One thing that’s been thriving throughout the COVID-19 pandemic is the ability to let your tastebuds do the travelling.
Buffets are the most pleasant option to have this experience, for sure. It offers nostalgia for your previous travels and excitement for your favourite dishes.
HARRIS Vertu Hotel Harmoni lies at Harmoni Exchange, amidst Central Jakarta and has been there since 2017. On its fifth floor is its one and the only restaurant called Voyage, coming to life every breakfast, lunch, and dinner. In the new normal, up to 75 people can choose to sit inside an open bird cage-inspired setting, taken from TAUZIA Hotels’ French background, or choose to sit outdoors overlooking Harmoni’s skyline views.
Voyage’s buffet is the main star. A la carte options are presented too, but when you come here with a corporate agenda or simply socialise with loved ones, the buffet is irresistible. Assorted cheese, bread and butter, salads, noodles, nasi liwet, grilled chicken, gado-gado, salted fish with green chilli, mashed potato, fresh fruits, apple pie, and chocolate fondue are some of the many options to choose from. All are absolutely mouthwatering – insert drooling and heart-eyes emojis.
I see Voyage as a way to luxuriate in a culinary expedition. Whenever you travel, you’d want to savour the local cuisines, right? Chef Suyitno, the Director of Kitchen at Voyage pointed out, “locals and foreigners search for local cuisine whenever they feast, so there’s always rice, fried rice, and fried noodles.”
He recommends one of the restaurant’s self-curated dishes, the sop ayam Harmoni or Harmoni chicken soup. Small chicken cutlets and potatoes are cooked in a coconut-based soup and spiced to perfection. It’s delicious – one of my favourites!
However, the soups change daily, along with the rest of the buffet’s menu. Chef Suyitno explained that the menu follows an eight-rotation system to avoid presenting the same appetizers, mains, and desserts each day. For example, if shrimp is part of the Western side, then no shrimp will be used in any local and Asian dish that day. The menu itself changes every three months.
Exciting varieties of Western, Asian, and Indonesian delicacies await. Some crowd-favourites are salmon en croute, Korean bulgogi as well as the chef’s favourites: Indonesia’s famous sop buntut, or oxtail soup, and the tender BBQ brisket.
Voyage’s team of talented chefs incorporate worldwide food trends as well. “We don’t want to be rigid with our buffet menu. We want everyone dining here to be satisfied,” said Chef Suyitno. When Korean garlic bread was booming, you bet Voyage took its own spin to it! Fusion dishes further switch up this variative buffet, such as salmon lodeh and green curry opor. As Chef Suyitno said, “Fusion shouldn’t be confusion.”
Buffets offer value for foodies as the perfect culinary voyage to cater to everyone’s tastebuds. At Voyage, you can comfortably and safely socialise in Harmoni’s only extravagant and complete buffet. Mandatory body temperature checks, sanitising of hands and tables, as well as social distancing, are all strictly implied. Be sure to wear gloves before you fill up your plate! Diners can get 50 per cent off using their debit card and credit card – one card is equivalent to a maximum of four people – valid until 31st May 2021.
Taste the journey only at Voyage for breakfast on weekdays from 6 to 10 am and weekends between 6-10:30 am, and brunch at 11:30-3 pm. Lunch service is 12-2:30 pm priced at Rp338,000 nett, whilst dinner is 6-10 pm priced at Rp358,000 nett.
- Voyage, HARRIS Vertu Hotel Harmoni
Jl. Hayam Wuruk No.6, Central Jakarta
P: +62 21 2203 6000
Instagram: @hvertuharmoni
Facebook: Harris Vertu Harmoni