[GIVEAWAY] And The Winner is..

Good Day, readers! 

About a month ago, I decided to organized Milky Way Cafe's first Giveaway Contest, to celebrate the cyber journal's 100th post. I wrote in the post that the winner will be announced on the 31st of August, and I'm here to keep my promise. 

I would like to thank those who participated in the Giveaway Contest. Thank you for the lovely comments, regarding my blog posts, I really appreciate your positive feedbacks. Without you guys, there will be no winner and no creamy and milky chocolates to be given away. 

I have chosen the winner of the Giveaway in a rather classic way. After writing each names on a piece of paper and put them in a hat, I blind-folded myself and randomly selected the lucky winner. Even though using the Goblet of Fire is fancier, and more sparkly and wizard-like, papers and hat will suffice. 

And the winner is...

Aruga Perbawa Rizky, a.k.a. @Bangtattoo! 

Congratulations, sir, you have won Milky Way Cafe's first Giveaway Contest! You won yourself a pouch of chocolates, worthy of milky goodness and creamy sweetness, liberty of Milky Way Cafe. Winning a Pokeball is another story, but I hope you're pleased with the result as much as I do.

Once again, thank you for all participants and readers! I hope you have a great time at Milky Way Cafe. Don't worry, there will be plenty more Giveaways to come in the future, and you might be the next lucky winner. Don't forget to have lunch and enjoy your meals!

Regards,

Kinan L. Wirastani

When Bacon Strips And Pancake Batter Collide

I did an experiment with instant pancake batter and bacon strips today! A couple of weeks ago, I saw a random post on Tumblr about a person making Maple Bacon Pancake. It's a pancake, with cut bacon strips in it, coated in deliciously sticky maple syrup. It looked very very appealing and mouth-watery. I mean, come on, who doesn't love pancakes and bacon strips? So, I decided to give it a shot, even though I'm lacking of maple syrup.

Bacon strips, yum!

Pondan's Instant Pancake Batter

Started by taking out a couple strips of bacon and cut them to small squares. Take out your awesome non-stick frying pan and fry them bacons until they're crispy and brownish red in color. Before I fried the bacons, I applied some margarin to the frying pan, just for the sake of making the bacons a bit saltier. The bacons will shrink when they are fried, so you might want to use three or four bacon strips incase if you think the bacon is too few. 

When the bacons are perfectly fried, it's time to do make the pancake batter. I used an instant pancake batter I bought at the mini market a long time ago, so I just had to add some water to the powdered mixture and voila! your pancake batter is ready.  

A butcher for a day

The pattern on the bacon strips reminds me of Van Gogh's Starry Night

Fry them bacons like a bauss

When the non-stick frying pan is well-heated, take a scoop of the pancake batter and pour them to the surface of the pan. Sprinkle some fried bacon strips on top of the batter and let them cook. When the bottom of the pancake has turned brown, you can flip the pancake over and let the surface cooked as well. And then, ta-da, your very own Bacon Pancake is ready to be engulfed! Don't forget to pour a generous amount of maple syrup onto the perfectly cooked pancakes to make it tasted superb. 

Unfortunately, I didn't have any maple syrup with me, so I merely succeed at making Bacon Pancake, not Maple Bacon Pancake. I took a bite of my masterpiece and it tasted fine. It tasted like how pancakes should tasted like, but a bit salty because of the bacon. I bet the sweet and sugary maple syrup would make this dish has a balanced flavor. I'm gonna have to grab myself a bottle of that Canadian syrup when I get the chance. 

My No-maple-syrup Bacon Pancake!

Breakfast is served

Having It My Way

I constantly visit Burger King when I have the chance, along with my Mom. We usually ordered ourselves BK Double when we're very hungry, but there are times when we just order BK Single and head off to the cinema to watch movies. 

Last week, when I was sleeping over with my best buds, Icha and Dila, Mom went to Blok M all by herself to have her "Me Time". All that I know is that she went to a lot of places and brought back lots of food, including a BK Double for me. How awesome of you, Mom!

My all-time favorite menu of Burger King is its' Barbeque Beef Bacon Burger. A slice of minced beef, topped with melted cheddar cheese, sandwiched with a pair of warm toasted buns. Don't forget the bacon slices, smothered in sweet barbeque sauce, slipped between the buns and the minced beef. A bite of that scrumptious burger will fly you to the moon. 

This is my way of enjoying Burger King's burgers.

How about yours?

The Almighty Century Egg

Have you ever heard of this bizarre food? The name is Century Egg and it's a must-try food for those who happen to fancy food-ventures, especially the bizarre ones. Preserved for weeks in a mixture of clay, salt, ash, lime, and rice hulls, the result is simply jaws-dropping. If you crack open a hard-boiled egg, you'll find yourself a squishy egg white, along with a firm and full of protein yellow-colored egg yolk. But, when you crack open a Century Egg, you'll find a transparent black-colored albumen (egg white) and a dark grayish green colored vitellus (egg yolk). Pretty funky, huh? 

Last week, when I was sleeping over with my best buds, Icha and Dila, my Mom had dinner with her sister. They dined in at a restaurant named Furama, and I'm pretty envious for not being able to join in the fun because the restaurant has lots of food that I've been wanting to try, including the Century Egg. Fortunately, Mom sent me a picture of the food at Furama and offered me a take-out. I immediately pleaded her to bring home some Century Egg. 

The next morning, I went home in the late afternoon and found myself a wrapping of what it seemed to me like Century Egg. I opened that plastic wrapping and I went, "I'm seeing a Century Egg and I can touch it with my own hands! Thank you, Lord!"

The egg was somewhat out of place, maybe because it was kept in a plastic bag all night long. My hands were fidgeting. the urge to take a bite was unbearable. I want to be able to savor the uniqueness of the so-called Century Egg. I don't want the egg to disappear in a snap of a finger. I decided to slice the egg into two parts, one to be eaten in the afternoon and one for dinner. "This is it, self, the moment you've been waiting for," I said to myself, "You're finally going to taste a Century Egg!"

I smelled it, hoping that it would smell either like Hulk's armpit or Captain America's sweaty suit, and it pretty much share the same odor like a normal hard-boiled egg, yet somehow acidic and tangy. I took a bite of the transparent black jelly-like egg white. It was pretty much tasteless, although I was very much amused by its' color. Then, I proceed to try the eeky-colored egg yolk. I took a bite. At first, the egg yolk tasted like how yellow egg yolk would tasted like. But then, the flavor started to come out. It was pretty acidic, has a vinegar-like flavor, very savory like how an egg yolk should tasted like, creamy yet firm, and I think it was delicious!

In my personal opinion, Century Egg is a fine delicious dish that I love better than mushroom. It has a very unique flavor and color, and it tasted unique as well. Although this particular food has the ability to make people go, "Eeeeewwww!", it is very tasty and it has a strong flavor. Do not hesitate when you spot a black colored egg when you dine in at a restaurant, order some and enjoy the acidic taste of the egg yolk!

Celebrating Eid ul-Fitr

Happy Belated Eid Mubarak! 

I was thrilled to be able to celebrate the end of the Ramadan Season with my cousins and grandparents. It has been years since the last time we all gather and feast on Ketupat and Opor Ayam. All that I can recall is that the last time I celebrated Eid ul-Fitr with my big family was when I was still in Elementary School. Back then, my cousins and I were wide awake on the Eid ul-Fitr Eve, watching The Ring and fighting over which anime is cooler - Pokemon or Digimon. The next day, I was beyond terrified by the fact that nobody was around when I woke up. 9-year-old-me thought that a ghost kidnapped everybody and left me at my Grandpa's house all alone to be tortured. It turned out that they just went out for a bit to pray at the Mosque. "YAY, YOU'RE BACK," 9-year-old-me shouted.

This year, my big family celebrated Eid ul-Fitr at my house. On that particular Sunday morning, the dinning room was jam-packed with food. My neighbor who celebrated Eid ul-Fitr gave my Mom and I a basket of Ketupat and Lontong, along with Opor Ayam and Sayur Labu. My other neighbor stopped by and gave us three jars of her homemade snacks, which were spicy cheese sticks, garlic crackers, and shrimp crackers, and a bowl of her very own Dodol Betawi. Dodol, made out of coconut milk, jaggery, and rice flour, is a traditional gooey and sticky snack from Indonesia that tasted sweet. My neighbor just finished her last batch of Dodol that morning, which was given to us, and it was still hot and beyond gooey when I scooped a bit to be consumed. Let's just say, breakfast was darn sweet.

Ketupat for all!

Ketupat and Lontong are the main stars in every celebration of Eid ul-Fitr. Both are made out of rice wrapped in a leaf, Lontong uses banana leafs while Ketupat uses woven palm leafs. As these two cooks, the grains started to expand and fill the leaf pouch and the rice becomes compressed. Ketupat and Lontong are pretty much shaped rice, yet Eid ul-Fitr will not be completed without the existence of these two. Rendang, Opor Ayam, and Sayur Labu are three of the most common dishes to eat Ketupat and Lontong with. In this year's Eid ul-Fitr celebration, we got all of them.

Some Ketupat from my lovely neighbor

The Dynamic Duo: Ketupat and Lontong

Slice them Lontong to pieces

My aunt, cutting some Ketupat to small cubes

My Mom started to decorate bowls and plates with her dishes. There were white and red rice, combined in one bowl, in a shape of Indonesian flag to celebrate Indonesia's Independence Day. Rendang and Krecek were also available that afternoon, both of them were cooked by my Mom and they tasted great!

White and Red Rice to celebrate Indonesia's Independence Day

Rendang is an Indonesian traditional dish that originated from Minangkabau, West Sumatra. The main star of this dish is meat, but my Mom loves to add mini potatoes alongside the meat. Coconut milk and spices are the basic ingredients to make Rendang. It takes days to make a pan of Rendang because we have to cook the coconut milk, along with the other foodstuff, until it gradually evaporates and become oily. When Rendang is well-cooked, the coconut milk has already evaporated and the meat is covered in glorious mouth-watery spices. The process of cooking this particular Sumatran dish is pretty complicated and time-consuming, therefor it requires patients from the chef. Have I mention that the dish tasted epic?

Mom's epic Rendang!

Don't you just wanna claim them yours?

Other than Rendang, my Mom also made a big bowl of Krecek. Krecek, you see, is another Indonesian traditional dish, which originated from Jogjakarta, Central Java. "Krecek" literary means "Fried chilly paste, with fermented soybean cake and cowhide kerupuk", where fermented soybean cake is commonly known as Tempe. The dish is really spicy and delicious, especially if my Mom cook them with her homemade chilly paste, or Sambal Terasi. 

This is how Krecek looks like

We didn't have Tempe back then, so Mom used soybeans instead

Later on in the afternoon, my aunts came and each of them brought their own homemade dishes. Tante Uwie, my Mom's sister, brought a bunch of her cooking, including her famous cow tongue dish. Despite it sounded really bizarre, cow tongue tasted great! It tasted like how cow meat tasted like, only a bit lighter and more chewy. The one that my aunt made was smothered in soy sauce and chilly, which made the dish itself deserved a two thumbs up. 

Tante Uwie's Cow Tongue Dish that tasted superb

Those slices of cow tongue, I like it!

Tante Uwie also brought two giant plates of Strawberry Mousse. Good Lord, it's like Christmas in August. Stella Mousse is the name of the place where my aunt bought epic and awesome. For those who are not familiar with this particular dessert, mousse is a fluffy and creamy food made out of whipped cream, or whipped egg whites. It is very light and airy and it tasted sweet, depending on what kind of mousse it is. The ones that Tante Uwie brought were Strawberry Mousse and both of them made me go "SON OF STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE!"

Stella Mousse's Strawberry Mousse was very very delicious! Although I'm not a big fan of strawberry syrup, I couldn't say that I'm not enjoying every single scoop of it. Made from two layers of whipped cream, sandwiching a generous amount of strawberry syrup, topped with cookie crumbs, and decorated with another strawberry syrup and some slices of fresh strawberries - it tormented me all day long. The mousse was beyond scrumptious and finger-licking good, but I ate too much of it until I'm sick of it. 

Behold, the sight of Stella Mousse's Strawberry Mousse

Scoop them creamy mousse

Ibu Ila, my Mom's sister, also came and brought two dozens of her homemade cupcakes, Red Velvet Cupcake and Cheese Cupcakes to be exact. The Red Velvet Cupcake tasted great, despite it lacking of its' all-time partner in crime, Cream Cheese. The Cheese Cupcakes, on the one hand, were also delicious and firm, unlike those airy cupcakes that you can find at some cake shop. 

Ibu Ila's Red Velvet Cupcakes and Cheese Cupcakes

Generous amount of shredded cheese, decorating the top of my aunt's Cheese Cupcakes

Soon, my other relatives came, and we feasted like kings! The more people arrived at my house, the more food served on the table. At first there were countable dishes, but then I started to lost sight of where's what and what's where. Mom's Rendang were devoured, along with Tante Uwie's Cow Tongue Dish and Ibu Ila's Cupcakes. Some stayed until the evening, some even slept over at my house. There were leftovers, but my cousins and I finished most of them in the middle of the night, while we were playing Slender game. It was the best Eid ul-Fitr celebration so far, and I enjoyed every second and every scoop of it!

Another dish that my aunt made, Spicy Liver With Prawns and Quail Eggs

Another famous dish by Tante Uwie, Ayam Paniki

Spicy Anchovies and Nuts, an awesome creation made by my aunt

Opor Ayam, suitable to be eaten with some Ketupat and Lontong

Happy feasting!

If you're interested in finding out how awesome Stella Mousse's Strawberry Mousse is, you can contact her on her Twitter here. All those glorious whipped cream is just a call away!

A Family of Five

A friend of mine, who goes by the name Velly, is going to go to Jogja to attend her university. We decided to have lunch together, since it will be a while before she can go back to Jakarta, along with Icha, Sally, and Angel. HEMA, a dutch restaurant located at Kemang Pratama, is where we had lunch yesterday. We ordered lots of dishes, starting from main course until dessert, and we spent hours at the dining place as if we were the owners. 

Icha and I were the first ones who arrived at HEMA, followed by Sally. I had not have breakfast in the morning, which made me my stomach sung the song of its' people. I took the liberty to go through the menu and stumbled upon the words "San Francisco Beef Minced Steak". Any food that has a name that long ought to be one great dish! So, I decided to order myself a plate of that San Franciscan steak.

20 minutes later, a waitress with a traditional Volendam dress, approached our table and handed me a plate of burger. A pair of bun, with fresh lettuce, tomatoes, and onion rings in the middle, covered with tomato sauce and barbeque sauce, and topped with a pair of nicely grilled minced beef enveloped in barbeque sauce. French fries were also spotted on the plate, adjacent to a puddle of what it seemed to me like another barbeque sauce. I have to say that the presentation was not as extravagant and flashy like how I imagined it to be, but I kept in mind that "simple is best".

My San Francisco Beef minced Steak

I ate the vegetables first because I'm not a big fan of veggie burger, then continued by finishing the french fries, which were countable and were not as thin as McDonald's french fries. I munch, and munch, and munch, until it was the buns and the steaks left. I took a bite of the grilled beef and I was taken aback by the fact that it tasted very similar to McDonald's burger meat. The buns, on the other hand, were far from similar with McDonald's burger buns. I'm guessing that those fluffy bread were grilled on a non-stick frying pan after the chef applied some margarin on them. 

I was not in the mood to eat the almighty San Francisco Beef Minced Steak like the way I devour Burger King's Double Bacon and Cheese Burger, so I stuck with my fork and knife. Classy fellow, aren't you self? All in all, the dish tasted nice, although not that spectacular like what I had in mind. The meat went along with the bun perfectly, and the barbeque sauce was awesome!

The chef didn't give a generous amount of french fries, if I may say

Angel, Sally, and Velly ordered themselves some spaghetti and iced lemon tea. Them spaghetti were very appealing and nicely decorated on a white oval-shaped bowl. Glazed with sweet and savory tomato and meat sauce, sprinkled with shredded cheese, and topped with a celery. Sally offered me her lunch and I didn't object, although I hesitated a bit because I was a bit full from eating the San Francisco Beef Minced Steak. The spaghetti was good, but I didn't find anything extraordinary from the dish. 

Spaghetti for lunch, yum!

The dish would be perfect if they add some more shredded cheese

Icha, on the other hand, ordered herself a big plate of HEMA's Sirloin Steak. The steak itself was as wide as my palm, served with french fries and vegetables, and coated with barbeque sauce. Being a person who feel stuffed easily, Icha handed over the duty of finishing the dish to Velly. I helped by finished the french fries and the vegetables, which I continuously dipped in the barbeque sauce available. I don't know why I fancy barbeque sauce that much.

Icha's Sirloin Steak smothered in barbeque sauce

After the main course, it's time for some desserts! Despite the fact that I had, and still have, a sore throat, I ordered myself a cup of strawberry ice cream. The others ordered a couple plate of a Poffertjes, one was served with powdered sugar and the other was served with Vanilla ice cream and powdered sugar. Poffertjes are Dutch's version of pancakes. It is made from the same batter that we use to make pancake, yet they have a rather spongy and light texture. Shaped like a small turtle, Poffertjes are usually served with powdered sugar or butter. At first, I doubt that I would like this particular traditional Dutch dish, but then I took a bite. Poffertjes really really tasted nice, especially those crispy rings they have. I personally love the one with the powdered sugar. If you happen to go to HEMA to have lunch or dinner, I highly recommend this particular dessert. 

Strawberry ice cream, topped with strawberry syrup and cherry

POFFERTJES!

Icha couldn't help but to continuously stick her fork to the grilled batter

After we had lunch at HEMA, we went to Angel's place. We were served with lots of snacks by Angel and her little sister, Tasya. There were Dynamic's Pillow Wassant, Union's Red Velvet cake, Food Hall's Japanese crackers, Ketan, and even Marshmallows. At first, it was like heaven to me, but then Angel's little sister said, "You can't go home before you finish all of the food." Good Lord, what mess did I got myself into?

We were forced to finish all these food

HEMA Dutch Resto

Jl. Kemang Pratama Raya 

Blok MM, No 19-20

Kemang Pratama, Bekasi

Phone: (021) 8241 2761

Opening Hours:

Monday - Sunday: 10 AM - 10 PM

Latte Art is Bitter-Sweet

Tulip and Heart Latte Art, by Kak Vandy

It has been a week since I started working at Gudang Rottie as a waitress. Other than the fact that I serve people food and drinks, and recommend buns and bread to customers, I finally able to learn about Latte Art. There are three Baristas, a person who makes drinks, at Gudang Rottie. Kak Ichsan, Kak Vandy, and Kak Rizky are very handy in making latte art, that's why I decided to learn to make latte art from them. 

Latte Art is a method of preparing coffee by pouring some steamed-milk into a shot of espresso. The texture of the steamed-milk and the espresso have to be perfect for drawings to be made. It takes practice to make the simplest design in Latte Art, which is the heart shape. Gudang Rottie's Baristas are very skillful in terms of making Latte Art they mastered making the heart shape, and they can even improvise by making a failed heart shape into a cute fluffy whale. 

Bunny Latte Art, by Kak Rizky

I have been watching those three Baristas do their magic with espresso and steamed milk, and boy can they draw. The technique of making latte art looked very simple to me, but then I decided to give it a shot.

I flunked at my first proper latte art making. I was doing good during the first few second of my first attempt at making Rosetta Latte Art, but then came the wiggly movement I made with my hand. It turned out, Latte Art is not as easy as it looks. "If you're making latte art, you have to let go of your ego," said Kak Rizky, "I even hold my breath when I make latte art." 

Rosetta Latte Art, by Kak Vandy

One time, during my night shift at Gudang Rottie, I decided to practice making latte art with Kak Ichsan. We waited until customers order drinks that we can use to practice our drawing. It seemed like Lady Fortuna was on our side as papers with "Hot Chocolate", "Cafe Latte", and "Cappuccino" written on them kept on arriving at the Baristas' bar. 

At first, I was going to make a heart latte art, but I failed and it turned out sharing the same shape as Teru Teru Bozu (a traditional Japanese rain-caller doll made out of white paper cloth). Then, I was going to make another heart latte art, but the steamed-milk destroyed the texture of the hot chocolate, which made my heart-shaped steamed-milk look like meteorite-dragon-ball. 

Marble Latte Art, by Kak Rizky

The more often I fail at making latte art, the more I want to succeed. Either it be a heart shaped latte art, or a fancy Indian in a cup, I want to be able to draw on espresso with steamed milk. Practice makes prefect, and that is exactly what I intended to do. So, come on down to Gudang Rottie and order yourself a glass of Cafe Latte, for the sake of me pursuing my dream of being able to make latte art!