It's only been a few days since I dined at this new restaurant in Jakarta and I have recommended this place to thousands of people on my social media and a few friends directly. You know, to a foodie like me, nothing beats the excitement of knowing that others find my recommendation as valid and that they enjoy dining at the place I spoke highly of! This new place is Socieaty by Les Amis Group.
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| Addiction begins here... |
Who is Les Amis Group, you ask? First of all, Les Amis from Singapore placed number 13 on the list of Asia's 50 Best Restaurants, a prestigious league of restaurants in the whole Asia, curated by select judges and the list changes annually. The group that helms Les Amis, also owns a slate of assorted restaurant brands in Singapore, just to name a few: an Italian trattoria - La Strada, a French eatery - Bistro Du Vin, a Spanish themed La Taperia and a dainty bakery Tarte. Now, imagine if you could have some of these renowned brand under 1 roof? Is it fantastic or what?
I'm honestly happy that Les Amis group chose Jakarta as the location for its overseas venture. While I rather regret the choice of venue inside a shopping mall, I'm still glad nonetheless because they choose the shopping mall that I frequently visit, Plaza Indonesia. A place with great food like this, deserved its own independent venue, replete with tall windows and bright interior, as such, guests will be able to not only boast about the food verbally, but show with breathtaking photos as evidence. That being said, I think the interior concept still suits its label as an all-day European dining.
There are so many new places to eat, growing expansively like algae bloom in Jakarta, but to be honest, it has been quite a while since I felt this excited about the food...
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| Left: Elderflower Fizzy (IDR 45,000) Right: Essence Cold Pressed Juice (IDR 58,000) |
We started our meal with the appetisers: Fried Baby Squid, Spicy Chicken Quesadilla and Portobello Pollo. And yes, the Fried Baby Squid is not actually photogenic nor was it easy to shoot (how to make an all-black greasy mess look tasty??), but the taste revealed an entirely different side of it. I'm always skeptical about food with squid ink, because they are always on the extremes: 'really good' or 'make me wanna puke', and these black bites are well beyond 'really good', they are addictive!
On the other hand, the Spicy Chicken Quesadillas, despite the price, is seemingly a favourite of many guests here (I saw the kitchen crew prepping the same dish many times at the open prepping counter just beyond the main kitchen. The Portobello Pollo fared just as well, with the balanced taste and texture. I must admit that the price of Appetisers already tells you that this is not your ordinary western style cafe / restaurant, it's high end for sure, but it's still accessible and worth paying for in my honest opinion. So you are NOT allowed to complain about the price if you're a frequent guest at places like Union, Le Quartier and such!
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| Fried Baby Squid - Black ink battered baby squid, aioli (IDR 95,000) |
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| Spicy Chicken Quesadilla - chicken thigh marinated with Sriracha & tomato sauce, bell pepper, pineapple, onion, mozzarella & parsley (IDR 148,000) |
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| Portobello Pollo - breaded portobello mushroom, chicken in red wine stew (IDR 105,000) |
I was able to keep my calm after the 3 fantastic Appetisers, but what came next unraveled my coolness in the messiest and most delicious manner! The Truffle Carbonara is a must try, especially if you love: 1. runny creamy egg, 2. ham, 3. truffle, 4. perfectly cooked fresh pasta. Those 4 combos seem ordinary and easy, but not many actually can get those 4 right at the same time. The first mouthful was like an enlightenment moment to me, so rare and so divine! If you wonder why the price is quite steep for a plate of pasta, well, other than the ham and truffle, the cost goes into the (spaghetti a la) chittara, which is freshly made by the kitchen staff daily.  |
| Truffle Carbonara - fresh chittara pasta, truffle scented beurre blanc, crispy parma, egg confit & shaved parmesan (IDR 228,000) |
Quite the contrary (price wise) to the Truffle Carbonara, is the Aglio Olio, which is reasonably priced. But the taste nd texture are still top notch, kudos!
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| Aglio Olio - spaghetti with garlic, chili, parsley (IDR 65,000) | add bacon / sausage +IDR 35,000 | add chicken +IDR 40,000 |
Moving on to the Main Course, despite our tummies almost filling up to the brim, I couldn't resist wolfing down the delicious roast chicken and the duck leg. Both meat scored well, but it was the side dishes that actually got me hooked! The roast baby potatoes and green beans in the chicken might as well be a dish of its own haha! The pommery mustard mashed potato should too, it's so incredibly smooth, but still has the chunky potato bits inside and it melts in the mouth with such lovely butter-y potato-ey gooeyness.
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| Roast Chicken - pan-roasted half chicken with Asian spices, potato, garlic fine bean (IDR 128,000) |
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| Duck Leg Confit - crispy duck leg confit, sauteed mushrooms, pommery mustard mashed potato (IDR 195,000) |
After what seemed like lovely surprises one after another, we ended the divine meal with an oomph! The Floating Island dessert and the tarts are highly recommended, and I'm pretty sure even non sweet tooth will enjoy these too! The Floating Island itself is not too sweet and very light (although I personally will eat this with a lot of the vanilla sauce and candied almond), so you won't feel bloated after eating this.
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| Floating Island - meringue drizzled with vanilla sauce, candied almond (IDR 65,000) |
These delectable tarts use the original recipe from Tarte by Cheryl Koh, the Pastry Chef of Les Amis. The best tart I've ever wolfed down so far, the crust is thin, crispy but not crumbly with assorted great fillings, but my favourite is the Harum Manis Mango and Dark Chocolate Tart. I can have two of that at one go!
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| Assorted tarts from the bakery display, signatures of Tarte by Cheryl Koh |
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| Left: Caramel Hazelnut tart Right: Dark Chocolate tart |
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| Assorted Carolines: Vanilla (Vanilla pastry cream topped with crunchy “craquelin”) & Dark Chocolate (Dark chocolate cream glazed with Cacao Barry dark chocolate ganache) |
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| Left: Mochaccino IDR 38,000 Right: The vanilla filling inside the pink shaded Caroline |
Normally, due to time constraint and simply the fact of too many new places to try, I rarely repeated my visit to a restaurant, unless it's da*n good. But Socieaty will be one of the very few exceptions and I seriously can't wait to be back soon! I highly recommend this place =)
Open Hours:
10 am - 10 pm (same as mall operational hours)
*) Prices are subject to Government Tax and Service Charge
Socieaty by Les Amis Group
Plaza Indonesia Level 1
Jl. MH Thamrin Kav 28-30
Jakarta Pusat - 10350
Ph: +6221 2992 3888 / +62 852 2228 7777
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