Hi Eaters.
A surprising email came up to my account inviting me to an opening party of a new sushi restaurant in town. It was kind of a dilemma for me since that day I was invited to another restaurant's grand opening. But clearly since I have to choose one, then I decided to take the offer and immediately booked my place to come to Itacho Sushi.
Itacho is not a new name when it comes about sushi. This restaurant had already gained popularity in Singapore and Hongkong before finally opening its first establishment here in Jakarta, to be precise in the Grand Indonesia Shopping Town.
It always come to my concern about typical restaurants like this. Would it come just as good as its predecessors, or will it just be another so-so added restaurant in the culinary hype in Indonesia.
Yet still I found myself after office hours struggling through heavy traffic of Jakarta on a Wednesday night to come here simply because of my curiosity. Well, not really, I'm just a big fan of sushis and sashimis.
I was prepared by coming here more earlier since this was an opening party and my prediction was the restaurant would be packed and I didn't want to miss a good spot for taking pictures. I'm quite sensitive about taking pictures in a low-light situation. Never fond of it.
The restaurant was huge with many wooden materials used to make partitions. In my opinion it wasn't very functional, since it made me quite difficult to call a waiter, being obstructed by the partitions.
When I arrived there, the restaurant was heavily packed although I came like maybe 15 minutes before the time the event should started. I was sitted in the corner, which made me worried of how I was going to make the order, afraid that the waiters would fail to see me wave or shout (it was quite noisy too back then).
What was fun at that time was that I can order anything I want from the menu. Not to be hypocritical, but honestly ordering as much as sushi I can have was like a dream.
Yet not all dreams are rainbows and butterflies. As the event went on, it was quite convenient in the first 30 minutes, but the next was quite irritating. The service gone slower due to the increasing crowd that came to the opening party. Orders were wrongly delivered and it took quite a while to get them on the table.
Being patient was a must that day, and thankfully it paid off with some pretty good dishes.
Roasted Salmon Roll - IDR 38K
Salmon is a must. It doesn't matter whether it was presented in a nigiri style, fusion, or sashimi.
This one in particular was great. They've treated the salmon in a respective way, serving it with finesse. Roasted perfectly. Flavorwise, awesome!
Octopus - IDR 10K, Roasted Japanese Jack Mackerel - IDR 32K, Fish Dorsal - IDR 25K
from left to right: Octopus, Roasted Japanese Jack Mackerel, Fish Dorsal
Note that the price is for an item, not for a set. You'll get only one item perprice. The waiters would only ask for the number code in the menu book when you place an order, so you really don't need to worry of mispelling any dish's name.
The ingredients served was super fresh. I'm totally loving the nigiris I tried that night. They were delicious. The vinegar-ed rice was also something to be complimented. These nigiris were just great, even without having to dip them in the soy sauce.
Kagoshima Wagyu Sushi - IDR 70K
Simply beautiful. Looking at the red-ish color and also the beautiful marbling on the beef you can definitely tell it's a fine cut of beef they used here. The taste was also wonderful.
Salmon and Octopus Sashimi - IDR 30K/each
Freshly cut salmon and octopus. I failed to notice they serve fatty salmon here. But these babies weren't disappointing, actually quite addicting. The salmon was absolutely mouth-watering. Really loved it.
Sword Fish Sushi - IDR 13K
I'm quite fond of how they put a proportional balance amount of the rice and the topping so you won't get too much from either one of them. And since the variety of the nigiri were quite plentiful here, I tried something which was not commonly found on my regular sushi restaurant, the sword fish. It came out just as fresh as the others with no fishy smell and certainly the taste was amazing too.
Roasted Eel Sushi - IDR 28K
Grilled Eel - IDR 155K
Warship-style Sushi
Salmon Roe - IDR 30K, Sea Urchin - IDR 80K
The warship-style (or gunkan) sushi was another enjoyment served on the table. I've had the fond of trying a premium ingredient (sea urchin) and completely loving it. The salmon roe was no disappointment. It was also good. Although the shape was not inviting, it's kinda flat and thin.
Sweet Shrimp - IDR 87K
If you've never had any sweet shrimp before then I recommend you try this menu. Let me tell you, they are the BOMB! Absolutely delicious. The sweetness, the juiciness of the shrimp was something out of this world. And the reason I'm saying it because they're soooo delicious. I'd go back anytime for these wonderful delicacies.
Roasted Salmon with Cheese - IDR 12K
Salmon with cheese? Why not? They make the perfect combo here. The cheese did a hell of a good job elevating the flavor from the roasted salmon.
Supreme Sea Eel - IDR 70K
Yet another version of eel. Nicely done. The seasoning was spot on. It tasted a bit sweet, and quite savory. The eel was perfectly cooked and in my opinion it came second place as dish of the night behind the sweet shrimp.
Roasted Foei Gras - IDR 69K
Foei gras, honestly, is something I rarely try. But having duck liver once in a while won't hurt. Especially when it tasted as good as these ones. Recommended to try.
Salmon Salad Lobster Roll - IDR 26K
Rice wrapped with salmon and topped with lobster. This one was quite addicting too. The flavors were just delicious. The ingredients were so fresh.
Seasoned Octopus - IDR 37K
Wasabi Octopus - IDR 48K
I also tried some snack which uses octopus as its main ingredients. For my convenience, the Seasoned Octopus tasted way better than the Wasabi Octopus. Maybe my tongue isn't used to think of wasabi as a snack rather than just condiment. But both of them were not disappointing though. If you prefer something unordinary then Wasabi Octopus could come worthy enough to try.
California Roll - IDR 26K/2pcs
Tiger Prawn Curry Roll - IDR 74K
Besides nigiri you can try some of their fusion sushis which came in quite a number of variants too. Such as this tiger prawn roll with curry topping. It had a nice balanced flavor although the curry could be more bold. For my personal palate when it comes about curry (in all dishes that contained it) I always expected bold flavors.
Nami Chirashi Jyu - IDR 130K
If sashimi alone can't make you full then completing it with rice would be a good option. Here we have salmon, tuna, sweet shrimp, salmon roe, octopus, and fish dorsal along with tamago served on bed of rice. There should be no doubt for the flavors of the sashimis.
Fuyu Sashimi Set - IDR 280K
Sashimi galore! Blue fin fatty tuna with less tendon, fatty salmon, seabass, striped jack, red shrimp, scallop, squid, and salmon roe, served in one big plate. It's a feast for sashimi lovers. A fantastic reason why you should love sashimis.
Sea Urchin with Laver and Rice - IDR 420K
The diamonds of the ocean. Sea urchin served abundantly. That night I ate it by wrapping it gunkan style. Didn't know the perfect way to eat it though.
Abalone with Guts (Soy Sauce Flavored) - IDR 350K
Another premium delicacy to try. This time it's the abalone. Really loved it. The texture was nice. Perfect chewiness, the abalone was succulent and delicious with the soy sauce being applied, making it a bit sweet and savory.
Passion Fruit Flavored Tea - IDR 22,5K
Getting bored with the same routine of ordering ocha everytime I visit a Japanese restaurant, I opted for the flavoured tea which came as refreshing and sweet.
Overall conclusion, I quite enjoyed my time at Itacho Sushi. The food was great, it was just mind blowing in my opinion. But unfortunately the service didn't go with the same pace. Quite a lot of foodie friends had a terrible experience with its service. I really hope they will improve this factor since food and service are both important elements to make a good restaurant.
In the end, I would like to thank Itacho Sushi for the invitation. I wish you the best of luck ahead.
Keep on chewing!
Jazzy Dee
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