Within the old-world elegance of The Hermitage hotel is an equally charming restaurant that is both luxurious and classy: L’Avenue. Interior-wise, the restaurant is beautifully decorated with Carrera marble, adorned with artwork, ornaments and other thingamajigs from the colonial era, and many other decorative aspects reminiscent of ye olden days, way before Jakarta was even born.
As the primary dining option of The Hermitage hotel, L’Avenue is highly popular among culinary enthusiasts as well as guests looking for a uniquely exquisite culinary experience. The restaurant serves a variety of French cuisines using traditional Indonesian ingredients elevated with meticulously original techniques.
Chef Guillermo and his team of culinary professionals at L’Avenue has devised an exciting concept of elevated fusion, which absorbs techniques, styles, ingredients and presentations from two or more different regions and, through a personal touch, achieves that very delicate balance of originality and culinary excellence.
Most of the signature dishes at L’Avenue use Indonesian ingredients and styles as their primary components. These dishes are also delightful, thanks to the multitude of combined flavours that invoke a slight sense of familiarity, yet in a distinctly unique package. For instance, the soupe l’oignon, or onion soup, is clearly of French origin, but the use of premium local onion varieties instil a taste that is completely different from the original.
These dishes are part of Chef Guillermo’s latest inventions, which can be found in L’Avenue’s new Luxurious Degustation Dinner menu. The package is a six-course degustation menu consisting entirely of Chef Guillermo’s new dishes. The entire range of menu items include Soupe l’Oignon, Saumon de Tasmanie Fume Maison, Foie Gras Poele, Sherbet, Ravioles au Legume and the delectable White Chocolate and Sago dessert. Having personally experienced this tantalizing set menu, I would not think twice about honestly recommending this to culinary enthusiasts seeking to enjoy an exquisite fusion adventure of a higher level.
French Delicacy:
Offal
From calf brains to pork trotters, there is a wide variety of internal animal organs that are considered delicacies in the French culinary industry. These include kidneys, feet, tail, tongue, snout, stomach, brain, marrow, gizzard, blood and the bones of common farm animals and birds.
One such dish is Langue de Veau Bourgeoise, which is calf tongue boiled in stock for two hours, then sliced and served with a sauce. A more attractive alternative of a tongue dish is the pictured Mille-feuille de Langue de Boeuf. Pork heart is also popular among those who enjoy offal. Since the heart is essentially just muscle, and one that is used more than any other, pork heart requires long, moist cooking to tenderize it.
