Molecular Gastronomy Takes Upscale Indonesian Restaurants by Storm

Odd-looking meals made from a scientific experiment, are causing a stir amongst wealthy Indonesian diners.

Molecular gastronomy has been popping up on the menus of upscale restaurants in Jakarta for the past few years. (Photo: AP Screengrab)

A selection of odd-looking meals, that resemble something from a scientific experiment, is causing a stir amongst wealthy Indonesian diners.

Molecular gastronomy has been popping up on the menus of upscale restaurants in Jakarta for the past few years.

It started in Europe and the United States in the late 1990s. It involves using laboratory materials such as rotary evaporators and liquid nitrogen to add new textures and tastes to traditional dishes.

Namaaz Dining opened in 2012 and is regarded as one of the pioneers of molecular gastronomy in Jakarta.

The fine-dining restaurant offers a 17-course meal featuring reinvented traditional Indonesian dishes. Favourites include a shrimp and potato dish served on top of Himalayan rock salt, fried vanilla-dipped banana with cashew nuts and a traditional sweet cake with green tea sprinkle.

The reservation-only restaurant charges $96 per meal. Namaaz chef Andrian Ishak says each meal takes around two hours to prepare and aims to wow the customers in a multi-sensory way.

Meanwhile, the Hyde restaurant in South Jakarta wants to impress diners with its molecular gastronomy dessert menu. Their wildly-popular chocolate soil combines dark chocolate with cream, milk, jelly and tapioca. Its unusual presentation in a flower pot, complete with chocolate worms, has certainly got people talking.

Hyde’s general manager Jeff Jhon Effentri says that, with a reasonable $4 per serving price, the chocolate soil is well received among teenagers, university students and families.

In just a few years, molecular gastronomy seems to have caught the imagination of Jakarta residents. Namaaz dining started with just eight meals per day that people could book online. It is now serving up to 29 meals per day. On the other side of town, Hyde has sold 10,000 orders of chocolate soil in its first year of operation.

Culinary expert Bara Pattiradjawane, who is also a chef and host of a cooking show, says many Indonesian dishes could benefit from molecular gastronomy to make them more interesting and photogenic. However, he also points out that it will probably remain an exclusive culinary adventure due to its expensive price tag.

(With inputs from AP.)