asian food affair part 1

i have the privilege of growing up with a dad who was an amazing chef and that naturally makes me very familiar with the food. i am not picky but somehow i always have my own judgment and expectation of whatever food that i eat. not trying to be biased here but Asian food somehow still ranks on the top of my list simply because there is so much variety! i mean... don't we all love choices? :) 

pict 01. tom yum - thai 

if you are looking for a rich tasty dish, i will recommend this phenomenal soup straight away! you can taste the savory, spicy, sweet, and sour sensations the very moment it lands on your tongue. after trying it in so many places, i came to the conclusion that every restaurant has its own version of tom yum soup. for me, the traditional one is still my favorite! 

(around city area: jinda, thai culinary and many others- melbourne)

pict 02. pho - vietnam

pho is so delicious and *good news* healthy! i could have pho literally every single day (which was exactly what I did at the beginning of this year). have enjoyed pho with a plate of spring roll for the side dish and a cup of vietnamese coffee for a complete experience!

(around city area: vietnam noodle house, pho24 and many others - melbourne)

pict 03. jap chae - korean

i know that korean bbq is somehow more famous but this dish definitely deserves a lot more recognition! if you are wondering what jap chae is, it's basically sweet potato noodles cooked with a mix of vegetables such as spinach, onion, carrots, mushroom, and sometimes served with a sprinkle of beef. it is stir-fried with sesame oil, flavored with soy sauce and sweetened with sugar (thank you wikipedia! haha). i've recommended it by word of mouth to many of my friends and so far, none of them expressed any disappointment! ;) 

(around city area: big mama and many others - melbourne)

have you ever tried any of these foods? tell me what you think! x

THE BASIC GREEN

if you guys follow me on Twitter/Facebook/Path/whatever social media I'm into, you must've known my addiction towards smoothies and juices. It's been my everyday routine for the past months. They're so yum yum and i definitely spot differences in my body after consuming them, i feel healthier and all fresher! Since my friends constantly asking me about this, i was thinking that it would be a good idea to share my favorite recipes on the blog. So today, i will share with you one of the simplest basic recipes that i always go back and make it over and over again, THE BASIC GREEN! 

Additional: For more tropical taste, you can add 1 cup of pineapple.

I love to drink it best first in the morning before work out sessions or in the afternoon as a perfect snack, but it's just me, of course, you can drink it any time you like! ;)

Healthy note:
Spinach : Low cholesterol, fat-free and low in calories! (yay!) Vitamins C, A, K and contains a good amount of dietary fiber.
Mango : Contains vitamins A, B6,C, E and a good source of potassium.
Banana: Vit B, C, a good source of finer, prevents high blood pressure, decrease the risk of kidney cancer.

I hope you enjoy my first smoothy recipe, hopefully, i will post more in the future. I encourage you guys to join this smoothy club and start living healthy! #loveyourbody

xx

Sunday Lunch with Friends

Last two Sundays, i had a spontaneous visit to Kalaha @ The Wharf to catch lunch with my friends. I'm loving the weather that day, so we decided to sat outside and enjoy the sun! 

Fish and Chip 60k

Chicken Quesadilla 60k

Fettuccini Alfredo 60k

Burger Barbecue 60k

Laughter is brightest, where food is best. - Irish Proverb 

Located near the beach, The Wharf is definitely one cool place for hangouts. If you choose to sit inside, you'll find such an unique interior, dominated with woods material and lots of boat knick knacks, you'll feel like you're inside a classic cargo ship! The outdoor is even more interesting, they use barrels and small boat miniature as the table, so very cute, but unfortunately i didn't take any pictures of them.

Food in general is just fine for me, not very impressed, but still alright. The Barbecue Burger that i ordered is the biggest disappointment. The meat is ridiculously taste weird, and it didn't even feel like a real meat. The sauce consist too much tomatoes and taste less like barbecue. Other than that, everything else is fine. Fish and Chips is well cooked, the crispness is great. Chicken Quesadilla is also amazing, the filling is undoubtedly delicious. But the best one must be the Fettuccini Alfredo, the texture of the noodle is amazing, the sauce is perfectly creamy and flavory, and it sown with the best chicken meat ever. On the other hand, serving wise is quiet excellent. The waiter who served us was really friendly and well behaved. Bonus point!

I will recommend this place to chill, buy some drinks and enjoy the beach wind, come in the afternoon, it will be one delightful day out. Enjoy :)

Find The Wharf here:
Kalaha @ The Wharf
Ancol Beach City LG-09
Pantai Carnaval Timur
Taman Impian Jaya Ancol
For Reservation please call (021) 293-88-108

LE CAFE GOURMAND

 It was such a good day and the sky was shinning perfectly bright, I decided to go out for a cheeky little mid-week brunch at Le Café Gourmand with a good friend of mine. I'm sure you've heard A LOT  about this place since it's one of the most recent famous cafe in Jakarta and here i am, about to join the hype!

When i came in, i instantly feel that France-ish cafe vibes. The design is really lovely, the interior is so clean, chic, and neat, i fall in love straight away with this place! In the first area, I caught three macaroon paintings which i thought is very cute, and then i noticed in every corner they have these shelves filled with a lot of coffee/tea kits and some Le Café Gourmand boxes/tea cup signature. But my most favourites part of all are the open bar in the middle of the cafe and the hand-painting illustration on the wall! Uber cool! Definitely enhance the cozy atmosphere! 

  

I also admire the music they were playing. The playlist is absolutely a perfect fit, successfully produce the best ambience. Song of the day is Raconte Moi by Stacy Kent, C'est beau!

Pastries and Cakes

   

Neve Fondente 46k (Low fat milk added 7k )

Damman Teas: White Tea (Camomile) 40k 

Chef's Salad 47.5k

Salad of iceberg lettuce with beef, chicken, sausages, and shrimp dressed in thousand island dressing.

I love how the veggies are all fresh and the meats are well cooked, except for the shrimp. The beef is the best one in my opinion, so tender and juicy! The thousand island dressing is just perfectly sweet. Overall it's great but not too memorable for me. 

Croque Chicken 65k

Croque of chicken breast with béchamel sauce, french fries and salad.

I'm just gonna say, i expect the salad will be more than only plain green veggies like that, but it's alright because the disappointment was replaced by their awesome French Fries, it has the nicest texture and not to mention the crispness is amazing! The chicken was grilled so it has low calories and it was quiet juicy. The taste of the béchamel sauce is sweet and pretty rich. Lastly, the proportion of this meal is just precisely good!

Caramel Chocolate Tart 45k

I asked the waitress which one is the most favourite and she pointed at this Caramel Chocolate Tart, so i tried one and...she ain't lie guys! This cake, is veeeeery sweet (perhaps a little bit too sweet), perfect choice for you who happens to have a sweet tooth like mine. It got the greatest crust ever, the cake texture is great and the filling is simply to die for, a chocolate ganache and caramel combined together! Who can seriously resist this guilty pleasure? 

This time, my short marking will be 7.5 for foods, and 8.5 for the ambience. I know Le Café Gourmand is known better for its dessert, so on my next visit, i will be focusing on that matter. Cant wait!

For the price range is more less around 250k for two people. It's pretty worth it for everything that you'll get in here (In terms of good ambience, good food, and there's also wi-fi available) So why wait? Come and have yourself a little chill day!

Find Le Cafe Gourmand here:

Jl. Gunawarman No. 65

Jakarta Selatan 

Ph. +62 21 2930 5522

Opening Hours: Sun-Thu 07.00 - 23.00, Fri-Sat 07.00 - 01.00

Facebook:  Le Cafe Gourmand 

Instagram: Instagourmand

JAKARTA FASHION AND FOOD FESTIVAL (JFFF)

 JFFF series #2! This time is about the other thing besides fashion, which is...FOOD, yay!

 I was lucky enough to go, even only for one day due to the hectic work, and it was such a short trip because i still gotta go back to work afterward. But I'm glad i did go because man, it was fun!

Kampoeng Tempo Doeloe is an annual event that was held at La Piazza, an open mall in North Jakarta. This year, they're choosing the "Traditional  Market" scenery and take it to the whole new level. I really love the decoration they set, full of festive ornaments and colorful flags, just exactly how a festival supposed to be! My favorite decorations would be the Rainbow Wheel and the replica of the old PASAR GAMBIR main entrance. So cool!

So, what kind of food do they sell at this festival? Basically, the food they serve here is an Indonesian Culinary, both modern and traditional. I reckon there are hundreds of booths applied, and based on my observation, this year's spot is bigger and the foods are more variant compared to last year's. 

Onto the food we go!

TAHU PETIS YUDHISTIRA

The first food that i ate is Tahu Petis Yudhistira. I didn't know what Tahu Petis is at first, never heard nor ate this before, so it was my first time and I'd say it was pretty good. The crispness of the tofu is on the right level. Inside the tofu, they serve you this veeery sweet creamy black seasoning which later on i know is called Petis.

Petis was made of a food processing shrimp which then be heated until it becomes thick and then they add a caramel coconut shell sugar (Gula Batok) to make the colour tend to be black and taste sweet.

***

BAKWAN& TEMPE

Next to Tahu Petis booth, they sell this crispy and yummie Bakwan and Tempe only for 5k/piece! Cheapskate!

***

MIE AYAM DALBAN

As i go around, i saw a couple of people carrying a bowl of tempting chicken noodle and it made me curious, where did they get that? Then i found this Mie Ayam Dalban at the corner of the line, so to fulfilled my curiosity, i order one!

For 18k, it surprisingly tastes great! The noodle texture is soft, with the addition of tasty chicken chunks, a few veggies and meatballs (+3k) it was definitely a great catch for lunch!

***

OTAK-OTAK SPECIAL 86

Next, I found... Otak-Otak booth! I really want to grab it as it's one of my favorite childhood food. For 4k/piece I'll say the Otak-Otak itself is a run-of-the-mill, BUT the sauce is the shiz man, it was tasty and super spicy! Not a really wise choice for a sleazing' hot day I know, haha but it didn't ease the fact that it was one hell of a food! 

***

SATE BUNTEL KHAS SOLO GENTUMAN

Next, i didn't really feel like buying this Satay, but my friend said it was yummy, so i said let's buy and try it. For paying 8k/piece, we bought two, the chicken and beef one. In my personal opinion, the beef one is way below my expectation, the meat is a little bit tough and hard to chew, while the chicken one is pretty good.

They serve it nicely though. Dressed with peanut sauce and fried onion. Plus the additional slices of fresh tomatoes and white radish. Presentation-wise? Good. Simple and nice. 

TEH BOTOL SOSRO

"Apapun makananya, minumannya.. Teh Botol Sosro!"

Haha the sentence above means "Whatever the food is, do it with Teh Botol Sosro", it is a very famous line of Teh Botol Sosro. My choice of beverage that day, simply feeling fresh-ed up after a couple of gulps!

***

FLOWER BOOTH (Forget the booth name)

I'm so pumped when i saw this florist booth! So pretty! I know it's so irrelevant to the food post but this prettiness makes the venue look lovelier. <3

***
GENK BALA-BALA

Didn't really buy it, only took a picture of it because it looks soooo tempting!

***

Next, SATE PADANG AJO RAMON

Ready for the best 28k that day.

This Satay Padang is LEGIT! Definitely one of the best choices here. The meat is so tender and juicy. The sauce? Undoubtedly ahhh-mazing, perfect balance, not too spicy! One word, DELICIOUS.

***

SRABI NOTOSUMAN NY. HANDAYANI

Convinced by the queue, i decided to join the line. Not sure if I've ever tried Srabi Cake before so i guess it's a good chance for me to try one. Queue won't lie, no? 

Yeap, it won't because turned out that these little munchies are super yummy. The texture is a little sticky if i may say, but taste perfectly sweet and the chocolate topping makes it even more tasteful. Definitely buy again if i happen to run into one of this somewhere.

***

KERAK TELOR & RUJAK BEUBEUK 

It's not quite a Jakarta Culinary yet if you haven't tried this one. Kerak Telor! If you're not from here and wondering what it is, Kerak Telor or you can call it Egg Crust, is an Omelette made of chicken/duck egg and glutinous rice, sprinkled with fried shredded coconut and dried shrimp. 

It's not easy to find this dish when there's no big event in Jakarta such as PRJ (Pekan Raya Jakarta- town fair like that.) So when i saw this, i just feel the need to buy it!

Another famous Jakarta's culinary, Rujak Beubeuk/Rujak Bebek.

 Rujak Beubeuk is a kind of a tropical fruit salad mashed it together with the dressing which contains: peanut, tamarind,palm sugar, salt, bird eye's chili, shrimp paste (aka Terasi) in a wooden mortar. Commonly served in a small cup or a leaf plate called Pincuk. If you happen to come to Jakarta, TRY.

***

ES DUREN SAKINAH

Last not least, this Durian Ice Cream!! It tastes sooooh good and refreshing! I'm happy because they are soooo generous and gave us a lot amount of durian! Added with milk, coconut, and creamy cream, perfect for the crazy hot day! Yummy yum yum!

***

note: all in IDR currency 

There was also a Wine and Cheese Expo going on. Frankly speaking, i didn't really pay attention to the wine and stuff, we were only there to cool down for a while, haha yeap, aircon needed!

This is, somehow reminds me of Hogwarts. 

Turned out 'a while' means two hours haha! When we got out the sky's already getting dark and the moon appeared.  That only means i gotta leave this place and go back to work *sigh*

It was such an amazing experience! I can't wait for next year's JFFF. It was such a shame that i can only make it a day, I'll make sure that I'll go more next time and try more foods!

Let's tag along if you wanna go together! :))

*

*

*

ps. I'm not a food blogger, hence, my biggest apology for being rubbish in explaining/reviewing the food. Haha xD

ALRIGHT, THAT'S THAT, SEE YOU IN JFFF 2015!!

Till the latter! xx