Poppy Seeds

Poppy seeds. They taste a bit like sesame seeds, but they don't share the least bit same physical appearance. Sesame seeds are oval in shape, more or less like a slim tear-drop, while poppy seeds share the same shape with kidneys. Both taste nice, but if I have to chose between sesame seeds or poppy seeds, I'll be Team Poppy.

Last Wednesday, I stopped by at Carrefour to buy myself some snacks. I was thinking of Chitato, Taro, Cheetos, and other savory crisps to buy, but I somehow ended up buying myself a plastic of mini Danish Browns and a poppy-seeds-sprinkled dinner roll. The dinner roll reminds me of the bread from District 11, one of the districts in the book the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, despite its round shape instead of a crescent shape. It is written in the book that the bread from Rue's district is, "a dark, crescent-shaped roll dotted with seeds". The reason why bought this dinner roll is just because it reminds me of the Hunger Games, and a bit of Peeta and Rue. And that I was hungry for some bread and this particular dinner roll was calling my name. It looked so delicious among the other dinner rolls that were placed on the trays. I couldn't help but to have the urge to have a bite!

I didn't expect that the dinner roll that I bought will be as hard as bricks. I could probably use it as a defense tool against zombie, if zombie apocalypse were to happen, to split the zombie's head into two and survive. Who knows, this bread might come in handy someday in the future. Despite it's brick-like texture, this bread tasted delicious and crunchy. It turned out that there were poppy seeds inside the bread as well. The combination of the bread and the poppy seeds, coated with some cold butter you just took out from the fridge, made this particular refreshment a masterpiece.

Sunday Treats

Every Sunday, my parents and I always make a quick stop at this particular Batagor seller which is located right across the entrance of our church. It has been there as long as I can remember. Even when I was still in Elementary School, I had always visit this Batagor seller after Sunday school. My Dad love this particular Batagor so much he will always spare some times to have a plate when he is home for holidays. 

Batagor is one of Indonesian traditional food that you can find mostly at pedestrian routes. It is made of a dumpling-skin covered dough. It is deep fried in a big pan full of boiling oil, and we eat it with some peanut sauce, sweet soy sauce, and some chilly paste. It is crunchy and very savory, despite the fact that this food is far from being healthy. But then again, we only live once, so why bother avoiding all the unhealthy food just for the sake of your well-being?

It costs you around Rp7000,00 for a plate of Batagor. Make sure that when you have the chance to try this funky dish you eat it with plenty of those peanut sauce and sweet soy sauce. I don't recommend you to add the chilly paste though, because the color of the substance is beyond bright, as if it was made from red and orange crayons. 

Batagor Somay, brought to you by a couple of Bandung's local citizen

Just look at those Batagor, ready to be served on a plate
with some peanut sauce and a few drips of lime fruit

The sight of the seller cutting the Batagor into small pieces
so that its rather big size won't choke you

Put some dough on to the dumpling skin, then dip it into the
frying pan, and voila! your Batagor is ready

Very tempting, yes? Did I mentioned that this dish is ridiculously tasty and savory?

Eat ALL the Batagor!

Mochi Ice Cream

The numbers  of ice creams that I had eaten for the past seventeen years of life escapes me. I love ice cream and I will always do. If I were to be offered a job to be an ice cream taster, I wouldn't consider twice and immediately accept the job. "When do I start," I will say, holding a spoon on my right hand and a napkin on my left hand. 

As a person who loves to travel, I have tasted various kinds of ice creams at various tourist destination spots. I once bought myself a chocolate ice cream cone when I was at Mount Titlis, Switzerland, during winter. Then, I found myself returning to the same spot to buy ice cream over and over again at an ice cream shop at Frankfurt, Germany, which name I forgot. There were lots of drunk local citizen, screaming and shouting to each other, waving flags of their favorite team, when I bough myself a cone of Melon-flavored ice cream because it was during the FIFA World Cup 2010 when I visited Frankfurt. Even by the thought of me finally got the chance to taste the famous sandwich ice cream at New York makes me all giddy inside. If music can connects people, despite the fact that they have no idea on how to communicate with each other because of the language barrier, I say ice cream can do it too. 

My first encounter with Binggrae Mochi Ice Cream was a couple of months ago, at Seven Eleven. My cousin invited me, along with my Mom and Dad, to her birthday dinner at a fancy restaurant. We spent hours at that place, then we continued our chat at a nearby Seven Eleven. Dad asked me whether I want to buy something to eat or not, so I looked around and found this packaging at the freezer that caught my attention. The packaging was decorated with korean words, which I cannot understand but readable. It turned out to be a pack of korean mochi ice cream. Without any hesitation, I gave it to my Dad to be paid.

The packaging contained two pieces of watermelon-flavored mochi ice cream. I shared it with my cousin, and the both of us were overwhelmed by the taste of the gooey ice-cream filled rice cake. The mochi is dark green in color, more or less share the same color with a cup of Japanese green tea. When you rip the mochi open, you will find yourself some milky and creamy pink-colored ice cream. I scooped the ice cream with the plastic fork that was provided in the packaging and had a taste of that delicious looking pink ice cream. Well, what do you know, the pink-colored ice cream was a milky watermelon-flavored ice cream. Yum!

The ice cream was a bit pricey, considering the fact that it is imported from Korea, but I don't see any harm by spending a rather-large sum of money to taste this wonderful creation of Binggrae. You can find this particular ice cream at any fancy grocery store at fancy malls, such as Food Hall and Kamome Swalayan. Just go to the ice cream section, and hunt for this appealing packaging, then you will have the chance to savor the goodness of a korean ice cream.

Frozen Yogurt for the Glutton

Whenever you feel like devouring a large amount of food, don't hesitate or even refrain yourself from doing so. As a big eater, I often found myself mindlessly gulping large-sized food now and then. I once ate seven Takoyaki, or Japanese Octopus Ball, in less than half an hour. I also had eaten double-sized burgers at Burger Kings just because I felt like it. Sometimes, I can't help but to make some toasts at home and dine in, despite the fact that I had dinner on the previous hour. The same thing goes to this particular frozen yogurt that I love so much.

It costed me Rp25.000,00 for this gluttonous mountain of J.Cool Couple. A bit catchy doesn't it, the name? Yes, this particular frozen yogurt named J.Cool Couple is a cup of tall-sized yogurt that can be indulge by two persons. I'd rather go solo on this one. This particular product of J.Co Donuts is my second favorite dessert for this cafe after its famous J.Crown Oreo Donut. With some spoonful of roasted almonds, some Kiwi fruits, and some Longans, this froyo is the perfect treat for the glutton.

J.Cool Donuts

Jl. KH Noer Ali, Gedung Mall Metropolitan

Bekasi Selatan 17148

Sanity Booster

I'm glad to say that the national examination is over. The government can now torment me by letting me wonder for a month on whether I did good on my exam or not. The moment the exam was over, I got anxious. I still do now actually. The day after the examination, I decided to pay a visit to Dunkin Donuts. "Might as well have breakfast here," I thought. So I ordered my self a cup of Hot Chocolate and a Hazenut Donut.

It amuses me by how dining in alone at a local cafe can put yourself at ease. I spent around two hours at Dunkin Donuts, leisurely wasting my time as if I have 48 hours to spend in a day. There were no other customers except me. "Good," I said to myself. I took out my phone and started reading Suzanne Collins' Mockingjay. My tray of breakfast was untouched. 

Time flew so fast, I decided to put down my phone and had a bite of the chocolaty Hazelnut Donut. The dough was chocolate, and it was coated with chocolate jam, not to mention it was filled with chocolate cream mixed with tiny bits of roasted hazelnut. Just imagine how lovely it tasted. Followed by a couple sips of hot chocolate, I found myself relaxed and less anxious. This is what I do to keep me sane.

Ramen 38 Sanpachi

My Mom has found the best restaurant to indulge on authentic Japanese ramen. Believe me when I say "authentic", because the ramen that they sell at this particular restaurant share the exact same taste like the one they sell at Japan. Ramen 38 Sanpachi, is the name of the restaurant, a place where you can enjoy ramen like never before!

This restaurant is famous for its ramen, despite the fact that they have other non-noodle dishes in their menu. Those who come to this restaurant are mostly Japanese and Chinese-Indonesian. Ramen 38 Sanpachi is located at the second story of Kamome Swalayan, a building in which is filled with Japanese restaurants and shopping spots where the products are mostly imported from Japan. It is like heaven on earth for Japan enthusiast!

When you enter the restaurant, the staff will welcome you with, "Irashaimase!" which means "Welcome to our shop!". The waitress will literary shout the phrase, then followed by the other staff, which makes the restaurant echoes. Might as well act surprise and excited. 

There are tables for those who come in group of four, tables for couples, and bar table for those who come all by himself. What caught my attention the moment when my Mom and I entered the restaurant are the televisions, one at the back, and one near the bar table, showing episodes of Sailor Moon. It feels like my childhood is being splashed down at my face. "Moon Prism Make Up," said Usagi the Sailor Moon. I jumped with joy as the waitress lead us to our seats.

A moment after we found a place to rest our bottoms, another waitress came up to us, giving a glass of cold water. Guess what? It is free. This restaurant is doing the same custom that those ramen restaurants in Japan do. They give us free water, and we can refill after we have finished it and it is still free. How cool is that? She also gave us some menu to choose, which made me ended up ordering a bowl of Tonkatsu Chasu Ramen. Curly noodles, cooked medium, topped with four slices of pork, and some vegetables. I also ordered a plate of Shoyu Tamago, eggs in which was dipped in a pan of broth, to go along with the ramen. My Mom ordered some Gyoza, grilled pork-filled dumplings that can make you snap random Japanese phrases the moment it enters your mouth. Let's just say that lunch just got real.

As a person who can leisurely consume pork, Tonkatsu Chasu Ramen flew me to the moon. It tasted ridiculously delicious! I bet the chef is a kind and generous person because he gave us a generous amount of pork inside the ramen bowl. The broth was amazing, it is as if you are devouring Mount Fuji. It is best if you eat the ramen with some chilly oil and pepper. Trust me on this, you would probably dumped any instant noodle that you have at your house after you tasted this particularly delicious ramen. 

The Gyoza, or should I say the pork-filled dumplings, sent me to a bed of roses. They were crispy on the outside, and chewy and soft on the inside. I recommend you to eat this nectar of God the moment it is served on your table. You will find yourself wiping your face with tissues because the oil from this dish would just squirts out. Careful not to stain your new dress there. 

As a person who fancies eggs, I have to say that this eggs scored 9.8 out of 10. It was three and a quarter cooked. You can see in the picture that the egg yolk looks gooey and heavenly. Shoyu Tamago, the name of this egg, is an egg which was dipped in a pan of broth. The egg absorbed the savory liquid, which makes is savory and a bit salty unlike any other boiled egg. Totally recommended for those who self-proclaimed themselves as egg lovers.

After we finished our meal, the waitress will immediately took the bowls to be washed. Then, another waitress will appear, holding her tray in which was filled with some beautiful shot glasses. Oh look what we have here, it turned out to be jellies. A couple of cube shaped jellies, one is Lychee flavored and the other one is Orange flavored. Guess what? It is free. I repeat, free! They do this kind of service where they would just give us free drinks and free desserts. I was overwhelmed. First they gave us free water, and now they gave us free jellies for dessert? My perfect kind of restaurant.

People, get in to your vehicle and drive yourself to Ramen 38 Sanpachi. Order yourself a bowl of ramen, but don't order any drinks. Enjoy yourself enjoying the ramen while watching on numerous episodes of Sailor Moon. Take your time. Enjoy the Japanese atmosphere surrounding the restaurant. Be a Japanese for a day! Oh, and did I mentioned that they have this book shelf at the restaurant, filled with numerous manga and Japanese magazines for you to read? Yeah, they have a book shelf filled with numerous manga and Japanese magazines for you to read. Guess what? It is free!

For further information, you can check out Ramen 38's Twitter here, or at its website http://www.ramensanpachi.com/

Ramen 38 Sanpachi

Kamome Swalayan

Jl. Melawai Raya 189B, Kebayoran Baru

Jakarta Selatan 12160

Phone: (021) 7280 0268

Opening Hours:

Monday - Friday: 11 AM - 1 AM

Saturday - Sunday: 11 AM - 10 PM

Holidays: 11 AM - 12AM

Heads or Tails?

Taiyaki, or baked sea bream literary translated, is a fish-shaped pancake or waffle batter filled with, commonly found, red bean paste. This is one of the most common traditional snack that you can find in Japan, after Takoyaki (octopus balls). Fish is known as a symbol of luck among Japanese people, and since Taiyaki share the same shape with sea bream, most people find this particular snack a symbol of luck as well. 

Each box contains a couple of Taiyaki, which costs you approximately Rp15.000,00

Some Taiyaki are filled with red bean paste, some are filled with other
various fillings like chocolate, cheese, sausage, and even custard

My first encounter with Taiyaki was a couple of years ago, when I was still a freshmen at Global Prestasi Senior High School, at a Japan-themed festival in Jakarta. Jak-Japan Matsuri is the name of the event, which is Jakarta-Japan Festival literary translated. You can find lots of Japanese food stands in the rather hectic and euphoric festival, one of them was the Taiyaki stand. It costed me Rp20.000,00 for my first fish-shaped cake, which is pretty costy but worth it.

Taiyaki tasted like waffles, in which was filled with red bean paste. It is a bit crunchy and crispy on the outside, especially on the edges, and soft on the inside. This snack is best to be indulge on five minutes after it came out from the baking pan. Some probably are going to eat it right away, but I find it painful because it is still hot and steamy, and it will burn your tongue. So, it is best for you to eat it after it cools off.

The chef gave me a couple of toothpicks to help me eat the Taiyaki. 
Thanks, chef, but I eat with my bare hand.

Oh look, fish out of water!

The thing about Taiyaki is that there has been a debate on which side should you eat first. Most people would eat the head first, but there are also some who insist on gulping the tail first. I usually eat the head first, leaving the best part of the snack for latter. So, which one are you? Are you Team Head, or Team Tail?

Itadakimaaassuu!

Taiyaki Stand

Kamome Swalayan

Jl. Melawai Raya 19B, Kebayoran Baru

Jakarta Selatan 12160

Phone: (021) 7280 0268

Opening Hours: 11 AM - 7 PM

Erdinger Night

On the fourth of April, my Dad decided to throw an early wedding-anniversary dinner at a German Restaurant named Die Stube, which was located at South Jakarta. He invited his best buds, along with their family, and we indulge on numerous German cuisine that would make you feel as if you were on a vacation at Germany. It was a great night, celebrated with great friends and great food. 

The sight of the tall Erdinger Beer that the adults consume

They look very refreshing, don't they?

I see nothing wrong with consuming a glass of Australian Wine at a German restaurant

I couldn't help but to want to keep the wine bottle

My Dad ordered two plates of Knuckle Pork, which came with four side dishes that we can choose by ourselves. He handed over the job of choosing the side dishes to me and one of my friend who joined the dinner, Memes. After a long consideration, we decided to order two plate of roasted potatoes (the one that my Mom can cook at home), a bowl of spinach with cream, and some German noodles.

It was hard to choose a dish from the Pork section, as they all sound delicious and
wonderful. It's a good thing the menu is written in both English and Germany

You know you will have a great dinner when the sight of the
side dish is already mesmerizing and jaw-dropping.

A bowl of creamy spinach that would make you go gaga the moment
a spoonful of the vegetables enters your mouth. 

I would finish this plate of roasted potatoes all by myself if I could

Die Stube served the Knuckle Pork a bit different than other German restaurant that I have visited in Jakarta. Most of restaurants would just served the dish in its original form, as in the meat is still attached on the patella, which requires us to cut the meat by ourselves like cave men. But, the kind and caring Die Stube chef wouldn't want us to sweat ourselves by only trying to cut the meat into pieces, so, they took the liberty to cut the meat for us in advance. My favorite part of the dish is, of course, the crispy and salty skin that would make melodious crunching sound when you eat it.

The famous Knuckle Pork that my Mom and Dad could indulge together
without any help from other hungry fellows

Don't you just want to stuff yourself with this appealing dish?

I ordered myself a plate of Schnitzel, which is deep fried bread crumbs covered pork fillet. This dish is awesome in so many levels! This particular dish share the same concept with Fish & Chips and Chicken Cordon Blue, as it is covered with bread crumbs and is deep fried. The Schnitzel that I ate at Die Stube comes with a peculiar sauce that goes by the name the Gypsy Sauce. I couldn't help but to be curious about this magical sauce.

When the dish arrived at my table, I immediately cut a piece of the Schnitzel, pour the almighty Gypsy sauce on top of the cutlet, and let myself indulge a bite. It tasted non like any other Schnitzel that I have ever tasted before. The combination of the sauce and the deep fried pork cutlet is wonderful. The Gypsy Sauce turned out to be a sweet and spicy sauce, cooked with onion and paprika. I have always have this particular thought that the best way to eat Schnitzel is with some black pepper sauce. But now, I officially declare that to indulge on this deep fried pork cutlet with Gypsy Sauce is way better than to eat it with black pepper sauce.

A plate of Schnitzel with a large portion of sweet and mushy mashed potato

Salad is best to be indulged on after you finish your Schnitzel

The almighty Gypsy Sauce that goes swell with the pork cutlet

Memes, on the other hand, ordered herself a plate of rice with creamy chicken and vegetables, which look very delicious and ridiculously creamy. Her Dad, whom I usually call by the name Romo, had a nice steak which came with some stir-fried vegetables and a boiled potato with cheese on top. 

The next time I visit Die Stube, I'm sure going to have a taste of this
chicken-based dish that looks awesome and fulfilling

Which do you prefer, a gorgeous steak with barbeque sauce on top,
or a splendid tray of Schnitzel with Gypsy Sauce?

Die Stube is a great German restaurant that you can visit when you have the urge to indulge on delicious German cuisine. This restaurant is a splendid choice for those of you who happen to be financially capable to indulge on fancy food. If you don't feel like having dinner, you can leisurely take a seat on the bar and grab yourself some genuine German beer instead. 

For more information, you can visit Die Stube's website at http://www.diestube.com/

Die Stube German Bar & Resto

Jl. Kemang Raya No. 2 

Bangka Mampang Prapatan, Jakarta Selatan

DKI Jakarta, Indonesia

Phone: (021) 719 2486

Opening Hours: 

Monday - Friday: 11:30 AM - 12 AM

Saturday - Sunday: 11:30 AM - 1 AM

For the Love of Food

Have you ever think that there are numerous people in the world, who work night and day just to get a spoonful of rice for dinner? But then, there is us, in a restaurant, being served by the waitress a plate of fried rice, and we still have the guts to complain about how salty the rice is. We should be thankful that we still have the chance to fill our stomach with healthy food. Heck, we should be thankful for having something to eat. 

There are less unfortunate people out there who can barely have breakfast in the morning, and we shouldn't complain about how horrible the taste of the noodles are because they were too spicy. Be thankful a little bit and enjoy food. 

An adorable drawings of food, made by one of my classmate Vikachuu,
who goes by the name Novika Chandra Devi

Caged for a Day

Birdcage Parc Restaurant is the name of the restaurant that my Mom and I visited last week. It has this unique theme, which most of you could probably tell from the name of the dinning place. The restaurant is located at the corner of the street at Kebayoran Baru. You can easily spot it because it has this rather big birdcage, which made out of wood, hanging at a tall and firm tree branch right beside the building. 

The restaurant has an adorable and adequate interior. The building and the furniture is broken white in color, some are even in soft cream, and it is also decorated with vintage kitchen tools. Marble-based cases with the name "Bread" and "Cake" on them can be found at this petite restaurant. Cupcake-shaped teapot and jars with drawings of petals are the eye candy of the restaurant. Other than the fact that they make the dinning place look exquisite, it also give this place a great first impression.  

I don't think I would store loafs in that particular case, but rather my jewelries

Would you store your cake in this particular traditional looking cake case?

A pair of marble-based vintage jars, with drawings of purple and pink flower
petals, that would make your kitchen looks beautiful

This restaurant has a unique style, regarding its interior design and its victorian-era decorations, which makes it a fine choice for those who loves to have food adventures from one restaurant to the other restaurant. There are small birdcages, with artifactual birds inside, hanging on a fake tree branch inside the building. They didn't forget to include the sound of birds, which make them look like authentic caged birds. The staff also played some music throughout the restaurant, which mostly smooth jazz or top hits song, that wouldn't make you feel like you're in a bird sanctuary.

Birdcage Parc Restaurant has this particular vintage atmosphere
that would make you enjoy your lunch time unlike any other restaurants

There are menu for Breakfast, Lunch, and Diner. The breakfast menu is available from eight in the morning until eleven. You will find many choices of pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacons throughout the breakfast menu. The pancakes come with various toppings, such as butter and maple syrup. It's more or less like an American Breakfast set. 

For lunch or dinner, you can order yourself a plate of Birdcage Parc's homemade pizza, or its famous creamy pasta, some Chicken Cordon Blue, or a mouth-watery bowl of Fish & Chips. Don't forget to order some desserts after you finish your main course. They have this wonderful chocolate lava cake, which is a chocolate cake filled with melting chocolaty dough inside, that comes with strawberry and ice cream, that would definitely set fire works in your mouth. 

Just look at those adorable decorations!
Who wouldn't want a cupcake-shaped teapot?

I ordered myself a bowl of Fish & Chips. This particular meal is my second favorite dish after Chicken Cordon Blue. Both dishes share the same concept, but the difference lies in the meat. Chicken Cordon Blue is made out of chicken, battered in egg and bread crumbs, while Fish & Chips is made out of, well, fish.

It came with a generous amount of french fries and a small plate of tartar sauce. I'm not quite fond of sauce like Mayonnaise or Thousand Island Sauce, but I found myself continuously dipping the french fries deep into the rather tiny plate of sauce. The deep fried fish is well-fried. It doesn't has this particular odor that fish have when they are not properly cooked. Birdcage Parc's bowl of Fish & Chips is crunchy, salty, and fulfilling at the same time.

Mom, on the other hand, ordered herself a plate of creamy pasta. It is served with bacon and shredded cheese. I believe for those who self-proclaimed themselves as cheese lovers would go gaga over this particular dish. True, this pasta comes in small portion, but I don't think it's an advantage for you because the moment you finish this meal you can order yourself some cakes for dessert. I was beyond full when I finished my Fish & Chips, that's why I skipped dessert. I have to try one of Birdcage Parc's dessert for sure when I have the chance to go back to that place.

Who wouldn't love to indulge a plate of sweet and melty dessert, or a bowl of hot and creamy soup, in a comfortable and adorable place? You can leisurely dine in at Birdcage Parc Restaurant whenever you feel like it. Not to mention, this place is open early in the morning, which makes it possible for you to have breakfast on the spot.

Birdcage Parc Restaurant

Jl. Wijaya IX No. 23 

Melawai - Kebayoran Baru, Jakarta Selatan

DKI Jakarta, Indonesia

Phone: (021) 739 2430

Hours:
Monday - Thursday: 11 AM - 11.30 PM
Friday - Saturday: 11 AM - 01.30 AM
Sunday: 10 AM - 12 PM