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FOOD | Jan 08, 2010

Generous Helping Of Italian Cuisine at Pepenero

While Italian cuisine has long been celebrated for its hearty taste, preference for fresh ingredients and simplicity, it is seldom known for its generous portions, at least here in Indonesia. So it should come as a pleasant surprise that Pepenero — an Italian restaurant chain with three locations in Jakarta and two in Bali — consistently dishes up heaping plates of delicious Italian food.

Established in 2004, it is easy to see how Pepenero has built up its good reputation. From a simple trattoria — the Italian term for a casual establishment that serves fare like pizza, pasta and the like — it has grown into something slightly more upscale, with almost the same standards as a true ristorante.

We arrived at Pepenero in Kuningan one rainy Saturday evening without a reservation. We were lucky it was before the hectic dinner hour because while most tables were still unoccupied, nearly all of them had “Reserved” signs on them.

And it’s a good thing we arrived hungry. The waitress brought around a basket of Italian bread as soon as we were seated outside, near the bar area. We ate the delightful pieces of ciabatta and grissini (pencil-sized breadsticks) while poring over the menu.

Pretty decor notwithstanding, Pepenero’s rather poor lighting, unimproved by the tiny candle on our table, forced us to squint as we tried to make out the names of the dishes printed on brown paper. The closely-spaced menu is arranged by category, from antipasti (starters) to contorni (side dishes), and is full of choices, all lovingly described in such a way as to titillate the stomach.

After taking some time to weigh the choices, we ordered a starter of Tiepeda di polpo e patate con rucola , basically a salad of octopus tossed together with chunks of potato and arugula served warm, and Pepata di cozze e vongole , a bowl of mussel and clam soup.

Sensing that the portions would be generous, as hinted by the large breadbasket, we risked ordering only one dish instead of two for the main course. We decided on the linguine al cartoccio — linguini with mixed seafood and tomatoes, baked and wrapped in tinfoil.

To keep us amused while waiting, a courteous member of the wait staff brought each of us a plate of tomato bruschetta along with two large bottles, one of olive oil and another of balsamic vinegar. We then looked over the respectable wine list, which includes Caliterra Sauvignon Blanc 2007 from Chile, Italy’s own Monferrato Dolcetto 2005 and the self-proclaimed “macho wine” of California, Ravenswood Zinfandel 2005.

The salad was an unpretentious garb of greens, lightly dressed with olive oil, with big, squashy chunks of octopus.

My heavy bowl of soup was served next. This was a big pile of fat mussels and clams, swimming in a yellowish broth rich in garlic and pepper.

Our linguini was ready half an hour after we were done with our starters. We didn’t expect “mixed seafood” to mean a preponderance of mussels, but it did. The dish was mild-tasting, but dousing more olive oil onto it plus a decent sprinkling of chili pepper rendered it hot and more delectable. The fresh tomatoes gave a rustic zest to the linguini’s firmness.

Pepenero, specifically the one we ate at in Menara Karya Kuningan, has two drawbacks. One is that during rush hour, the indoor space gets really packed, with frenetic waitresses buzzing through the narrow spaces between tables. Second, smoking is permitted indoors.

At any rate, our dinner turned out to be a succulent feast at an affordable price. We heard the desserts here, especially the panna cotta, are marvelous, but perhaps next time. After all, the bar was just two steps away and my mind was already racing toward the ideal meal-closer: a frozen strawberry daiquiri.

Source: JG

Indonesian Lifestyle 2008