Excelso's Cup of Cappuccino

A few months ago, I met a friend of my friend who worked as a Barista at Excelso in Summarecon Mall Bekasi. He was very kind for letting me try out the espresso machine that they have at the counter. The machine was less complicated than the one I used at Gudang Rottie, not that hard to operate, and rather small. Unlike Gudang Rottie, where we have to do things manually to make a cup of Joe, we can let the water flow from the water reservoir to the steam wand with a press of a button. The usage of instant coffee capsules is common at Excelso, which, in my opinion, was a let-down because I prefer my coffee is made from fresh ground coffee beans. 

On the other hand, the presentation of the beverage was very simple, yet beautiful. All of the cups and plates were plain white, but the design was somewhat unique; for example, the beverage coaster that they use had that typical round corner where you put the cup on, but instead of located at the center of the coaster, it was slightly around the edge - hence, the space available to put a small cookie on it.

I ended up making a glass of Cappuccino for myself because my friend said that he ran out of Hazelnut syrup to make me a glass of Hazelnut Latte. I worked the gizmo and voila! a cup of coffee at two hours before midnight. It had been a long time since the last time I made latte, so I ended up with a rather weak foam to work with. I asked for Caramel syrup and a thermometer to my friend, but he didn't have any, so I had to improvise with the edge of a spoon. Not much that I could do, so I ended up with a simple flower petal as the design. Very simple, you only have to pull lines from whichever angle that you favor. 

The coffee tasted bitter and dull, even after I added two spoonful of sugar in it. I still prefer Gudang Rottie's Joe than Excelso's. 

Excelso's cup of Cappuccino

Excelso 

Summarecon Mall Bekasi

Ground Floor FB #107

Jl. Jendral Sudirman

Bekasi 

Phone: (021) 2957 2545

Opening Hours: 

10 AM - 10 PM

The Golden Ring

Made my way back to Gudang Rottie after a long-month-crave of its' deliciously bitter sweet Hazelnut Latte. I ordered my cup of coffee hot and with Golden Ring. For those who don't know what Golden Ring is, it is the very simple form of latte art where you only need to put the foam at the center of the cup, leaving a small amount of Espresso on the sides of the cup untouched. Notice that thin line of dark brown circle on the edge of the cup, and the area-consuming white foam filling the center part? That is what you called a Golden Ring. By having my latte with Golden Ring, I could draw whatever I want on my latte with the help of Caramel sauce and thermometer. 

A few months ago, I stumble across an Instagram account that posted a simple, yet beautiful, latte art photo. It's owned by a she and her name is @Nicolenikoko. She posted a picture of a snow flake drawing on her cup of latte, which was very pretty and adorable. I had been wanting to draw that particular design on my latte, but I couldn't seem to find my way back to Gudang Rottie until a couple of days ago. 

I finally managed to draw a snow flake on my latte. My first attempt was okay, but I will draw it better when I'm back for another cup of Hazelnut Latte. Needless to say that the coffee was strong and bitter, thankfully not sour, and sweet from the Hazelnut syrup. 

Gudang Rottie

Rukan Villa Jatbening Tol

Kav. 4A, Bekasi 17412

PhoneL (021) 9737 2883

Opening Hours:

Monday - Sunday: 6 AM - 10 PM

Fruit Dream Tea

Yesterday, I made my way back to Gudang Rottie after almost two months not stepping a foot to the restaurant. Nothing much have change, only some addition to the menu and a new look on the pastry display. What caught my attention was the selection of tea that was totally different compared to the one I remembered. The barista usually use tea bags to serve tea, but this time, they used an acorn-shaped tea infuser. Since I was very curious, I decided to skip coffee and had myself a cup of tea instead. 

Gudang Rottie's Fruit Dream Jar

"We don't use tea bag anymore, we use a more unique tools this time," said Kak Fandy, one of the barista. There were small jars organized on the bar counter, four of them with different names on each jar. There were "Moroccan Mint", "English Breakfast", "Earl Grey", and five other names which escaped me. I assume those were the name of the tea. As I browse the jars diligently, my attention was caught by one of the jars with "Fruit Dream" written on it. I handed the jar to Kak Fandy and he straight away made my tea. 

This is what you will find inside the jar

Inside the jar was a pile of dried foodstuff that I'm not familiar with. I could spot some raisins, but I'm not even sure if it is raisin or not. Dried petals, dried leafs, and dried fruit shell is some other examples of things that I managed to observe. The scent of the dried foodstuff was sour and sweet, slightly alike with tamarind.

Those maroon colored dried stuff were then scooped with a spoon and put in inside an acorn-shaped tea infuser, followed by dipping the whole thing inside a cup of hot water. It didn't take long before the transparent beverage changed color into dark magenta. The aroma that came out from the beverage was sweet and cherry-like, unlike the one in the jar. When the tea is properly infused, I stirred it and took a sip. 

The sight of the tea infuser

Fruit Dream Tea tasted like cherry. Period. It had that sweetness of a cherry - not like a cough-syrup, but more like an actual cherry fruit - even though sour dominated the flavor. I didn't add any sugar to my tea to emphasize the original tang. I was entertained and amused by how the taste of the tea turned out. 

Enjoy your cup of Fruit Dream Tea

Out for Dinner

A few nights ago, me and my friend, Gita, had dinner at Gudang Rottie. We just got back from Metropolitan Mall after a quick pants-shopping, and we decided to pay a visit to the petite restaurant. It was six in the evening when we arrived. The restaurant was filled with customer buying bread and munching on steak. Luckily, there was an empty table right in front of the cashier, so we sat there and ordered some dishes from the menu.

I ordered myself a glass of Cafe Caramel and a plate of Grilled Cheese Sandwich, while Gita had a plate of Sloppy Joe Burger and a glass of iced tea. Gita, who came all the way from Bandung, was mesmerized by the pastries that was displayed behind her. She ended up buying a pair of Chocolate Danish and a Blueberry Muffin. "I couldn't help myself," she said.

A few minutes after we made our order, our drinks were served. I had me a cup of hot Cafe Caramel, a combination of Espresso, Milk, and Caramel Syrup. It was hot and simply delightful. The coffee was a bit acidic, which means the Espresso was roasted under 26 seconds. It left an acetous aftertaste. It was nice though, but it would be better if the Espresso was roasted, at least, for 26 seconds or so. 

Cafe Caramel

The bittersweet hot beverage

Gita had a plate of Sloppy Joe Burger for dinner. I remember my first plate of Gudang Rottie's Sloppy Joe. The burger was big and juicy, filled with meat patty and melted cheese, along with some pickled cucumber and spicy minced beef. The Sloppy Joe that Gita ate was slightly different. The chef used a different kind of minced beef and sauce, and the burger was spicier. I scoop a spoonful of the chilly sauce from the bun and I was in pain.

Gita's Sloppy Joe Burger

I usually order a burger, or a plate of fried rice, every time I visit Gudang Rottie. But, this time, I was in the mood for some sandwich, so I ordered myself a portion of Grilled Cheese Sandwich. Served with crispy homemade potato chips, the triangle-shaped sandwich was simply delicious! The chef used Seven Grains Bread, Cheddar Cheese, Mayonnaise, and a dash of Pepper. I love the bread, it had a nutty flavor in it, and the Cheddar Cheese merged nicely with the Mayo.

Grilled Cheese Sandwich for dinner

Other than the fact that the sandwich was delicious and stomach-stuffing, the homemade potato chips were beyond scrumptious! They were salty and savory. Crunchy and crispy. They gave an impression of a homemade version of Pringles. Best if you eat them with some bottled Chilly Sauce. 

We spent a couple of hours at Gudang Rottie, enjoying food and exchanging stories. The restaurant was very cozy, and they have free Wifi, making us stayed a bit longer than we expected. It was a nice evening, and I'm looking forward to go back to the restaurant and try some new dishes. 

Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Gudang Rottie

Rukan Villa Jatibening Tol

Kav. 4A, Bekasi 17412

Phone: (021) 9737 2883

Opening Hours:

Monday - Sunday: 6AM - 10PM

Good Roast Mocha

Good Roast Mocha is the name of Gudang Rottie's signature beverage. Combine a shot of Espresso with a glass of steamed Hot Chocolate, then voila! you have yourself a glass of Cafe Mocha. As a person who fancies coffee, I really enjoyed this drink. It tasted milky, chocolaty, and delicious, and it gives an extra point if it happens to be raining outside.

Gudang Rottie's Good Roast Mocha

I was really pleased with the presentation. The drink came in two glasses, one was a cup filled with a combination of Espresso and Chocolate Syrup, and the other was a tall glass full of steamed Hot Chocolate with sprinkles of Cocoa powder on top. The sight of the Hot Chocolate was very amusing. It looked bubbly and milky, and warm as well, it made me want to add some marshmallow in it and put myself in seventh heaven.

 

Bubbly Hot Chocolate

Sprinkles of Cocoa Powder on top

A shot of Espresso and a shot of Chocolate Syrup

I didn't know how to drink the hot beverage, so I asked my friend who happen to be the barista, Kak Rizky. "You have to mix them," he said. "Should I pour all of the hot chocolate," I replied, "or should I pour it bit by bit?". Kak Rizky let me decide on which I should do because it depends on the liking of the drinker. So, I decided to pour them all in. 

As I pour the bubbly hot chocolate into the Espresso, I notice that the hot choco had the perfect texture and density for me to make a latte art. But, the hot choco and the Espresso share the same color, which means the latte art will not be visible even if we succeed at making a Rosetta or a Tulip.

Mix them all together

I have tried Hazelnut Latte and Cafe Caramel before, and I came to like Good Roast Mocha better. When I took a sip, it left a bitter flavor on my tongue, instead of a hint of acid. It means that the Espresso that they used to make this toothsome drink was roasted for at least 26 seconds, which is good. I could taste some coffee bean bits a couple of times. The flavor was well-balanced, it was not too bitter, nor too sweet. 

Good Roast Mocha is a very enjoyable drink. And, if you happen to be one of those people who fancy chocolate, then I recommend you to pay a visit to Gudang Rottie and order this hot beverage.

A nice glass of Good Roast Mocha

Gudang Rottie

Rukan Villa Jatibening Tol

Kav. 4A, Bekasi 17412

Phone: (021) 9737 2883

Opening Hours:

Monday - Sunday: 6AM - 10PM

Birthday Surprises

Dear readers,

I am proud to announce that I am now 18 years of age! 

November 23rd was the day I turned 18. I woke up to a sight of my Mom making Tumpeng in the kitchen. Tumpeng is a cone-shaped rice, with various dishes surrounding the mountain of rice, which is usually consumed by Indonesian during a special event. In this case, my birthday. Indonesian believe that the cone-shaped rice represent the mountains in the land of Java, which is the house of the Gods, and the side dishes surrounding the rice are the things given by the Gods that we harvested. The peak of the Tumpeng is usually cut and gave to the most important person. He, or she, could be the one you love most, the eldest, or simply the birthday girl.

Mom didn't expect me to wake up early (it was half passed ten in the morning. I usually wake up after midday), so she was a bit startled when I asked her about what we were going to have for lunch, on my way to the bathroom. I believe Mom was hoping to finish the Tumpeng before I woke up. But, since I was aready awake, I ended up helping her preparing the dish.

Yellow rice is usually used in the making of Tumpeng. But, since we didn't have any yellow rice, we used red rice instead. This dish is very simple to make, as it consists of cone-shaped rice and various side dishes. Mom started with peeling the tomato and make a rose out of it. 

Rose Tomato, Step #1:

- Posses a kick-ass skill in using knife

Step #2: 

- Peel the tomato in a swirly pattern. If you haven't an idea, you may open YouTube and type "How to Make Tomato Rose".

Slowly peel the tomato

Voila!

Step #3:

- Twirl the Tomato skin round and round, and voila! you just made yourself a Tomato Rose.

Twirl the Tomato..

..and there you have it, a Tomato Rose!

Step #4:

- If you don't have any idea on what to do with the skinless Tomato, you can cut them to pieces and start munching.

Tomato for breakfast

Other than Rose Tomato, my Mom also made a flower with a green tomato. Green tomato are usually used to make chilly paste (sambal), I don't think they taste as sweet as red tomatoes. 

Green Tomato Flower, Step #1:

- Master a more kick-ass skill in using knife.

Step #2:

- Make an X on the skin of the Green Tomato.

Make an X on the green tomato

Step #3:

- Slowly peel the skin. Make sure the inner part of the Green Tomato is detached from the skin.

Peel the skin a bit

Step #4: 

- Pull the skin apart from the inner part a little bit, and there you have it!

A plate of foodstuff for garnishing

One of the side dishes that Mom made to decorate the Tumpeng with was Tempe Orek. Tempe is a chunk of fermented soybean, and in Tempe Orek, it is cut into small pieces and fried with some nuts. Soy sauce and chilly are used in the process of making this dish. Fry the Tempe and the nuts together and you will end up with a bowl of crispy and flavorful dish.

Tempe Orek 

The next dish was Sambal Goreng Kentang. You only need potato, spices, and frying pan to make this dish. First, you diced the potato. Second, fry the potato with the spices. Last, but not least, dig in! 

I love Mom's Sambal Goreng Kentang because it tasted delicious! True, it's a bit spicy for my taste, but I like it. Especially when Mom add some meatballs to the dish, yum!

Sambel Goreng Kentang

Vegetables were also used to decorate the Tumpeng. Mom used four kinds of vegetable, which were bean sprouts, long beans, water spinach, and spinach. They were quickly boiled and mixed with a rubbing named Urab. Urab here is made out of coconut and spices. It tasted savory and a bit salty.

Mixed boiled veggies

Bean Sprouts 

Long Beans

Water Spinach (Kangkung)

Spinach

Put some urab on the mixed veggies.. 

..and mix them all together

Then, Mom took out some flour and corn, and made a batter to make a corn fritter. Indonesian are more familiar with the name Bakwan Jagung, which is Corn Fritter in English. It's basically deep-fried batter with corns in it. You have got to try my Mom's Corn Fritter. They are beyond delicious you ought to want more after you finish a piece.

Corn Fritter (Bakwan Jagung)

Sliced omelette is another side dish that you can found in a Tumpeng. We didn't use many eggs to make the omelette, one is enough. You simply crack an egg open and add some salt into the gigantic cell, and stir it until it's bubbly. Then, you fry the egg mixture with a non-stick frying pan, with low fire. After the egg is nicely fried, roll it and slice it. The next thing you know, the Tumpeng is garnished with eatable confetti. 

Make an omelette with one egg

Roll the omelette and slice it

After the side dishes were prepared, Mom proceed in shaping the red rice. Since we don't have a cone shaper, Mom cunningly used whatever tools that we got to shape the rice. She used a bowl to make the base and a funnel to make the peak. In the end, the Tumpeng didn't share the same shape with a cone, but you would get the idea. 

The base of the Tumpeng

Shaping the peak of the Tumpeng

Red Rice Tumpeng

After the rice was shaped and the side dishes were prepared, it was time to decorate the Tumpeng!

Chiko was curious to see what Mom was doing

Mom, decorating the Tumpeng

Mom made those Tomato Roses

Of course, fried chicken is essential in Tumpeng!

It was midday when Mom finished her creation. What used to be an empty white plate had become a luxurious dish that can feed three people. There was this mountain of red rice, surrounded by colorful side dishes. There were Tomato Roses and Tomato Flower, there were also fried chicken, spicy potato, and greens. The Tumpeng that Mom made was awesome! 

Then, we proceed to destroy the beautiful masterpiece and dig in. I had a spoonful of rice with a little bit of everything. I love every single thing that was on my plate, especially the Bakwan Jagung and the Sambal Goreng Kentang.

And there you have it, a plate of luxurious Tumpeng

Lunch is served!

My Dad couldn't go home on my birthday because he had a simulator test, so he wished me a birthday greeting via Whatsapp and gave me a virtual birthday present on his Tumblr. Thank you, Dad!

After lunch, I got a text message from my colleague at work, saying that I have to drop by at Gudang Rottie, so I did. I arrived at the restaurant and I was overwhelmed. I was welcomed with a plate of red Velvet Cupcake, with a pair of lit-up candles on top. They shook my hand and gave me birthday greetings, and we took picture together. The place was a full-house that afternoon, so we quickly celebrate my birthday and got back to work. 

I stayed for a while at Gudang Rottie and headed back home. I brought the Red Velvet Cupcake that my colleague gave to me and share it with my Mom. It was nice and sweet, and a little bit salty on the edges of the cake too. The cupcake was delicious!

Birthday surprise from my colleague in Gudang Rottie

At night, I was surprised by my best friends, Icha, Dila, Sally and Angel. The came to my house with cakes and presents. The fantastic four sang "Happy Birthday" as they walked into the house, while I was giggling to F.R.I.E.N.D.S. that was aired on Fox Channel. I was overjoyed, I squealed the entire time. It was the most awesome birthday surprise I had!

Quick intro!

There were two cakes, one was from Icha and Dila, and the other one was from Angel and Sally. Angel and Sally's cake was decorated with lit-up 1 and 8 candles, and the cake had "Happy Birthday Kinan" written on it. The cake was glazed with white cream and decorated with green icing sugar and chocolate block. 

Icha and Dila's cake was bathe in chocolate ganache, and decorated with strawberries and chocolates. "NABUNAGA TWINS" was written on the cake, which I supposed would be "NOBUNAGA TWINS" if the one who wrote on the cake didn't accidently switched the vowel. Dila, Icha, and I are fans of Takehiko Inoue's Slam Dunk. The two of them made Slam Dunk fan-fictions, in which I was the twin sister of a character named Kiyota Nobunaga, hence explained the writings on their cake. 

I blew the candle and the five of us cheered happily.

SURPRISE!

Birthday Cake from Sally and Angel

Birthday Cake from Dila and Icha

We had the Tumpeng that my Mom made for dinner and the cakes that my friends brought. The five of us chatted at the dinning room while munching on fried chicken and chocolate cake, and simply had a great time. 

Dila gave me a homemade popped-up birthday card, with drawings of me, Kiyota Nobunaga, and Hanagata Toru playing basketball in it. The birthday card is plain genius because I could actually move the basketball around! "We don't have a birthday present for you because we haven't buy one," said Icha, "but, hey, we got you some cake!".

Sally and Angel got me a box filled with knickknacks. "It is called the Box of Metamorphosis, because you will find things inside the box that will transform you," said Angel. I opened the box and I was welcomed with beauty products, accessories, and a beautiful dress. I was in cloud nine when I receive such present! They told me to dress up and be a girl, so I did. The next thing I know, we were in the living room taking endless frames of pictures.

Me and my best buddies!

In summary, my 18th birthday was awesome! I got to spend it with my family and my friends. I ate lots of delicious food and cake. I had a great time keeping in touch with my friends. I was showered with surprises. I got loads of birthday greetings and presents. It was awesome!

Thank you, everybody, my 18th birthday would be dull without you guys in it!

Regards,

Kinan L. Wirastani