The Chinese National @ Swissotel Jakarta PIK Avenue - Jakarta, Indonesia

We had a chance to try out the lunch buffet at Swissotel PIK Avenue. The buffet was at its restaurant called The Chinese National. At the time there was a promotional price of buy 3 get 4 provided that we pay with certain credit cards. It's almost 25% discount. I said almost because the restaurant system calculated the service charge and tax out of the full price. It's still quite a decent price.

Located on the 7th floor of the hotel, this restaurant has a unique decor. It's a bit rustic and certain area looks a bit dark. I like the way they set up their buffet line separately to avoid everyone piling up on just one area. But at the same time, we also have to make sure to scour the whole restaurant to not miss any items. In our case, we didn't know the location of the bbq duck until the end of the meal. 😅

Another thing I like about the set up of the restaurant was the seating area. There was some areas that were a bit separated from main dining. And the way it was separated was by metal railing to give an impression of "cage" ? 😂 It's not typical Chinese restaurant look. In a way it sort of reminded me of one of the Harry Potter ride at Universal Studio. 😁

The restaurant open at 12. People were already waiting outside to be let in. When the door finally opened, everybody rushed in and all the food stations were flooded. Lines formed, (hungry) people get impatient. I noticed there was no station for barbecue pork and charsiu but small plates were delivered to our tables instead. Awesome !

Another thing that I thought was genius idea was putting together a sambal station and kerupuk station. Indonesian traditional dishes can't be separated from sambal, a condiment made of chilies. So having different types of sambal is such a great idea ! Also having a kerupuk station was refreshing. Kerupuk is also part of Indonesian cuisine like chips to the Western cuisine. Kerupuk adds texture to the food. And having kerupuk and sambal next to Chinese food completely added more flavor.

For me personally, the buffet was a good value if you have a good reason to celebrate. Splurge a bit and enjoy the food.

Swissôtel Jakarta PIK Avenue

Pantai Indah Kapuk St, Kamal Muara, Penjaringan, Jakarta, 14470

Phone: (021) 22571188

IG : 

swissoteljakartapik