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To start the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Critic visits Maroush Moroccan restaurant on the mezzanine floor of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Jakarta.
all started in a Blue Bird taxi, a soft, damp evening. Trapped on Sudirman with flamboyant red tail lights as far as we could see and moving centimeter by centimeter, we did the only reasonable thing we thanked our driver for the services and set out in the deserts hour traffic advanced Jakarta walk (and vapors, soot, mud and dubious paths).
Three kilometers later, nerves still intact and after many discussions on how to dodge the menacing minivans while in crosswalks assumed we come to Maroush. What oasis! We were greeted with walls painted with taste and precious colored stones and furniture, wrought iron gates and a blown glass ornament. It was a quiet evening, with no sign of belly dancing or live music, as it was midweek. On one side of the dining room, business men sat languidly sipping tea and smoking chicha pipes. A large group of well-dressed ladies celebrate an engagement or something equally exciting sitting in another corner of joy, in short, staccato bursts of throughout the evening broadcast.
We were definitely the intruder couple of sorts. Sweaty, tired and a little weary, we certainly did not look like the type that should be allowed in the restaurant. However, we were greeted with warm smiles and seats immediately.
After collecting my thoughts and some Yogic deep breathing to exorcise the previous betrayal hour along the aisles, I read in a dizzying menu of cuisines. My companion and I sat immobilized and shared mutual feelings of trepidation. We had heard beautiful Moroccan meal, but now Indian and Turkish, too? There was even a section on cooking "Chindian", a hybrid of Chinese and Indian cuisine.
Was Maroush just one level of an eclectic food court seeking to impress everyone that the disappointment of flat instead?
Ultimately, we decided to order a dish from each section of the menu. By this point in the evening, nothing could be worse than when I went into some sticky sludge which I took for a sidewalk somewhere along the Taman Semanggi interchange.
The Master D 'made some nice spicy harissa black olives, juicy grapes and salted peanuts to our table as a complement to our meal. It was a pleasant surprise and certainly went well as we swallowed our ice cold beers. Four Favorite Dips in a plate displayed samples of their fine eggplant and hummus dips, spicy eggplant with being standout. Everything was organized with fingering, and served with a variety of pita bread Lavash with pide , a regional Turkish pita type that looks and feels more like a soft, flat roll. It is perfect for dips, and we really started to feel more confident in the kitchen capacity.
Appetizer dips Maroush
As suspected, surprises abounded tonight, and not all as favorable as dips and snacks further, when the Maître D 'presented a strange white board, which served Yayla Chicken Kebab. What was supposed to be a Turkish kebab style minced chicken and spices with yogurt sauce with garlic infused more like a plate full of shattered, pasty patties and meatballs swimming in a pristine white yogurt sea. I do not understand how the dish might look appealing to anyone other than a toddler. The kebab itself was warm and dry with an overwhelming component onion and yogurt could have been served with a more conservative hand. This was certainly not representative of the skewer delicious minced sent me to another plane of existence Istanbul a few years ago.
However, the Royal Lamb Tagine arrived bubbling with delight dramatic; sensual aromas of prunes and spices engulfed the table as soon as the lid was lifted. A superb tender lamb shank fork rested perfectly in the center, on top of its salty-sweet juice. It was delicious with freshly buttered naan and pide. The Bhindi Do-Pyaza (okra cooked with onions and spices) did not disappoint. Extremely tender young okra cooked with Indian spices and caramelized onions provided much needed pop to the palace after all the sweet-flavor lamb and divert attention from the skewer of chicken disappointing.
Lamb tagine
It is not difficult to imagine a dining room full of guests booming especially during Ramadan, when Jakartans celebrate breaking fasting with decent variety of preparations of different cuisines they provide to Maroush. I suppose that when a restaurant is to appease the masses, each dish may not be as pleasant as the other, but there is always something that satisfies. On the other hand, with too much variety there is a loss of concentration and ability to retain excellence in a well-intentioned kitchen where dishes are outstanding diluted by the mediocre and downright terrible. As a critic, this is something I encounter time and again in Jakarta. It is unfair to deny the kitchen and a hug at the same time fair to the reader to obscure any creation that does not translate well to the table.
Maroush is a mixed bag as such. On the night we dined, he presented a very good tagine Moroccan style, a Turkish kebab terrible and delicious Indian okra. The bread was OK, but the baklava dry and bland. And even if a great pair of shoes has faced an untimely demise along the way, the culinary journey Maroush was somewhat pleasant.
Verdict: 3 out of 5 stars
Maroush
Crowne Plaza Hotel Lt. 2
Jalan Jenderal Gatot Subroto Kav 2-3
Tel: 021-5289-2431 or 021-9277-2277
Website: www.nomi-inc.co.id
Price (dinner for 2)
drinks: Rp.100,000
Power: Rp.690,000
Tax (10 percent): Rp.79,000
service charge (10 percent): Rp.86,900
: Rp.955,900