Editor's Rating
After spending a fabulous night at The Singhasari Resort, of course we tried the breakfast served in the resort’s main restaurant, which is named Kutaraja Restaurant.
The restaurant itself is located one floor below the lobby floor, and easily accessible from main lobby through stairs in the middle of the lobby area, or we can go through elevators from the inner side of the hall. A little historical background, “Kutaraja” itself is taken from the name of capital city of Singhasari back in the old days. As mentioned in previous review about the resort itself, the places in The Singhasari Resort use many names (people, places, terms) taken from Singhasari kingdom.
Kutaraja Restaurant is divided into 2 areas: indoor and outdoor. The interior is simple with traditional Indonesian touch, but the outdoor area is definitely the winner. Overlooking Arjuno and Semeru mountains, our eyes were spoiled with the beautiful views and green surrounding, not mentioning that the sun was shining too so brightly, yet so windy and quite cold, awesome!
We tried the breakfast which consists of Indonesian and International cuisine, served in buffet stations. The choices weren’t much but enough for breakfast. The most interesting thing for me was the authentic Indonesian herbs and spices stations, which can be “processed” by order made into drinks like “jamu” and stuffs.
This time, we were invited to try the signature dish from Kutaraja Restaurant, which is claimed to be an authentic Indonesian cuisine, called Indonesian Rijsttafel Menu. This menu consists of various dishes just like the regular “rijsttafel” should be, and apparently this is served in 2 person serving portion, and available for lunch and dinner for IDR 350,000 (taxes included).
For the Starter & Soup, the Rijsttafel menu offers Gado Gado and Soto Singhasari to awaken our appetite. My personal favorite would be the Gado Gado, which is taken to another level in term of presentation, it was beautiful and classy, amazing because it looked like a gourmet food instead of typical traditional “street food”.
Gado Gado
Although I have been saying a lot of times that I am such a huge fan of East Javanese cuisine, sometimes I also think that their food are a bit too sweet for my liking. However, gado gado uses peanut sauce as its main dressing, and for me, the more sweet soy sauce involved in the sauce, the merrier it is. I was impressed by the looks, the taste, and the refreshing flavor from fresh lime. With emping crackers around the gado gado, I couldn’t ask for more. I love this to the bits and I think it’s impressive way to serve gado gado as a starter instead of main course.
Soto Singhasari
The yellow soto was quite thick (which I like), had strong aromatic flavors going on inside, and the ingredients used were generous. Taste-wise, it was okay but nothing special.
Main Course
This beautiful platter consists of various Indonesian traditional dishes such as: Ayam Bakar Sambal Matah, Ikan Bakar Sambal Matah, Udang Bumbu Kuning, Sate Lilit Bumbu Kecombrang, Rendang, Pepes Ikan, Botok Tempe, Tumis Selada, Urap, Lalapan, and comes with a plate of Nasi Putih.
I LOOOOVEEEE Indonesian food because of its colorful and diversity. This rijsttafel main course really took my heart away the moment I saw it. It’s not exaggerating to say that everything in there is my “comfort food” (rice, sambal terasi, and fish/chicken are all I need to survive, literally) and to top everything, these dishes were served in such harmonious plating.
My favorite was the sate lilit and grilled fish, not mentioning the pepes, SO GOOD. And the three sambals provided along with the main course just complimented everything nicely. Gotta give it to the sambal matah, my ultimate favorite item of our lunch that day.
Sambal Bajak, Sambal Ijo, Sambal Matah
Dessert
Another platter consists of Indonesian desserts, from Ongol-ongol, Bubur Injin, Kue Lupis, Lapis Surabaya, Es Manado, and Fruits.
This looked nice but I think more variety can actually be added to avoid the “empty space” in the plate. My favorite was the Bubur Injin (Balinese name of black glutinous rice with coconut milk or bubur ketan hitam in other parts of Indonesia), it can never go wrong. The lupis was okay but too soft and very sticky, while the ongol ongol barely tasted like one. While I usually can go crazy eating traditional dessert (or jajanan pasar) like these, I found these unimpressive.
Beside the Rijsttafel set menu, we were also served 2 kinds of mocktails which are also signature drinks from Kutaraja Restaurant.
Red Devil IDR 90,000 nett
A good mix of apple juice, cranberry juice, lemon juice, syrup, and ginger ale; the Red Devil is a nice combination of fruity, citrusy flavors with refreshing soda. The beautiful garnishes on top are orange sunkist and red cherries. This drink is offered for 2 person serving portions.
Sky Blue IDR 90,000 nett
Orange juice, blue curacao syrup, and soda water; garnished with orange sunkist and red cherry. I really love this drink as I think blue curacao can never go wrong, especially paired with citrus fruits such as orange or lemon. The taste was colorful and unique, not mentioning that the color itself was very intriguing and “appetizing”. Again, this drink is offered for 2 person serving portions.
Not only that, we also got the chance to witness the making of Kutaraja’s signature dessert, The Art of Singhasari, which took about 15 minutes to prepare and style in a live show performance. This marvelous dessert plate is good for 4 person and is priced at IDR 250,000 (taxes included).
The Pastry Chef carefully crafted the dessert one by one under direct observation of the Executive Chef. The dessert has main ingredients such as Macarons with Vanilla Sauce (same fillings and flavors despite all the different macarons’ colors), Chocolate Volcano, Chocolate Twill, and Puff Pastry.
Other complements to the desserts including Fruits (Blueberry, Raspberry, Strawberry), Sauce (Vanilla, Strawberry, Mango), and Powders (Green Tea, Chocolate, and Icing Sugar), also Meringue which were later torched live, are nice additions to the plate and such a delightful show to watch during the preparation process.
In term of concept, I really like it as it has been quite popular now internationally but not many available in Indonesia yet. The final presentation was very beautiful and inviting, although the desserts themselves need to be improved in term of flavors and textures, IMHO. However, we still enjoyed this as the whole experience, and definitely do recommend this for you who happen to be in Kutaraja Restaurant 🙂
Meet The Singhasari Resort’s Executive Chef Ichwanul Hayat, the man behind all the creations we experienced above.
Overall, our breakfast and lunch at Kutaraja Restaurant were satisfying and enjoyable. We love the food: presentation, taste, and extensive selection of the Rijsttafel menu. For such a price, it’s very affordable because it already can be enjoyed by 2 person and includes everything from starter until dessert. In the end, we only wish that we can come back anytime soon and we wish Kutaraja Restaurant all the best!
*The Food Escape team are not paid whatsoever for writing this post.
** This review is written based on our visit on 11 June 2015.
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KUTARAJA RESTAURANT
THE SINGHASARI RESORT
Jl. Ir. Soekarno No. 120
Batu – East Java
Indonesia
Ph. +62 341 513 333
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