Indulging The Art of Tea with Dilmah at Le Meridien Hotel Jakarta

First of all, thank you Le Meridien Hotel and Dilmah Tea for inviting me to this exclusive event, which exclusively featured the showcase all about (Dilmah) tea and the impressive creations from tea, while having our luxurious afternoon tea. Who says tea can't be fun?

This is the second time Le Meridien invited me for events, the first one was the Coffee Culture Seminar with Illy Coffee. It was such a fabulous event, my knowledge about tea rose up in a few hours.

The highlight of this event was also the Dilmah Exceptional Tea Series! In a nutshell, it's a fancier, funner and more unique Dilmah tea creations which not only have the benefits of great flavored tea, but health, quality and authenticity as well! 

There are ten variants of the Dilmah Exceptional tea series: Rose with French Vanilla, Berry Sensation, Ceylon Spice Chai, Peppermint Leaves with Ceylon Cinnamon, Lively Lime and Orange Fusion, Elegant Earl Grey, Fragrant Jasmine Green Tea, Arabian Mint Tea with Honey, Peppermint and English Toffee and Perfect Ceylon Tea. I didn't try out all the flavors but eventually pretty much fond of the "Berry Sensation" and "Perfect Ceylon Tea". To be honest, I am a loyal consumer of Dilmah (and I ain't bull around telling everyone I drank Dilmah when I didn't). I love their "Chamomile", "English Breakfast" and fruit tea series, sometimes I purchased the mixed flavors package so I didn't bore on a certain flavor :).

A party without food is just a meeting, and what's an afternoon tea without delicious cakes? Let me show you around the fabulous cakes created by Executive Chef Roger Rechsteiner! Prepare your tissues before "waterfall" occurs! FYI some cakes here were made using tea infusions! Creative!

Berry Triffle with Chamomile Tea Custard

Le Meridien Mille Feulle with Ginger and Ginger Tea Fondant

Fruit Tartelets Glazed with Rose and French Vanilla

LOOK WHAT I FOUND HERE? FREAKIN CRONUTS!!!
I knew it right away they were cronuts so I waste no time getting my hands all over them! I ate like three or four, couldn't recall, they were so good and fluffy, also it has a little hint of infused peppermint! Another great recommended cronuts for you all. They tastes less flaky and chewier. Just good! FYI, this is just the light bite size, the original size should be bigger. Go grab 'em at the Le Meridien Cake Shop!!!

Welcome drink: Honeyginger.
This drink's made by the talented Robert Schinkel and it's the mixture of Dilmah Chamomile Tea (I told ya I loved it!), Fresh Apple Juice, Honey Syrup, Lime Juice, Dash Grapefruit Bitters and Green Apples! On top of that, crushed ice, Chamomile flowers and Green Apple fan! This has a lot of playful flavors and surely was super refreshing, parfait for the afternoon.

I haven't introduced you guys to the master of the tea, also International Tea Mixologist from Holland, Robert Schinkel! His tea creations had won him awards, achievements and a new fan, whom is me! He seemed like he knew tea very very well from his presentation. It was such a pleasure meeting him :).

Also on the event, the Food Service Manager from Sri Lanka, Soren Atukorale giving his words and presentation on Dilmah brand.

In this event, Robert's showcasing us his gorgeous skill with tea and guess what he's making? TEA COCKTAILS! Never heard of that before right?! Here I'm going to explain you more about Robert's signature creations, such as:

Rose and Vanilla Martini
Ingredients needed:
- Absolut Vodka
- Fresh Pear juice
- Fresh Lime juice
- Simple syrup
- Eggwhite
- Rose and French Vanilla Tea (for sprinkles garnish)

To create Robert's signature drink's kinda easy, mixed the Absolut Vodka, fresh Pear juice, fresh Lime juice, simple syrup and the eggwhite together. The eggwhite has no flavor and no scent so it wouldn't affect the drink negatively, the eggwhite's used to create the foamy look and consistency of this drink. On top of it, sprinkle some Rose and French Vanilla tea for garnish.

Taste? Impressive! It started out quite sour and it got bitter at the end and loving the transition of it. Even though it's kinda bitter and not everyone's fond of alcohol drink, this one is pretty refreshing!

Jakarta Blue Blazer
Ingredients needed:
- Dilmah Italian Almond
- Bols Genever or Vodka
- Cinnamon
- Cloves
- Nutmeg
- Grated Orange peel
- Lemon juice
- White sugar
Okay, this really gave me chill because the way Robert showcased the production of this beverage was really unique and impressive and I couldn't stop getting my camera away from the process. It involves burning fire!!! The idea of it was to fire up the area with the help of the alcohol and since this drink also includes alcohol (remember: cocktail), the alcohol helped the back and forth distribution of the drink, you'd notice a "Teh Tarik" kind of production.
FYI, tea's not recommended to be with 100 degrees water, 70 or 80 would be perfect. Tea will tend to become a bad-acid when it's poured with very hot water (100 degree Celsius), the effect won't be instant, but later in the future, therefore 70-80 degree Celsius is more recommended, you can tell when the cooked water's not yet filled with bubbles, you can turn the fire off when the bubble's starts appearing.

After the lovely session, the adorable non-stop flowing Canapes were coming towards me and my stomach afterwards *stressed*. The Canapes also infused with a little tea extract :D.

Pan Fried Prawn on Sugar Snaps and Earl Grey Beurre Blanc

Peach Fruit Tea Enchanced Granita on Sumac Marinated Strawberries
Always rooms of desserts, and this one... ME LOVE! You got the sweetness, the sourness and the bitterness. Enough talking, chase!!!

A picture with Ms. Arie! Finally meeting you again, my pleasure :).

Selfcam with the Maestros: Roger Rechsteiner and Robert Schinkel!

C H E E S E!

Thank you for Le Meridien and Dilmah for a fantastic afternoon tea session, as well as valuable information about tea and its possible creations. Tea is surely fun! Applause for Le Meridien for always making not only a fun event, but an event with knowledge insertion. Love it.

Le Meridien Hotel Jakarta Club Lounge || WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | TWITTER
20th fl. of Le Meridien Hotel Jakarta
Jl. Jend. Sudirman, Kav. 18-20
Jakarta 10220
021 - 251 3131 

FACEBOOK || TWITTER || INSTAGRAM

email: eatandtreatsindo@gmail.com

Oh La La Cafe Plaza Indonesia

A sudden meeting with my friend leads to an afternoon tea session. This time we're trying Oh La La Cafe which is now located at the more approachable and in-crowd-able location in Plaza Indonesia. This french themed cafe is known for their fabulous series of patisseries which includes delicious cakes and yumsters of macarons.

Macarons
IDR 7k/each, IDR 20k/3 pieces
Let's not forget the role of macarons on your afternoon tea. Not only is that they give more colors to the plate, they also taste nice. I am pretty much fond of the macarons here, they're very chewy and fluffy on the inside but crunchy on the outside. I rarely find macarons that are actually strong in flavors, some I barely even taste the flavor, but these pretty little devils are hearty in mouth.
Green: Pistachio, Blue: Blueberry (RECOMMENDED), Brown: Chocolate

Chocolate Twist

IDR 16.5k

Lovely crunchy texture leads to a moist patisserie on the inside. I was lucky that I got the one fresh from the oven so when I sliced it open, the aroma was just wonderful. The chocolate may not be as generous as I thought it would be but it still gave you the chocolate flavor you want.

Sacher Cake

IDR 35k

Absolute winner! Now this is a chocolate cake! From the top to the bottom, you'll experience a soft moist cake with wealthy chocolate flavor especially from the lovely layer on top. The cake literally melts in your mouth, such a joyful flavor explosion :). Would love you to have this one.

Iced Cafe Latte
IDR 30k
The Iced Cafe Latte is a great choice for a rather quick drink, the flavor is balanced, overall it's good but nothing very significant in this drink from the most coffees I've had before.

Oh La La Specialties:
Haute Couture
IDR 35k
First of all, gotta give it to the presentation! Such a wonderful color gradation from orange to green <3 (even though the green's very little), very very impressed with the outer look but still, the question is, is the flavor as sweet as it looks? It definitely is sweet, and yet unique. I can hint a glimpse of orange and pineapple flavor inside leaving me with a fresh impression. This one is what you should try by the time you pay your visit here.

Oh La La can be in your consideration for a lovely place for lunch (will come back for that, I was drooling when I looked at their menu) or afternoon tea, they do have great selections of cakes and beverages. I'd really recommend you their Sacher Cake. I wonder why this outlet didn't have their fabulous meat-filling-croissants like I usually purchase in hospitals or airports. I know right, not your common places to have croissants. However,  I did ask and I didn't have a really clear answer, but I am very impressed with the sleek and simple design they're upscaling to this outlet because it does look more "parisienne".

Have a fabulous weekend guys! Thank you for reading.

AU REVOIR!

OH LA LA CAFE
Plaza Indonesia 2nd Fl Unit I 001
Jl. M.H. Thamrin Kav. 28-30
Jakarta Pusat

FACEBOOK || TWITTER || INSTAGRAM

email: eatandtreatsindo@gmail.com

Afternoon Tea at Moovina Le Jardin-Mezzanine

It was a nice day, cool weather and all that I have in mind was having afternoon tea.

I asked my followers on Twitter about the great places in Jakarta to have afternoon tea and some of my followers replied me with a name of the place that I'm going to be reviewing right this second. Ladies and gentlemen, it's MOOVINA: Le Jardin-Mezzanine. (Le Jardin is pronounced : LE JARD(A)N).

Le Jardin was the venue of where this afternoon tea session occured. Moovina has two areas: Le Jardin's located on the third floor of Plaza Indonesia and Mezzanine was located one level higher. Le Jardin is purposed for everyone who wants a more relaxed atmosphere for light-bites and afternoon tea like I did, while Mezzanine is for a more formal event (more romantic event), since it's purposed for ones who wanted to have their main course.

Just a few steps inside and I was super impressed by how beautiful the place is, it's almost like you're in a French garden with a lot of plants and I was seated at a perfect place near the window where natural daylight is friendly.

When they gave me the menu, I just can't decide, I need to see it for myself because I need to have the physique look of the cakes so that I'll be more relieved in choosing, yet at least that I know that my cakes are pretty (lol). Initially I wanted to go for the Edelweiss private afternoon tea set, but sadly they don't include sliced cakes, the menu consists of croissant, rhum sticks, and lemon tart, therefore I go with the Ala Carte.

La Vie En Rose
IDR 25k (before tax)

This cake really caught my attention, especially how beautiful they decorated the side with butter-cream in pink gradation. I was so blown away with how pretty the cake looks I need to make sure that the cake actually tastes as sweet and as memorable as it looks. The cake was very moist with a touch of raspberry flavor! I honestly like this cake. I am not a very big fan of butter cream but this one is beyond my imagination, I thought it's going to greasy and eww-in-taste, but it was so soft, melts in your mouth, not overpowering.

Love the idea of using chocolate sauce. It adds different flavor that play around in your mouth.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcake
IDR 21k (before tax)

Again, I was captivated by the beauty of this cake, the nut crumble are the reason why I have to choose this cupcake! It looks so delish any eyes will feel extremely guilty not taking this.

I tried the peanut butter and I love how it's very smooth, it doesn't really taste like Skippy so I presume that it's custom made Moovina style. Overall, good start at the peanut butter.

I must admit that the chocolate cupcake wasn't my favorite and it's under my expectation. I thought the cake would be soft and moist, but it's the exact opposite. I need to spend a little more energy to slice the cupcake but as it gets to the bottom, the softness is like a gradient, the lower surface has the softest consistency. I think it'd be better if the cake starts from the medium to extra soft, instead of hard to soft.

Camomile Tea
IDR 28k (before tax)

The tea they're using is from Dilmah, which is one of the top quality teas in the world. Going with Camomile wasn't a mistake at all, it's really relaxing and the scent of the camomile really keeps my mood at the steady-good.

PS: I like my tea to have a little glimpse of the flowers. It just appears to gve a soothing yet much natural flavor.

I spent IDR 89k after 20% tax for this special treat on a special afternoon.

While you spend a little fortune to enjoy an afternoon tea at certain places. For some people, afternoon tea is not an excuse to post beautiful fancy treat on Instagram, for some, it's a lifestyle, and it's actually so much more than pretty cakes and fancy teas, it's about private, personal and inner joy on a nice afternoon.

I'm still going to surf the great places in Jakarta to have my private afternoon teatime.
If you have any recommendations, please leave comments or reach me via Twitter <3.

Thank you guys! See you around!!!

MOOVINA: LE-JARDIN-MEZZANINE || Website | FACEBOOK | TWITTER
Plaza Indonesia 3rd fl. #119 & 4th fl. #06
Jl. M.H. Thamrin Kav. 28-30
Jakarta Pusat
021 - 2992 4567 (Le Jardin)
021 - 2992 3999 (Mezzanine)

FACEBOOK || TWITTER || INSTAGRAM

email: eatandtreatsindo@gmail.com