Bratkartoffeln

One of my favorite dishes that Mom makes is this German-style fried potatoes named Bratkartoffeln. The speciality of this fried potatoes is that they were boiled before they were fried. The boiling was done so that the potatoes will be firm and chewy, yet crispy on the sides. It's just how the texture of the dish should be. 

Mom usually makes Bratkartoffeln with some bacon bits because, other than the fact that the bacon lets out lard a-plenty that makes the dish tasted more awesome, just because. Cooked with a block of butter and layers of onion, alongside crispy and savory bacon bits, this foreign dish is lip-smacking in so many levels! 

Bratkartoffeln

Now, let me remind you that my Mom usually doesn't cook by the book, she prefer to go with the flow when she cooks, as in "cook a handful-of-this for as-long-as-I-want-as-long-as-it-looks-good-and-taste-great" instead of following the exact recipe. So, here's my Mom's version of the recipe to make a bucketful of tongue-lashing Bratkartoffeln!

(Note: This dish serves 10, best to be cooked for a party or a family gathering. So, if you're cooking for 3, you might want to cut down the amount of the ingredients.)

Ingredients:

- 14 potatoes (the quality of the potato affects the quality of the dish) 

- 1 block of salted butter

- 1 garlic (but if you love garlic, you can add some more)

Cooking Utensil:

- big pot (to boil the potatoes)

- big non-stick frying pan (to fry the potatoes)

- wooden spatula (you don't want to scratch the surface of the frying pan, do you?)

- knife 

How to Make:

- Clean them potatoes!

You have to wash the potatoes because they are dirty. They were pulled from the earth, God-knows what kind of substance made contact with the potatoes, and we are in doubt whether the guy form the market cleansed them or not, so don't take the risk by not cleaning them. You don't want to indulge on pesticides, do you? 

- Boil the potatoes in medium heat for 15 minutes. 

Don't set the fire too big, you would end up with mushy potatoes. 

- When the potatoes are done being boiled, let them cool for a bit and slice them.

It's up to you whether you want to make thin slices or vice versa. My Mom usually slice them around half a centimeter because the thinner, the crispier, the chewier, the better. 

- Wash your garlic and slice them around half a centimeter as well.

- Take out your big non-stick frying pan and set the fire to low-medium heat.

- When the frying pan has heat up, put some sliced garlic into it and fry them for a minute. 

- Quickly grab your butter, cut one fifth of it, and put it in the frying pan.

If you like your potatoes buttery, don't be shy to add some more. As the butter melts and fuse with the garlic, they will make a sizzling sound and let out a gorgeously delicious aroma. 

- Stir quickly for around 2 minutes, until the garlic slightly change its' color.

- Put in the sliced potatoes and fry them for around 30 minutes until the potatoes are golden brown in color.

Be careful when you're frying the potatoes, as they are fragile and brittle. You don't want to stir too often and aggresively, otherwise your fried potatoes will end up mashed. 

- As the potatoes change their color, slowly flip them to their other sides so that they well evenly fried. 

- When you end up with firm and chewy fried potatoes, with crispy brown skin on its' side and dark yellow color in the middle, you have succeed at making your very own Bratkartoffeln! 

See? It wasn't too hard to cook yourself some German-style fried potatoes, right? As long as you enjoy cooking and experimenting with new stuff, you will have an excellent dish as an outcome! Now, go eat that Bratkartoffeln of yours and enjoy the evening. Trinksprüche!

Mandel: Heiße Schokolade

On my last day in Munich, Germany, I bought myself a pack of chocolate at the international airport. The unique packaging of the chocolate caught my attention. Inside the plastic wrap was a light-colored wooden spoon enveloped by a chunk of chocolate. There were two flavors available, which were almond and cinnamon. As a person who doesn't fancy cinnamon that much, I decided to go with the almond.  

The sight of the chocolate-coated spoon at a souvenir shop in Munich International Airport

It was drawn on the back of the packaging about how to consume the chocolate. All you need is, other than the chocolate itself, is a glass of hot milk. You only have to dip the chocolate inside the milk and stir until the chocolate melt. 

"How to Drink the Chocolate"

It was raining at that time, when I decided to make myself a glass of hot milk. I unwrapped the chocolate from its' packaging and dip it into the tongue-burning white substance. I stirred and stirred and stirred until the almond flavored chocolate melted and the white milk turned chocolate. To be honest, it was one of the best hot chocolate I have ever drank. It was creamy, hot, had a hint of almond, chocolaty, and super fattening.. but I don't care, because it was delicious!

The chocolate that I saved for a rainy day

Oktoberfest at Grand Indonesia

As you all know, this year's Oktoberfest has come to an end on the seventh day of October and will be continued next year around late September. Luckily for us, Indonesian, or Jakartan to be exact, we don't have to wait until late September and book a ticket to Munich to attend the annual beer festival because there is, or was, an Oktoberfest at Grand Indonesia for two straight days. I was able to attend the beer festival on its' last day, which is today! I had fun, ate lots of pork, and played the Beer Pong Game. It was fun while it lasted!

The Oktoberfest that was held at Grand Indonesia, on the fifth floor of the West Mall, was a collaboration event between Paulaner Brauhaus and Die Stube. Those two restaurant are examples of the so many German restaurant that you can visit in Jakarta. Today was the last day of the festival and I managed to join in the fun with my Mom, my aunt, my friend, Angel, and my cousin, Nuning. Although Jakarta's version of Oktoberfest is not as awesome as the one in Munich, it was still fun and entertaining.

Starting off with buying vouchers. The procedure is new for me as those who wished to have a plate of Pork Knuckle or Sauerkraut are obliged to have vouchers with them instead of money. You could buy the vouchers at the cashier for Rp10.000,00 each. When we acknowledged the only thing that we can trade a voucher with is a pretzel, we decided to buy lots of it.

The vouchers that you use to get food

We started with a plate of Pork Knuckle that costed us five vouchers. The Pork Knuckle came with a side dish, which is sauerkraut, or sour cabbage. I was disappointed by the fact that the pork knuckle was only as big as my fists combined. But it tasted delicious though! The meat was very easy to chew and there were not covered in fat like how I expected they would be. And the crispy skin was beyond crispy and savory, and oily too! 

Grilled Pork Belly for Rp50.000,00, or five vouchers

Our plate of Pork Knuckle with sauerkraut

Then we proceed to the next dish, which is pretzel! Again, I was very disappointed with the food. Aside from the fact that the pretzel looked malnourished, it didn't have any sea salts on it! Those pretzel looked much more like shaped bread to me. It even share the same texture like kneaded bread, soft and chewy, instead of as-hard-as-brick on the outside and soft on the inside like how pretzel are supposed to be. The pretzel tasted funny, but it was not that bad. I ended up buying another piece, to be honest.

Lines of soft-bread-like pretzel

The pretzel that tasted amusing

There were three kinds of sausages at the Oktoberfest, which were Pork, Beef, and Chicken. What kind of people are we for ordering a plate of Chicken sausage on Oktoberfest? We sticked with the Pork sausage, a.k.a. the bratwurst that costed us three coupons. 

The bratwurst were big and juicy. They were nicely grilled, until the outer layer, which is the skin that wrapped the entire meat, harden. Now, inflexible sausage skin is a good thing because genuine German sausages have tough and crunchy skin that pop when you penetrate it with your fangs. As the skin breaks, savory fluids and oil will come out from the sausage and filled your mouth with glorious flavor that would make your taste bud goes, "MANNA FROM HEAVEN!" I was satisfied with the bratwurst I got myself a second serving with Potato Salad as its' side dish.

A tray of  bratwurst being grilled

A portion of bratwurst 

What is Oktoberfest without beer, right? My Mom, along with my aunt, Angel, and Nuning, got themselves a glass of beer, while I sticked with a bottle of mineral water. They had a glass of Kilkenny, an authentic Red Beer that originated from Ireland. I took a sip of my Mom's beer, hoping that it would taste nice and preferable to my liking, but it was bitter and tasteless as usual. Sometimes, I wonder what would life be if I like beer. 

A funny thing happened when Angel and I were buying the beer! The bartender was being chatty and asked about where we go to college and stuff. Angel said that she goes to UIC college and that she is going to UK someday. Then the bartender said, "UK is in America, right?". We were speechless. If this were a story in a manga, there would be ". . ." written on my bubble speech and sweat drops on our foreheads. As a person who suck at world mapping, I am aware about UK being the United Kingdom, thank you very much!

A glass of Kilkenny

There was a Beer Pong Game that can be played if one owns a game coupon that can be gained from buying five vouchers at the cashier. We got lots of game coupons that can be spent, so we got ourselves ready and started throwing ping pong balls. The game was pretty easy though, we only have to throw a ping pong ball into a cup filled with water. The three of us won three drinks each, and Angel won a Pizza e Birra voucher. 

Let the Beer Pong Game begin!

A bottle of Teh Botol and a can of Guinness Beer

Pizza e Birra Voucher

Even though Angel and I had eaten a plate of Pork Knuckle, we were still hungry for more, so we decided to try the Pomme Frites. They were plain deep-fried sliced potato, but they were very delicious and amusing for some reason. Those deep-fried potato are glazed with chilly sauce, mayonnaise, and tomato sauce, and we devoured them in less than half an hour.

The sight of the potato being deep-fried

A cup of Pomme Frites

We couldn't just leave before we have dessert, so Angel and I went to the dessert section and bought ourselves a plate of German Chocolate Cake. It was a petite fudgy chocolate cake, glazed in vanilla sauce and chocolate sauce, served with a small amount of whipped cream. The cake was warm and fudgy. One mouthful of that German dessert could fly you to the moon. It tasted so good, it tasted even better if you eat it with a scoop of Vanilla ice cream.

Angel's German Chocolate Cake

Later on, Nuning and I went over to the dessert section and ordered ourselves a plate of Apple Strudel. The apple-filled pastry was glazed with various sauce, same like the German Chocolate Cake, but the chef didn't gave us whipped cream. The pastry tasted delicious, but it was too sweet and cinnamon-like for my liking.

Nuning's Apple Strudel

And by that, our adventure at the Oktoberfest came to an end. We strolled around the mall and paid a visit to a bazar that sold Indonesian products. There were handmade clothes and shoes, soaps that smelled like chocolate cake, funky earings with drawings of the Eiffel Tower on it, ice cream rings, and many more. There were even homemade delicacies being sold at the corner of the bazar area.

The one that caught my attention was Cake in a Jar, which is, obviously, a cake inside a jar. Now, this particular product is rather popular. I have been wanting to try one of Cake Velvet's Cake in a Jar ever since I saw a picture of them on Twitter. They have lots of unique flavor of cakes, such as Cotton Candy, Caramel Beer, Baileys Tiramisu, and even Hot Chocolate Marshmallow. I got my eyes set for those petite jars of Hot Chocolate Marshmallow cakes. I hesitated at first because they were very expensive, but I would eventually buy them in the future, so why wait?

Cake in a Jar

The sight of Cake in a Jar's booth

I collected my jar of cake

I got my eyes on those Hot Chocolate Marshmallow cake

I bought myself the Hot Chocolate Marshmallow cake for Rp35.000,00. I opened the jar and share the cake with everybody. The chocolate cake was topped with a generous amount of cream cheese and some marshmallows. I ate the marshmallows first, which tasted chewy and sweet, then I began to devour the sweet chocolate crumbs that lies at the bottom of the golden jar. Since I didn't know the proper way to eat it, I mixed the entire thing and scooped it up in my mouth... AND THE CAKE TASTED SUPER DELICIOUS! Pardon my caps lock.

The chocolate cake is very moist and delicious, it went well perfectly with the cream cheese. A spoonful of that cake tasted like Disneyland, while the other spoonful tasted like Saturn's rings. I didn't regret buying Cake Velvet's Cake in a Jar as they were really lip-smacking.

My cake (left) and Angel's cake (right)

A jar of Hot Chocolate Marshmallow and Caramel Beer 

That pretty much sums up my Saturday night. I ate pork and I ate cake, and I'm a very happy girl. It was fun being able to attend the Oktoberfest with my friend and family, and I'm hoping that I could join in the fun next year. 

Cake Velvet - Cake in a Jar

Deutschland Über Alles: Au Revoir, Munich!

Ony a few hours left before I left the motherland of beer. After I washed myself and packed my things, I went downstairs, to the hostel's cafeteria, and had my last bagel-wich. This time, I ate a round bagel with sesame seeds decoratin the outer skin. Filling it with, of course, different kinds of cheese and sliced meat, then I started munching. As I savor the crusty bagel and the juicy meat, I was wretched by the fact that it would by my last bagel for the time being.

My last bagel-wich

The sound of my luggage being dragged echoed around the hostel's lobby. As soon as we checked out, we said goodbye to the hostel that has a very funky popcorn machine and prepared ourselves to ride a train to the airport. I made a quick stop at a pastry shop located at the train station and bought myself a big chocolate chips cookie. But of course, we can't forget about the high-tech vending machine, so I paid my last visit and bought two packs of Haribo gummy candy.

The petite pastry corner

My disc-sized chocolate chips cookies

Smurfs Haribo, woohoo!

Who could resist these sour worms?

Remember Louis, my Dad's friend who looked like Iron Man? Before we grab a trolly and check in at Qatar Airways flight counter, my parents and I visited his office that was located near the airport, only a train-ride away. Iron Man, apparently, worked at Lufthansa as a flight planner. He gave us a tour around the headquarters, and even stopped by at the cafeteria to drink some juice and eat ice cream, his treats. He even gave me a bar of chocolate! It was a very cool place, I felt like I'm in WHOOP Headquarters.

A bottle of mineral water and a glass of apple juice, Louis' treats

Three flavored ice cream sandwich

That ice cream was so good

A bar of Duplo Chocolate

Unfortunately, Louis was very busy that day, so we had to say goodbye and let the man of steel do his duty. We still had four hours to spend before our flight to Doha, Qatar, so we backpacked around the airport. The airport, you see, is really big. Even the terminals are separated into two buildings. I visited a lot of souvenir shops because I haven't bought any for my friends and myself. There, I found lots of unusual stuff worth to spend money on, for example the Chocolate Spoon. This chocolate, ladies and gentleman, is attached at the end of a wooden spoon and it is designed that way so that we can make an instant hot chocolate out of it. Cool, huh? We just have to pour some fresh hot milk into a cup and stir it with the chocolate spoon. Later on, the chocolate will melt and voila! your hot cocoa is ready to be indulged. I couldn't help but to buy me one of those genius spoons.

It came in two different flavors, almond and cinnamon

Then, I found another product made by a genius, which is Magnum ice cream. Now, this ice cream over here does not exist in Indonesia, and it was my first time to see such flavor. "Magnum Infinity" was written on the packaging. As a person who love to try new things, I bought myself a pack and undress it. I was welcomed by a solid chocolate-covered ice cream. I took a bite and I understood why its' name is "infinity". Infinite chocolate, baby!

To infinity and beyond!

And by "infinity", they meant "chocolate infinity"

I'm sad by the fact that there is no Magnum Infinity here in Indonesia,

"See if you can find any pork for lunch," said Dad. I went full-bloodhound and immediately spotted a restaurant that has lots of pork, including wurst and pork knuckle. Mom and Dad ordered a plate of Pork Knuckle, served with a ball of potato dumpling, and a bowl of salad topped with bacon pieces. Of course they ordered beer as well. We shared the pork knuckle, and it didn't take an hour for us to finish the whole thing. It was beyond delicious! The gravy was deliciously savory, the meat was nicely cooked, crispy pork skin everywhere, what more could you expect?

The refreshing and juicy sour salad

That pork knuckle is way bigger than my fist

Big-boned pork, with its' thick meat, we devour it all

Only a couple of hours left before the staff lady told us to board the aircraft, I spent the remaining time I and the remaining euros I had left buying more food and eating them. It's a bout time you go, "Damn, this kid is an eating machine!". I had a pretzel, some more sausages, and a loaf of sour-dough bread. I even bought myself another stick of ice cream that tasted like fruit syrup and fireworks. No, seriously! The top of the ice cream was filled with pop rocks candy, and it literary popped and exploded like fireworks in your mouth, minus the fire that is. That was a really funky ice cream!

Bought myself a pretzel because of reasons

A bag of sausages and sour-dough loaf

"X-POP with Fizzy Effect" sounds awesome, huh?

It tasted like fireworks

"Passengers are welcome to board the aircraft," said a lady on a speaker. The next thing I know, I was on my seat sitting like a good and polite passenger, munching on crackers that was given to me by one of the stewardess.

I love the pillow-shaped cracker the most

It was a six hour flight from Munich to Doha. I spent the entire hours watching Tv series from the in-flight movies. Two Broke Girls, New Girl, Glee, The Universe, Raising Hope, I watched them all. When I got bored, I turned on my iPhone and played Epic Meal Time's game, in which we are commanded to feed the sauce bauss with only meat and liquor, and the game will be over if we feed him with veggies. My kind of game. 

A couple hours before the plane landed, the stewardess came with a food tray and handed us our dinner. The choice was between chicken and fish. I was in the mood for some nicely fried fish, so I didn't chose the poultry. It's a good thing Mom ordered the chicken, that way I could taste how nice the other meal was.

Mom's chicken that tasted delicious

"Here's your fish," said the lovely Caucasian steward. My meal tray was filled with numerous kinds of food I got flustered a little bit. There were my plate of fish with some mashed potatoes and spinach, a bowl of lentil, a small bagel, crackers with some butter and cheese, Toblerone chocolate, a piece of chocolate cake, a glass of mineral water, and a glass of apple juice. They all looked tasty, so I made sure I tasted each and every one of them. 

My tray of dinner

The lentil was very fresh and nutty. It was bathe in some kind of sour broth, along with some slices of bell peppers and purple cabbage. It was my first time eating lentil, and it wasn't that bad. I like it, actually. I think it would be great if we can eat it with some rice and nicely grilled fish.

A bowl of lentil

The fish was also delicious. Perfectly cooked, the meat was white, and it was soft. The spinach was creamy, and it's a good thing it didn't dominated the whole plate because I was not in the mood to be a vegetarian.

My plate of fish bathe in gravy

The three-layers chocolate cake was a bit hard for me to enjoy as it has strawberry jam on each layers. But the whipped cream, on the other hand, was delightful. If only I can ask for more whipped cream and less strawberry jam on the chocolate cake, I would give that dessert a two thumbs up.

Chocolate cake with whipped cream

Last but not least, the crackers. I ate the crackers with some cheese, making it look fancy and tea-time-snack-like. In my opinion, crackers and cheese spread as math made in heaven. They blend with each other well, not to mention each foodstuff complete the other, which make the whole thing very delicious and enjoyable.

Biscuits and fancy cheese for dessert

"Flight crew please be seated for landing," said a steward over the speaker. Soon, I was walking down the airplane and putting my backpack through the scanner. 

My experience in Munich was awesome and epic! I ate lots and lots of delicious food, especially pork. I met a lot of people, most of them were drunk and wasted. I spent a lot of money on food and I didn't regret a thing, I repeat, I didn't regret a thing. I gained three kilos after my four-days-stay at Munich and I'm okay with it. Let's just hope that, next year, I can get another chance to visit Munich and stuff myself with some wurst and pomme frites.