Are you eager to embark on a bit of culinary traveling this holiday season? Why not start somewhere closer to home? After all, Jakarta makes a great place for starting your own culinary journey. The city offers an endless variety of local and international cuisines for the whole family to sink their teeth into - provided you know where to look!

One specific group of food enthusiasts that should feel right at home in Jakarta is Japanese food fans. The capital is laden with hundreds of eateries serving Japanese delicacies such as sushi/sashimi or green tea ice cream. Yet another Japanese food variant low in fat and cholesterol content is shabushabu, a fact that the Shabu Shabu House restaurant at eX Entertainment Center would be keen to share with foodies all around.

Shabu Shabu House represents the hottest new taste and value in town, with specialties such as top-quality Kobe and Wagyu beef imported straight from Japan as well as US prime cuts and a variety of New Zealand and Australian cuts. For those who prefer not to eat meat, there are prawns and fi sh selections to gobble down, especially tasty with the eatery's new hot Kimchi shabu-shabu soup.

The shabu-shabu restaurant sports a modern minimalist interior with wooden accents. Its friendly and knowledgeable restaurant manager is always on hand to recommend great dishes for the family. Some of the more popular dishes here are Agedashi Tofu, grilled Shitake Maki, Shabu Shabu Kobe Beef, and of course the refreshing green tea and ogura (red bean) ice cream.

If your family fi nds sushi the most appetizing, one of the latest sushi bars to make a bold culinary statement in town is the one at the Buddha Bar in Menteng. Refreshingly comfortable and contemporary, the Sushi Bar at Buddha Bar serves sashimi, hand-rolled sushi and special creations from the resident sushi chef.

Not only sushi, Buddha Bar's restaurant serves a menu of Pan-Asian cuisine comprising everything from Chinese, Thai to Vietnamese picks. Signature dishes here include Buddha Bar Chicken Salad, Tuna with sesame and Shitake Vinaigrette, Filet Mignon "Teppan Yaki" style, Five Spices Grilled Chicken, and Lacquered duck and fresh Mango Soup.

Nine private rooms for up to 24 persons are also available within the restaurant for guests who prefer a more intimate gathering with family and friends. After tasting the best that Japanese food has to offer, the next item on our culinary journey agenda is to sample some good-old Down Under goodness at Outback Steakhouse. Outback has over 800 outlets worldwide including two in Jakarta, namely at Ratu Plaza and Pondok Indah Mall 1. At Outback, the walls are festooned with boomerangs, Aboriginal art and other items from the great Outback. Needless to say, this steakhouse gets many of its inspirations from the movie Crocodile Dundee.

Outback is a casual, family-friendly eatery serving high quality steak seasoned and seared to perfection. American-sized steaks are fl at grilled just like they do in Australia during a barbecue. Other must-tries include Cheese Fries, Alice Springs Chicken, and the delectably sinful dessert Chocolate Thunder from Down Under.

What's next on the checklist? Food lovers would attest that one could never go wrong with Chinese. And if you're looking for an all-out Chinese culinary experience, the Harmony Garden Restaurant in Gading Serpong is just the place to go. Harmony Garden is a unique Chinese restaurant serving a menu of around 1,000 Chinese dishes that are constantly updated to be on a par with their counterparts in China. The restaurant also has a dedicated floor of VIP rooms with built-in digital karaoke system, perfect for all kinds of meals and occasions. So, what are you waiting for? Simply pack up the whole family and enjoy the best culinary treats that the capital has up its sleeve!

Andrea Tejokusumo, THE JAKARTA POST