Nostimo Greek Grill Bali - Ubud

One afternoon, my Mom and I decided to dine in at this particular Greek restaurant adjacent to the clinic where we got ourselves tested for COVID-19. We had different plan for lunch that day, yet the sight of the aesthetic and Santorini-like ambience caught my attention so I offered my Mom to grab a bite at this place instead. Like many other restaurants and cafes in Bali during the pandemic, Nostimo Greek Grill was empty. It was lunch time, yet there were only us and the staff roaming around the restaurant. 

As we stepped into the white-painted building, the friendly staff greeted us warmly; which is quite rare nowadays because us locals are often treated differently than those international tourists. Mbok Yuli was the name of the waitress who took our order and her health protocol game was so strong she stroke a UV light on our table instead of just spraying it with disinfectant. As a person who wears two sets of mask and often sprays my surroundings with alcohol, her anti-COVID-19 procedure deserved a two-thumbs up.  

Mom and I shared a lot of food that afternoon. We had a bowl of Greek Salad and Pork Souvlaki Platter, along with a couple glasses of Iced Ginger Tea, a plate of welcome bread, and Lukumades for dessert. We hadn’t had a set of lunch as luxurious as the one we had that day for a while and the sight of the scrumptious and colorful food truly boosted our weary minds. 

We had our complimentary sliced bread with a heap of oil and balsamic vinegar. Though it may look quite simple, the bread had bits of chopped olives in it, which tasted sublime when paired with the tangy dressing. I’m not a fan of olive myself, but the unique flavor combination was delectable for me. 

Complimentary Bread is my jam!

The Pork Souvlaki Platter on the one hand was also delicious. There were so much going on on our plate, yet we managed to finish them all clean. The pita bread was chewy and deliciously savory, while the french fries were also delicious and I noticed how the chef used fresh potatoes instead of frozen french fries. The Pork Souvlaki tasted amazing despite how dull they looked. They were smoky and full of flavor, and the herbs used to marinate them meat were plentiful. They had a nice kick in every bite that I took. Oh! Did I mentioned that the Pork Souvlaki was all meat and no fat? As a person who doesn’t enjoy pork fat, this meat skewer truly is a game changer!

Pork Souvlaki Platter

Aren't you a sight for sore eyes?

What I love most from my Pork Souvlaki Platter was the Tzatziki Sauce. For those of you who are not familiar with this sauce, Tzatziki Sauce is a yogurt-based sauce mixed with herbs that tastes overwhelmingly fresh and zesty. I assume the chef inserted a nice amount of lemon juice in our sauce, which went well when used as a dipping sauce for every single dishes that were served on our plate. Mom and I loved it so much we devoured the whole thing clean. 

It’s a good thing that we decided to share a platter between the two of us. I was going to order my share of platter if I didn’t notice how big of a portion one plate can be. I would definitely recommend the Pork Souvlaki Platter for those of you who eat pork. As for my fellow muslim readers, do have the Chicken Platter instead. 

For dessert, Mom and I had our share of Lukumades, which is a type of Greek-style fried dough. This particular dessert has quite the hype in Jakarta during the pandemic, but I haven’t got the chance to try one yet. At Nostimo Greek Grill, they serve their Lukumades with a bucketful of honey and a generous dash of cinnamon powder. They were quite heavy and solid for small fried dough, and they have this chewy texture instead of fluffy Dunkin’-Donut-like texture. Though they tasted delicious, I don’t think I would have another round of Lukumades in the future. I guess I’m more of a Dough Darlings kind of gal. 

If you decided to stop by at Nostimo Greek Grill with the whole gang, do have as many platters as you can and have a delightful flavor combo in every bite. Yet, if you happen to dine in by yourself, have yourself a Gyro Wrap with your preference of meat. I had the chance to get myself the Pork Gyro Wrap the other day and, boy, was it super fulfilling. It’s like enhaling Santorini in one handful. 

My plate of Pork Gyro Wrap

Those Pork Gyro were delicious and savory!

P.S. 

If you love Falafels, please get yourselves some! They serve individual Falafels here at Nostimo Greek Grill and they are delicious. Crunchy, nutty, flavorful, and definitely suitable to be paired with your bowl of Greek Salad. 

Nostimo Greek Grill Bali - Ubud

Jl. Raya Pengosekan No. 108

Ubud, Gianyar - 80571

Opening Hours:

MON - SUN: 11.30 AM - 9 PM

Contact:

+62 821 4573 5546

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The Royal Family Pudding

Ever since the government declared Jakarta’s global social distancing policy, things got quite difficult for me personally to function as an “old normal” society. Other than the fact that my moving space is limited, my food options are also limited. The first month after the policy was announced was the hardest. I experienced so many food cravings, yet I could do nothing about it because most of the restaurants were closed and I was lacking the courage to go out and get food just for the sake of it. Thank God there’s this thing called Instagram. 

From Instagram, I learned that a lot of my friends whom I follow are starting a small business where they sell homemade food. The options are quite limitless and they range from sweet to savory, light to heavy, budget-friendly to fancy-prized, and delicious to epic. One of them being pudding. Now, you may wonder, “What’s so special about puddings? I mean, everybody can make one, right?”. Well, if you can make a pudding with the texture combo of a Panna Cotta, a Mousse, and a Jelly, then you have the right to wonder. If not, I suggest you to open your Instagram and go straight to Kyu.rio’s page. 

Kyu.rio Milky Pudding! Yep, that’s the name of what my junior high school buddy has to offer. You can already tell by the name itself that Ibeth here sells a variety of milk pudding. I remember specifically that Ibeth had only one flavor on sale during her earlier time doing her business, which was the Original Vanilla Pudding with Brown Sugar Sauce. That was a month ago. From there, her business rapidly climbs the ladder of success to the point where she gains more demand from her customers. One time, on one of her pre-order listing, all of the puddings were sold out in just a count of minute I couldn’t get my hands on at least one cup. 15 minutes, if I’m not mistaken, for half a hundred cups of pudding. How amazing is that? Now, specifically today, she is currently throwing her seventh pre-order on Kyu.rio’s Instagram Page, serving a total of four flavors, including this particular new flavor that she has been working on; the Matcha flavor. Talk about glow up! 

The business rooted from a particular time when Ibeth had a craving for Gyu-Kaku’s milk pudding. Being stuck at home and having Gyu-Kaku closing its’ doors on everybody’s faces calls for desperate measure. Ibeth started to browse for recipes to make the fancy dessert itself and, after a few attempts, she succeeded. Yet, the perfectionist in her longed to improve both taste and quality of her pudding. So, she strived and managed to reach her goal with flying colors. Her family and friends loved her creation and the nudge from her boyfriend to turn this craving into a business found its’ way into Ibeth herself. Then, the rest is history. 

After a failed attempt of ordering, I finally got my hands on Ibeth’s Kyu.rio Milky Pudding on her previous pre-order listing. At that time, there were still only three flavors available to be ordered. I took my chances and got myself, at least, one of each. They were the Original, the Spiked Rum, and the Earl Grey. Each pudding was served in a cup and it came with a tiny bag of sauce. Being the extra food blogger that I am, I tried to move the pudding onto a plate so that I could make a footage of me pouring the sauce on top of the jiggly pudding, yet my attempt was to no avail as the pudding immediately tore with just a light touch. Yes, I am not exaggerating. The pudding was THAT delicate I had to succumb and eat it straight from the cup. Boo, no fun. 

The first pudding that I tried was the Earl Grey flavored, in which the silky pudding was infused with strong, yet dainty, earl grey tea and served with a spoonful of thick vanilla sauce. I took the liberty to try the pudding without the sauce beforehand and, boy, did that mouthful tasted like a subtle blast of tea. As an avid tea drinker, I know what earl grey tea tastes like, and this pudding tasted like one. As I mentioned before, the earl grey tea was strong, you definitely won’t miss it, yet it was not dominating the whole flavor; I could still taste the subtly sweet milk pudding. The vanilla sauce, on the one hand, was not overpoweringly sweet as well, and it played its’ role as the cherry on top perfectly. I really love the flavor combo of milk, earl grey, and vanilla that this pudding had. I don’t think I’ve had anything like this before in my life. No joke. After I was finished with the Earl Grey, I moved on to my second pudding, the Original. Yes, I ate two servings in under 10 minutes. What of it? 

The Original is my favorite among the two so far because it had a very simple concept, which is vanilla flavored pudding with brown sugar sauce, yet it tasted so so deliciously rich. And by rich, I mean Queen Elizabeth of the Royal Family rich. Mind boggling isn’t it? How can something that looks mediocre be having a flavor that sparks joy by the time it reaches your tastebuds? I don’t have the answer myself. Maybe you should ask Ibeth about it. She’s the mastermind behind all of this delicious dessert. 

Last, but not least, was the Spiked Rum! It shared the same concept with the Original, yet it had a little bit of rum in it to spice things up. Now, I’m not a fan of rum (I only fancy beer and Tequila) and I could definitely distinguish the rum in this pudding, yet it didn’t taste as dreadful as I thought it would be. The flavor combination between vanilla and rum work just fine, and the brown sugar sauce elevates the whole flavor of the pudding, making it more delicious and enjoyable for me to dig in. I do recommend you not to take my words for the Spiked Rum, as I’m not a fan of rum, so I don’t think I’m judging the flavor of the pudding objectively. But, it was delicious to say the least. 

It gives me a lot of joy whenever I’m eating something that my friends made. Either it be a pudding, or a doughnut, my friends are gifted with the ability to reach my heart in the quickest way possible. As for Ibeth and her Kyu.rio Milky Pudding, I bet that she has reached and won a lot of hearts with her delicious homemade pudding. I'll bet higher if you're up against me because here's a little secret that I know *whispers* her pudding tastes better than Gyu-Kaku's. 

Kyu.rio - Milky Pudding

Holymie - Sensasi Party di Holywings

Pertama kali gue tau tentang Holymie adalah dari saudara gue. Awalnya nggak terlalu gue gubris karena gue pikir itu cuma gimmick April Mop. Eh, ternyata, saat kemarin gue iseng-iseng berkutat di explore page Instagram, yang berujung mampir ke akun Instagramnya @holywingsindonesia, mie ini beneran diproduksi dan udah dijual untuk masyarakat JABODETABEK! Tanpa pikir panjang, gue langsung pesan lima bungkus dan segera gue bayar supaya bisa cepat-cepat dikirim ke rumah. Gue pikir baru akan dikirim besok, ternyata langsung dikirim dan sampai di rumah gue dua jam kemudian. Berasa kayak beli mie di warung, instan banget. 

Holymie - Sensasi Party di Holywings merupakan mie instan yang diproduksi Holywings yang dibandrol dengan harga Rp48.000,00 per bungkusnya. Memang agak mahal untuk ukuran mie instan, tapi tunggu sebentar, jangan bacot dulu. Mie Kuah Seblak Jagermeister ini terdiri dari bahan-bahan berkualitas yang terbukti enaknya dan salah satu bumbu pelengkapnya adalah Jagermeister itu sendiri. Bukan, ini bukan sembarang perisa Jagermeister, melainkan alkoholnya beneran. Gue udah nyicip sendiri dan gue konfirmasi langsung dari pihak Holywings melalui DM Instagram. Meskipun mahal, mie instan ini worth it banget buat ganti suasana di rumah kalau-kalau lo bosen dengan mie instan pasaran yang bisa lo beli di Indomaret depan komplek rumah. 

Sama seperti mie instan lainnya, satu bungkus Holymie ini mencangkup dua balok mie instan dan bumbu penyedap, tapi lo juga akan mendapat side dish lebih berupa 5 butir pentol (bakso sapi ukuran mini) dan 2 buah pangsit. Lo bebas berkreasi dengan lauk apa aja yang lo punya di rumah untuk menyantap mie instan ini. Mau ditambahin telur, kek. Cocktail sausages, kek. Kulit pangsit, kek. Bebas! Tapi, kalau gue boleh saran, lo nggak perlu nambahin lauk apa-apa lagi karena satu bungkus Holymie udah cukup untuk bikin lo kenyang berjam-jam. 

Belum ada banyak video-video di sosial media yang membahas cara untuk menyajikan Holymie. Tapi, gue pikir, siapa juga yang butuh video tutorial untuk memasak mie instan? Tanpa basa-basi, gue langsung menggodok air untuk mie instan, beserta pentol dan pangsitnya (seharusnya sih bisa langsung dimakan, tapi kondisi makanan saat sampai di rumah gue masih agak beku karena sempat disimpan dulu di freezer sebelum dikirim), dan mencampur semuanya ke dalam satu mangkok setelah selesai dimasak. Sebenarnya gue agak bingung dengan Jagernya. Gue nggak tau apakah alkohol itu harus dimasukkan ke air rebusan mie, atau dituang ke dalam mangkok setelah semuanya bahan makanan tercampur dengan bumbu. Akhirnya, gue memutuskan untuk main aman. Gue pakai cara yang kedua, karena kalau dipikir secara logis, kalau gue campur itu alkohol ke dalam air rebusan mie, otomatis alkoholnya akan menguap. Jadinya bukan Mie Kuah Seblak Jagermeister, tapi jadi Mie Seblak aja tanpa embel-embel kuah Jagermeister. 

Buat gue yang kuat makan dalam porsi banyak, porsi satu bungkus Holymie ini banyak banget untuk gue habisin sendirian. Saking banyaknya, mie instan ini bisa lo santap berdua, atau bertiga. Porsi mienya lumayan banyak, meskipun ukuran dari mie itu sendiri kurus-kurus. Padahal gue sengaja merebusnya setengah matang, biar nggak terlalu lodoh dan ngembang, tapi tetap aja banyak banget hasil akhirnya. 

Tekstur mienya cukup kenyal, dan ukurannya yang kecil membuat mie ini gampang banget disantap. Gue paling suka dengan pentolnya karena dagingnya terasa banget, begitu juga dengan pangsitnya yang diisi dengan daging ayam dan udang. Kedua lauk tambahan ini nggak main-main, isinya nggak cuma tepung dan mecin doang! Kuahnya gurih, asin, dan pedas. Kalau dibikin nyemek, rasa asinnya bakal nampol banget, jadi lo harus pakai air yang cukup banyak untuk ngencerin kuahnya agar rasanya maksimal. Tingkat pedasnya pun bisa lo kontrol sendiri karena porsi satu bungkus sambal yang ada di dalam kemasan cukup banyak. Berhubung gue nggak kuat makan makanan pedas, gue hanya menambahkan seperempat takaran sambal ke dalam Holymie gue sehingga pedasnya pas di lidah. Tapi, kalau kalian suka tantangan, monggo disuntak semua sambalnya. 

Berhubung gue tuang Jagermeisternya terakhir, saat semua elemen makanan udah bercampur semua di dalam satu mangkuk, rasanya lumayan keras, tapi nggak terlalu nyegrak karena udah bercampur dengan bumbu-bumbu yang lainnya. Masih kerasa pahit, dan aroma herbal yang menjadi ciri khas Jagermeister pun tercium, but it actually worked well with the entire ingredients! Sampai sekarang gue masih bingung kalau ditanya ini kuahnya rasa apa. Ibarat makan seblak, tapi ini seblak highclass yang lo nggak bisa sembarang beli di pinggir jalan. Enak, atau nggak? Ya, enak! Mungkin kalian agak bingung dan bertanya-tanya, “Emangnya nyambung Jagermeister dijadiin kuah mie?”. Guepun sempat berandai-andai sebelum mencicipi, dan ternyata nyambung-nyambung aja, tuh! Memang, sih, kedengarannya agak aneh. Tapi, toh, ada banyak makanan lain yang dimasak dengan alkohol, seperti steak yang dimasak dengan anggur merah, atau ayam goreng tepung yang menggunakan campuran bir di dalam adonan tepungnya. Alcohol in food works just fine and it doesn’t taste as weird as it sounds.

Gue ada highlight khusus di saah satu akun Instagram gue, @stardust.express, yang membahas tentang Holymie saking gue sukanya dengan mie instan berkuah alkohol ini. Kalau kalian ada waktu, boleh, kok, mampir!

Beberapa tips dari admin Holywings mengenai cara penyajian Holymie:

• Masukkan Jagermeister ke dalam kuah rebusan mie sesaat sebelum mie mau disajikan di mangkuk, supaya rasanya nggak terlalu kuat. Jangan terlalu lama, nanti Jagernya nggak kerasa. 
• Kasih kuahnya yang banyak, supaya nggak terlalu asin
• Holymie nggak disarankan untuk dibikin jadi mie goreng, atau mie kuah nyemek

Udah penasaran pingin nyicip, belum? Kalau udah, kalian bisa langsung pesan Holymie kalian dari aplikasi Holywings yang bisa diunduh dari App Store, atau Google Play Store. Kalau masih bingung cara pesannya bagaimana, kalian bisa tanya-tanya dulu ke admin Holywings dengan mengirimkan DM ke akun @holywingsindonesia, atau @holywingstaste. Very friendly service and quite the fast response! Kalau udah punya Holymie, mau party #dirumahaja pun serasa party di Holywings!

A Love - Hate Relationship with Baking

How have you guys been coping with social distancing and PSBB in Jakarta so far? Are you guys doing alright? Are you still keeping that sanity level real high? Or, are you in an all time low? I have been staying at home for almost two months now and, I think, I may have reached that point where I passed all that loosing-my-sanity phase that everybody’s probably experiencing. I made peace with the fact that I may have to stay a little bit longer at home now that we haven’t reach the peak of this pandemic here in Jakarta, so, I’m coping with whatever options that I have to not be idle - one of it being baking, and a bit of cooking. 

I had been baking Egg Custard Tart and Quiche at home and sold them to those who are interested in buying. I opened a pre-order on my Instagram account one day and I was surprised when I got numerous DMs from my followers, saying that they wanted to have a taste of my pies. It lit my heart with joy! Being the responsible amateur baker that I am, I complied with all of their orders and baked the sweet and savory munchies for one whole week. 

It was exhausting and fun at the same time. The longer I spend my time in the kitchen kneading dough and making custard, the more I develop this love - hate relationship with baking. I’m not trying to be cocky by saying that not a single pie that I made have failed, but all of them were successfully baked and they tasted delicious!

Now, you may, or may not, be wondering why I bake these pies. To tell the truth, I think it’s the only thing that I can bake, so far, without failing. I tried baking brownies and Angel Food Cake once, and they both failed miserably - the brownies, although thoroughly baked and had a very beautiful cracked surface, was too sweet, while the Angel Food Cake was as hard as a brick because I messed up one of the cooking method. But, when it comes to pie, it has been a smooth ride baking it since day one. 

Angel Food Cake? More like Brick Cake

The overly sweet Brownie that I made

The pie crust was scrumptious, as it had this buttery short-bread like texture that I love and, apparently, everybody in the house loves as well. One of my method in making the pie crust is to add a dash of salt in the dough, so that it would bring out the flavor of the sugar and the butter. I used to question this method because I thought that anything that has salt in it would tasted salty. Turns out, it didn’t taste the slightest bit salty, yet it had this very enjoyable savoriness that I’m fond of. 

Look at this beauty!

Mini Pies that I made with some leftover ingredients

The custard, on the one hand, was amazingly delicious! I used a lot of egg yolks in the process of making the custard concoction and it baffled me when the eggs didn’t overpower the whole flavor wheel. The custard tasted sweet and delicious, and the fact that it had this silky smooth and custardy texture blows my mind. The texture, if I may say, had this impression as if it was the love child of PUYO pudding and Panna Cotta - silky smooth, yet quite sturdy. 

I bake mostly at midnights, when everybody’s asleep and I have the kitchen all to myself. One night, I used this dashing apron that my best friend got me as a birthday present, put on some dandy ‘50s bops, and whisked my custard to the rhythm of the music. True, I was lacking a lot of sleep during this week of baking, but the joy that I got when people said that my baked goods were delicious instantly shoved away all those exhaustions. 

Leftover pie dough calls for Butter Biscuits

Other than the Egg Custard Tart, I also made a few batches of Quiche. I was overwhelmed at the time I tried baking my first Quiche as I succeed with flying colors. Although it may look a bit pale (I didn’t want to burn the crust, so I took it out from the oven earlier), but it had this kick of savory and salty flavors that was just wonderful. I used some cocktail sausages and Mozzarella cheese mixed with some milk and eggs to make the filling concoction, pour it into the savory pie crust that I blind-bake beforehand, and voila! I baked myself a serving of Sausage and Mozzarella Quiche! Again, I surprised myself. 

Chicken and Mushroom Quiche

I was doing very good in baking for money, yet the ingredients are getting more difficult to obtain as the suppliers are not getting their imported goods because of this pandemic. I don’t want to settle for some low-grade ingredients that I can get for a cheaper price, as it will ruin the entire flavor and texture quality that I set for my pies. So, I had to temporarily discontinue selling my baked goods. I still haven’t bake anything until now and I’m not planning to until I get the right ingredients. 

I sold this combo of sweet and savory pies for 50K

I guess I have to spend my time with DOTA once again.. 

The Shelter's Pumpkin Bread

There was this one time, after having a serious work out at the gym, I paid a visit to one of my favorite cafe in Bali, the Shelter, and had me a set of post-gym meal that could feed an entire village. I had me its' Soul Fuel Bowl, which I love so much for its' vibrant color and healthy ingredients, a couple slices of gluten-free Pumpkin Bread, and a heavy glass of Blue Moon Smoothie. All of them were delicious, though lacking of strong flavor because of the healthier seasonings that they use. 

My Soul Fuel Bowl tasted amazing and very fulfilling, like always, but my heart was captivated by the Pumpkin Bread, which I've never had before. I was in the mood for some bread at that time, yet I was on a diet program in which I'm not allowed to consume carbs and sugar, so I asked the waitress whether or not they have a selection of gluten-free item in stock and she gave me this slices of Pumpkin Bread. They were crunchy, chewy, quite compact, and super delicious! They truly fulfill my needs for some good bread. And, what I love most about the Shelter's Pumpkin Bread is the fact that I didn't feel guilty at all after devouring the whole thing because they were gluten-free! 

Shelter Cafe Bali
Jl. Drupadi No. 2B
Seminyak, Bali

Opening Hours:

MON - SUN: 8AM - 6PM

Contact:

+62 361 904 118

+62 813 3770 6471

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