Cafe Series: AW Kitchen by Akira Watanabe

AW Kitchen by Akira Watanabe is a joint collaboration between Jaddi Foods Group and Japanese celebrity chef Akira Watanabe. Originally from Tokyo, this Jakarta outlet is their virgin outlet outside of Japan.

AW Kitchen marries both my love for Japanese and Italian food by serving Italian cuisine with a Japanese twist (i.e. Italian-Japanese fusion dishes). The restaurant has a colourful decor (totally in love with their tiled flooring!) which exudes homey and modern vibes.

Bar + high chairs.

Such pretty red and blue seat cushions.

My first visit to AW kitchen was on Sarah’s recommendation. We both loved their warm complimentary bread (soft on the inside but crispy on the outside) with olive bits in it. The salted butter melting into the bread = SO GOOOOOOD.

Fluffy, warm complimentary bread.

If my memory serves me right, Sarah had a “Capellini with Sakura Shrimp and Truffle Oil” (IDR 85K) – cold capellini angel hair pasta tossed with truffle oil and shrimps.

Capellini with Sakura Shrimp and Truffle Oil.

I was feeling mushroomy and risottoish that day and ordered a “Japanese Mushroom Risotto” (IDR 118k) – creamy Italian risotto served with assorted Japanese mushrooms like Maitake, King Oyster, Shimeji, and Champignon. The risotto was cooked and seasoned nicely. If you ❤ mushrooms as much as I do, you’ll like it! Confirm plus guarantee got chop.

Japanese Mushroom Risotto.

With Sarah. (Thankful to God for providing singlish friendships in Jakarta)

Just yesterday, I visited AW Kitchen by Akira Watanabe again with Ivana. We both had creamy cravings and got for ourselves two creamy pastas each. I ordered a “Cream Sauce Pasta with Salmon and Broccoli” (IDR 118K) while Ivana had a “Cream Sauce Pasta with Veal Ragout” (IDR 125K).

Cream Sauce Pasta with Salmon and Broccoli.

Moroccan Mint Tea.

Cream Sauce Pasta with Veal Ragout.

Our homemade pasta was cooked to al dente; the creamy sauce had the right amount of creaminess level (thankfully not too jelak!). My salmon pieces were perfectly half broiled and went well with the broccoli. YUM. I tried a bit of Ivana’s pasta – the sauce tasted almost the same but with a meatish tinge of flavour.

With Ivana. (Thanks for being a constant in Jakarta)

I ordered a teapot of moroccan mint tea hoping to wash down all the fats and calories from the creamy pasta (as if). Although we were really FULL after finishing our savoury mains, something felt amiss. OH YES, SOMETHING SWEEEET.

Banana Tiramisu with pretty presentation.

We easily settled on the “Banana Tiramisu” (IDR 68k) because it was the chef’s recommendation. The presentation was really pretty! Aesthetics aside, the banana tiramisu was…AWESOME. It was very light and smooth, not too sweet, and creamy. The coffee flavour wasn’t too overpowering. I felt that the banana slices and crunchy caramelized sugar on top complemented the tiramisu well. #heavenonearth

I went home a very full and happy girl. 🙂 🙂 🙂

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AW Kitchen by Akira Watanabe
Plaza Indonesia Level 2
Jl. M.H. Thamrin No.28-30
Central Jakarta, 10350