Roarti | Fancy a Street Food?

Still from the crowd’s favorite Masterchef alum Jess Liemantara’s foray into the food business, here comes Roarti. Nestled just next door from her successful dessert shop esme, Roarti is a polar opposite, unconventional path the dessert queen has taken.

Roarti

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what Roarti is, but if I had to take a shot at it, Roarti is like traditional Asian fusion street food with a more refined, sophisticated twist. It is a mix of Indian-Malaysian-Thai cuisine made simple and elegant in one place. Quite an unorthodox move for Jess (who is from Indonesia) to take on these tour de Asia dishes, but I’m intrigued nonetheless.

Unfortunately, the most recent Roarti news says that it has determined to close its doors and relocate to a new location in order to meet esme's high demand. While this decision made sense from a business standpoint, but from what I gathered, Roarti has developed a loyal following customers who appreciate fancy food at reasonable prices. They'll surely be missed!

space & ambiance

Roarti’s space can accommodate 18-20 people comfortably. You can choose from high chair tables for individual diners, or regular seating tables for bigger groups. From the menu to the way the staff carries themselves, Roarti also projects an air of semi-fine dining experience. Your water will be poured for you and cutlery is placed meticulously–giving you a hint of what’s to come.

The kitchen, by the way, is not open to the public. The serving station, on the other hand, is. You may observe the servers assembling plates from where you are sitting. They also have a heated cabinet exhibit where they display some of their roti, slices of roasted pork belly, and shredded fried potatoes.

MENU

The menu was rather simple. I can see they have six main dishes that they rotate into four categories. The main dishes are crispy tofu, crispy cornflake chicken, grilled chicken (satay chicken), crackling pork belly, soft shell crab, and red curry. From these, it’s all about customization of what you want them to be paired with.

You have the option to have your protein served inside roti rolls like a wrap, on rice or salad, or on a small or big plate. All of the dishes at this restaurant cost less than $20, making it affordable for everyone. They also offer a small selection of alcoholic beverages if you’re feeling cheeky for lunch. 

That day, I went in with my friend Tiff. She had the Soft Shell Crab on Roarti Rolls, while I had the Crackling Pork Belly Salad.

SOFT SHELL CRAB ROARTI ROLLS ($17)

Tiff’s roll was so good, I got to have a bite! The roti was both flaky and soft, it has a distinct buttery taste to it, yet it didn’t feel oily at all. The roll was big, and they didn’t shy away from packing it up with stuff. 

The soft shell crab gives the umami taste, accompanied by all other fresh ingredients that make a good roll. They also put some chopped chili in the roll, so this one hits home for spicy lovers.

Crackling Pork Belly Salad ($18.5)

For my crackling Pork Belly salad, you can already see that the plating was beautiful, and it was a feast to the eye. I must highlight the pork belly’s texture play: a balanced taste of the crunchy skin, tenderness of the belly, and beautifully cooked meat that didn’t feel fatty at all. The salad is also fresh and clean, with a bomb sauce! 

CONCLUSION

It was such a great experience dining at Roarti. Overall, we both absolutely enjoyed our time and meal at Roarti as you can taste the effort put into sourcing only the best ingredients. The place is rather small, but it is comfortable and super clean.

I’m sorry to see Roarti is closed, but I wish Jess all the best in her new ventures. I’m looking forward to seeing the new location for Roarti and hopefully, it won’t be too far from the CBD area.

SUMMARY

• Roarti
• Temporarily Closed
• Type : Restaurant
• Price : $
• Cuisine : Asian Fusion