Arrack & Spice’s handsome allure doesn’t lie: the bar and dining establishment in the ground floor of Menara Rajawali delivers intriguing dishes and beguiling cocktails that pay tribute to Indonesian flavours.
Their take on putting Indonesian twists to foreign dishes is unlike anywhere, complete with names that will stimulate your curiosity straight away, such as the Salmon Lodeh Pasta and Sop Buntut Risotto. The former is a plateful of linguini pasta with salmon fillet poured over with the Javanese coconut lodeh gravy. While the latter, peculiar as it is, is a marriage of the Italian staple dish cooked with the Indonesian staple oxtail soup, resulting in a dish that excite the taste buds in a pleasing way. For a less avant-garde option, do treat yourself to the Wagyu Bistik Solo, a rendition of the Javanese steak that is both comforting and familiar.
Although you can choose to wash down your meal with refreshments like Kecombrang Iced Tea that’s made with the native flower, it’s important to know that Arrack & Spice’s main drawcard is their house cocktails. Should you decide to go the inebriating way, you might want to glance past the classic cocktails and go for something different. Arrack & Spice offers up a list of signature cocktails found nowhere else, one as unique as the other, as the libations are the bar’s specialty drinks that renew traditional flavours into modern cocktails.
The first exhibit, Pak Raden is a concoction that uses mesoyi rum (made from massoia tree bark, a native seasoning ingredient) and kacang ijo (mung bean). Then, their Es Campoer To The Moon mixes in the sweetness of the fruit cocktail with coco pandan gin and a zesty tanginess. The traditional bir pletok (a non-alcoholic Betawinese staple drink made with a variety of herb and spices) is remade into the Beer Pletok with grape arrack, more spices and topped with ginger whipped cream.
On top of the drinks and food, the venue won’t fail to make you feel just as ritzy. The ornate dining area models the house of an old-time aristocrat where European and local rattan styles are fashionably mashed into one. As the night dawns, the bar continues to operate for the remaining hours of the night where you and your party can take the pleasure of drinking in easeful style.