Jakarta's Apartment Gem: Koiki Eatery

I remember a time before I started blogging, the only type of Japanese food I know was from a local Japanese fast food restaurant chain that serves mainly fried stuff (furai), katsu, yakiniku, teriyaki and other easy comfort food. This type of restaurants are easily likeable because they served quick food with bold seasoning, the way Indonesians like it. However, I believe the essence of Japanese food is not that.

Koiki Niku Soba - hot soba with sliced Angus beef IDR 120,000

As the years pass by, the local customers are becoming more educated and there comes new restaurants serving authentic and other types of Japanese cuisine, I saw more and more Indonesians grow their appetite for the real deal such as fresh sashimi, kaiseki, omakase dining, etc. They don't come cheap for sure, but there are actually customers in Indonesian who could absolutely afford these

Little known to the public in Jakarta, unless you're a foodie who constantly hunt for different places to eat at. There's a Japanese restaurant in one of the high end apartment buildings in Senopati, to be exact Senopati Suites, the name is Koiki Eatery, which happens to mean 'stylish or chic' in English. As far as I could tell, there aren't that many apartments in Jakarta with decent restaurants, even less so: an authentic Japanese one. So, the residents of Senopati Suites are so blessed to have Koiki Eatery right at their doorstep!

The menu at Koiki is quite varied, it covers everything from Soup, Salad, Appetizer, Soba, Ramen, Udon, Curry, Donburi, Sashimi, Sushi, Hand Roll, Sushi Roll, Set Menu, Bento Set, Kaiseki Course, Omakase up to Dessert. And on Sundays, there's even Sunday Brunch Buffet for an affordable price of IDR 270,000++/person (at the time this blog post is written). You're definitely spoilt for choice, and so were we, when we dined here.

We started off with the signature sushi rolls: Koiki Sushi Roll (chopped salmon, chopped chili, tempura flakes, spring onion & tobiko) and my personal favourite, the Buffalo Roll (chopped shiitake, asparagus, tobiko, thinly sliced aburi beef angus meat & fried garlic chips).

Koiki Sushi Roll at Koiki Eatery Senopati (www.culinarybonanza.com)

Left: Koiki Sushi Roll IDR 120,000

Sushi at Koiki Eatery Senopati (www.culinarybonanza.com)

Buffalo Roll at Koiki Eatery Senopati (www.culinarybonanza.com)

Buffalo Roll IDR 120,000

Then if you fancy a massive feast, you could opt for the Kaiseki Course (IDR 1,050,000/set) or the Omakase (price upon request). A restaurant that serves omakase, surely is at a higher league than those that don't, because there is a certain expectations or standards to uphold when the customers surrender their choice of dishes to the chef's expertise.

For Kaiseki Course at Koiki, the following is what you could expect to enjoy: