The Garden – PIK – culinARTSdaily

Pantai Indah Kapuk (PIK) is always brimming with new restaurants of unique and stylish concepts. It’s definitely a place where the ‘young’ and ‘hype’ peeps of Jakarta come and go to eat, socialise, and (of course) take OOTD pictures! 😉

Speaking of OOTD pictures, The Garden Restaurant at PIK is definitely a place of beautiful & strong concept. The area is quite spacious and filled with lots of garden/floral details. I went with a couple of my friends on a Friday night and it was jam packed with people (you better make reservations!)

One of my friend is a vegetarian, so we ordered quite a lot of vegetarian-friendly dishes. If you are the type that is quite picky with vegetables, worry no more – because I think this restaurant did a fantastic job cooking the vegetables!

Crispy Wok Fried Eggplant – IDR60,000++

I We LOVED it! In fact, we loved it so much that we order another batch of these! I loved that the eggplant was still soft yet not too mushy. It’s savory with soft hint of sweetness in it.

Wok Fried Kale – IDR75,000++

I lost the picture for this dish (so sorry!), but it’s quite a memorable one too. Not to mention Kale have LOTS of health benefits in it!

Krunchy Black Eel – IDR60,000++

We also order 2 batch of this dish. It’s the perfect appetizer for sharing. The portion was just enough for 3 – 4 people, it’s bite-sized, and (of course) delicious! The eel was (as the name imply) crunchy, yet not too hard. It’s marinated with sweet and sour sauce.

Cheesy Grilled Lettuce with Goma Dressing – IDR55,000++

This was an oddly simple yet satisfying dish. It’s basically grilled lettuce with salted egg, parmesan cheese, and Goma dressing.

I honestly tasted more of the salted egg & parmesan cheese than the goma dressing, but it’s still delicious. The lettuce was fresh and crispy. The dish was light, and the flavors were subtle and not too strong, so it’s the perfect dish to ‘rinse’ all the heavy flavors before switching to other dishes.

On a side note, I do find this dish to be a bit too pricey though..

Wonton Bulgogi Taco – IDR90,000++

This one was an ‘okay’. It’s minced AUS Beef wrapped around crispy wonton skin and topped with jalapeno. I find that the skin was a bit too oily, but then again I am just the type of person less inclined to oily food. My friends find it delicious though..

20-Hours Ultimate Short Ribs Steak – IDR165,000++

I rarely liked beef, but this was DELICIOUS! We ordered to batch of these, it definitely match the price!

The short ribs were super (duper) tender and well marinated. We asked it to be cooked medium-well, and they managed to do it perfectly so. RECOMMENDED!

Rocky Sticky Beef Ribs – IDR195,000++

I think this place really nailed the beef/steak section. This one was fenomenal too. If you’d like something of a bigger portion, this is the go-to choice.

The ribs was quite thick, but they cook it so perfectly. The outer skin was crispy and flaky, and the insides were so tender that it easily fell off when we rake it with our forks!

The salad on the side uses sauce that reminds me of those Thailand sweet and sour salad dressing. It gave a fresh and light note after the heavy ribs.

After all the savory dishes, let’s move on to DESSERTS! It’s a shame that some of their dessert ran out, but we still managed to get a hold of some of their other signature desserts as well.

She’s the slice of Heaven – IDR60,000++

This is Mille Crepe with a choice of Taro, Thai Tea, or Mila Sauce. We opted for the Thai Tea sauce since it’s kind of unique and not as easily found else where.

The Mille Crepe itself wasn’t as soft and ‘melty’ as I’d like- the texture was ‘okay’, but the Thai Tea sauce was worth the honorary mention. It’s thick and bit too sweet, but I love that they still managed to retain that classic Thai Tea fragrant.

Salted Choco Fondant – IDR75,000++

We expected the Choco Fondant to be the perfect lava cake, but sadly it’s not. Also, when they say ‘salted’, they really mean it – the chocolate cake was indeed salty! It’s actually quite good, but those that would prefer their chocolate cake stay sweet may say otherwise.

Overall food was all good – I can’t find any that I dislike, the place and ambiance was excellent too! They have live music during the night (not sure of the schedule) and it’s the perfect place to hang out with your friends!