There's no such thing as a free lunch...Or is there?

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It's official. The next president of Indonesia is former army general Prabowo Subianto. Quite how the next five years will pan out is anyone's guess but hopefully the foreign pundits who always bring up his dodgy human rights record will be proven wrong. Nonetheless, on policy making, Prabowo's popularist move to literally offer the poor 'a free lunch' every day of the week does not augur well for the future. Such a policy - if it ever came to fruition - would cost a phenomenal amount of money and likely lead to huge inefficiencies (food waste) and poor incentives (make people lazy). Another concern is Prabowo's strong nationalist bent. Thus, in the possible event that he finds himself with his back against the proverbial wall in the face of stern economic challenges, there is a big chance that he will simply scapegoat foreigners. But he will have to be careful. Construction of the new capital city, Nusantara, for example, is highly dependent on foreign in
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Zenbu Jakarta Plaza Indonesia

Japanese food is great. But it’s also very expensive. 

So are there any affordable alternatives to the very pricey Japanese restaurants that are usually located in the city’s five star hotels or fancy office buildings? 
 
Well, yes there are. And one of them is Zenbu, a bright and cheerful little restaurant located in the new extension to the venerable Plaza Indonesia shopping mall.

Zenbu Jakarta 

The restaurant is open-planned making it ideal for claustrophobes like me, in addition to being a great place to participate in Jakarta’s most popular shopping mall activity – people watching. :) 

Without further ado, let’s get onto the food. 

Well, first the sushi. Plenty of choices here starting from about Rp25,000 (4 pieces) up to around Rp80,000 (6 pieces). The sushi is fresh, tastes pretty good and is a comfortable 7/10. 

The accompanying wasabi is fine – even though it isn’t real wasabi of course (see below). If that doesn’t fill you up, then there are plenty of other dishes that will. Like the salmon muzaro which comes with lashings of mozzarella cheese on top to send the calorie count through the roof. You can choose from chicken, beef, prawn or salmon topings and either a tomato, butter or spicy sauce. 

Drinks are fairly pricey so if you are a cheapskate like me just ask for the Japanese tea (ocha) which they will give you for free. 

Zenbu, Plaza Indonesia Extension Fifth floor, Jl. MH. Thamrin Kav. 28-30 Jakarta 

Interesting facts on Japanese food (compiled from various sources): 

 - That spicy wasabi that you love is almost certainly not real wasabi. This stuff is difficult to cultivate and sells for up to US$100/pound! Hence, most restaurants outside of Japan use a common substitute comprising horseradish, mustard, and green food coloring!!! 

- The 2011 Nobel Prize for chemistry was awarded to some Japanese researchers who determined the ideal density of airborne wasabi needed to awaken sleeping people in case of a fire or other emergency, and for applying this knowledge to invent the wasabi fire alarm! 

 - Japanese food can be bloody expensive because its ingredients are bloody expensive. In 2001, a sushi grade 444 pound Bluefin Tuna was sold for US$173,600 in Tokyo, or more expensive than your typical house in Jakarta! 

 - According to US regulations, all fish to be eaten raw in the US (with the exception of tuna) must be frozen first to kill any parasites (nice to know!) 

 - We all know that the Japanese have some wacky sexual predilections. One of them is 'Nyotaimori' - the Japanese tradition of eating sushi off a perfectly still, naked woman's body. Sounds great to me. When will they bring this to Jakarta?

Nyotaimori

Comments

  1. Unknown15 December 2011 at 16:08

    There are some sushi bars in Blok M that allow you to dine off naked women, however I have yet to be told where. My fiancee knows but wont share the information with me. Cant imagine why.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Gildo Kaldorana24 December 2011 at 23:06

    Japanese food is great, but chinese food is two time great.......for me.
    I love chinese restaurant in Jakarta.
    Merry X'mas and Happy New Year
    Saludos desde Barcelona

    ReplyDelete

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