Umenadori — Restaurant in Jakarta

Sorry to say me no likey. Was starving and usually food tasted great when one's starving. I had high hopes for this place. .

Where do i start. . Let's start on the food itself. I asked for the recomended items ofc. Ordered those in the bill.

The kushi was bitter. Presentation meh. No umami cuz twas over grilled. Negima was blackened! Bitter black. . And kawa also with Few Blackened bits. Tare tori kawa was okay. Shio one omg! Shio almost undetactable. . All i could ever tasted was bitter crunch so dipped it in shoyu and ponzu. Sorry couldn't tolerate. However we ate it all. . Again. Hungry.

The tsukune sticks were superb! Love the tsukune umeboshi and roe. But i got indigestion straight after meal. Probably the shiso leaf. . Suspected that. Rumbled not long after eating the shiso leaves.

Gomoku was the most disappointing one! No umami or whatsoever. They didnt even have konyaku in it. gomoku I've had in my kansai days was always, always, zettai' brown-ish with umami shoyu with hint of sweetness in it. . Never ever tasted white gomoku rice. Gomoku is identic with lots of crunchy gobou bits. This is beyond disappointing. I will update with pics and video later. Damn almost asked for msg. But that would be insulting. Even shoyu couldn't help my disappoinment. Ok my tummy's growling mad now!!

Oolong high was . Too weak. . Disappointed. It's my friday night drink. Could've ordered 5 if it was ok. Wanted to order more but i guess there's no point in ordering more. . 🙂‍↕️ Will try to revisit soon. Hopefully the taste will be better then. It was full house.

The waiting was okay. Sat on the bar seat. The waitresses are nice thoo! Three stars are for them. That's...

This is my first time coming to this establishment and I'm actually not planning to go here but the place piqued my interest somewhat. The look inside the place feels quite dated (90's and early 2000's) but it is clean and neat, the atmosphere reminds me of Izakaya's bar in Japan. The main dishes here it seems is the Kushiyaki, almost exclusively made of chicken. Other menu are available such as the Kamameshi, rice bowl menus, and a limited selection of desserts. For this occasion I ordered Agedashi tofu, Chicken Karage, Tori Soboro, Momo (grilled chicken thigh), Sasami (grilled chicken breast seasoned with salt and pepper, the looks reminds me of Taichan Satay), pudding for the dessert and a glass of ocha (free flow). I didn't have to wait long for my order to show up one by one, and the waitress is attentive and helpful. The food taste exceed my expectation, especially with the Momo and Sasami, both are juicy, tender and are not over grilled. When the bill came up, the price is typical for a Japanese restaurant, not to expensive and still reasonable. I start eating when the restaurant is still empty and by the time I left it is quite packed with people. Definitely would recommend this restaurant, and would definitely return to try the other menus.

Update : Their lunch set menu is...

Recommended by a friend that there's a long-standing, hidden Japanese restaurant inside Plaza Senayan. The place is very secluded, first you must go to the basement, go through Food Hall, and walk past other restaurant (Leko) to reach here. Even then you are on a waitlist if you visited on busy weekend, so recommended to reserve ahead via WhatsApp first.

Our orders are: Starters: Daigaku Imo 39K Tori Chasu 63K 🌟 Parfait Salad 48K

Main course: Salmon Miso Kamameshi 136K Soboro Meshi Reguler 78K Oyakodon Reguler 87K

Skewers: Tsukimi Tare 33K Tsukune Cheese 30K Tsukune Mentaiko 30K Tsukune Tare 24K Tsukune Umeshiso 27K 🌟 Tori Kawa Shio 46K 🌟 Tori Momo Shio 57K

Desserts: Dango Anko 23K Dango Kinako 23K Dango Mitarashi 23K 🌟 Anmitsu 43K

All the starred items are my favourite! They are a master of chicken & grill as these dish are their most well prepared. I must say, there's a reason why this place is packed and attracts regulars over the years. And the price point is still reachable for the local...