What is it with this year's Christmas that many new restaurants and cafes choose to open at this time of the year? This week alone, I know a couple of new places are open. There's a new farm-to-table restaurant in Ubud (Bali); 2 dessert houses in Pantai Indah Kapuk, North Jakarta; 1 restaurant and 1 deli in Grand Indonesia Shopping Mall; and also there's this brand new chocolate bar/restaurant/rooftop bar/lounge in Senopati, South Jakarta. I'm sure there are more, but I just can't keep track of all of them!
Well, I do not have the luxury of time to visit and try all of them (I wish I do!), but at least I managed to take a quick tour around the last place I mentioned above, before it's open for the general public on 27th December 2014. So, yes, be patient while you read this post, only a few more days to wait and then you can visit and tell me if you like it ;)
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| Amber Chocolate Bar |
Amber Chocolate Bar is the latest concept by Mount Scopus Group, the mother company of The Harvest Patissier & Chocolatier, Negev Art Gallery & Bar, Chateau Blanc, Balboni Ristorante, and Terra Bistro Bar in Malang. The owner, Mr. Lal de Silva, does not seem to be content with just leading the local pastry & bakery market share. The keen businessman, who has already opened several restaurants, now also opens a chocolate bar/restaurant/rooftop bar right opposite a place, which could be said its direct competition (Caca*te).
Judging from his work, I assumed that Mr. Lal is a person who indulges in the finer things and is an avid collector of antiquities and such. Well, "My prediction was not too far fetched, after all", I mused, when I saw his flashy red Ferrari parked outside Amber. What a stark comparison compared to my black & dusty APV...haha!
So, inside Amber, is a 3 storey buildings, each with different decor and concepts...
1st Floor - The Chocolate & Pastry Boutique
Pretty, opulent and pastel-themed pastry boutique for sweet tooths like me, with tables and chair sets that looks perfect for afternoon tea parties. Here, you can purchase whole cakes, sliced cakes, pralines, macarons, etc.
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| The centerpiece display and chandelier |
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| Assorted macarons IDR 15,000/pc | Assorted Pralines starts from IDR 20,000/pc |
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| the Pastry Boutique |
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| Pistachio & Raspberry Chocolate Mousse IDR 375,000 (whole cake) |
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| Assorted Sliced Cakes on display |
2nd Floor - The Library
The 2nd floor a library, almost in a literal sense. The first thing you'll notice are definitely the rows of books on display on the walls and along the counter tables & chairs.
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| The "Library" |
3rd Floor - Sky Lounge
At the time of my visit, the Sky Lounge was not entirely completed yet, but it looks pretty impressive. The walls are entirely floor to ceiling glass and even the ceiling's made of glass too, thus pampering us with 360 degrees view of the SCBD area. This is why the 3rd floor is only open after 5PM, because you can imagine the heat and glare up here during the day, even with the air conditioning fully running. From here, you can access the top most outdoor lounge, via a staircase.
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| Glass walled and ceiling-ed Sky Lounge on 3rd floor |
Until 27th December, the restaurant only caters for the owner(s) guests, and the menu available is not yet as complete as the actual printed menu. Diners can expect to find bistro menu, such as Salad, Starters, Soup & Veloute, Pasta & Rice, Mains & Dessert. There are some items which tickled my curiosity, but unfortunately I couldn't sample yet, they are: Grilled Prawn Carpaccio (Salad), Cold Angel Hair with Truffle & Caviar (Starters), The Fish Market Bouillabaise (Soup), Beef Cheek Tortellini (Pasta), Sirloin Wagyu Mb 9++ with red wine, Kalamata black olives, Tarragon & butternut pumpkin (Mains) -> this one fetches quite hefty price IDR 1million, I wonder how big the serving is, but it's definitely not for the faint-hearted! LOL
Now, food sampling time! I picked 2 sliced cakes, 2 macarons and 2 dishes off the Pre-Opening menu, and here are what they looked like:
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| leather bound menu |
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| Before the pumpkin veloute was poured in |
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| Pumpkin Veloute IDR 75,000 |
13 Hours Pork Belly with carrot, apple, vanilla, kemangi & cardamom reduction, served with potato mash. For some theatrical presentation, there was some white foam, which I unfortunately was unable to distinguish its scent, because my nose was partially blocked (hate the flu!!). But the texture of the pork belly was tender & juicy, that I could tell.
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| 13 Hours Pork Belly IDR 125,000 |
We picked the dessert from the Pastry Boutique downstairs and requested to be served on the 2nd floor, we tried the Caramel and the Strawberry Mousse. My niece loved the Strawberry Mousse, she couldn't wait to have another scoop and didn't bother waiting for me to feed her LOL!
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| Caramel IDR 45,000 |
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| a cross-section look of Caramel |
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| Strawberry Mousse IDR 40,000 |
On the 1st floor, fitted in the middle of the wall of the boutique, is a glass-walled rotary oven (apparently the first in Jakarta), which is said to be perfect for baking macarons. Which means the macs here has got to be properly done. I picked 2 interesting flavours: Curry and Chili Pepper. It was unfortunate that my blocked nose rendered me insensitive to the curry and chili scent. But at least taste wise, I liked it. As I sank my teeth through the macs, I found a pleasant surprise in the midst of the filling: butter-like ganache, yums! Perhaps these may not be the best or the perfect macarons, but I personally quite like it.
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| Curry Macaron IDR 15,000/pc |
If there wasn't so much sweet Christmas goodies at home, I would've bought a dozen of these macs home! But I can always come back anytime, since the Pasty Boutique is already open :)
FYI: Amber's going to be open for New Year celebration, so who knows you'd like to try out this place and hang out at the Sky Lounge and enjoy watching the fireworks.
Amber Chocolate Bar's 2nd and 3rd floor will be accessible to the public from 27 December 2014 onwards.
FYI: Amber's going to be open for New Year celebration, so who knows you'd like to try out this place and hang out at the Sky Lounge and enjoy watching the fireworks.
Amber Chocolate Bar's 2nd and 3rd floor will be accessible to the public from 27 December 2014 onwards.
Open Hours:
Pastry Boutique: 7 AM - 10 PM
Library: 10 AM - 11 PM
Sky Lounge: 5 PM - 1 AM (weekdays)| 5 PM - 3 AM (weekends)
*) Prices are subject to 8% Service Charge & 10% Government Tax
Amber Chocolate Bar
Jl. Senopati Raya No. 61 (exactly opposite Cacaote Senopati)
Kebayoran Baru - South Jakarta
Ph: +6221 29044412
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