The Royal Kitchen — Restaurant in Jakarta

A truly genuine Kitchen that unfortunately a bit underrated! I have been here few times before deciding to write a good review about this truly Indian food establishment in Indonesia (not only Jakarta).

They, unlike most other Indian restaurants around Indonesia, Jakarta in particular, provide daily lunch buffet on very reasonable value price. Slightly higher on Friday Saturday and Sunday, but of course with more menus that are not available off weekends.

The most important thing for me as a true Desi Khana connoisseur, is that they never have the same menu being repeated in within 7 days. Or even their weekend menus for buffet have always been different from each week. Maintaining the high quality of the dishes, unlike other famous Indian restaurants around that keep on repeating the same boring buffet menus each weekend, and having the flavours away from real authenticity, they serve you with ever changing varieties of Indian rich cuisine dishes that will never make you bore after sometimes.

This restaurant so far has never put me down with any of their wide arrays of dishes and Indian sweets.

The dum biryani, mutton is my most preference, is a must to go here. Being raised and lived back in India, I know what is a good biryani should be like. Mutton leg pieces are just so tender and fall off the bones naturally due to perfect dum cooking. The bones are filled with creamy marrows that makes the biryani eating experience here uplifted to the next level. The masala too is definitely not over powering, yet not too mild, with that unique fragrance of mace and green cardamoms and other aromatics. Just perfect, more on the Delhi style dum Biryani which is not as aromatic and rich as legendary Awadhi Biryani or not as spicy chatpatti wali Hyderabadi Style.

Apart from Biryanis, their veg and non veg dishes are unique that even some of them are not available in other Indian restaurants here in Indonesia.

Their sweets are definitely not to be taken as joke! Jalebis are perfectly made with properly fermented batter, Kaaju katli are one the bests around and particularly the Bengali chena based sweets like Roshogollas, Chom chom and gulab jamuns here have no other competitors yet!

One specially unique item here which is nearly non existance in other Indian restaurants around, is their traditional Rajasthani Malai Ghewar! A deep fried honey comb looking crispy batter drizzled slightly in aromatic sugar syrup and adorned on top with thick creamy saffron annointed malai rabri and dry nuts. A sweet dessert that is a must during Teej festival through out Rajasthan and popular during monsoon. Ghewar making is NOT an easy task, that requires skilled technique to maintain a proper balanced crispness of the fried honey comb shaped batter after being drizzled with sugar syrup and topped with fresh aromatic and rich kesari rabri. This place is the ONLY ONE so far in Indonesia that has perfectly present this gem of Rajasthan in the most perfect shape. I would definitely look only on this place for this unique sweet.

Not available daily, but have to be pre ordered a day before to maintain freshness, texture and flavour.

All of their food and sweets here are prepared with pure ghee and this is why they have distinct aroma and flavour that really represent true North Indian royal cuisine.

Besides the food, their service is definitely excellent. If anything you would like to inquire about, Mr Bisht Mohan Ji, the experienced manager who really is a knowledgeable person, is around to help you.

Come, dine here and prove what I...

The Royal Kitchen is an upscale Indian restaurant located inside The Bellagio Boutique Mall at Mega Kuningan area. Upon entering the restaurant, I could already smell the scent of incense burnt in front of the restaurant which transferred me directly into Indian world. The restaurant itself is quite spacious, dominated with stone and wood accents across the room with some Indian decorations to give more Indian feel. For the menu, I opted for ala carte one. Here's what I tried and let's review it one by one :

Half Tandoori Murgh (IDR 99.5k++) Here it is, Tandoori Chicken!! One of the most Indian dish you have to try. It is chicken marinated with hung yogurt, ginger, garlic, and spices, then roasted in a special clay oven called Tandoor. The chicken was full of flavors, it was so well marinated and the combination of all the spices & other ingredients were so so good. It also had spicy aftertaste but not overpowering, just mild spicy so don't worry. I highly suggest you to try this chicken dish. If you love roasted chicken, you will love this.

Gosht Dum Biryani (IDR 129.5k++) Another Indian speciality, it is Basmati rice (a type of long grain rice) cooked inside a claypot bowl together with baby lamb and also aromatic herb&spices. The waiter brought the whole pot to the table, so when I opened the seal I could clearly see the rice together with it's topping of lamb inside the claypot. Then how to eat it? Grab your spoon, and mix it all together so the rice, lamb, and the seasoning are all mixed well. The seasoning was on point, not too strong and also not too light. The baby lamb was perfectly cooked and it was tender. Eat all the ingredients together in one spoon, and you will feel how good it is.

Sweet Lassi (IDR 42.5k++) Speaking about Indian beverage, the one that might come to your mind probably is Chai Masala Tea, but how if you don't like spiced tea? Do you know that there is a refreshing creamy drink in India called Lassi? If you're a fan of yogurt then this will be your best choice. Lassi is an Indian drink made with blended yogurt, water, spices and sometimes fruit. Here I ordered the sweet one (you can choose either the plain, sweet, or salty one), and it tasted so good and refreshing. This yogurt drink will be the palate cleaner after eating a lot of heavily spiced foods. I loved the sweet one since it really balanced out the sourness of yogurt itself. You really have to order this drink!!!

Matka Kulfi (IDR 59.5k++) Kulfi is an Indian ice cream made with saffron, pistachio, and dried fruits. You know when I first thought it was an ice cream, I expected it to be smooth and creamy like the ice cream I usually have. But I was wrong. This ice cream had a unique texture that I'm sure that you've never tried it before. The texture was rough and quite sandy. It was creamy though, but the taste was unfamiliar for me. It was pretty hard to describe since it was my first time trying this ice cream. If you love unique dessert like you've never had before, go for this one.

Overall I have a good time enjoying my Indian lunch at The Royal Kitchen. The food was good and tasted really authentic. Their staff was also warm and their manager who is an Indian also greeted me and helped me explain about their food. For the price, it is on the expensive scale since it is an upscale restaurant, but the experience was worth for me. If you ask me whether I will come back to here or not, I will say "why not?" since I have a lot of Indian foods I've never tried before and I'm still curious what Gulab Jamun tastes...

I have dined at this restaurant a few times so far. Each was splendid and delightfull. Now I'll focus on their Sunday Brunch. Quite literally its enthralling and captivating ambience lures your entry as you foresee beautifully arranged chafers, trays, and platters. Delicate aromas infiltrate & culinary craftwafts siphonate enticing your salvitory glands. It triggers your brain into anticipating the intriguing possibilities of their cuisine. Altar subtle incense & smoothtech music transcendent your ease when inside. Ornamental Indian statuettes, vases, paints, etc are eloquently situated. Masterful is the word that comes to my mind defining the food looks, smell, & taste. A wide variety of delicious items await your senses. Soups, salad, appetizers, breads, chicken, lamb, fish & mix veges are authentically homemade Indian style dishes. Watch your chef make your appetizer & roti by request. Aloo Gobi, Palak Paneer, Subji, etc sides. Chicken tika, Fish Curry, Lamb biryani are some mains. I find the Fragrant, Flaky, Moist basmati jasmine rice heartwarming. Their Fresh desserts are irresistible. Kelapa Muda, Punches, Lassi, Tea and other beverages cost extra. The service is attentive and professional. Yet AYCE for a reasonable price. It's an excellent deal for a wonderful fine dining experience. Especially if you like Indian meals then you won't be...