Owned by the renowned Ismaya Group, reputable for superb nightlife establishments such as Skye & Blowfish, Tokyo Belly adds to the company’s growing lineup of casual diners. I always take Ismaya’s restaurants, Pizza E Birra, Sushi Groove, Pasta de Waraku, as more of a hang-out spots rather than places to have serious, proper meal.
Tokyo Belly is rather similar; the decor is respectable, the place is cozy, the dish presentation is wow-worthy, but the food is meh.
Something traditional for appetizer; Salmon Sashimi, radish, IDR 48k.
Four slices of sashimi. It tasted like it’s been stored for a while. You really can’t go wrong with salmon sashimi, but there’s a difference at least between a fresh one and not.
They added salt on the glass’ rim, just like martini. I think I’m supposed to eat the salmon with salt (instead of the usual soy sauce). I quite liked it, but I can imagine many people cringing at the idea.
Tsukune & egg; ‘Sate buntil ayam’, half-boiled egg yolk. IDR 20k.
Meat was a little hard and not that tasty. The meat character was gone. The teriyaki sauce desperately attempts to compensate the bland taste, but still falls short.
The half-boiled egg was not half-boiled. Cooked for a bit too long.
Main course. Shimeji beef steak, mashed potato, sweet potato. IDR 88k.
This one is the real deal. The meat is actually juicy & tender. We ordered this one medium rare (as much as I have doubts about the meat quality at first), and it came out just right.
The sauce is a bit too overpowering, and the meat taste is diminished. But this is one of the better ones among all other main courses we had.
The mashed potatoes & sweet potato are very thick, but tasted rather strange. There’s a bit of sourness in them, in a bad way. We ended up not finishing them.
Sesame chicken steak. IDR 58k
Yet another dish with overpowering teriyaki sauce. I always think sauce should enrich, not overtake the meat’s flavor.
The chicken was hard to chew. Definitely far from fresh.
It doesn’t taste bad, really. But it’s not too different from chicken you’d find in regular fast food Japanese places such as Hoka-Hoka Bento.
Katsu Tama Toji Bi-Bim-Bap; Chicken Katsu with egg in a hot-stone bowl. IDR 68k.
They sell quite a few Korean dishes here. There’s bulgogi in the appetizer list. And there are several choices of bibimbap; this is the chicken katsu one.
It’s just devoid of taste. My friend that ordered it added so much chilli pepper to add some flavor into it, and I don’t blame her.
Tokyo Belly provides a choice of ramens as well. Not the most traditional options you can find; they’re highly influenced by local flavors and other ingredients.
Certainly not that great either. The broth is thick but there’s no flavor in it. Nothing so special about the noodles either.
The tamago is rather nice, although again the yolk is definitely overcooked.
Like I mentioned, Tokyo Belly’s interior is comfortable. The wooden decor is chic and inviting, the paintings add a certain coolness about the place.
So many restaurants play around with Japanese dishes nowadays, fusing it with other cuisines and modernizing the menu in their own ways. They don’t always turn out nicely. Tokyo Belly is a nice hang-out spot. They also have a list of sake that I did not try. But at least for the food, it’s a long way from a lasting impression.
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Location: Setiabudi One, Grand Indonesia.
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