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Luxury travel inspiration from the Asia-Pacific region

DestinAsian

Jakarta is quietly brimming with local culinary talent. Take the example of chef Aditya Muskita, who trained in two of Bali’s top restaurants (Mozaic and Room4Dessert) and landed an internship at Copenhagen’s now-defunct hit Relæ, before returning home to lead two eateries by Potato Head. These days, Aditya oversees the open kitchen at Esa, a place he co-owns with culinary author Kevindra Soemantri and fellow Potato Head alum Jessica Eveline. With pared-back interiors (think blond wood ceilings and floors, black wood veneer tables, and off-white walls) by a residential design studio, it’s arguably the most exciting tenant at the open-air SCBD Park mall.
Tasting menus here showcase what the founders call “new Jakarta cuisine,” born of the city’s inherent multiculturalism and openness to outside influences. This explains the ikura with homemade burrata and sorghum nectar in a crisp plantain “tart.” Aditya nods to his maternal Sundanese-Chinese heritage through the hoisin-glazed odading (a fried dough snack) that complements the cloud-like foie gras parfait. An inspired spin on rujak puts crystalline iceplants from the Priangan highlands, cucumber noodles, and East Java sea grapes in a pineapple-and-tamarind dressing.
Mains double down on bold Indonesian flavors. Dry-aged and lightly cooked hamachi comes smothered in a coconut-rich bumbu kuning velouté with carrot puree and Manadonese dabu-dabu relish. Tender grilled Lombok octopus nods to that island’s spicy ayam taliwang by way of a Romesco sauce featuring roasted Lombok chilies. Plated in curry leaf jus alongside lap cheong duck sausage and roasted Brussels sprouts, the aged duck breast is glazed with housemade brem (black sticky rice wine).
As for dessert, “es campur without the ice” comprises a bowl of frozen jackfruit mixed with yogurt, lime and pandan pearls, rosella gel, and coconut jelly, all girded by an avocado mousse. The Fried PB &amp; J is as decadent as it sounds: a quenelle of intensely smoky peanut ice cream with fried brioche and Ovaltine-like barley foam. Chase it down with one of Esa’s aromatic fruit meads, all produced in-house. —James Louie
<a href="https://www.instagram.com/esarestaurant/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">instagram.com/esarestaurant/</a> 
+62 811 1001 6282 (WhatsApp) 
<a href="https://maps.app.goo.gl/VuLcn6gb8FXLCmAk6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">SCBD Park, Lot 7 Unit 3A, Jl. Jenderal Sudirman Kav. 52–53, Jakarta, Indonesia</a>

An appetizer of foie gras parfait and odading at Esa; chef-owner Aditya Muskita.

Esa Restaurant

Jakarta Dining

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