Chinese New Year Festive at Tien Chao, Gran Melia Hotel Jakarta

Chinese New Year is approaching! I am so excited for it and I have been imagining the scene of togetherness, the food and what's funny is that actually it's almost like the food that brought the vibe of togetherness alive! It's the food that gather everyone together on the table while eating together, laughing together, and it's probably not the most common scene we see everyday, some probably had this once in a year.

Don't deny that you're excited about the *ahem* hong baos, too, right? Trust me, everyone who claims "no" is a liar :p.

To celebrate Chinese New Year 2014, Tien Chao Chinese Restaurant in Gran Melia Hotel Jakarta is presenting you the newest finest selections of Chinese and Cantonese feasts! The man behind the glorious food you're about to see was Chef Ken Choy from Malaysia, he was such a talented chef and his creations were top notch.

Steamed Unagi Dumpling
IDR 55k
The awesome lunch started with some of the new Dim Sum series and this one was the Steamed Unagi Dumpling which was awesome. The dumpling skin was soft and chewy, but in a way molded to hold the generous filling which then made it resistant. The Unagi was cooked nicely and seasoned just perfectly. Great way to start the lunch.

Crispy Mango Prawn Roll
IDR 48k
This following course was one of my favorites of the day. I simply loved everything on the plate, the skin was crispy and appropriately cooked and there were some memorable vibrant play of flavors (the sweetness of the mango and the saltiness from the prawn) as well as textures. You just need to hop everything in and let them burst in your mouth, it was totally decent.

Salmon Wo Tie
IDR 48k
This was probably the first time for me to ever try Wo Tie with salmon filling, and apparently I ended up pretty impressed. The salmon and the coating were cooked nicely and both lightly seasoned, and again, worth the try.

Yee Sang in Thai Style
IDR 288k
I honestly wasn't expecting this to be THAT good and refreshing, this dish had a very impressive range of flavor and texture excitements! The traditional idea of eating this was to have the diners (those who happen to join the dinner) to mix everything together, I and some other bloggers were geared up with our weapon (read: chopsticks) to mix everything together with the special sauce. The sauce was created from the mixture of vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and nuts, while the elements of this dish included raw salmons (which were uber fresh), deep fried crabs, vegetables, fruits, fried dumplings and more. Short to say, genuine freshness and bursts of flavor. Much love for this.

Did I mention that this portion was the smallest in the range? It was funny and insane to know because this was even left unfinished at last because we were extremely full due to the lunch set, I couldn't imagine how big is big for "medium" and "large".

Roasted Pecking Duck

IDR 328k

If I have to choose the BOMB of the day, it would probably be this roasted pecking ducks which I honestly couldn't stop picking from the plate. They were (now I can use this) out of the world good, the skin was golden crispy and the meat was so tender, juicy (even the fats!) and they're oozing my taste buds in a good way. Major must try!

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I know you're drooling *crunch crunch*

Smoked Australian Tenderloin Beef
IDR 388k
The name told you everything already, they were indeed as tender as they could be, The beef was marinated and cooked in wine and soy sauce, and I guess that's why I found the smokey aroma from the cooking to be a tad overpowering, almost smoke like flavor. The Bok Choy on the other hand were really fresh and crunchy, I found they were such nice match to the beef.

XO Seafood Fried Rice
IDR 218k
I am not an avid fan of rice but that's not the case for fried rice, I know it sounds weird but even though they're technically rice, but fried rice is still fried rice and I always have room in my tummy for it. This XO seafood fried rice was nice, fragrant, lightly seasoned and generous amount of seafood was given. I also love the long rice grains they're using and having this while it's still warm was just perfect.

Lemongrass Jelly

IDR 58k

After fabulous series of courses, there must be a good dessert and this was the "mouthwasher" of the day. It was refreshing enough but I was honestly expecting a heavier hint of sourness from the lemongrass (lime lemongrass would be good eh?) and for this size, I thought the price was a little heavy.

Don't worry guys, the food you saw above was not even close to "all", Gran Melia is offering you a wider range of Chinese and Cantonese cuisine in Tien Chao and they're having special promotions for CNY dinner:

- Chinese New Year Gala Dinner on Thursday, 30th January 2014. Starts from IDR 688,000++/pax up to IDR 988,000++/pax for 7 - 9 courses.

- Special Chinese New Year (31 January - 28 February 2014). Peking Duck, Braised 6 Head Abalone, Braised Sea Cucumber with Fish Maw & Dried Scallop Served in Claypot

- Yu Sheng with Red Wine Honey or Yu Sheng a la Thai priced from IDR 298.000++/serving for 3 pax.

So what are you waiting for? I have personally tried some of the menus myself and I am happily spreading the good news that Tien Chao is a great choice for dinner time with your loved ones. Seriously worth your calls so book your tables now! They're extremely packed for CNY events as what the PR told me.

THANK YOU GRAN MELIA HOTEL JAKARTA FOR THE AWESOME LUNCH. EATANDTREATS LOVES YOU AND HAPPY (EARLY) CHINESE NEW YEAR!

Tien Chao Restaurant

Gran Melia Hotel Jakarta

Jl. H.R. Rasuna Said Kav. X-O

Kuningan, Jakarta Selatan

021 - 526 8080

Opening Hours:

Lunch: 11.30 AM - 14.30 PM (DAILY)

Dinner: 18.00 - 22.30 (DAILY)

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