I Miss Mardin Baklava

Do you miss going out with your friends? I certainly do. Maintaining social and physical distancing is no easy task when you’re someone who values the occasional rendezvous like me. But, we all gotta do what we have to do to keep ourselves healthy at the moment, no? 

What will be the first thing you do when the pandemic is over? I’ve been thinking about that a lot and, boy, there are tons of things I want to do. I would definitely want to catch up with the boyfriend and ask him for a nice warm hug. While we’re at it, maybe we can pay a visit to this particular dessert shop at East Jakarta and unwind with some sweet pastries and Turkish tea. 

The name of the dessert shop is Mardin Baklava, a place where you can get some  authentic Middle Eastern delights in Jakarta. Some people say that Mardin Baklava has the best baklava in town. I can’t say that I disagree, because I had been coming back and forth to that dessert shop before the pandemic existed and, now, I’m craving for some good deal of baklava. That’s how good Mardin Baklava is. 

Despite the fact that Mardin Baklava has no contender in providing the locals with authentic Turkish delights, the sweet pastries that they serve at the shop are made with high quality ingredients, which resulting in a series of high quality dessert as well. I did my research on where else I can get me some authentic baklava here in Jakarta, but the results only leaded me to this particular shop at Jatinegara. 

During my first visit at Mardin Baklava, I was awestruck by their array of various baklava displayed on the counter. They were, if I may say, shining, shimmering, and splendid! The color spectrum was beautiful and captivating. If I didn’t get a hold of myself, I would probably buy one of each just because of how attractive they were. Now, I know how baklava tasted because, back in 2010 when my family and I were still living in Doha, Qatar, I had an easy access to baklava as it was being sold in most supermarkets as one of the country’s staple dessert. What intrigued me the most at Mardin Baklava was this particular dessert named Künefe. Although a portion of this Middle Eastern dessert can cost you most of your weekly allowance, you should definitely give this dessert a try when you have the chance. 

Künefe is a dessert made out of noodle-like pastry, cheese, and sugar-based syrup. The one at Mardin Baklava is quite small and pizza-like you would automatically assume the dullness of this dessert. But, wait until you get a fork and cut through it. When you scrape a bit of the dessert, the generous amount of baked melted cheese layered beneath the noodle-like pastry will stretch so far it’ll stretch all the way to Timbuktu. Now, I know my parents taught me not to play with my food, but Künefe is super fun to play with I couldn’t help myself!

The combination of the thin and crunchy pastry with the gooey and melted cheese is to die for. Despite it being soaked in sugar-based syrup, making the whole being of a Künefe a little too sweet even for my sweet tooth, I love the unique flavor of this dessert - sugary sweet from the syrup, milky and savory from the cheese, and savory and doughy from the pastry. It is so delicious! But, I have to say, the amount of syrup in this dessert is very overwhelming, I always get a sore throat after every Künefe I ate at Mardin Baklava. If you can’t handle sugar like me, you can always opt for your Künefe with less sugar. The staff at Mardin Baklava offered me to modify the dose of sugar in my Künefe, but I settle for the regular sugar because I wanted to know how the dessert would taste like authentically. 

As a personal preference, I would suggest that you indulge on your Künefe with a serving of warm Turkish Tea. Compared to any regular tea you’ll find in the supermarket, Turkish tea is way stronger, thicker, and more bitter. Of course a serving of Mardin Baklava’s Turkish tea comes with some rock sugar for those of you who like your tea sweet. But, would you want an extra dose of sugar after all that Künefe you have? Trust me, it is best to sip on the tea as it is. It’ll help you neutralize all that sugary sweetness from the Künefe you just devoured. 

Sure, you can bring the Künefe home, so that your family can also get a taste of that savory and sweet pastry, but the cheese wouldn’t be as stretchy compared to when it just got out of the oven - as it stiffen when it gets a bit of a cold air. So, if you want to bring something home for the family, always go for the baklava. 

As I mentioned previously, Mardin Baklava has quite the collection of baklava displayed on its’ front counter. When seen with the naked eye, I could spot three types of nut that they use to make their baklava, which are cashew, pistachio, and walnut. Some of them were drizzled on top as a finishing touch to the baklava, while some are hidden beneath the layers of thin filo pastry. I’m pretty sure every baklava has its’ own unique nut flavor, but I’m certain that all of them have the same basic flavor, which are nutty and sweet. 

Compared to the Künefe, baklava is way sweeter. I could only eat a tiny bite of it at a time because of how sweet it is, yet most of the baklavas are already bite-sized. The thin layer of filo pastry gets soggy after being bathe with the sugar-based syrup, making the entire texture of the baklava compact, chewy, and only a little bit crunchy. At Mardin Baklava, you can only get your baklava by the grams instead of buying it individually. They have different types of packaging for the petite dessert, ranging from 100 grams to a kilo, and you can mix it up to your heart’s content. 

I once got me the 100 grams, thinking that it may not be sufficient to feed the whole family, yet I was stand corrected. I asked the staff to mix up my baklava, as long as they’re within my 100 grams limit, and what I got was more than a dozen type of individual baklava in my gift box. The size varies from big to small and it was definitely suffice for my family of seven. We sliced and share the baklava one by one, and we got immediately full after our third baklava because of how sweet and heavy they were. 

During this pandemic, Mardin Baklava is still open for business, both dine in and delivery through Go-Food and Grab Food. I would love to place my order online so that I can cure my longing for its’ delicious and sweet Künefe, but I think I’m going to wait until this whole quarantine thing is over, so that I can enjoy my dessert warm and fresh from the oven. Soon, I hope. 

Mardin Baklava

Jl. Cipinang Jaya Raya, No. 74

RT 008 / RW 007, Cipinang Besar Selatan

Kecamatan Jatinegara, Jakarta Timur - 13410

Opening Hours (Quarantine Period):

MON - SUN: 1 PM - 10 PM

Contact:

+62 821 1203 3331

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Thai Street's Mango Sticky Rice

A few days ago, I finally reunited with my Junior High besties. They go by the name Icha and Dila. The three of us went to Grand Metropolitan Mall to enjoy a new released movie, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - the movie itself was very enjoyable to watch, despite the fact that I'm not a fan of star wars and that I had difficulties determining who is on which side.

We had lunch at Red Suki, but I didn't take any pictures as we were too busy enjoying ourselves and catching up with each other, so there will not be any blog post about the amazing deep fried shrimp I had at the Japanese retaurant. But, me and Dila stopped by at this Thailand restaurant named Thai Street while we were waiting for Icha to finish her gym session. We were looking for a hangout spot as we wait, and we happen to crossed the restaurant. Dila had never tasted Thailand food before, so I just had to grab her arm and pull her to the colorful dining shack.

Dila was very hesitant towards the dessert that I ordered, which is the Mango Sticky Rice. She had her doubt about how mango would go well with sticky rice topped with coconut milk and sprinkles of sesame seed. I personally like it better if it were drizzled by fried mung bean though.

The presentation of the dessert was simple, colorful, and very appealing. It looked similar to the Mango Sticky Rice that I had during my short vacation to Thailand, which was nice. Unfortunately, they didn't have any Thailand mangoes so they used a local mango named harum manis mango instead.

I have to say, even though the dessert taste different than the authentic one in Thailand, it had this Thailand kick in its' bite. Different taste of coconut milk, even though it was nicely sweet and savory at the same time. Similar tasting in terms of sticky rice, both in its' chewy texture and its' sweet aftertaste. As for the mango, it went well with the sticky rice and the coconut milk despite the fact that it is not a Thailand mango.

Turned out, Dila gave the dessert an approve. It may not be her favorite Thailand dish, as it was her first time having Thailand cuisine ever, but it was okay for her. She ended up finishing the mango.  

A&W's Choco Fondant Dessert

A few while ago, I got a special delivery from one of Jakarta's famous fast food restaurant ever existed. No, it's not rumah makan padang - although I have to say that a rumah makan padang deserves a two thumbs up for their super quick and delicious meal - it's from A&W, woohoo!

The packet was wrapped in plastic covers and it got a cute ribbon on top. Inside was ten of A&W's soon-to-be released menu (which you all can now find and enjoy at the restaurant because they have published the dessert already) of chocolate dessert. There were two kinds, one was the Choco Fondant: créme de Tiramisu and the other was the Choco Fondant: créme de Matcha.

The instruction was to heat the chocolate dessert in an oven toaster before indulging, so I did the exact thing to both dessert. After a few minutes, I was welcomed with a delicious and mouth watering smell of dark chocolate, yum.

I took a spoonful of the Choco Fondant: créme de Tiramisu and the gooey chocolate tiramisu inside the chocolate fondant didn't ooze out the way a chocolate lava cake would. The cake itself was very floury and somewhat flavorless with a hint of bitterness, but it went quite nice with the sweet chocolate tiramisu mixture. The white chocolate chip on top of the cake didn't say much as they were merely just a decoration.

Next, I tried the créme de Matcha, which was not my favorite compared to the other dessert for its' weird matcha taste. Unlike the gooey chocolate tiramisu mixture, the matcha inside the cake wasn't in a form of liquid but more of a crumbly almond cream like substance. It didn't taste like matcha to say the least. It got the sweet and bitterness of a matcha, but you can definitely tell that it's not a good one. On the one hand, the cake had the same texture as its' sibling and the almond on top didn't do quite much as well.

If I had to choose between these two, I would definitely go for the créme de Tiramisu. But, if I had to choose what dessert I would have from A&W, I would go for the waffles. Period. 

Homemade Choux

Today, I received a batch of homemade choux from Baruna, my adoptive junior - also known as adik asuh here at the institution. He made the choux all by himself and, boy, did he do a great job at it! 

The homemade choux was puffy and very light - it had this kind of texture and appearance that would deffinitely make me fall for it if someone were to tell me that the choux was bought at some bakery or cake shop. My batch of choux were made yesterday, which explains why the pastry was slightly flabby. 

They were filled with sweet cream that was very sweet and foamy. For me, the cream has this sickening kind of sweetness if you consume it too much. Yet, for Gita (my dorm mate whom I share the choux with), it was fine and dandy. The inner part of the choux was soggy from making contact with the cream. A bit disturbing because I don't like soggy pastry, but it was still enjoyable and delicious.

I'm giving a 7 out of 10 for these homemade choux! I would definitely add another one and a half if the choux was served fresh from the oven and the cream was thicker and more custardy. 

P.S. Happy Belated Birthday, Baruna! I wish you all the good things in the world. And thank you for the homemade choux, they were lovely! 

P.P.S. Pardon the lack of good quality in those pictures I used in the post. The lighting in my barrack did no justice to the choux. 

Homemade Es Teler

Es Teler is a well known traditional fruit cocktail in Indonesia. You can mostly find this dessert at every Indonesian restaurants. It is very simple to make this fruit cocktail, as you just need to combine various fruits with condensed milk. The basic ingredients to make Es Teler are avocado, coconut meat, cincau (or grass jelly), jackfruit, coconut milk, condensed milk, syrup, and sugar but it's okay if you want to use other ingredients like I did. 

In this post, I will show you a super easy step-by-step tutorial on how to make one for yourself. Do take notes that I didn't include any measuring of the ingredients because I just made the dessert based on my liking. Don't be afraid to experiment!

Ingredients:

- Avocado

- Coconut

- Kolang-kaling

- Syrup

- Condensed milk

- Ice cubes

How to Make:

- slice the avocado into two and scoop out the meat into a bowl

- prepare your coconut by separating the coconut water and the coconut meat into different bowl

First, you cut the upper part of the coconut, then pour the coconut water into a big bowl. Then, cut the coconut into two, and scoop out the meat. 

- prepare your kolang kaling

It doesn't have to be kolang kaling. I used this particular canned fruit because I couldn't find any grass jelly and jackfruit at the Supermarket. It worked just fine, and it tasted delicious as well.

- make your punch 

Simply mix the condensed milk with sugar, water, and syrup. You might want to be careful when you combine the ingredients because you have to taste the punch whether it tasted creamy and sweet, or tasteless because you pour too much water in it. 

When all of the ingredients are all prepared, take out your bowl and put everything in it. Put in the avocado, coconut meat, kolang kaling, the condensed milk mixture, and some ice cubes and voila! your very own Es Teler. Very easy to make, right? 

Colette & Lola: Cakes & Dreams

Picture taken from Colette & Lola

All pilot courses in my school got a very special long weekend from our instructors, making us able to spend four days in a row catching up with friends and family. Now, why would I spend all those precious hours slouching around and stuffing myself with potato chips if I could go out and have food-ventures with my buddies? 

On Monday, my best friends and I made our way to Moe's Place and Collete & Lola. Since I have wrote my reviews about Moe's Place a few times, I shall focus on Colette & Lola in this post. 

Colette & Lola is a new cake shop located in Senopati that emphasizes its' "Cakes & Dreams" theme. The cake shop is very very beautiful with all its' colorful decorations and adorable interior design, it will remind you of Katy Perry's "California Gurls". I was completely mesmerized as I walked into the cake shop, my eyes were opened wide and I couldn't find a way to reattached my lips together. 

Left to Right: Icha, Me (Kinan), Sally, and Angel

We ordered three cakes in advance, which were Call Me Panda, My Lady Grey, and I See Green. Those cakes looked very very pretty and well decorated. All of them were very appealing and eye-catching I almost didn't have the heart to eat them if it weren't for my grumbling tummy. 

Left to Right: Call Me Panda, I See Green, My Lady Grey

My Lady Grey

"It's a combination of chocolate and Earl Grey tea," said the lady in the counter. I have never tasted such combination before, so I decided to give it it a try.

Beneath the thick layer of Bavarian Earl-grey-infused cream was a chunk of Valrhona Caramelia Chocolate cake with crunchy bits of nuts at the bottom layer. The cake was not that sweet, very suitable for those who are not into sweet dessert, and it had that hint of tea flavor and aroma. My Lady Grey had a lovely five-star-like appearance, with all its' chocolate decoration and toppings, but I have to say that it's not my favorite.

Call Me Panda

Glazed in dark chocolate ganache. Topped with panda-shaped chocolate. Crunchy butter biscuit as its' foundation. Who wouldn't love this cake? 

Call Me Panda is my personal favorite. Under the cake was a thick and crunchy butter biscuit that tasted delicious and addicting. Inside the black goo was a delightful fluffy Chocolate Bavarian Cream that enveloped a layer of Vanilla Creme Brulee Cream and Dark Chocolate Cake. Those component worked well with each other. It's a favorite at Colette & Lola, so you might wanna order the cake in advance before it sold out.  

I See Green

I'm not a big fan of green tea flavored food, so I have to say no to this cake. But, according to Angel and Sally, who are big fans of green tea, the cake was nice. 

Inside the gooey green dome was a Japanesse Green Tea Mousse that covers a chunk of Red Bean Ganache and Black Sesame Sponge Cake, while underneath the whole dessert was a layer of Sesame Biscuit. Bitterness dominates the cake's flavor, but a hint of light sweetness and green tea flavor was found. Doesn't the cake reminds you of Mike Wazowski from Disney's Monster Inc. ?

Other than cakes, they also serve Pop-cakes, Macaroon, and Cupcakes. Prices varies from Rp10.000,00 to Rp32.000,00 for dessert, and Rp140.000,00 to Rp260.000,00 for big-sized cakes. Plus, they also let you keep this pretty booklet that has pictures of the products, woohoo!

Colette & Lola

Jalan Senopati Raya, No. 64

Jakarta 12190

Phone: (021) 2900 7997

Business Hours:

Everyday: 10 AM - 10 PM

Website // Twitter // Facebook

P.S. 
All photos taken were edited with VSCOcam in iPhone. It's an awesome application, you might want to give it a try.

Biella's Tiramisú

A while ago, when I was at Doha, Qatar, my parents and I paid a visit to Biella for dinner. Biella here is a favorite Italian restaurant of ours that we regularly visit from time to time. One night, after we stuffed ourself with Ravioli and Veal, Mom, Dad, and I decided to order a plate of Tiramisú for dessert to be shared among the three of us. It was the best decision that we made that day.

The Tiramisú was square in shape, decorated with half of a Strawberry and a piece of chocolate. Dusted with cocoa powder and powdered sugar on the side, this particular Italian trifle consisted of "Biscotti fingers soaked in Espresso, layered with sweet Mascarpone Cream". The Italian dessert is very fragile, judging from the fact that the whole cake vibrated when I accidently hit the table with my knee. Mom, Dad, and I were mesmerized.

29 Qatari riyals was spent for this Tiramisú. It's pretty expensive for a cake. But, if I were Dad, I would not regret every single riyal I spent on that cake. Biella's Tiramisú is the real deal! It's a genuine Tiramisú!

The Biscotti that was soaked in Espresso was very light and fluffy, the bitterness and the acidic taste of the Espresso was very strong. On the other hand, the Mascarpone cream was as light as feathers. It was sweet, slightly cheesy, and very creamy. 

Biella's version of Tiramisú melts in your mouth the moment it enters your mouth! Seriously, it did! "Oh wow, how do you describe this cake," said Dad, "it actually melts in your mouth!". Even my Dad couldn't lie about how delicate and fragile the cake was. 

To be honest, words escape me to describe the perfection of Biella's Tiramisú. It's just that good. 

Biella

The Mall D-Ring Road, Old Airport

Doha, Ad Dawnah, Qatar

Phone: (+974) 4467-7732

Hours: 10 AM - 12 AM

Koi Restaurant & Gallery

Last night, my parents and I had dinner at this restaurant in Kemang named Koi Restaurant & Gallery. We had dinner with my Dad's friends, along with their family. The food there was great, both in presentation and taste! I heard the waitress mentioned something about the owner of the restaurant is French and the chef is Belgian. "No wonder," I said to myself. With delicious European food, comes a spine-chilling price. The price of the food varies from Rp60.000,00 to Rp150.000,00.

For starter, I had me some Grilled Brie and Smoked Beef Salad. It was Tante Poppy's appetizer, but she decided to share it with us. The lettuce was crisp and juicy, while the smoked beef and the grilled brie melted together into an epic foodart. This salad was nice, but it would be nicer if it were sandwiched between a pair of freshly toasted Seven Grain Bread.

Grilled Brie and Smoked Beef Salad

I ordered myself a glass of Strawberry Banana Smoothie, instead of the usual fat-burning low-calories Lemon Mint. Why? This is because I came to the restaurant to eat, not to jog a mile on a Treadmill. 

The Strawberry Banana Smoothie was not as milky and heavy as I thought it would be, which is a bit of a letdown. Smoothies should be heavy, thick, milky, fattening, and nauseating, but Koi's smoothie was rather icy and watery. I'm guessing that they used one ripe banana, five strawberries, two shots of fresh milk, and a bucketful of ice. Even though my cold beverage was not as milky as I hoped it would be, it was still refreshing. The strawberry dominate the flavor, while the crushed ice dominate the texture of the drink.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie

I have been having the urge to have cheese sandwich these past few days and the closest thing to cheese sandwich in the restaurant's menu was a Classic Burger. It comes with your selection of cheese, such as gruyere, emmenthal, cheddar, or blue cheese, with an extra Rp5.000,00 to the price tag. I settled down for the famous Switzerland-originated cheese, the emmenthal. Emmenthal, ladies and gentleman, is the famous cheese in the cartoon series Tom & Jerry that has holes on it. 

My Classic Burger came with some french fries and crisp greens. The burger bun was chewy and brick-like on the outside. Its' outer part reminds me of the famously stiff French bread. The amount of the melted emmenthal in my Classic Burger was surprisingly ungenerous. A thick and nicely grilled beef patty was sandwiched neatly between the stiff buns. But there were also some greens and a couple slices of tomato, which I had to put aside, because what's the point of putting veggies in a burger? 

The meat patty was juicy, although not that well-done, because I noticed the inner pink color as I took a bite. The juicy meat blended well with the stiff buns, giving me the idea that my Classic Burger tasted better than Burger King's burger. I enjoyed every bite of it!

Classic Burger with Emmenthal Cheese

Homemade Belgian Fries

The word "Red Fruit Pavlova" caught my attention. I have never tried a Pavlova before, I merely see the dessert on Tv, so I decided to give it a try. 

Having Pavlova for dessert was the best idea I had for the day! A few minutes after I placed my order, a waitress came to our table and serve me the breathtaking dessert. It was big, nicely decorated, beyon tempting, and simply irresistible. The crunchy meringue was topped with a generous amount of whipped cream, Vanilla Ice Cream and Strawberry Sorbet, sliced strawberries, and strawberry sauce. 

I took a spoon and scoop the meringue, along with the decorations. I thought Pavlova would share the same texture with Macaroons, but I stand corrected. They might look alike, but Macaroons are softer and chewier, while Pavlova is crunchy and stiff. The meringue was crunchy and super sweet, but the Vanilla ice cream helped neutralizing the flavor. The dessert was beyond sweet, I adore it!

Red Fruit Pavlova

Can you resist such dessert?

Mom had a plate of Grilled Veal Tongue, which I ended up almost finishing, because she had a few drinks that made her felt full. Those soft and chewy tongue was delicious! It came with a generous amount of crisp greens and roasted potatoes with bacon bits. The sauce underneath the tongues was savory and sweet, and had a hint of curry as well.

The sight of Mom's dinner

Grilled Veal Tongue

Those were what I had for dinner at Koi Restaurant & Gallery. There were almost a dozen of us and there were other dishes that was ordered as well, such as Lasagna and Fried Calamary. All of them were delicious, we finished everything and stayed at the restaurant for hours merely to chat and catch up on things.

Fried Calamari

Beef Lasagna

Fish & Chips

Cheese Quesadilla 

Seafood Fried Rice

Dory Fish Meurniere

Grilled Beef Tenderloin

Three Kinds Melted Chocolate Cake

To have dinner at Koi Restaurant & Gallery is a must try, especially when you're dinning with your friends and family. True, the food here are a high-priced, but I see nothing wrong in enjoying yourselves once in a while!

Koi Restaurant & Gallery

Jalan Kemang Raya 72, Kemang

Jakarta 

Phone: (021) 719 5667