Giỏi Menteng — Restaurant in Jakarta

Located very near to my office this is the first time I have ever been to GIOI restaurant. Location is really strategic as it is near to offices, banks, embassies, malls, so on. Let’s start my experience,

Parking : 8/10

Parking is small and difficult for the owners to park themselves thats why they have very friendly staffs to help us parking by Valet.

Garden : 9/10

Beautiful backdrop for great photos with dense trees and plants

Ground floor 9/10

Beautiful decorations and you can start taking photos right from the entrance and almost everywhere you can take a photo as the arrangements and decorations are really good.

I have asked to get seated in first floor.

First floor : 9/10

There is a bar, live music stage, large gatherings rooms, etc. The seating arrangements are perfect for the theme and can easily accommodate more than 100 people(Normal times not during this pandemic 🙃)

Menu

Little Disappointment. Main course do not have much options and it’s really limited. In chicken very limited options. Drinks - Many items like red velvet latte, etc which are in menu are not available for order as it’s out of stock(Maybe due to pandemic not having all the menus)

Ordered Roast duck curry but after sometime the waiter told us to order other food as it’s also empty.

Ordered salmon lodeh and salt & pepper Calamari.

Salmon lodeh: 9/10(Must try menu if you like coconut milk soups like betawi)

Salmon - 9/10 Soup - 10/10 Vegetables - 9/10 Presentation - 9/10 Taste - 9/10

Salt & Pepper Calamari : 9/10( Not for people who don’t like spicy foods)

Flour - 9/10 Bumbu mix - 9/10 Calamari - 8/10 Sauce - 9/10 Presentation - 8/10 Taste - 9/10

Caffe latte - 8/10

Espresso - 8/10 Milk - 8/10 Foam - 8/10 Presentation - 8/10 Taste - 8/10

Ice Americano - 8/10

Espresso - 8/10 Ice and water mix - 8/10 Presentation- 8/10 Taste - 8/10

Overall experience - 9/10 . Must try if you really like fine dine in with...

Gioi Menteng is renowned for its fusion dishes that combine flavors from around the world. Their menu is a masterpiece, carefully designed to satisfy even the most discerning palates. Whether you're a fan of Asian, European, or Middle Eastern cuisine, Gioi Menteng has something special to offer.

Gioi Menteng's staff are known for their friendliness and knowledge of the menu. They are happy to help you choose dishes that suit your taste.

I ordered Nasi Goreng Andaliman. I was curious to see how they could make fried rice using sambal, which is an important element in various Batak dishes.

Zanthoxylum acanthopodium, or andaliman, is a flowering plant species in the Rutaceae family. Its distribution range includes southwestern China (Guangxi, Guizhou, Sichuan, Tibet, and Yunnan), Bangladesh, Bhutan, northern and northeastern India (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal), Nepal, Laos, Myanmar, northern Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia (northern highlands of Sumatra), and the Malay Peninsula.

Like its close relative Sichuan pepper (Z. bungeanum), the pericarp seeds are used as a spice in cooking and have a similar numbing effect. However, in cooking, andaliman has a lemon-like aroma (similar to lemongrass) and a slight pandan leaf aroma.

It turns out that it is not as spicy as I thought, in fact, it has almost no taste. I didn’t particularly enjoy this dish. While the aroma was enticing, once it entered my mouth, my tongue didn’t detect the spiciness I had anticipated. The presence of vegetables I don’t fondly regard, such as various leaves and bean sprouts, made the fried rice feel unusual to eat. Nevertheless, I made an effort to finish it.

Perhaps next time I should try...

GIOI is an Indonesian Vietnamese fusion restaurant and lounge. I have tried the one in Senopati area before visiting this little gem in Menteng. This restaurant is very homey due to its characteristic and that classic circular staircase in the middle of the room.

The first floor is divided into 2 sections, to the left and to the right of the entrance. While the right has more of a family restaurant feels, the left has smaller tables for 2-4 people that reminds me of a patio at home. There are 2 VIP rooms behind the right side area for a more private gathering or karaoke night. There’s a bar just right across the right dining area.

On the second floor you will find a smoking area as well as relaxing lounge for live music at night. There are 2 more conjoint VIP rooms up here with karaoke available for reservations. The beautiful night sky can be seen through the windowed ceiling area above the lounge. They also provide a lift for easy access between the first and second floor for elderlies which is a nice touch. Another bar can be found on the second floor for the lounge.

The food is full of combination of herbs that are commonly found in traditional Vietnamese, Thailand, and Indonesian dishes. I feel that they are better for sharing, however, due to the strong aroma and complex sauces that get a bit too much if you eat the whole thing. The wagyu brisket is a good example of that, exquisite on the first couple of bites, but too much and it feels a little bit greasy.

We tried 7 different dishes, and the Crispy Duck is a must try for food connoisseur, as well as the Oxtail Salad Starter.

The drawback is definitely the price and the Soufflé, I expected way juicy molten chocolate on the inside instead of the...