Dinner in The Rabbit Hole : JackRabbit’s New Menu from New Executive Chef Nizar Achmad

February 23, 2012

Move over, Chef Juna. JackRabbit has a new executive chef, Nizar Achmad, and I was lucky to be invited to the dinner unveiling his nine new menus.

When I heard they were serving 9 menus, it was quite scary I tell you, but turns out they were such smart people that they arranged for small portions of the menus all in one plate, served course after course.

There were three “Trios” that night: Salad, Main, and Dessert.

Let me start with the first one: Trio Salad

clockwise from top frame: Tuna Tataki Salad, Grilled Artichoke Salad, Japanese Garden Salad

First of all, I must warn you that I am not a big fan of vegetables, so my opinion might be biased ;P

My fave among the three is the Tuna Tataki Salad. I like the tuna (athough a little less sesame would be even better), the fact there’s avocado in the mix, and also the soyu jelly. That’s right, instead of pouring the soyu, they made it into jelly cubes so the taste doesn’t disrupt the whole dish. I love it! The other two was just so-so for me. Nothing beats the soyu jelly!

And then there was the Trio Main:

Clockwise from top left: 4 hrs Slow Cooked Lamb Shank, Lightly Cured Swedish Salmon, Boneless BBQ Beef Ribs

Now ladies & gentlemen, what are on this plate ensured me that JackRabbit is moving the right way by appointing their new executive chef. All of them were awesome! Surely the highlight of the dinner.

If I have to play favorites, #1 would be the lamb shank. Texture’s really soft, does not smell like lamb at all. And I really love how they paired it with pita bread filled with ricotta cheese. Delicious!
#2 would be the salmon. Very juicy and tasty, and the accompanying risotto was super yum!
#3 would be the boneless BBQ ribs, simply because I’m not too fond of red wine, which they used for the sauce base. The meat itself was superb, juicy & tender. The mashed potato also was too dry for my taste. Yes Sir, I am a creamy mashed potato kinda gal!

Oh almost forgot, they had truffles as one of the garnish elements, gave it a shot.. And turns out, as much as I love things with truffle oil, I absolutely dislike the actual truffle. Euughhh! I’ll just stick to truffle oil.

Back to the menu.
And of course we couldn’t let the dinner finish without desserts:

Clockwise from bottom left frame: Raspberry Panna Cotta, JackRabbit Homemade Truffle, Apple Pie

My fave out of these three is the Raspberry Panna Cotta (although from its texture I would have called it mousse since the texture is very light), it’s fresh and lightening after all the hearty mains. The apple pie could use some improvement on the crust, it was way too thick and hard. The truffles were alright I guess, but if I wanted something chocolate-y I guess I’d be better choosing the usual warm chocolate melt.

So here’s the complete list of Chef Nizar’s new menu. Too bad they didn’t have the prices so I can’t review it here. I’ll remember to jot it down the next time I come there again for the lamb shank. That’s right, that lamb shank is worth coming back for