The Melting Pot

Hi Eaters.

The world's infamous fondue restaurant is finally here in Indonesia! Yes, The Melting Pot, the first fondue specialist restaurant has opened its first branch in Indonesia right at Plaza Senayan.
Celebrating its 40th anniversary, The Melting Pot made a global scale expansion and we are lucky enough to be one of those countries on their list.

Dated back at 1975 when The Melting Pot opened its first ever branch in Maitland, Florida, now it has already have 125 restaurants spreaded all over the states of America, Canada, Mexico, and the South East Asia. 15 more upcoming branches are still in progress in various countries.
The Indonesian branch is located at the 5th floor of Plaza Senayan. It's quite secluded near Applebee's. 

Much to my surprise I found the restaurant to be too dimmed and a bit yellowish on the lighting. Not much to my favor of taking photos. The interior itself was very elegant and modern, and giving a warm ambience that I think will make people really comfortable.

ABOUT FONDUE 

Please note that The Melting Pot is a fondue restaurant, so almost all of their dish resolved around fondue and fondue.
According to Wikipedia, the name "fondue" has been generalized to other dishes in which a food is dipped into a communal pot of liquid kept hot in a fondue pot: chocolate fondue, in which pieces of fruit are dipped into a melted chocolate mixture, and fondue bourguignonne, in which pieces of meat are cooked in hot oil.
In The Melting Pot, fondue is made to be more fun, interactive, and exciting. They even have a name for it, being called "the fondue effect".
Basically you can enjoy the fondue with family, friends, or loved ones and create a memorable experience since it's easy and fun.

HOW DO YOU FONDUE

As I mentioned earlier, fondue-ing is an easy and fun process. Here, at The Melting Pot, you can choose the fondue between A la Carte, "Fondue by You", or try their packages of "4 Course Experience".
The difference between "Fondue by You" and the "4 Course Experience" is that with the "Fondue by You" package, you can choose your very own entree creation. But if this is your first time fondue-ing then I suggest you to take the "4 Course Experience" instead.
The "4 Course Experience" ranges at different price tags, depending on what entree you choose.
So with the "4 Course Experience" you can choose 1 cheese fondue, 1 salad, 1 entree, and 1 chocolate fondue. It's a complete dining experience starting from appetizers to dessert.

Now let me share you my "4 Course Experience". Well since I came with some friends then I'm going to describe bluntly item per item outside of the package. This will only be a reference for you to choose which cheese fondue you like, which salad you prefer, which entree you would want, and which dessert should be the end of your fun experience.

1. Cheese Fondue

So this is how they all were started. Cheeses being melted on a pot, some were combined with liquor to added or enhance flavors.

Cheddar

The Cheddar is the restaurant's signature cheese fondue.
Aged, medium-sharp cheddar and Emmenthaler Swiss cheeses, lager beer, and seasonings. It costs IDR 108K per person a la carte.
The cheese was really nice, and the lager beer didn't overpower the flavor of the cheese. And it also came with the perfect thickness. Do remember that the cheese contained lager beer so take cautions when you're dining here with childrens.

Classic Alpine Swiss

Aged Gruyere, Raclette, and Fontina cheeses blended with white wine, fresh garlic, and a dash of nutmeg. It costs IDR 128K per person a la carte.
Having blended with white wine made the cheese had more strong flavors. And it also left a bitter aftertaste in my mouth. Well, I'm not really a fan of any alcohol so I wouldn't say this one is my favourite. Again, please note that this menu contain alcohol of you're dining with childrens.

Spinach Artichoke

This one was my favourite. 
Fontina and Gouda cheeses, spinach, artichoke hearts, and garlic. It costs IDR 118K per person a la carte.
We all agreed on how tasty this cheese was, and we love the blending taste from the spinach with the cheese. I, myself, really loved how the cheese was sticky. It kinda reminded me like those on a pizza topping. Simply loveable.

2. Salad

The second step is to order your choice of salad. Here are the salads I tried.

California

Mixed baby salad greens, Roma tomatoes, candied walnuts, and Gorgonzola cheese with a raspberry vinaigrette. It costs IDR 65K  a la carte.
I loved the overall taste of the salad. I think the raspberry vinaigrette was refreshing. I also liked how they put Gorgonzola cheese to balance the sour and sweet taste from the vinaigrette.

Caesar

Crisp Roman lettuce, shredded Parmesan cheese, crispy croutons, and an added touch of Parmesan-encrusted pine nuts, tossed with Caesar dressing. It costs IDR 58K a la carte.
Caesar is a simple common salad dish you can find. But although it may looked simple but this one tasted really nice. The flavors were balanced between the sour and the saltiness from the parmesan.

The Melting Pot House Salad

Crisp romaine and iceberg lettuce, cheddar cheese, fresh tomatoes, crispy croutons, and sliced egg finished with a choice between Peppercorn Ranch Dressing or sweet and tangy House Dressing. It costs IDR 68K a la carte.
This one was simply the best among the other salads. I simply loved everything on the plate. I do feel the combination of flavors were just perfectly right. And the Peppercorn dressing is just a killer.

3. Entrée

The main courses were also served fondue-style, of course. Don't mistaken it with shabu-shabu. It may use the same method of dipping inside a pot, but fondue is more exciting.
Besides just dipping inside a pot full of broth, you can also fried the food inside a pot. Check out the pic above.
All entrées have included coconut rice, seasoned vegetables and signature dipping sauces. The cooking style is your own preference to choose. You can choose to have the Mojo broth (+ IDR 68K per pot) which has a strong tangy flavor, suitable to those who loved bold flavors and aroma to their food.  You can choose to fried them (the Bourguignonne + IDR 88K per pot), but remember to dip the food first in the special dipping batters, which were tempura batter for the meat and sesame batter for the vegetables. After that it's your choice, and you'll be the chef to decide wether to cook it medium well, medium raw or well done. Be creative.

4. Chocolate Fondue

Last but not least, it's what we're all been waiting for. Yup, the chocolate fondue! It's the most famous dish of the restaurant, and it's everyone's favourite!
I've gotten the chance to try 2 kinds of chocolate fondue.

Yin & Yang

A beautiful artistically Yin & Yang fondue shaped from dark and white chocolate. It'a a feast to the eyes and certainly for the taste buds. The fondue came with fresh fruits, brownies, marshmallows and pound cakes to be dipped inside that delicious chocolate. Yumm!
The combination between the chocolates were exquisite, and terribly delicious. It really melts in my mouth. Heavenly! I just wanna go back for more.

Caramel Nut

Another fine selection from the chocolate fondue line-ups is this Caramel Nut. 
A superb combination between milk chocolate, caramel, and candied walnuts flambéed tableside. You will get that sweetness from the chocolate, the delicious saltiness of the caramel, and the irresistible crunchy textures from the candied walnuts.
It's a party in my mouth with every bite. Loving it.

Yin & Yang Martini - IDR 45K

This mocktail was super eye-catching that day. A combination of white chocolate and vanilla, blended with ice cream and topped with chocolate shavings to form a Yin & Yang pattern.
I love the taste, which is not too sweet. To be honest the chocolate was less dominant compared to the vanilla. And FYI, there's a cocktail version of this drink too with vodka infused.

Berries and Watermelon Sparkle - IDR 45K

This one was super refreshing. Fresh watermelon, lemon and lime juices with flavors if white berries and mint combined. The sweetness was fine, and the hint of sourness from the lemon and lime juice were really refreshing. I also loved the trace of mint infused here.Too bad it was slightly too densed and I just needed more of that delicious juice than fruit pulps.

As to round up this short and maybe not very informatical review, I just want to say that it was a fun experience I had at The Melting Pot. I love the place, it's clean, comfortable, looked so elegant (loved the interior) and certainly the service was nice. I'm glad that the service has improved and I didn't find myself annoyed while taking photos or trying out the food.
Prices might be a little up than your regular fondue restaurant, but let me assure you that the experience of fondue-ing here will matched up to the numbers you paid.
Fondue is better to be enjoyed in group. So come and bring your loved ones or friends to have a 'fondue effect' at The Melting Pot!

Keep on chewing!

Jazzy Dee

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The Melting Pot - A Fondue Restaurant
Plaza Senayan Level P5 Unit CP-516

Phone: (021) 57906057
Jl. Asia Afrika No. 8
Jakarta Pusat 10270