Again, there’s a new restaurant in Jakarta, Caffe Milano that just opened for public since last week in the East Mall, Grand Indonesia. Right after we had a meeting, we straight away went to Caffe Milano for dinner. This restaurant is accessible from the inside of Central Department Store, which is located on the Ground Floor (East Mall Grand Indonesia), or from Central’s outside lobby. Caffe Milano apparently under the same management with Union Group, which has a good reputation and has been successful with other brands such as, Union, Cork & Screw, Union Deli, E&O Jakarta, Loewy, and the latest, Benedict. Kewl!
As an Italian restaurant, Caffe Milano serves a variety of Italian dishes ranging from Antipasti, Pasta, Secondi, Pizza and some Italian desserts. The restaurant itself is headed by Chef Luca Pezzera, a native of Bergamo in Northern Italy, who has more than 20 years of working experience in Italy, Switzerland, Scotland, Istanbul, Jordan, Dubai, and currently, Jakarta. Yup, that’s what I’ve read from their Instagram, which posted two weeks ago.
So, we went there for an early dinner, but, unfortunately, the place has been full house. But then the reservation lady who stands next to the back entrance (from inside Central’s) offered whether we wanted to sit but only limited until 7pm. The table which she offered me was already booked by other guests to 7pm. We still had 1.30 hours at that time, so we agreed. Anyway, we don’t plan to linger there because, after 4pm, the indoor dining area turns into a smoking area as well. I was wondering, why can’t they keep the indoor area with clean air without smoke? Are visitors who smoke gets priority than non-smokers?
Chamomile Hot Tea, IDR 40K + Complimentary Bread
The air con in this restaurant was very cold indeed, so I ignore the selection of cold drinks and just ordered a hot Chamomile tea to keep us warm. While waiting for the main course, the waiter gave us a complimentary bread. The bread was warm and delicious, best eaten with olive oil and balsamic sauce that has been provided at each table.
Spaghetti Vongole, IDR 120K
This dish may look simple, but it became my most favorite dish compared to other dishes that we tried last night. A generous serving of succulent steamed white clams (also known as Batik clams) served over the al-dente pasta with chopped parsley was simply delicious and comforting! The garlic white wine sauce wasn’t creamy yet tasty and flavorful.
Grilled Salmon Steak, IDR 150K
Salmon is rich in omega 3-s, and it’s our favorite fish, so we chose it from the secondi selections. Unlike the pasta in the above picture, the grilled salmon steak looked appealing and nice. It is served with agrodolce caramelized onions and tomato salsa. The grilled salmon had a nice flavor, but the texture was a little dry for my taste, so I ate them together with spinach and the mashed potato.
Overall, we had a pleasant dinner experience at Caffe Milano. The easy listening music was covered by the conversation of the people because the restaurant was so crowded last night. The dim yellowish lights instantly create a romantic atmosphere for dinner, but, unfortunately, we were both disturbed by the smoke from smokers in the indoor dining area. Dining out here of course expensive, for those above, we spent almost IDR 400K. To give you an idea, the pasta start at IDR 90K and go up to IDR 135K, secondi starts from IDR 150K, pizza starts from 95, and dessert starts from IDR 35K.
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