reception area, and arguably the 62nd floor.

A restaurant with a large enough area capacity, high ceilings, touches of white, blue, red sofas, and gold-tone lamps give the room an English-style atmosphere. Seen quite crowded visitors at lunchtime. It is undeniable that if you get a window seating area, you will certainly see an amazing view of Jakarta from a height.

A little funny thing when I was about to order a meal where when one of the servers was asked about this restaurant's favorite menu. He immediately answered that all the menus here were favorites because they carried Michelin restaurants, what an amusing. My experience visiting several Michelin Star restaurants never even heard that phrase.

The menu here is not too much compared to other European restaurants in Jakarta. According to the concept of a British restaurant, we will find a variety of famous British dishes such as fish & chips, salads with 28 ingredients, steaks and many others. The menu that I ordered, the Hand Dived Scallop starter, is a seafood dish with 2 pieces of scallops placed on top of processed cauliflower with curry sauce and curry vinaigrette. The savory and slightly sour taste is quite pleasant, the scallop texture is a little dry but still delicious to enjoy.

Then the Grated Slaw Mineral Overload, one of Tom Aiken's special menus, a salad with 28 kinds of ingredients prepared together with a unique dressing between agave and serrano chili. The flavors are very diverse, fresh and increase the appetite. The various flavors and textures provide the perfect combination even though the server doesn't even know what ingredients are used on the menu.

Followed by main dishes such as the Smithfield Bone Marrow Pie, a unique dish of pie in a bowl with bone marrow in the middle that is delicious enjoyed while warm. Then inside the pie, there is processed beef with red wine, which can be enjoyed together with pastry pie. The texture of the meat is perfect and tender, it's just that the meat tastes salty so that it dominates the whole dish and even covers the taste of the marrow.

The next main course, Wet Aged Striploin, is a classic British steak dish with simple spices, salt & pepper. Since one of my friends ordered the meat to be medium, the texture of the meat was a little tough, I guess the medium-rare would be better. But I can say the meat used is very good, you can enjoy it with the available and additional sauces. With Bordelaise sauce, distinctive red wine, and fresh.

Then the Truffled Golden Ravioli, a dish that was pretty much ordered to be seen on several tables. Ravioli with egg yolk ready to melt inside, smoked grounded potatoes and truffles, beautifully garnished with gold leaves on top. For a fair comfort taste, well, the truffle aroma is not very there because it is covered with a thick taste of egg yolk and potato which is dense and creamy.

After that, don't miss desserts such as Sticky Toffee Pudding, using Medjool dates for the pudding base, wrapped with muscovado toffee sauce and served separately with baileys ice cream. The texture of the pudding is soft, the aroma is fragrant and the sweetness that fits is really delicious. Then the unique taste of ice cream with a combination of Baileys and vanilla is delightful.

Another Dessert Whiskey Dark Chocolate Tart, no less interesting, as a chocolate lover, this is a very memorable dish. The strong taste of dark chocolate is very legit and melts in the mouth. Can be enjoyed with salted caramel to add a little sweetness to the dish. But without the sauce I really enjoyed it. You could say these two desserts are indeed more memorable than other dishes. Although I'm not really a fan of sweets.

The whole experience here seems to be memorable only from the place and the interior of the restaurant. The various dishes that I tried tasted ordinary and I have often found them in various British or European restaurants and even in Jakarta. Serving size with a personal concept, not recommended for sharing, or you can order approximately 8 dishes for 3 people only. The price is of course quite high where everyone has to spend more than IDR 300,000 per person. No matter, it's quite interesting to visit, exquisite dining on the top floor with a name under the Michelin Star Chef. You might be curious about it.

Yovent, a full-time content writer and social media influencer who loves to travel overseas with high passion and enthusiasm to explore the world of gourmand. Live in Jakarta with the diversity of cultures, foods, trends, and lifestyles gives him much inspiration to create the stories. Blogging since 2014, with more than 5 years of experience, he has a good capacity to work in food writing & photography.

Tom's By Tom Aiken,

The Langham Jakarta

Tel: +6221 2708 7888