Few weeks ago, we were invited to a lunch gathering with fellow foodies at LOBO, one of the restaurants in The Ritz-Carlton Jakarta, Mega Kuningan. This was not our first time there since we have had many staycations in the hotel, simply because we love it. In Jakarta, there are 2 Ritz-Carlton hotels (another one, newer one located in Sudirman CBD area), but we always love this one in Mega Kuningan better.

LOBO itself is a contemporary fine dining restaurant which features a stylish yet elegant surrounding, consisting of a bar & lounge, dining area and a well-designed wine cellar offering premium selection of wines.

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Our favorite spot is always the al fresco terrace area, which is beautifully designed like the buildings in Europe, it makes us forgetting the fact that we are still in Indonesia. I think because of the construction, the airflow is really good and I never feel hot or humid sitting here. If you like taking photos of the food -or yourself-, it’s like a mandatory thing to sit in this area, LOL!

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In term of dishes, LOBO specializes in premium steaks, modern European dishes, and tapas. However, if you see the menu, it’s easily seen that LOBO also serves a lot of Asian fusion dishes, mainly those related to Japanese cuisine.

Complimentary Bread

Matching with the restaurant’s theme, the complimentary breads are European breads with crunchy crusts and soft, chewy interiors. These breads are already tasty but spreading some butter definitely will make them even nicer.

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Amuse Bouche

For the appetite-kickers, we got these trio of small bites. The most impressive one was the soup in the Illy cup, with distinctive salty flavor and made me wanting some more than this tiny cup. But wait, this was just the part of Amuse Bouche, so I expected greater things coming after!

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Hokkaido Scallop IDR 215,000

For the starter, we tried this beautiful platter of Hokkaido Scallop, served with Parmesan Crumble, Sautéed Pok Choy, and Passion Fruit Dressing. May I scream now? This dish was simply AWESOME. Like, seriously. The scallops were fat, thick, and super fresh. They were served in 2 styles: 1 in the middle was half grilled, and the other ones (sliced) were served raw, as raw as it could be. They were so fresh they made crunchy sound in my mouth, not mentioning the crunch from the passion fruit as well. The other components on the plate, like pok choy and parmesan crumble were also brilliant additions. Everything completed each others without overpowering one to another. I believe this will definitely be on my order list the next time I visit again!

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Creamy Soup of Wild Mushroom IDR 150,000

God, how happy I was to see that my favorite mushroom cream soup was included in the menu. Not only that, it was presented and served beautifully a la fine dining material, made the soup looked like million dollars. The soup was thick and super concentrated (as you can see from the flow in the picture below), with bazillion taste of mushroom, added with Cappuccino Foam and Basil Oil that made it even more fragrant and flavorful. Heaven!

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King Prawn Carpaccio IDR 175,000

Apparently, this dish is popularly known as one of LOBO’s special and even before we started eating this, some of our lunch companions were already gushing about this and claimed it as a DEFINITELY MUST TRY dish because this is “SO GOOD YOU CAN’T FIND THE SAME ONE ANYWHERE ELSE”. Sorry for the caps (no, I am not angry), but seriously that was how I felt upon seeing their reactions when this was served on the table.
Call me weird or anything, but I found nothing really special about the dish. It is true that the carpaccio was good, especially because I could taste the prominent flavors of the Kaffir Leaf Oil, Peanut, Lime Cilantro Dressing, and Sambal, but I truly expected something much better than that. I have eaten few dim sum dishes with similar taste (or even better), and I hardly tasted the prawn here. If someone would be so kind to enlighten me about this dish, please do, thank you.

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Foie Gras Tortellini

These beauties were total eye candies but could be a disaster for people who dislike foie gras specifically. Honestly, both of us are never fans of the said ingredients, but occasionally, we are fine with this. Luckily, the foie gras here was acceptable although it still had the significant smell, but thanks to the aromatic Porcini Cream Sauce and Pecorino al Tartufo Cheese, it became quite enjoyable.

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Crispy Half Suckling Pig IDR 875,000

Here comes the long-awaited main!
*drumroll*
+_________+;;
We couldn’t believe our eyes when a cart was brought into the room. There was a tray on the cart, with nothing that looked like regular suckling pig! @_@ Before this was served, we were very excited because we knew the suckling pig would be the main course, but WTH this looked so wrong in so many levels. After doing some researches online, well I found out that this tradition of eating suckling pig like this was started from Spain, where they only use 3-4 weeks old piglets and cut the roasted pig with plate, not a knife.

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You know, it was shocking for me to see all these stuffs, and the worst part is that I actually ate it and even ENJOYED it. I am not a kind of person who will turn vegetarian unless I really have to (for health purpose or something similar), but seeing all these real thing in front of me was a heartbreaking process and I seriously thought that I was simply a cruel human being for consuming all that. No, sorry, I didn’t need to see that and I hope some things can be unseen. T__T

Well, let’s leave things at that. #coldtone

Served with Apple Puree, Pineapple-lemongrass Puree, and Suckling Pig Gravy, the pork itself was already very soft and tender, with super delicious crispy skin. For me, I prefer my pork to taste bolder, because pork has certain smell that can be “managed” by adding few seasonings. Other than that, this dish was perfect.

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Mango Sorbet

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Live Painting IDR 235,000

For the dessert, we all got the opportunity to witness the making of dessert platter called Live Painting, where the two chefs became painters and created the colorful desserts on 2 “canvases”.

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The desserts used so many ingredients like fresh fruits, jams and sauces, food powders, and so on, but the main attraction was the “rocky” components made using liquid Nitrogen. We were busy going ga-ga watching the process, so hopefully you can get the idea by seeing the photos!

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The final result was simply an art, hence the name: live painting. I totally love the colorful platter and especially the abstract expression made by the chefs. There is no point of start or end, to enjoy the dessert, just grab whatever attracts you first. Forget the rules, and simply enjoy it. I think that’s the best way to experience this dessert.

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FYI, starting this May 2016, LOBO will have a new Chef de Cuisine, Chef Jan Schwittalla, who is originally from Michelin-starred restaurant in Bordeaux, France. The new chef is German, and it must be interesting to see what he can offer to LOBO. Cheers for more glorious cuisine at LOBO, and see you again soon!

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** This review is written based on our visit on 16 April 2016.

 

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LOBO
The Ritz-Carlton Jakarta Mega Kuningan (Lobby Level)
Jl. DR. Ide Anak Agung Gde Agung Kav.E.1.1 no.1
Mega Kuningan
Jakarta 12950
Phone. +62 21 2551 8888
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM

Opening Hours:
Restaurant
Lunch 12PM – 2.30PM
Dinner 6PM – 10PM

LOBO Lounge and Terrace 8AM – 1AM