Goemon

Last Tuesday, I got a sudden call from one of the bosses to arrange a farewell dinner for our teammate. I already planned a dinner for him for the next week, but as it turned out, this week is his last week with us. :( You will be missed, N!

This time, we picked Goemon, a Japanese eatery famous for its authenticity and a very loyal Japanese expat following. It was Tuesday, and unexpectedly, it was SO HARD to get confirmed seats for 12! I had to lie convince the waitress that we would be there on 6 PM, while in reality, the meeting that we had to attend prior to the dinner was expected to end on 6.30 PM. Hihihi...

So, we finally got there on 6.45 PM (OOPS! hihi), and the waiters almost gave up our seats. The place was 100% packed, with 60% of the patrons being Japanese, 20% Caucasian (with their Japanese client/work buddy), and the 20% being us; the tardy locals :)

As soon as I stepped in the restaurant, I feel an instant rush of Japanese-y culture shock. First of all, we had to take off our shoes. The interior made me feel like I was stepping inside Oshin's house. Overall, very izakaya-ish!

We were given complimentary hot towels, tea (served cold/hot/warm), and this sweet stew of daikon, chicken (?), and carrot. I loved it.

Here's our orders:


Boss A and B picked salmon teriyaki set (IDR 130,000). Every set meals comes with miso shiru, salad, spaghetti (which was surprisingly very tasty!), vegetable pickle, some sort of potato-aubergine-konnyaku stew, and jasmine rice. Both of the picky eater bosses claim the meal very good, and the salmon itself SUPERB. Superboss S (she's the project manager) even nibble in Boss B's salmon while waiting her order to come, much to Boss B's dismay.

T and N's to-be replacement J picked Hamburg Steak Set (IDR 62,000). The Hamburg steak is basically minced beef burger with a sunny-side up on top. The tomato and shoyu sauce for the burger was seriously yummy!


Superboss S picked Nigirizushi Mori (IDR 90,000). As soon as the order came, she asked for wasabi. But after her first bite on a supposedly wasabi-less piece, she seized and gasped for air because the wasabi was hidden underneath the fish!!! Aside to the wasabi incident, she found the dish quite nice (you can't go wrong with fresh fish) but in the end she couldn't finished it so I took the liberty to eat one of the salmon rolls (and yes, it was wasabi-ey to the max!).

My dish, that got everybody ooh-aah-ing in envy and interest, Tonkatsu Set (IDR 60,000). I was in no health-freak mood and craving for some seriously guilty pleasure eats, and what could top that other than deep-fried, crumbed pork sirloin? Cooking pork could be tricky, if you cook it too long it will get chewy and sendal-jepity, if you don't cook it long enough it will get bloody and that is very very unpleasant. I initially wanted to order their kuro-buta (a.k.a Japanese black pig--the wagyu equivalent for pork), but my minion status in the group stopped me. Hehehe. The tonkatsu was perfect! The breadcrumb crust was crispy, yet they managed to cook the pork just right, tender, juicy, and very very porky! I didn't like the yuzu and the grated daikon dip though. I'd prefer the Hamburg sauce next time.

Y, the sashimi girl, picked Sashimi Set (IDR 80,000), of course! Her only complaint: "Kurang banyak!", and when asked what fish she's currently eating: "Gak tau! Pokoknya enak!"

N, the farewell boy, picked Beef Curry (IDR 57,000). He sat quite far from me, so I didn't get to ask him how his food was. I know, my fault!! But in the end, his plate was clean, so either the food was great or he was hungry :) Anyhoo, he was sitting in the darker part of the table, so I didn't get a good picture of his curry.

UB, with the eating spirit of a fireman ("tak akan pulang sebelum padam"), opted for the bento set: Makonouchi Bento (IDR 95,000). Lots of food there, right? He still regretted not ordering Tonkatsu or Kurobuta though.

UN, picked this Yakiniku Don Set (IDR 58,000) that looks a lot like Beebimbap. I had a nibble of this dish, and I found the beef was a bit to the bland side. It could use more sauce, methinks.

We also have gyoza to share (IDR 32,000). The gyoza was plump and porky, but I felt it lacked a certain oomph. I still prefer Chinese's kuotie over this.

The complementary papaya pudding was great! I'm not papaya's biggest fan so I was a bit shocked to find myself craving for this! It was gorgeously milky and soft, with no "bird-food" taste at all. Love it!

Verdict:

Thumbs up:
Great food, great ambience, great value.
Waitresses were friendly and attentive

Thumbs down
The service was a bit slow though, we had to wait a little while for the food. N had to wait around 40 minutes (yes!) for his curry.
The chef grilled the yakitori inside the premises and I think the exhaust system was flawed or something, because afterwards my whole clothes and hair smells like yakitori.

Goemon
Wisma Kyoei Prince, 3rd Floor
Jl. Jend. Sudirman kav. 3
Jakarta
Tel. 5723343

Reservation is highly recommended.