From Vegas With Love
After successfully opening his first international Akira Back restaurant at the JW Marriott Hotel New Delhi Aerocity in India last year, Akira Back has recently expanded his culinary empire to Jakarta. Designed from a more modern perspective, the capital’s Akira Back exudes warmth and flair with clean and minimalist aesthetics, making his Japanese-meets-Korean cuisine seem even more innovative.
A lot of the dishes at Akira Back Jakarta have been adopted from the Las Vegas Yellowtail restaurant where Akira won his first Michelin star. The menu is composed of a dynamic combination of cold and hot small plates, as well as a myriad of fresh seafood. Akira has clearly brought this flair to the Jakarta address, evident right from the beginning of our meal.
Our appetiser that afternoon was the famous Tuna Pizza; you can find this under the Cold Shared menu. The thin and crispy pizza sees a layer of Carpaccio-thin sliced tuna sprinkled with micro-shiso greens, while the flavour of truffle oil, ponzu mayonnaise and a dash of crystal salt adds a remarkable taste to each bite. As a sharing dish, the pizza is cut into eight equal slices but we were pretty tempted to eat a whole one by ourselves.
From the Hot Shared menu, the Akira Back Tacos come in five bite-size pieces, and when we say size doesn’t matter, we mean it this time. The mini tacos have a perfect crisp on the outside with well-seasoned Wagyu galbi and spicy tomato ponzu sauce on the inside, making each light bite truly remarkable.
Up next, we try the Pop Rockin’ Roll, which is one of the sushi signatures at Akira Back. Like many other dishes he’s created, dish incorporates Akira’s diverse culinary influences acquired throughout his childhood and from his travels around the globe. Inside the roll is a spicy crabstick, asparagus and lemon pop rocks that crackle in your mouth. The tiny explosions come with a hint of refreshing sourness from the lemon crystals, and when it slowly dissolves, the spicy crabstick and asparagus effortlessly take their turn to impress the palate.
Drooling over the Miso Black Cod on the menu, we just had to try it. In a simple yet attractive presentation, the sweet and savoury cod came with a red, pinkish beetroot foam on the top – not only to please the eyes, but also to give a distinctive bite to the dish. To maintain the natural flavour of the cod and to avoid any reduction of its rich omega-3 fatty acids, the cod is only braised for a few minutes, after being marinated in a Japanese chilli pepper and miso sauce. We love how the natural sweet flavour of the cod blends well with the caramelised miso, not to mention the fact that we can still taste the Japanese chilli pepper to balance the sweetness.
The 48 Hour Slow Cooked Wagyu Short Ribs are also a must-try if you feel like something meaty. The premium Wagyu is cooked sous-vide for 48 hours for amazingly tender beef whilst still retaining a medium-rare pinkness, served with baby veggies and quail eggs.
To wrap up our meal, we decided to have the Ginger Crème Brûlée since we recognised the name from the Las Vegas Yellowtail menu. Served on a stone serving tray, we were quite surprised to see the giant size of the famous dessert, perfect for sharing. This seductive brûlée tasted just how it should, with a crunchy caramelised topping and the smooth and creamy custard beneath, yet even better with the ginger flavour to tone down the sweetness.
Previously open only for dinner, the restaurant that spreads across the penthouse level of the MD Place is now also serving lunch to cater to its already high demand. With multiple semi-private dining rooms, exclusive private dining areas and two enormous sky ceiling VIP rooms, the inviting space has also mastered a stunning bar and lounge area located to the left of the entrance. This area is perfect to admire the Kuningan skyline while you wait for a table, or to just casually enjoy the restaurant’s signature cocktails – not that you’ll want to miss out on the food though…
