Taman Wantilan: New Design and Concept

Chefs take centre stage for live action cooking against sparkling sea views

In its latest enhancement, Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay has relaunched Taman Wantilan restaurant with a new design and concept, which sees the chefs take centre stage with live action cooking against sparkling ocean views.

Setting a new standard in upscale yet relaxed dining, Taman Wantilan emerges from a major renovation with a chic new design that maximizes the views of Jimbaran’s curving 3-mile beach and dusky sunsets. Previously an all-day à la carte venue, the restaurant now offers an impressive array of Asian and Western cuisine at 9 live action stations. Specialty chefs display their craftsmanship at new show kitchens in the middle of the open-air, Balinese-style dining pavilion. Every sense is aroused as the chefs prepare dishes à la minute, using the highest quality ingredients and catering for individual preferences to provide diners with a completely customized experience.

Indian Specialty Chef Anil Naudiyal attracts an audience as he hand-makes naan and fires up the tandoor for succulent lamb chops and kebabs. Every craving is satisfied at the sizzling teppanyaki grill, streetfood-style laksa and noodle station, seafood-on-ice and sashimi bar, salad shaker bar, carvery and homemade pasta station. Save room for dessert by award-winning Executive Pastry Chef Yusuke Aoki (Asia's Best Chef in the Valrhona C3 Competition 2018), whose dainty French-style sweets fill the temperature-controlled Patisserie’s sleek glass cabinets. Children love the gelato and crepe station with dozens of toppings to choose from.

“Bali’s dining scene is constantly innovating and evolving, and we are delighted to be a part of this as we present a world-class dining experience at Taman Wantilan. The new concept offers an endless array of international cuisine, cooked fresh-to-order at the live action stations by our specialty chefs,” said Uday Rao, General Manager of Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay. “The setting is elegant and sophisticated, combining contemporary interiors with traditional Balinese architecture, panoramic ocean views and Four Seasons legendary service.”

Taman Wantilan’s upgrade follows a two-year renovation of Four Seasons Jimbaran Bay’s 147 pool villas, relaunched in July 2017 with more spacious interiors, bigger plunge pools and contemporary Balinese decor. The new culinary concept further strengthens the resort’s dining experiences, which also include the renowned Sundara Beach-Club and Restaurant for Modern Asian ‘Customized Dining’ and innovative cocktails; Jala for authentic Balinese cuisine in an intimate, home-style setting; and Pool Terrace Café for Western and Asian favourites.

Taman Wantilan is open daily for breakfast 6.30-11am and dinner 6-10pm. The dinner buffet is priced at Rp695,000++ per person. Non-resident guests are welcome. Room packages that include breakfast are available online at www.fourseasons.com/jimbaranbay.

Mason Takes A Hands-On Approach to Dining in Canggu, Bali

THE beachside village of Canggu, along Bali’s west coast, is now home to Mason—a new restaurant dedicated to the timeless craft of using carefully sourced, quality ingredients to make good food from scratch, by hand.

Mason is the latest offering from Brett Hospitality Group, the team behind the acclaimed debut of Fishbone Local earlier this year. Owners Dominique Brett, Isabella Rowell, Brant Bauer and Ben Cross have welcomed Australian chef Nathan Sasi into the fold, following stints at some of Sydney’s most esteemed eateries like Nomad and Mercado.

Nomad’s kitchen is where Sasi honed his hands-on approach to cooking, exploring ancient processes of pickling, curing and fermenting, and perfecting traditional techniques like cheesemaking and whole-animal butchery. He brings the same artisanal point of view to his new menu at Mason which, like the craft of masonry itself, is squarely focused on creations built from the ground up. Only the finest raw materials are sourced—locally and organically, wherever possible—and a pared-back approach is taken from start to finish, employing ageless cooking methods like smoking and wood-fire grilling to coax maximum flavour from minimal ingredients.

A long afternoon lunch might find the table covered in a variety of snacks ranging from wood-fired flat bread with taramasalata or brown butter and chilli-spiked hummus to snapper croquettes served with tangy lemon mayonnaise or a selection of house-made cheeses and smallgoods from the in-house butcher, such as wagyu beef pastrami, truffled mortadella and Catalan-style chorizo.

Dinner, meanwhile, might see more substantial starters like spiced calamari with romesco and radicchio or fried cauliflower paired with pine nuts and pomegranate followed by mains along the lines of wood-fired fillets of barramundi spiced with cardamom and smoked tomato, or slow-cooked lamb shoulder slathered in a classic salsa verde. Simple sides like a salad of chopped broccoli with mint and almonds, or beer-battered onion rings complete the picture, and seasonal tarts and sorbets make for a light, fitting finish.

The handcrafted aesthetic applies as much to the mood of the 100-seat restaurant as it does to the menu. Designer Kelvin Ho has created a minimal, elegant space using concrete, stone, steel and wood—elements that convey relaxed sophistication and allow the open kitchen to be the centre of attention. A hand-chiseled concrete bar makes a handsome addition, as does the terracotta strip that leads the eye across the dining room floor and into an open-air, string-lit courtyard, the perfect spot for a cold beer, glass of wine or cocktail from the concise list of no-nonsense takes on classics like sours, Martinis and Negronis.

It’s a fundamental respect for the art of craft and a hands-on attitude that defines the Mason experience, from the informed and attentive service down to the custom-made glassware and ceramics that grace the tables. Open seven days for both lunch and dinner, it’s a refreshing change of pace in Bali—one that looks to time-honoured techniques of the past for feel and flavour, but rewards the curious and discriminating palates of the here and now.

Hanamaru Udon, Udon Khas Sanuki Jepang yang Melegenda

Beef Oroshi Bukkake Black

MAKIN gampang mencari udon di Jakarta, tapi memilih yang enak butuh kejelian tersendiri. Hanamaru Udon di Lippo Mall Puri, yang buka resmi pada 5 September 2018, menjadi salah satu yang patut dicoba, bahkan disarankan!

Restoran dengan gaya modern initerinspirasi oleh musim gugur di Jepang, deretan gerbang di Fushimi Inari ini menyajikan udon khas Sanuki yang melegenda, lengkap dengan aneka macam tempura dan oden.

Hanamaru Udon menyajikan menu yang menarik, baik secara tampilan maupun rasa. Helai-helai udon, yang pastinya lebih besar dan tebal dibandingkan ramen, dijamin akan memanjakan lidah Anda.

Spicy Chicken Udon

Udon khas Sanuki melegenda karena bentuknya yang khas,serta teksturnya yang lembut dan licin. Mie tersebut akan terasa lembut ketika dikunyah dan licin menggelitik kerongkongan ketika ditelan. Selain itu, udon kini juga digemari oleh banyak orang yang peduli dengan kesehatan, karena nyaris tidak berlemak, bebas trans-lemak dan merupakan sumber karbohidrat yang sangat baik.

Udon khas Sanuki tersebut disajikan bersama dengan sup hangat khas, serta penuh dengan bahan-bahan yang menyehatkan.

Spicy Chicken Udon

Cek variasi udonnya: Niku Udon Black, Beef Oroshi Bukkake Black, Beef Oroshi Bukkake White, Beef Ontama Bukkake Black, Beef Ontama Bukkake White, Kake Udon, Ontama Bukkake, Bukkake, Curry Udon, Spicy Chicken Udon, Saba Bukkake, atau Tori Ten Bukkake Udon. Harganya relatif terjangkau, antara Rp 38.000 hingga Rp 56.000 per porsi.

CEO PT Happy Restaurants Indonesia, Tadao Kato mengatakan, “Kami berharap agar pengunjung akan dapat merasakan kebahagiaan ketika menikmati udon khas Sanuki kami.”

Melihat begitu besar antusias konsumen Indonesia terhadap masakan Jepang dan banyaknya restoran Jepang yang sukses, itulah sebabnya Kato percaya diri bahwa Hanamaru Udon akan menjadi besar di Indonesia.

Kake Udon

Kato juga bercerita bahwa Hanamaru Udon di Indonesia sangat berbeda jika dibandingkan dengan negara-negara lain, dari grafis, presentasi makanan dan pastinya di bagian desain interior. Di Jepang Hanamaru Udon berupa restoran cepat saji yang segala sesuatunya sangat praktis. Sedangkan di Indonesia, segalanya penuh dengan detail, dan dipikirkan dengan masak-masak. Berdasarkan pengamatan Kato, pasar di Indonesia cukup menantang. Pihak restoran tidak hanya harus menyajikan makanan yang lezat, tetapi juga harus didukung oleh desain interior yang menawan, presentasi makanan yang cantik dan pelayanan yang menyenangkan.

Otak-otak Tempura

Pada saat ini Hanamaru Udon juga sedang proses untuk sertifikasi halal, sehingga pengunjung dapat menikmati santapan di Hanamaru Udon tanpa rasa was-was. “Kami mengajak semua warga Indonesia untuk mengunjungi geraiHanamaru Udon dan merasakan kebahagiaan yang didapat dari semangkuk udon buatan kami,” tambahT. Kato.

Vriska Virginia, General Manager PTHappy Restaurants Indonesia berharapagar Hanamaru Udon dapat diterima oleh masyarakat Indonesia. “Oleh karena itu, untuk dapat menjangkau sebagian besar penduduk Jakarta, pada tahun 2018 ini kami akan membuka tiga gerai.”

Tendon

“Kami menargetkan untuk membuka 50 geraidalam kurun waktu limatahun. Karena dengan membuka banyak cabang, selain untuk menjangkau seluruh penduduk Indonesia, itu juga salah satu cara untuk dapat bersaing dengan restoran-restoran Jepang lainnya yang sudah buka lebih dahulu dari kami,” jelasnya.

Rascal Voyages

Indonesia’s most sought-after private yacht to expand fleet with presence in Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, The Maldives, Singapore and Malaysia

The team behind the region’s most talked about luxury Phinisi yacht, Rascal, is expanding with five new boats set to create a fleet of ‘Rascal Voyages’. Continuing to push boundaries with five-star expeditions across some of the world’s most undiscovered waters, Rascal Voyages will serve the rising demand for experiential and adventurous luxury travel.

The first Rascal Phinisi yacht carved a niche in the luxury hospitality industry by allowing guests to tailor-make their own land and sea itineraries for an exclusive private charter experience. The five new yachts will provide the same unique flexibility and increase in size to offer an additional sixth cabin, with each yacht offering Rascal’s signature entirely above water accommodation experience.

The Yacht

Like the inaugural Rascal, which has been providing discerning travelers explorations across Komodo and Raja Ampat for the past year, the new yachts will offer luxurious cruises to magnificent, off-grid locations. With two already under construction and scheduled for completion in 2020; one will serve the Indonesian waters alongside Rascal, whilst the other will voyage two routes - from Thailand to Myanmar, with its staggering fauna and flora marine diversity, and Singapore to Malaysia, plying the Eastern seaboard of the Malaysian coast with destinations such as Pulau Rawa, Tioman, Redang and Perhentian.

Surfing

Whale Shark - Raja Ampat

The further three yachts will complete by 2021, accessing the Indian Ocean and Gulf of Thailand with unique itineraries around The Maldives and Cambodia. With the additional yachts, guests will have the opportunity to create multi-location itineraries, boarding different yachts in different countries, adding further possibilities for luxury exploration across some of the planet’s most sought-after seas.

Komodo - Flores

The additional above-water cabin has been conceptualised for the new yachts to house floating experts in residence. Following the success of Rascal’s partnership with CI, which saw the discovery of two new species during a survey expedition of Raja Ampat, the larger boats will enable guests to select from a team of diving professionals, conservationists and wellness enthusiasts to join them on board, adding a new dimension to the private charter experience – whether it’s a fitness programme, a diving course, a world-class surfing adventure or a detox.

Remaining at the cutting-edge of luxury hospitality, each yacht will be built to order, meticulously handcrafted and elegantly designed, taking inspiration from their respective surroundings. Adapting a spacious superstructure to allow for the six double en-suite guest cabins and a range of indoor and outdoor spaces for guests to relax in, the boats will be combined with the comforts of a contemporary yacht – engines, navigation systems and AV solutions of the highest standard, and the region’s most experienced professional crews and F&B teams for unforgettable on board experiences.

Food & Beverages

Every Rascal Voyage will bring a wealth of activities include trekking through undiscovered lands, a variety of watersports and diving. Yoga lessons, spa treatments and photography courses can also be arranged. An onboard chef prepares a daily menu, combining international and Asian cooking techniques with fresh, local produce to create sumptuous dining experiences– from pop-up island feasts to sunset beach BBQs. Equally as impressive is the exclusive cocktail menu and bespoke Rascal Rum, which was expertly crafted by international bar superstars, Proof & Company, especially for Rascal Voyages.

Available only for private charter, every Rascal Voyage dares to defeat the last!

Nightly rates start at USD$9,500 (full board) and vary depending on itinerary and season

Website: Rascal Voyages.| Bookings: enquiries@rascalvoyages.com