Sunday, December 25, 2016

Fat Shogun, where Japanese Meets Peruvian

Call it a coincidence, kinda funny yet it's indeed the reality. Last Saturday, I visited Atico by Javanegra, the brand new Spanish restaurant residing in Menara BTPN Mega Kuningan. Then the next day, I again came to exactly the same place, righnt next to Atico, Fat Shogun. No, it's not because I noticed Fat Shogun when I went to Atico. I knew that Fat Shogun's there in Menara BTPN, yet I didn't know the exact spot where it's located. The restaurant's actually quite hidden as when you went out of the elevator, Atico's right in front of you, while for reaching Fat Shogun, you had to walk passing the alley and it's at the end of it. I finally came here as my friend, @whats_up_jakarta, kept nagging me to come there with him as he fell in love at the first sight with the design of this one-month-old restaurant when he looked at its picture. 








The arrays of Japanese-temple-alike gates stood at the center of the venue as well as the knight paintings covering some of the walls showed how they tried to give Japanese touch on the concept. Those gates did remind me of the signature orange-colored ones available at almost all temples in Japan, particularly Kyoto. The squared-wooden walls strengthened the Japanese theme in the design. Nevertheless, it's indeed not the traditional Japanese one like typical restaurants in Japan where black and brown became the most dominant colors and the lighting was so dim. Fat Shogun went oppositely with huge windows covering the venue, allowing natural light to come in, gorgeously blended with its marble tables and grey sofas. 


The outdoor area didn't fail to amuse me with its mainly wooden decoration. If only the building was not surrounded by skyscrapers, it must have served mind-blowing scenery. Nonetheless, it was still nice to be able to enjoy such relaxing venue, escaping for awhile from the hectic Jakarta regardless the location was actually at one of the capital city's busiest spots.




Bringing the tagline of 'Nikkei Rediscovered', Fat Shogun has successfully stolen my curiosity to figure out what's actually the meaning behind it. When I did a little information research about this new kid on the block, I then got exposed to the interesting fact causing it called itself as Nikkei, which actually meant Japanese emigrants and their descendants who have actually been people with mixed-racial as they're moving out from Japan and got married to people from other origin countries. Basically, Fat Shogun was indeed serving the fusion of Japanese and Peruvian dishes; being the pioneer in Jakarta as none has ever come with such combination before. 



Listening to this distinctive fact, I believe you're now getting more excited to know what they actually served. The first time my friends and I were looking at the menu, we actually got confused since the food menu was only a one-page list, while the drink menu was a thick book with quite many pages. We then questioned the waiter and he told us that yes, they did want to bring the concept of bar and lounge as well here, thereby they served lots of options for drinks. This reminded me of my good old time in Japan, where the people did love to move from one restaurant to another, just for having more and more drinks. Well, might be Fat Shogun did want to serve the Japanese habit of drinking as well here. However, there was actually another reason behind the limited choice of foods served. It's because they're still on their soft opening and hence, they would serve much more at the grand opening, which would come at January next year. 




Having to make the decision on what to order with limited variances provided, we let the waiter came up with several recommendations on their most favorite ones. Luckily, he was so patient in answering us when we then asked the details on each of the dishes he mentioned (*two thumbs of for you, mas!*). 

Fat Shogun Iced Tea (IDR 35k)



Despite the continuous rain in the last few days, the weather was still very humid, making me always felt that it's hot and I was almsot always thirsty. Thus, I looked for refreshing thirst-quencher and my option fell to this specialty iced tea of Fat Shogun. Basically, it blended several fruits, including strawberry, lemon, and apple, with tea. It was a very satisfying one for me, not only the taste, but also the size. Perfect choice for drink!

Red Shogun (IDR 50k)


My sister opted for mocktail and her choice was Red Shogun, the one serving soursop sorbet as its main ingredient. It was quite a unique one since I quite rarely met mocktail bringing soursop as its component. It was quite a nice one, though it was quite too sweet for my palate and I would prefer it to come with more ice cubes to neutralize its sweetness. However, my sister loved it so much.

Unagi Fideua (IDR 150k)


Squid ink pasta served with unagi? Such a distinctive one! Hearing about it for the first time, I immediately decided I should go for it. Usually, the squid ink pasta was combined with either squid or prawn, yet this one came with unagi; must be an interesting one to try. Don't judge the dish by its appearance please, yes, it might look black and not appealing, yet wait till you had a try on it. 

Despite the fact that I didn't find any particular taste from the squid ink, the fettuccine was cooked al dente and the mixture of savory and spicy taste was so luscious. The key highlight was surely those big chunks of Unagi. Before the dish was served on the table, I initially thought this pasta was quite pricey but once I looked at the thick grilled eel slices, the price paid was absolutely worthy. The eel was flawlessly seasoned and the texture was mind-blowing, literally melt in the mouth!

Nagoya Bowl (IDR 125k)




If you were more into rice than pasta, Nagoya Bowl was surely you. Serving the same generous size of unagi, yet on top of rice in a hot stone. As the companion, there was broth and seaweed as well to be enjoyed with the rice, just like Japanese hitsumabushi. Another taste bud spoiler, just with different type of carbo.

Fatsho Roll (IDR 150k)




Named quite similar to the restaurant's name, this roll boosted my friend's eagerness to try it regardless the waiter's recommendation on the Loco Maguro. Though the waiting time was quite long prior to having the two sushi rolls on the table, the stunning presentation cured the irritation. No wonder they did take long time to serve the dish. I guessed the chef paid attention to every single detail when setting up the sushi roll. The arrangement was so complicated, successfully giving impeccable view on the plate. Beautiful blend of colors from the fresh tuna and salmon standing side by side. Having it first, quite palatable one, but not till I tried the next one.

Loco Maguro (IDR 160k)



Another sushi roll to try, the one that kept being recommended by the waiter as the most favorite among the sushi rolls. It's such a fortune that we in the end trusted him and ended up ordering the dish, otherwise it would be such a regret. This wonderfully looking dish was super duper good! Hands up to this awesome combination of aburi salmon and spicy tuna, perfectly executed by Fat Shogun. Admirable look, mesmerizing flavor super fresh seafood! Slightly burning my taste bud with its little-bit spiciness, it's certainly rich mixture of seasonings. This roll would unquestionably occupy the first line on my list of dishes to try from Fat Shogun as well as my list of most favorite sushi rolls.  




Honestly speaking, I was initially quite reluctant when my friend asked me to come here as I indeed have quite high standard for Japanese dishes since I've tried the authentic ones in Japan and that makes my palate demands the same taste and quality. Therefore, when people asked me to try new Japanese restaurant, I was always not that excited till there's someone saying it did serve succulent foods. Since Fat Shogun's still very new, we haven't heard any review yet about it, making me not that interested to go there. Surprisingly, tons of thanks to @whats_up_jakarta for kept insisting to come here. Every single dishes served on the table was not only amusing in terms of presentation, but also the taste. I will surely come back here, especially on their grand opening, where I believe they'll serve much more dishes to spoil my taste bud ;)



Taste: 8.5/10
Place: 9/10
Service: 8.5/10
Price: 8/10


Thanks for Reading! :)


FAT SHOGUN
Address: Menara BTPN R Floor, Mega Kuningan, Jakarta
Phone: (+62) 2295 8196
Operating Hours: Sun - Thu 11am - 00am, Fri - Sat 11am - 2am


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