IO, Jakarta – Ever think of delicate and melted smoked meat taste in the mouth? Obviously, you need to try this famous place. Holy Smokes restaurant Jakarta manufactures a typical Texas barbeque through the “low and slow” method, a cooking process of low and stable temperatures over hours. All flesh cooked in a fumigation machine with high temperatures whilst the smoke produced from smouldering fruity woods of starfruit and rambutan.
“Initial oven temperature set at 121o C, when the meat is cooked will be reduced into 90o C. Of course, after the long cooking process, tender meat is ready to serve your appetite,” said the Holy Smokes owner, Chef Albert Wijaya, when receiving Independent Observer at his restaurant.
Holy Smokes, situated at 127 Wolter Monginsidi Street, Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta, is the fourth restaurant from Albert Wijaya, the owner who pursued Food Science and Food Culinary education in the United States. He has previously set up The Holy Crab restaurant and The Holy Crab Shack which is now spread in Jakarta, Bali and Alam Sutera.
Some typical menus offered here are Smoky Beef Brisket of 14 hours cooking process, Southern Style Beef Ribs; a back brisket smoked for four hours, and the short ribs known as Texas Short Ribs, which is cooked within six hours.
A soft, fragrant Smoky Beef Brisket portion immediately caught my attention. Smoked meat scents perfectly set the hungry mode. A thin and tenderly sliced brisket meat with greasy BBQ sauce really trigger my appetite. Just a small chop and the savoury brisket is ready to give a kick.
Strongest and distinctive flavour tasted in the outer darkish layer. Well, this is not an overcooked meat, but a layer of seasoning and a squashed meat juice due to the long cooking process.
“Marinade seasoning has been made from my own creation, and it’s called dry rub, comprises nine variety of spices kind,” said Chef Albert Wijaya.
With the bark of smoking, process rubs deep into the meat, leaving a flesh with melting fat that invites people to dig deep into the taste. If you like extra sauces to enrich the journey, spicy BBQ sauce is a good choice. Albert reveals that greasy substance is deliberately minimized, but not all. Undoubtedly, fat is a ‘secret pleasure’ of the savoury smoke-kissed meat.
For those of you who want to enjoy other menu options, the place also features the other available menu. Anyone sought for chicken dishes, a meltingly tender smoke-kissed barbeque is available after facing three-hour cooking process. Two different types of BBQ sauce for those who like things a bit spicy, sweet, sour and smoky original.
Holy Smokes provides side dish meals with the instance of Onion Straws; a crunchy thin fried onion slice, BBQ Chicken Salad, baked beans, mac and cheese, macaroni salad, green salad, coleslaw, home-cut fries and corn.
Holy Smokes offers a restaurant concept where visitors are given a pager after you order the desired menu at the cashier. The pager itself will notify the guests whenever the order is ready and let them pick the food at a designated corner. Holy Smokes’ side dish is priced from 40 thousand rupiahs, while main dishes ranged from 88 thousand to 278 thousand rupiahs per meal.
As one of the best restaurants serving delicious grilled meat, Holy Smokes perfectly earns the highest recommendation of a mandatory dining spot to visit. (Aldo)