PEPeNERO, World Trade Centre II, Jakarta, Indonesia

January 10, 2017

Although there are a number of Italian restaurants here in Jakarta, sometimes it is quite hard to find that one place where it combined both the classics while putting in a modern twist. The ambience here is quite nice though it is quite dim which is great for date nights however being at the Ground floor of the World Trade Centre II, you would realise that during lunchtimes, it would be quite packed with office workers.

Sadly their menu do not have any images at all making you have to just imagine what the dishes would look like especially when all the menu items are written in Italian, you simply just have to figure out what you want by the description of each. As you are seated at your table, you are given the menu and a basket filled with complimentary bread followed not long after. A great way to start a meal, I have to say.. Having different kinds of bread such as cheese twists, flat bread, ciabatta and so on served with a dipping sauce of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

'Carpaccio di Salmone Agli Agrumi' (IDR71k ~= AUD$7.1) was a light dish perfect for an entree or as a shared dish. Salmon carpaccio served with citrus oil and salad brings out the true and smooth flavour of the salmon whilst also having that crunch texture from the greens as well as the thin bread twist. The citrus oil wasn't my favourite as much as I did find it to be less citrusy but more of a bland sauce though the creamy consistency did work well with the other elements.

'Pappardelle Verdi ai Funghi' (IDR59k ~= AUD$5.9), one of the few Vegetarian pasta dishes on the menu. Homemade spinach pappardelle pasta tossed with mixed mushrooms in a rich parmesan sauce. The homemade spinach pappardelle pasta was green in colour and did not have that strong spinach after taste but instead a more subtle yet you could still taste the hint here and there. The mixed mushrooms worked well with the rich parmesan sauce which I thought was done quite well though a stronger parmesan cheese flavour would have been better. When combining each of the different elements together, it all blended in well nicely.

'Insalata di Cesare' (IDR57k ~= AUD$5.7) has fresh mixed greens, shredded chicken, bacon, tomatoes, black olives, boiled egg, toasted bread with cesare salad dressing. Your classic Caesar salad with all the basic ingredients of what you would find. I did find that there weren't much black olives as well as only a few pieces of shredded chicken and as for the dressing, it was rather light than the usual thick and creamy Caesar dressing.