I think H Gourmet's 'American' dishes leans a bit towards Louisiana comfort food. There's a bit of mixture between Spanish, English, and something else. There's even Caribbean.
But there's no summarizing the H Gourmet experience without talking a lot about its decor. Rustic, dusty, a bit of vintage touch, somewhat resembling a garage. The establishment captures the 'warehouse' feel impressively. This is a concept that many restaurants attempt to pursue, but I haven't seen it done as well as H Gourmet. This restaurant is something else.
The interior is like no other I've seen. I think it tries to capture the scene of a worn-out warehouse, maybe a garage. The railings gave a rusty impression, the walls intentionally unfinished. There's a lot of wood being used as well, which always adds to a somewhat homey feel.
A number of vintage items were on display, adding a lot of Western-nostalgic feel to the ambiance. It's a welcome addition.
I have massive respect for H Gourmet's interiors, which is very likeable in terms of design and also comfortable.
During daytime, it relies a lot on natural lighting from the large windows that surrounds the whole joint. At night it has a strong pub ambiance; music turns loud, lights are dimmed, there's a very secluded feel about the place (unfortunately I didn't have the pictures because it was quite dark).
On to the food. Appetizer first.
Selfish Crab.
Soft-shell crab, salad, sourdough, cream. IDR 75k
Incredible. I didn't expect a whole soft-shell crab to come on top of the salad. What a pleasant surprise. The salad was fresh, dressing was tasty, and the crab was an exotic addition.
Some people may find the crab shell flaky or hard (even though it's very edible), and the meat to be soggy. But I think that's how it's supposed to be.
The dish came with sourdough as well. And while it's just bread, it was actually good too. Toasted properly. I could've eaten the bread only and it's pleasant already. But the whole package is a powerful start for a meal.
Additional appetizer. Creamy spinach. IDR 25k
Just something I often order in many restaurants. For such a simple dish, this sure is good. The cream was quite milky & cheesy, which adds well to the fresh spinach.
Main course.
Jerky chicks (menu claimed it's a Jamaican favorite dish).
Roasted chicken, choice of jerk rice or sweet potato. IDR 85k
This is basically roasted chicken with rice. What makes the taste very different is the jerk, which is a Caribbean type of cooking/seasoning that involves its own combination of ingredients. While it looks simple, I think the process was rather complicated. I didn't know anything about it before I saw it here, so again big kudos for H Gourmet for bringing such a novel dish to the scene.
The chicken was tender, tasty, and generous. And by generous I meant there's a whole loads of chicken meat that comes in this simple-looking dish. Enough to satisfy a very hungry patron. Such a great value.
You can choose between sweet potato (I didn't know Americans eat that) or jerk rice. And to immerse myself in the Caribbean feel further, I picked the rice. And it had a nice, strong taste.
Overall, this jerk seasoning has a combination of sour & savory with it. I've never eaten such seasoning, but it tastes familiar so we'd easily be receptive of it.
Poor Boy Sandwich.
New Orleans baguette, shredded chicken, shrimp. Served with chips & special aioli sauce. IDR 85k
According to my girlfriend, which has lived in the US for at least 14 years, this is a classic southern American dish. There's quite some history behind it, and I think it's a result of several cultures' marriage (baguette is French, the shrimp is an ode to Louisiana seafood, etc.).
The bread isn't what I expected. I thought baguettes are supposed to be harder. This one's a bit soggy and inconsistent; almost wet even.
I didn't really understand the combination of shredded chicken and deep friend shrimp. Neither of which were too tasty either. It just feels like they all can be eaten separately, and there was no real cohesiveness between the different ingredients. Nevertheless the shrimps were fat & juicy.
The aioli sauce (which is supposedly made of garlic, olive, lemon) was thick and resembles mayonnaise. I liked the taste and thickness of it. It's quite common in many of H Gourmet's dishes, so it's a good thing that it's nice.
Mocktail.
Liberty.
Some sort of yogurt with orange and peach flavor (not completely sure; waitress didn't know what it was). IDR 45k
Thick, milky, sweet, this un-masculine mocktail is very good. I celebrate the increasing prevalence of yogurt-based beverages in Jakarta restaurants, and this is arguably the best I've tasted. Don't judge me.
Overall, bill for 2 came in for around IDR 370,000. H Gourmet is understandably pricey, but the dish sizes and quality that you get more than deserves it.
This is an exceptional restaurant/bar. H Gourmet manages to specialize in an uncommon cuisine, and serves them very well. The interior is like nothing I've seen before.
By the time I visited (twice in January 2015) the place was still relatively new. Some dishes were still unavailable, the waitresses have little knowledge of what's in the menu (they'd hilariously blurt out "I don't know" bluntly when asked), and I even had the unpleasant experience of having to walk up and down the stairs because the lift was broken (restaurant is on the 3rd floor).
But the place is quickly on its way of being a very hip, high-profile joint. The patrons were very good looking and well-dressed. And I've spotted a few celebrities casually dining here. It's often full too, so reservation is highly recommended.
All the hype & reputation are, in my opinion, for a well-deserved reason. H Gourmet is impressive in many ways.
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Recommended dishes:
- Selfish crab
- Jerky chicks
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Location: Jl. Gunawarman, right-side of the road. Right before Pong Me.
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