It is never a surprise for culinary enthusiasts when a collaboration between two evoking restaurants of similar nature is arranged. In order to introduce the powerful influence of each property, collaboration creates gigantic gesture to drive attention. BLANCO par Mandif, a fine dining restaurant based in Ubud, and Altoro Spanish Gastro Bar made such a premise to establish this mission. On Saturday, 10 August 2019, the two prominent restaurants located in two different regions agreed on having a Cocktail Dinner, intertwining both values in one table. The special occasion was not merely about a pairing dinner but more about sharing different cultures and values where the power of authentic cocktails signified the event.
Flying over Ubud, Bali, signature cocktails of Ruang Tamu arrived in Surabaya to complement the special five-course menu on this Spanish restaurant. Bloody Mariana was the start to accompany the pre-course, Rujak. In Indonesia, rujak is a local fruit salad known best for its peanut chilli sauce for the dressing on the top of tropical fruit chops. Allowing innovation in the enjoyment of gastronomic dining, additional ingredients were put into account. Guests could sense the soft shell crab and Nam Jim sauce in it. The Bloody Mariana was served to pair as an enhancement component to the rujak. it consisted of tomato, kemangi (local basil) and chili tincture with Smirnoff as the cocktail base. The combination of fruits and vegetables on the plate and on the glass matched the entire set.
Reaching the first main course, El Chapo played its role to the Octopus. The mixture of Gordon Dry gin, cucumber, cilantro, and egg white met the tasty Octopus with brenebon emulsion, parsley cream, and potato confit. Guests’ palates stroke into harmony when the refreshing relish of the cocktail freshened up the robust flavor of this first main course coming from the octopus, emulsion, and cream. The cocktail concurrently balanced the palatal system afterward and let guests enjoy another bite with no dominant substance left. Following was the last main course and obviously the limelight of the night, Wagyu. It was prepared extremely well with rich ingredients to elevate the eating pleasure. Bumbu rica, spicy sauce authentically brought from Manado (one of the eastern regions of Indonesia), smoked aubergine, and Maranggi (sweet, tasty sauce originally from West Java) completed the wow factor of this dish. Of this full-flavored menu, a light cocktail was needed for balancing reasons. Citrus Highball was the answer. The blend of Singleton 12, lemon, caramel and bubbles perfected the last heavy venture of the day. As we know it, lemon stores a property to reduce fat and grease of meats. Citrus Highball, then, successfully weighed down the punchy flavor of the meat and sauce from the Wagyu.
To finish the culinary journey, a tantalizing pair of dessert and stimulating cocktail encased in a coalition of Wajik and Whiskey. Wajik, an Asian dessert made of sticky rice, was paired with Whiskey Sour of banana skin infuse bulleit bourbon, angostura bitter and egg white. A compilation of all flavor seemed to be in this last stage. The sweet from palm sugar and jackfruit ice cream and savory from coconut of the Wajik, the bitter from the bulleit bourbon whiskey, and sour from the banana skin infuse and egg white encapsulated all features in one table. A definite delicate epilog.