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It is seven minutes past 6 p.m, and I am getting settled into my table at ESA, a restaurant in the heart of Jakarta’s business district.
In front of me is a platter to start my foray into the evening’s delights: ikura, house-made burrata cheese and sorghum nectar served on plantain crisp; prawn tart, supplemented by also house-made beef bacon, sweet corn and sesame emulsion and sea grapes and cucumber, garnished with pineapple and tamarind dressing.
Gentle and subtle, followed by smokey and rich, ending with a refreshing zestiness. And that was just the first quarter of the menu.
Gastronomic writer Kevindra Soemantri, who co-owns the restaurant at SCBD Park with chef Aditya Muskita and restaurateur Jessica Eveline, tells me that the essence of the ESA experience is its multisensory approach to the culinary arts.
Culinarily curious, like the people of Jakarta itself.
The “new Jakarta cuisine” that ESA champions proudly through its “seasons” is an exploration of the cosmopolitan.
“As a restaurant, we don’t want to create an identity that’s not ours,” says Kevindra.
The city, where East meets West and the indigenous meets the foreign, is a melting pot of individuals influencing one another ad infinitum. So it stands to reason that ESA’s menu should reflect that heterogeneity, like the smoked and cured Moluccan tuna marinated in fragrant coconut milk, or the grilled octopus harkening to tropical Lombok with its chili relish and celeriac puree.
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With Heritage, ESA’s first season that I was able to savor before they welcomed a new season by this publication, chef Aditya tapped into his own career journey across continents. Of particular note were the grilled slow-cooked short ribs with cashew hoisin and the aged duck glazed in brem (black sticky rice wine) with lapcheong duck sausage, served alongside the lemon basil-infused nasi hijau (green rice).
The rice is an interesting peculiarity within ESA’s fine casual context, eschewing Western fine dining conventions of individual plates in favor of a tasting menu designed for sharing, evoking the communal dining experience in many Indonesian households.
Also of note in that regard is ESA’s literal home-like atmosphere courtesy of Surabayan firm Gunawan x Gunawan, the residential arm of Bgnr Architects. The expansive open kitchen permits diners the intimacy of witnessing their meals prepared directly, bringing a sense of immersion into what normally would be an impersonal experience.
Concluding the journey is the indulgently deconstructed-reconstructed “es campur without the ice” and fried PB&J, which substitutes the peanut butter with a smokey peanut ice cream and the jelly with fresh berry coulis.
Experimental, yet familiar.
Perhaps at the end of the day, a taste of home is all we crave, chefs included. Kevindra himself has heard from a returning guest that their beef dish reminds them of sate maranggi (beef satay from Purwakarta), while another recalled hints of steak.
The ordinary, removed from mundanity through modern interpretations.
As I sipped the last of my house-made fruit wine, ESA’s experimental approach to flavors seems to ebb and flow with Jakarta itself, growing alongside the megapolitan in harmony.
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This article is part of The Weekender, a biweekly tabloid that appears in the Saturday edition of The Jakarta Post. Offering a variety of feature articles on lifestyle and culture, it aims to enriching your reading experience. Subscribe here to access The Jakarta Post's Saturday edition and all Premium content.
