triathlon einteiler: best sushi restaurant in jakarta

Thursday, April 4, 2019

SUSHI MATSU SENOPATI

Japanese cuisine will always have a special place in my heart, and just for so many reasons, but out of the many, one has got to be how the best things are best enjoyed raw and sometimes they're so raw and fresh they just speak for themselves! Out of the many Japanese restaurants opening in Jakarta, one of my top favorites at the moment has got to be Sushi Matsu, they recently opened their second outlet, following the elder, existing and successful first outlet in Menteng!

Their second outlet is located at Jalan Suryo, precisely next to Okuzono restaurant! The interior is very simple, neat and just proper, overall still with touches of Japanese details here and there.

I was invited to come to the bloggers gathering event some time ago, but I have to be frank and tell you guys that I didn't manage to try everything because there were many bloggers coming that day, so I am just going to highlight some of my personal favorites that I managed to dig in! As the name suggests, SUSHI Matsu definitely focuses in serving sushi creations and fresh sashimi, but they also have a lot of non-sushi & sashimi menus like teppanyaki, donburi, noodles (ramen/udon), gyukatsu and more!

Ika Mentaiyaki - IDR 98k

Grilled squid with mentai sauce, might be a simple appetizer but it's actually packed with flavors, the generous mentai sauce was bold and tasty, enhancing but balancing in the same time.

Aburi Sushi Mori Matsu - IDR 178k

This is the platter of some of their best-selling torched sushi, and in frame there are 8: Salmon, Salmon Mentai, Ika, Shimaaji, Otoro, Tuna, Ebi, Ebi Mentai & Unagi! Tried some of them and they were pretty much BOMBS! Again, the ingredient spoke for themselves, the sashimi was already fresh, they lightly glazed the surface with the homemade sauce, some with additional toppings and carefully torched!

Salmon

Unagi & Otoro

Otoro (Fatty Tuna)

Shimaaji (White Trevally)

Ika (Squid)

Hana Sushi - IDR 148k

Here you can also customize your own sushi stairs and sushi house (and they're famous for that), with minimum purchase of 4 sushis, but this time we got the Hana Sushi with 5 kinds of their beautiful sushi like the followings that you'll be seeing: there's one with aburi salmon and spicy mentai, beef sushi, and one with scallop! These are like burst of flavor and meant to be eaten as a whole!

Seafood Butter - IDR 138k

Another one that I found stood out from the crowd was their Seafood Butter, basically cooked seafood with butter sauce! First, the butter sauce: fragrant, savory, nicely salty just how I imagined it before digging in, secondly, the seafood: the shrimp was fresh, scallop was juicy and naturally sweet, squid was nicely tender and the cod was soft!

Truffle Gyudon with Onsen Egg & Garlic Chips - IDR 98k

This is their non-seafood dish and this is almost like this staple menu that most Japanese restaurants in Jakarta needs to have, however, each restaurant delivers it quite differently, and Sushi Matsu's rendition of gyudon's pretty satisfying: proper seasoning, overall flavorful and aromatic, perfectly cooked beef (medium), mandatory runny egg and crispy garlic chips for texture. Nothing to hate really.

Dry Ramen with extra Salmon Topping - IDR 58k+30k, IDR 88k

I found the texture of the ramen pleasing, but a little more kick of savory and salty to it would make me love this even more, the salmon was fresh and juicy, mandatory to have that with the ramen! They also have other toppings like Scallop (IDR 35k), Gyuniku (beef - IDR 25k), Ebi (IDR 25k), Soft Shell Crab (IDR 30k), Mushrooms (IDR 20k)

Bara Chirasi - IDR 138k

As much as I wanted to love this, I didn't try this at all, just posting it because it looks so pretty! From what I saw the chirasi has toppings like unagi, cubed kani, tamago, raw salmon, tuna, white trevally, shrimp, with additional ebiko and tobiko topping!

Gyukatsu Matsuyaki - IDR 158k

I didn't expect much from this at first, somehow I didn't see any marbling from the beef, but as it's cooked and slowly appear to be super aromatic, it started to show its charm LOL, gotta appreciate the hot stone for distributing the nice amount of heat because I found that's the little detail that's missed by some restaurants, sometimes the pan can overheat that it started to smoke a lot and left this bitter flavor on the meat and my palate! Sushi Matsu's version of gyukatsu is enjoyable!

Shiok Maki (4 pcs - IDR 68k, 8 pcs - IDR 128k)

Indeed, it was a SHIOK moment for me because this was good! Wonderfully simple with unagi, avocado, cucumber, mentai and salmon tobiko mixed sauce! Flavor flavor flavor!!!

Their famous sushi house!

Update: came back here two days ago because I was craving for good Japanese dinner, particularly thought about Chirasi and I remember their Chirasi was so freaking good (intermezzo to the one that I had at their Menteng outlet), initially wanted to have the Chirasi only but ended up with 6 dishes LOL, some are ones that I posted above (so I didn't take any pic), but now showing you some of the menus that I never had before (or shown before) for the dinner!

Sashimi Mori Matsu - IDR 168k

5 kinds of sashimi, each served two so we had 10 on the platter! There were Salmon, Tuna, Hokkigai (Surf Clamp), Ika and Hamachi (Japanese Amberjack), everything was fresh and delightful!

Matsu Chirasi - IDR 178k

EXACTLY what I had imagined for dinner that night: assorted (9 kinds) sashimi on bed of rice! This was SO GOOD and fresh I'm gonna cryyy now typing this and freaking hungryyyyyyy!!! The cuts were even, the otoro was surely the bad ass BOMB, but overall, satisfying! I would actually pay more than IDR 178k to be frank with you.

Sushi Matsu has always been consistent with their performance, went here 4 times already and never left disappointed, easily one of my most favorite casual Japanese restaurants in town, and compared to their peers, one of the best for sure!

Sushi Matsu Senopati
Jalan Suryo No. 2
Senopati, Kebayoran Baru
Jakarta Selatan 12180
021 - 5203 062
Opening hours:
11 AM-3 PM (lunch)
6 PM-11 PM (dinner)
Average spending for two: IDR 400k
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email: eatandtreatsindo@gmail.com

Map for Sushi Matsu Senopati

Friday, October 27, 2017

SUSHI HIRO - SENOPATI

This post would be the third time that I am actually talking about Sushi Hiro, the main reason why each of my visit needs a good proper blog post is because they always have something new to offer: slightly difference ambiance, but mostly the new menus that are not only delicious but also Instagram Worthy! The F&B business in Jakarta can get very tricky and very extreme to the point where changing trends, opening and deceased outlets are almost monthly 'scene', that's why most restaurants (unless they're crazy good) needs to be creative, keep up with the qualities in order to survive, and Sushi Hiro is hands down, really one of the most successful ones in town, and frankly speaking, everytime I see the long queues in front of their restaurant, I can't help not to think about the amount of money they're making everyday (lol but I sometimes did).

Their Senopati outlet is located at Jalan Suryo, align with 3 Wise Monkeys and probably their best designed outlet so far, I really like the clean modern-minimalist vibe, especially how it looks from outside, almost like a futuristic triangle! Before getting in the restaurant you'll have to walk along this path that's almost giving me this zen vibe, and inside you'll find the hanging paper crafts that's now almost like their signature identity and overall a spacious restaurant that's decorated altogether simple with play of wood and details that's giving the guests (at least me) this Japanese vibe that I love. I have photos that I took at night and the ambiance of the restaurant is totally different: it's somehow grander, more romantic and just pleasing to the eye.

Might just get straight to the food because I have a lot to show you!

I have uploaded some pictures on my Instagram and I notice that some of you actually told me that some of these new menus are not yet printed on the menu, but I can guarantee you that they're available to order, but indeed at the moment they only have these new menus at their Senopati outlet, but soon evenly at all, just show the pictures to the staff and they'll get them for you. Text me if they didn't and I'll sort it for you.

Crispy Ebi Mentaiyaki

It's hard not to love this as it consist of things that I love: seafood, mayo and cod roe together torched together for that smokey flavor and aroma, just what I expected: burst of flavor mainly from the mayo, just fresh and flavorful!

Shitake Bomb - IDR 40k
Juicy Shitake mushroom with spicy minced salmon and ponzu grated Daikon topping.

Kaisen Guratan - IDR 70k

Here's one for cheese lover! Assorted seafood cuts topped with mayo and various cheese. I expected more mayo for the kind of excitement that I had on the dish.

Of course when I dine at Sushi Hiro I can't just skip on what makes them famous: their sushi stairs and now they come with sushi tower, and of course they always have something new to put on the stairs and towers and honestly the unexpected: SMOKED DUCK SUSHI! Yes you read that right, they now have sushi duck especially for duck lovers! Expect to find various smoked duck sushi that are topped with Mentai (IDR 25k), Blackpepper (IDR 25k), Cheese (IDR 25k), and even fusion like their Sushi Bomb with Uni and Hotate (IDR 135k). If you notice the Sushi Tower, the two from the top are the smoked duck sushi, I found them to be tender with a hint of smokey aroma and of course, simple hard-to-go-wrong toppings.

Sushi Tower & Sushi Stairs - pricing depends on the items ordered.

Sushi Tower

Smoked Duck Sushi with Cheese (IDR 25k)

It will take forever to talk about each sushi that I had for lunch that day, I came with three friends and four of us eventually raised the white flag as we couldn't finish all the food served that day! Some I didn't touch at all so I would highlight those that I tried and, hence I could recommend which one to order, but really everything looks crazy good and when it comes to creativity, I have to give them a round of applause, I didn't expect to see smoked duck sushi in a Japanese restaurant but they cleverly put various ingredients together and the result is always either impressive or spot on harmonious. No wonder why people constantly crave for their sushi, it's the flavor, the variety, the new stuff to offer and more!

Otoro with Uni (Tuna Belly with Sea Urchin)

...and if you're into adventurous flavors and wanting something bold like burst of flavor, of course not to miss, their Sushi Bombs! What can I say? They're BOMB!

Atomic Bomb (Tuna, Chopped Salmon, Uni)

Three Musketer (Maguro, Kanpachi, Uni)

Three Kinds Gunkan Uni (Uni, Toro, Uzura)

Box of Heaven - IDR 480k

One of the most impressive looking new creations from Sushi Hiro has got to be the Box of Heaven, which consists of heavenly fresh premium ingredients like Salmon, Otoro, Ama Ebi, Aka Ebi, Maguro, Kanpachi, Tai, Kinmedai, Ikura and Uni! Indeed fresh, heavenly and for the price that you'll be paying they better be premium!

Kanpachi

Otoro with Uni

Otoro

Ultimate Truffle Tori Dry Ramen - IDR 60k

Beautifully truffle-butter seasoned dry ramen with onsen egg, generous seasoned minced chicken, spring onion, garlic chips! The ramen was thin, springy but with the right firmness (but I honestly would order the half cooked version when I revisit Sushi Hiro because I think it would be better). Ultimate tip: toss everything together but the flavor and the aroma! The truffle butter seasoning really enhances everything, as well as giving the savory and sweet that's just beautiful.

Creamy Clam Spaghetti - IDR 70k

The truffle tori dry ramen is beautiful, but I like this one better! Not overly creamy spaghetti that's so beautifully seasoned then topped with fresh clams and uni for extra salty flavor and creaminess.

Box Treasure (Beef Charcoal) - IDR 150k

Fancy presentation makes you expect more and that's the case with this, but right after the box is opened and all I see is well-marbled beef (I mean look at that freaking highlight) then I know I can count on this one! They'll prepare the personal charcoal grill and egg yolk on the side as dipping material. The default seasoning was already beautiful so all you really need to do is make sure you don't overcook the beef (15 seconds on each side should be amazing), I know it's totally up to you but with ingredient like this, cook it to a medium state.

Gyukatsu - IDR 120k

I'm a simple guy, you give me good Gyukatsu, I like! Beautifully breaded beef served medium rare and you can then cook it how you want it to be (but again I do recommend medium), I expected the thicker slices, well I can't help not comparing this to Gyukatsu Motomura.

Great at variety, great at consistency, and great and pleasing their customers with really whatever they're trying to introduce. No wonder why they're undoubtedly one of the most successful Japanese restaurants in town at the moment and more luck ahead!

Update:
Returned for dinner a couple of days ago and loving the night ambiance.