A culinary experience can be made special in many ways – from the company you’re with or the presentation of the food, to the delightfully crafted menu. Here are some establishments that offer one-of-a-kind dining wonders.
Photos by Aditya Purwanto, courtesy of MoonFlower Sagaya Ginza & Osteria Francescana
August
Coming soon this year to Sequis Tower, SCBD Jakarta, August is the brainchild of Chef Hans Christian and restaurateur Budi Cahyadi. It’s going to be open for lunch and dinner, serving small but dynamic a la carte and tasting menus full of modern European dishes infused with some Indonesian ingredients. With an open kitchen concept and a tasting counter allowing direct interaction with the chef, August is like a home where the chef is the host.
In line with that concept, August is holding pre-opening private dining events, similar to supper clubs that have gained popularity among chefs. Up to 12 guests can come to an apartment in Verde Two for each scheduled time, where strangers mingle and gather around the course menu served in a casual yet intimate atmosphere. But, most importantly, it offers a glimpse of where August is heading in terms of palate and presentation.
You can expect surprises and twists, both subtle and prominent. Inspired by PB&J, the Foie Gras Mousse is combined with caramelized peanut and pickled plum in a red wine reduction. A refreshing salad comes in the form of burnt watermelon with avocado, nori aioli, pistachio, romaine lettuce and yeast parmesan. Beef Cheek is slowly cooked and served with the unusually fitting Cilembu sweet potato puree, pomegranate and mustard sauce. A dessert named Kopi Susu (milk coffee) is a playful reinterpretation of the popular drink among millennials, wrapping coffee cream with cold brew coffee tuile. Other dishes include Probiotic-Fed Chicken, Citrus Chantilly with Belimbing Granita, Kaffir Lime Noodle, and Lavender Ice Cream. A ‘shot’ soup inspired the gold-dress-blue-dress phenomenon will challenge your taste buds. Is it savory or sweet? The answer depends on how you use your palate.
IG: august_jkt
MoonFlower Sagaya Ginza
The collaboration between the widely renowned art collective teamLab and Sagaya Ginza, a restaurant specializing in seasonal dishes and Wagyu beef, is an eight-seat dining space in Tokyo. Featuring a digital art installation on the theme of “Worlds Unleashed and then Connected”, guests feast among the ever-changing trees, flowers and birds that unfold across the dinnerware and react to their movement thanks to the artificial intelligence observing the table. The dinner course itself is a 12-dish menu continuously changed in line with the transition of the seasons, fusing traditional arts and high-class cuisine.
Osteria Francescana
This three Michelin-star restaurant which has topped the list of several best restaurant awards is, at the same time, a contemporary and traditional kitchen in the heart of Modena. Osteria Francescana serves a narration of the Italian landscape and an emotional collision of ideas, techniques and cultures by Chef Massimo Bottura. Everything in the menu is an edible story with a playful twist and visual treats. Aside from an a la carte menu with ingredients of the day, it offers a 12-course tasting menu that changes according to its latest kitchen research and the story the chef wants to tell.
