Sana Sini Restaurant is located in Pullman Hotel Jakarta. I've been pretty excited about visiting this buffet since it offers a more modern take to the hotel dining concept. I visited Pullman on a Friday afternoon with my mother and several of her friends. The reception desk is simple, placed right outside the restaurant with many sofa lounges nearby as it shares the area with the hotel lobby area. Upon entering, we were greeted by the staffs and are welcomed to our seats.
The seats we got is by the glass looking through the Wisma Nusantara building and right across the Western food section. There are four food sections offered by Sana Sini Restaurant, which are: Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian and Western. In addition to the four, there are dessert and bakery counter to satisfy your palate. Without any further hesitation, I began exploring the areas and began grabbing tonnes of foods!
Western
The western food area offers mixtures of foods deriving from different area of the Western part of the world including pasta, steak, cheese, salad and mainly protein that are cooked in simple seasonings; the ones common in here are grilled, smoked and roasted during the time of my visit. Many variety of accompanying sauces can be found in the isle to accompany your dishes and add more flavor to your selection of meals. The selection here would have been suitable as the main courses for the day as it were mostly meaty and rich from the sauces. One thing I love the most about the Western food section is the unique plate that could divide your food into two section, with one of it being a bit more shallow that the other and can perform as a soup or condiment dish. Unique and functional.
Chinese
The Chinese food section could've been my favorite section if only there food could travel around the kitchen better. I understand that the restaurant were quite busy at the time, but after going back and forth to this particular station numerous times some food were coming out very slowly that I lost interest. I was actually looking forward to trying out their roasted poultry (especially the glazing Peking duck that can be seen dangling by the stall) and more of their dimsum variant -- but the bamboo plates were left empty for several minutes that I've stopped looking. But the good thing is, the dimsum that I got to try were really delicious and served steaming hot. The other dishes from the Chinese counter, including the soup, rices, tofu, fried prawn, stir-fry veggies and such were delicious! When the pacing of this counter worked well, it would have been the hit as it offers many powerful flavor in their dishes.
Japanese
Every diner ultimate favorite counter must've been this one since there were queues in every corner. The amazing thing is the coordination within the kitchen that were able to control the flow of the dishes very well that the plates were never left empty for too long. The Japanese stall offers array of sushi, noodles, tempura, yakitori, sashimi alongside with other fresh seafoods including crawfish, clams, and also Japanese salad option. The crowd did not lie as this station were clearly the hit on this lunch serving. It is also my favorite area of the whole Sana Sini Restaurant. Try the juicy, fresh sashimi for a comparison and order some freshly cooked soba when you got the time. Pullman's Sana Sini essentially kept the quality of (previously) Hotel Nikko's reputation in the serving of Japanese food in its best way possible. Every dishes, no matter how simple it looked, were executed very properly.
Indonesian
I did not try many of the Indonesian dishes as I've gotten a bit too full to try out for more, and the Indonesian section were just unfortunately placed on the very end of the restaurant that I got to visit it last. I did try out their chicken satay and mutton satay though and it was one of the best execution of traditional satay that I have ever had! It was definitely humble and simple, but the meat were so juicy and flavorful that I almost regretted only taking three pieces. Yet again, I find the problem in this section is that since the station were last crowded than the other stations, some food production were slowed down due the low demand. When I wanted to try out the satay I was talking about. I took the last three piece available and grill was not even fired for the preparation of continuing batch. When I requested a freshly cooked kue cubit, too, the staff were actually a little frazzled for not being able to turn the stove on.
But fret not, flavor wise the Indonesian section were very bold and true to the traditional flavors. It also pays respect to various Indonesian cuisines. The problems I got here today was only the fact that some of the food that were prepared to order did not came out for order at the expected time. It being in the middle of lunch hour is an understandable cause, but cannot be overlooked. One more thing...
Desserts
...there were no macarons offered in between the large array of desserts? In a hotel in which has it's bakery named 'Makaron'? I was so so so so disappointed since I was looking forward to trying out Sana Sini (and Makaron's) french macaron. I was genuinely sad for not finding any macaron disk available in between the selections of international and Indonesian sweet desserts. To redeem myself, I splurged on other ice creams, cakes, and also make a good use of their chocolate fondue. It was all delicious, many had a play on texture and my favorite was the cake pop; but it would've been better if there are actually some macaron lying around my plate.
*still crying*
*wipes tears*
The Indonesian desserts are also stand strong with its international counterpart, even some are superior since it was executed nicely. It is a nice touch to add a specific counter in a form of an antique cabinet to display the Indonesian desserts. I applaud Sana Sini for taking chances for taking Indonesian food further on their servings in the plates of detailed desserts.
I was very happy with my visit since Sana Sini and the Pullman Hotel itself has a very good vibe and modern touches here and there with its attention to detail. With a price of 350.000 IDR per person, I see it as a pricetag worthy of the quality offered by Pullman. The price also comes with bottomless mineral water and tea/coffee option for the diner during its weekday lunch service. I would love to come for a second, third, or more visit. Next time hopefully with faster circulation of the food and of course with its macaron available!
Sana Sini Restaurant
Pullman Hotel Jakarta
Jl. M.H. Thamrin No. 59
Central Jakarta
+62 21 3906444
H8491-fb3@accor.com
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