Riva Bistro specializes in superbly authentic French cuisine and is elegant yet modern with its open kitchen setting. Chef Gilles, as he prefers to be called, is also Riva's Food and Beverage Director and passionately engages himself in all things French, such as buying locally produced, daily delivered freshest herbs and vegetables and hosting monthly food & wine pairing introductory courses at the restaurant.
Check out some of his signature dishes:
THAT is the biggest pepper grinder I have ever seen in my life. The only time I see someone tipping something that tall was when I was drinking my half yard at the Yard House. I miss that place.
This is the signature appetizer salad, the seasonal Girolles Mushroom Salad. Girolles mushroom is a special type of mushroom grown in France, and it's in season now over there. The salad was light, springy and refreshing. I thought I tasted a bit of clam juice and tomato, while in fact the chef said the sauces contained walnut oil and a secret vinaigrette recipe.
This is my favorite: Goose liver with orange sauce. I'm sure the menu name is a lot more sophisticated than that, but I left my note at the office. Check out the upcoming edition of Maxx Media magazine for my complete coverage. Anyways, goose liver is basically pate, and on this dish, it's pan fried to a crisp perfection and drenched in, again, secret orange sauce recipe. The citrusy, acidic orange sauce really finely complements the fatty and creamy goose liver sensation as it cleanse your mouth for each bite. By the way, that big piece of orange up there can be eaten whole, like a pickled orange marmalade. Chef Gilles, characteristically a Frenchman, hand made and pickles those oranges himself, blanching the oranges for 2 days and keeping it in a chamber, where he replaces the seasoned water every 2 days or so. The entire process is, again, a secret :-)
This is Chef Gilles' proudest signature dish: the Bouillabaisse soup. As you can see from the picture, no expense was spared on quality ingredients. From the 12/15 shrimp centerpiece to the extremely well-seasoned red snapper to the green mussel to the fish stock and crab meat juice to the fresh, crisp vegetables, the entire soup was like an explosion of flavor each time I put a spoonful into my mouth.
Here's their signature dessert and special-of-the-month: Apricot....something. Pudding? Ice cream? I'll be honest, I don't care much about desserts, so I don't really remember much details about the ingredients on this one. It was very good of course, but like I said, if you want to get the complete scoop, be sure to check out my upcoming reviews on our next edition of Maxx Media.
Here's another dessert sampler for the ladies to drool over: There's the Praline at the topmost, then the Creme Brulee (so GOOD btw!!!!), then the Wilton? Wafton? Wilfton? Aggghhhh! Just check out my next edition of Maxx Media for September!! It was a dreamy cream-in-the-middle-of-crusty crisp layers. The bottommost is Peach Sherbet.
This is Park Lane Hotel's Junior Suite bedroom. With a camera phone, I can't really convey just how spacious this room really is. Curse my stupid broken camera!! I bought it right before I went back and now it's broken? How the hell am I supposed to claim the USA warranty?
View from the junior suite
This is their Premier Club Suite Lounge, a members-only room suites designed with upgraded priveleges and amenities for business travelers and upscale clientele. The Premier Club is located on the sixteenth and seventeenth floors, the hotel's tallest floors.
The view from the Premier Club Lounge. Check out the Saving Private Ryan-style memorial cemetery! These are fallen national heroes from the Dutch Colonial time.
Cute little chapel...... if not for the fact that it's for..... well, you know.
Park Lane Hotel Jakarta is a 5-star boutique hotel strategically located on Jakarta's Golden Triangle commercial district. The Park Lane Jakarta is the sister hotel of Park Lane Hong Kong.
Now, about this Maxx Media I kept on mentioning above. I just got a job as an Editor (yay!!!!!!) for Maxx Media, Asia's only premier magazine focusing on upscale hotels, restaurants and spas for discerning readers. Our goal is providing informative entertainment for busy executives and professionals wishing to unwind from their hectic schedule. I think that with my intense passion for traveling, food, adventure and photography, I can really bring value to the magazine's already-established brand and take it to a higher level - and achieve our mission to become Asia's only trusted authority on premium hotels, spas and restaurants!
My blog, of course, will not be an exact copy of the magazine. I will still cover underground, little known eating places as I discover them on a daily basis. I LOVE these localized places, and to me they will always represent a particular city's true soul.
Maxx Media is a monthly publication and is currently distributed free of charge. You can find it in the lobbies of premium hotels and establishments. We're working hard to launch an interactive website and once it's up and running, you can bet that it's going to be interactive, revolutionary, and loaded with goodies! Be sure to check back often as I will posting development updates of this exciting project.
Riva Bistro & Bar
The Park Lane Hotel Jakarta Lobby Level
Jalan Casablanca Kav. 18
Jakarta 12870, Indonesia
Phone : (62-21) 828 2000
Fax : (62-21) 828 2222
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2 comments:
Interesting job!! seperti ada tertulis, Manusia tidak hanya hidup dari roti, tetapi juga dari.... (soup, ice cream, pudding?) :D
Hahahaha and salmon, cheese, sop buntut, gulai kambing, pecel lele, sushi, etc etc? Jesus would have a heart attack seeing how we glutton the way we do now.
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