UnDiplomatic Wife

  • About TDW
    • Contact
    • FAQ
    • AS SEEN ON
    • Collaborate
    • Policies
  • Diplo Picks
    • Diplo Mama
    • Diplo Home
    • Diplo Tummy
    • Diplo Tips
    • Diplo Travel
    • Diplo Style
    • Diplo Baby
    • Diplo Inspiration
  • Living in
    • GENEVA
      • good to know
      • food & drink
      • shopping
    • Berlin
      • Good To know
      • To Dos
      • food & drink
      • Shopping
    • MANILA
      • good to know
      • to do
      • food & drink
      • shopping
    • JAKARTA
      • good to know
      • to do
      • food & drink
      • shopping
  • TRAVEL DIARIES
    • Finland
    • France
    • Greece
    • Germany
      • BERLIN 2022 ITINERARY
      • Willkommen in Berlin
    • Indonesia
    • Italy
    • Japan
    • Malaysia
    • Myanmar
    • Netherlands
    • Philippines
    • Poland
    • Spain
    • Singapore
    • Switzerland
    • Taiwan
    • Thailand
    • Vietnam

JW Marriott Jakarta Chinese Cooking Class

August 2, 2010

Tagged along with my fab friend Ted one Saturday for Chinese Cooking class entitled “Authentic Cantonese Dishes in Stylish Presentation” at the Pearl restaurant of the JW Marriot Jakarta. Is it worth it signing up for one of their classes?

The very accommodating Chef John. We were impressed by his skills in the kitchen. He not only uses his 2 hands but also uses his leg to control the levers of the massive stove!

Master Chef John Chu was our guru for the day and we learned to cook 3 dishes:

  1. Fried prawns with crispy potato coated with wasabi mayonnaise
  2. Wok-fried beef tenderloin with shimeji mushrooms and black pepper
  3. Crispy black and white sesame ball with peanut paste & macadamia nut

It sounds easy enough and most people, myself included, think that Chinese cooking is just frying and sautéing. Boy was I wrong! There is so much preparation that goes beyond the seemingly simple dishes and so many unique ingredients that for me it is a whole new level up. I guess that’s why I cook mostly western dishes hehe

The class was dominated by the Chinese ibu-ibus. Ibu means mother and, here in Jakarta, massive imeldific hairstyles are quite popular among them.

Fried prawns with crispy potato coated with wasabi mayonnaise

Many steps led to this simple-looking Fried prawns with crispy potato coated with wasabi mayonnaise.

Frying garlic in butter

Nothing smells more delicious to me than that of frying garlic in butter

Wok-fried beef tenderloin with shimeji mushrooms and black pepper

My favorite dish of the day was the wok-fried beef tenderloin with shimeji mushrooms and black pepper. The sauteed ingredients sit and wait for a second round of frying.

Wok-fried beef tenderloin with shimeji mushrooms and black pepper

Doesn’t it look like a work of art? It tastes even better than it looks!

Time for the sesame balls! Here chef is kneading the sesame mixture – that’s a lot! I was happy because I LOVE sesame! 

Crispy black and white sesame ball with peanut paste & macadamia nut

Crispy black and white sesame ball with peanut paste & macadamia nut

All those ingredients are perfectly sculpted into this yummy ball

Crispy black and white sesame ball with peanut paste & macadamia nut

…coated with more sesame and then deep-fried. The “students” tried their hand at it, but obviously more practice is needed =P

Chef John's jolly pose as he fries the Crispy black and white sesame ball with peanut paste & macadamia nut

Chef John gives us a jolly pose

Crispy black and white sesame ball with peanut paste & macadamia nut

Ta-DAAAAA!

The best part about cooking classes are the meals after. Not only do you get to eat the food in class, but more dishes are added. This one was composed of 7 COURSES! Crazy right? Not bad at all for the price! And yes they tasted as good as they looked. Enjoy drooling over them!

7-course lunch after chinese cooking class at JW Marriott

Crispy potato coated king prawn wasabi mayonnaise, Peanut cream with foie gras “cyawan mushi,” and BBQ chicken rolls with honey sesame sauce

7-course lunch after chinese cooking class at JW Marriott

7-course lunch after chinese cooking class at JW Marriott

This was absolutely delicious! Steamed snapper with chinese herb and superior soy sauce

7-course lunch after chinese cooking class at JW Marriott

Fried lobster with turnip cake and spicy sauce. Drool.

7-course lunch after chinese cooking class at JW Marriott

Surprisingly small serving of Wok-fried beef tenderloin with shimeji mushrooms and black pepper. All-good though because by this time I was bursting at the seams already!

7-course lunch after chinese cooking class at JW Marriott

Egg noodles with green vegetable wrapped in egg skin. Basically gourmet pancit canton. I love pancit canton and I wish I had more space for this dish! And such creative presentation!

7-course lunch after chinese cooking class at JW Marriott

Crispy sesame ball, Ice cream and mixed fruit. We were already amazed at the presentation of Chef John’s lunch but we were all WOWED by this! As dessert was served, everyone ooohed and aaaahed because of the simple yet dramatic addition of dry ice that caused the platter to emit “smoke!” This also ensured that the tear-drop-shaped ice enclosing the ice cream didn’t melt too fast.

I highly recommend this cooking class if you like chinese cuisine. Chef shared with us many techniques and secrets that is used in their restaurant to ensure good flavor, texture, freshness and quality. For inquiries on cooking class schedules please refer to their contact details below.

I also want to try their Sunday lunch buffet which serves dimsum and lobster. It’s supposedly quite reasonable – around Rp 170,000 ++ / person. Not bad don’t you think?

* Cooking class c/o JW Marriott Jakarta

Pearl Restaurant – JW Marriott Jakarta

  • The cooking class was conducted in their Chinese restaurant for Rp 280,000++ / person, inclusive of lunch & certificate of participation
  • JL. Lingkar Mega Kuningan Kav E 1.2 No 1&2,  Jakarta, 12950 Indonesia
  • Phone:  +62 21 57988888

4 Comments · jakarta food & drink, jakarta to do

Comments

  1. lucsa says

    January 10, 2011 at 5:14 PM

    you can go to mandarin oriental jakarta have cooking class..

    Reply
  2. Rita says

    May 1, 2012 at 6:21 PM

    Can make class vegetarian

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Sunday Brunch Buffet at the Pearl Chinese Restaurant – JW Marriot « The Diplomatic Wife says:
    November 6, 2010 at 3:22 AM

    […] Chinese brunch buffet at JW Marriot’s Pearl Restaurant. (You recall that this is where I had Chinese cooking class and attended the […]

    Reply
  2. JAKARTA FINDS: French Pastry Cooking Class says:
    December 2, 2013 at 2:27 PM

    […] Chinese Food Cooking Class […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Welcome

Hello! I’m Ayessa, trailing spouse to a diplomat, mama to DiploBaby and DiploDog and founder of Declutter MNL. I love talking about how to achieve a minimaluxe lifestyle one step at a time.

READ MORE
 

LET’S GET SOCIAL

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • YouTube

Recent Posts

Glass Restaurant Rovaniemi

Glass Resort Finland

GENEVA FINDS: Victorinox Souvenirs

Patisserie Sofia Geneva

Natürlich Geneva

DISCLOSURE

I am an Amazon affiliate, but all opinions are my own. The content of all my blog and social media posts are products and experiences that I truly enjoy and I only work with brands that fit my life and style.

GOOD TO KNOW GUIDE

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM @UNDIPLOMATICWIFE

SNOW FUN IN LAPLAND We arrived at the perfect tim SNOW FUN IN LAPLAND

We arrived at the perfect time in @santaclausvillage_rovaniemi. It was cold but not like the week before wherein it was -18 C low.

So we managed with our UNIQLO Ultra Light Down Jackets. I still brought waterproof jackets just in case but the most important to bring were the WATERPROOF SNOW GLOVES because @diplobaby loved playing with the snow so much & its essential for SLEDDING. When they fall of they need the gloves to protect their hands from getting wounded and the ice.

@glass_resort lends out kids sleds for free. My son loved it!

Hope you enjoyed seeing us enjoy the snow. SAVE THIS post if you plan on visiting Rovaniemi in Finland with your kids!

#udwinfinland #udwinsantaclausvillage #diplofamily #diplobaby #undiplomaticwife #thediplomat
GLASS RESTAURANT We were so lucky our GLASS APAR GLASS RESTAURANT 

We were so lucky our GLASS APARTMENT in @glass_resort was so near their beautiful restaurant GLASS RESTAURANT.

I initially wasn’t attracted to Finnish food but they changed my mind guys! Who knew?!?

Read my review of their BREAKFAST BUFFET & ALA CARTE MENU here:

https://undiplomaticwife.com/glass-restaurant-rovaniemi/

It was the perfect place to eat after a long day of walking. It allowed us to try the best versions of FINNISH FOOD that we might not have been brave enough otherwise. 

We got to try moose, reindeer & salmon soup which are delicacies of the region. We were all very surprised by how delicious everything was.

You can see @diplobaby’s face after he found out he was eating reindeer. I told him they are retired reindeer and he ask for a bit more. I guess the foodie in him is strong. 😂🤭 taste surpasses all!

We also had TD’s birthday dinner there and they were so nice to serve the cake with a candle & a song. So sweet and definitely made us so happy!

We also enjoyed their breakfast buffet. The meatballs were especially delicious. 

The restaurant and buffet are small but mighty. You can tell you are having high quality food.

So many firsts in this restaurant & so many memories we treasure as a family.

Have you had Finnish cuisine? What’s your favorite?

#udwingeneva udwinfinland #udwinsantaclausvillage #diplofamily #thediplomat #diplobaby
ARCTIC OUTDOOR HOT TUB + SAUNA Did you guys know ARCTIC OUTDOOR HOT TUB + SAUNA

Did you guys know that 

“The Finnish sauna is a substantial part of Finnish and Estonian culture. It was inscribed on the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists on  December 17, 2020”

With over 3.3Million saunas for 5.5million inhabitants in Finland, it’s normal for a home or even a flat to have a sauna. (Figure from @vivefinlandia) 

Naturally our GLASS APARTMENT in @glass_resort had a fabulous on inside the bathroom.

It was @diplobaby’s first time & we asked the staff for recommendations to make his first experience a good one. He told us to lower the temp to 55C & have Jim’s sit in the bottom.

Our nervous son who usually doesn’t like the sound of fire crackling was able to over come his fear because he wanted to be the one to pour the water on the piping hot rocks. I just had to tell him not to do it so much so it wouldn’t be too hot.

I asked the staff how young kids sauna here & he said he’s been going since he was a baby!

As for the HOT TUB - it’s all of our first time to do it outdoors in the freezing arctic.

They showed us how to open & close the tub plus where NOT to step because it’s slippery. That’s why TD had to hang our robes from inside the tob.

It was a magical experience to be in a hot tub while looking up at the stars surrounded by snow in the Arctic. It was freezing for sure going in and out. Just think that cold exposure is actually healthy. SO against Filipino culture agains LAMIG (cold)!

Such a wonderful experience as a family! So grateful that we decided to do this for TD’s birthday last April! So worth it. We have him small inexpensive gifts because the true gift was this experience.

#udwinfinland #udwinsantaclausvillage #glassresort #diplobaby #diplofamily #undiplomaticwife
Can you spot the rainbow 🌈 we saw on the glass Can you spot the rainbow 🌈 we saw on the glass ceiling?

#udwinfinland #udwinsantaclausvillage @glass_resort #udwtraveldiaries
DINO WORLD EXPO One of the exhibitions that weren DINO WORLD EXPO

One of the exhibitions that weren’t here when we first went to @signaldebougy is the @dinoworldexpo. I was delighted that it was as interesting for the adults as it was for the kids. 

It closes at 7pm & we started at about 5:40pm already but it only takes 1-2hrs so we just hurried walking around so in other parts there was time to play.

What were the highlights for us?

- EXCAVATION a sandbox upgrade, making the littles feel like paleontologist
- ROBOTIC DINOS with interesting information
- QR codes if you want an AUDIO GUIDED TOUR
- GIANT AERIAL TRAMPOLINE was something new for @diplobaby
- AUGMENTED REALITY SANDBOX was super cool!
- DINO GOLF was fun for our group

What we didn’t get to do:
- BOUNCY LABYRINTH coz we didn’t have time anymore 
- THE FOSSIL RIVER coz you have to buy a bag of sand to do it

I’m glad we had time to have this fun experience after @accrobranche (see previous reels) because not only did we learn stuff, but it was a lot of fun!

DINO WORLD EXPO is open everyday 10am to 7pm until 20 August 2023 Signal de Bougy. There are 2 parking areas, but we opted to go later in the day - 230pm - so some people were already leaving and we found parking easily.

This place is around 40minutes give or take depending on where you live in Geneva.

#UDWinGeneva #diplobaby #diplofamily #dinoworld #signaldebougy
Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2023 · Designed by Fancy Girl Design Studio.