A Sanctuary Named Sophie Authentique

I really need to get away from everything. I need a place where I can be with me, a place where I can be myself, a place where I can enjoy the simplicity of myself without having a care about what people may think about me.

Back then, I found this place at Kemang named Sophie Authentique, a petite bakery on the side of the road that specialize in French cuisine. I fell immediately in love the moment I step into the bakery. The atmosphere is very nice and friendly. Simple white walls with minimum, yet sophisticated, decorations. Very appealing placement of tables and chairs, along with adorable furniture to go with. Sophie Authentique screamed aesthetic at its' every corners.

The food, despite the fact that they may cost a lot for college students, is breathtakingly beautiful and delicious. I have always been a fan of bread and what I had that day was a Croque Madame. Slightly different with Croque Monsieur, Croque Madame has the same ingredients to make, but with an addition of an egg. Nicely toasted loafs of bread, sandwiching a hearty amount of beef and cheese, then topped with more cheese, and garnished with a beautiful sunny-side-up that goes along well with the complimentary salad on the side. What a breakfast.

I had a cup of Cappuccino to go with my Croque Madame. As I remembered, the Cappuccino was nice and it didn't have that extra sourness that comes up whenever the espresso was served too early. It came with a flower-shaped sugar cookie that tasted non-other than how a sugar cookie would taste like.

Mom had her share of sandwich and hot beverage also. She went with the Beef Croissant, with salad on the side, and a mug of Hot Cocoa that looked beautiful with its' tulip late art on the surface.

To end my breakfast that morning, I had a piece of this beautiful brown French dessert named Canellé. Very chewy in texture, a bit sticky on the outside judging from the caramelized sugar that they used to make this delicious munchies. The taste of it reminded me of a traditional Indonesian dessert that can usually be found at most traditional wet market. Its' name is Kue Cucur. With a shape that looks like a typical flying saucer in comic books, this traditional snack is one of my favorite because of its' sweet taste and chewy texture.

Oh, how I wish I could feel at ease. I wish I could feel happy living my life without having any care about what the future got in store for me. I wish I could go back to the time when happiness could be obtain just by a single bite of ice cream. Now, I don't think food can save me. I don't even know what am I in to have a thought of wanting to be saved.


Sophie Authentique
Jl. Kemang Selatan 1, No. 20A
Kemang, Jakarta Selatan

Opening Hours:
Monday - Sunday: 8AM - 5PM

Contact:
(+62)21 728 0011

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

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!

Sanity Booster

I'm glad to say that the national examination is over. The government can now torment me by letting me wonder for a month on whether I did good on my exam or not. The moment the exam was over, I got anxious. I still do now actually. The day after the examination, I decided to pay a visit to Dunkin Donuts. "Might as well have breakfast here," I thought. So I ordered my self a cup of Hot Chocolate and a Hazenut Donut.

It amuses me by how dining in alone at a local cafe can put yourself at ease. I spent around two hours at Dunkin Donuts, leisurely wasting my time as if I have 48 hours to spend in a day. There were no other customers except me. "Good," I said to myself. I took out my phone and started reading Suzanne Collins' Mockingjay. My tray of breakfast was untouched. 

Time flew so fast, I decided to put down my phone and had a bite of the chocolaty Hazelnut Donut. The dough was chocolate, and it was coated with chocolate jam, not to mention it was filled with chocolate cream mixed with tiny bits of roasted hazelnut. Just imagine how lovely it tasted. Followed by a couple sips of hot chocolate, I found myself relaxed and less anxious. This is what I do to keep me sane.