"What if (we have a coffee shop)?"

Another day, another petite coffee shop. This time, I visited Jikaa, a coffee shop located on the side of Pantai Berawa Street. Do keep in mind that this particular coffee shop is very petite, so be extra careful not to missed it, because I did earlier today. 

Jikaa has two dinning areas, the indoor and the outdoor. I usually go for the outdoor, but since the hangout spot is located exactly adjacent to the busy street of Seminyak, this morning I decide to have my quality time indoor. And, since the place is very compact, it only took me a few steps to go outside to bum a smoke. 

This place has a very cozy and chill vibe going on. Most of the music they played in here are quite jazzy and sometimes blues, which is nice if you’re in the mood of having a very laidback morning. 

No filter. Just sun rays!

As always, the first thing I ordered was a cup of Flat White. I didn’t pay enough attention to the menu as it says that the Flat White comes in two sizes. I accidentally didn’t order the big cup, resulting, in the beginning, in a lack of caffeine. But, as time goes by, I came to a realization that the small cup was enough to fuel my energy, as well as keeping my tummy intact since it was still empty. The Flat White was just a wee bit watery, but the creamy milk combined with the coffee, that was dominated by bitterness just how I like it, tasted fine. 

I continued my morning writing on my laptop whilst indulging in one of its’ famous smoothie bowl, the Chia This Way. It was pink in color, consisted of a dragon fruit and banana base, then topped with Jikaa’s homemade chia seed pudding (that tasted superb, oh my Lord!), sliced pineapples, watermelon, and a handful of chocolate peanut butter granola. Some smoothie bowls can have a very overwhelming flavor wheel, but not this one. The Chia This Way was very enjoyable and plain delectable. The tropical fruits used as the toppings in this smoothie bowl gave a nice flavor change. I mean, strawberries are soo last year. It’s time to give watermelon a chance!

I went for a potty break a few times since I drink a lot here. After the coffee, came the Hot Honey Ginger Tea. The hot and spicy beverage managed to soothe the pain that was going on in my tummy well. “Fresh ginger tea with honey, just to keep you warm,” as the slogan said. And it did!

My afternoon that was accompanied by the Hot Honey Ginger Tea and SBA Sandwich

Noon came and I was famished. I really wasn’t in the mood to have carbs, but they don’t have anything on the menu that doesn’t come with carbs, and I was too lazy to ask for a substitute for the bread. So, I settled with its’ Sunny Bacon Avocado Sandwich, with only one toast on the bottom, added with an extra scrambled egg. Protein protein protein!

I think I’m starting to become fond of sourdough. I mean, they all tasted great! Very thick and crunchy crust, then the middle part was chewy, yet not soft. This one was topped with a dollop of smashed avocado, then garnished with two layers of eggs, a sunny-side-up and a scrambled, and a rather thick and crispy bacon. Oh, Lord. The flavor combination of these ingredients were just majestic. Nothing can go wrong!

Get yourself some extras like I did. Go for the bacon and eggs!

I have spent six hours at this place and, so far, I am very much comfortable here. There were not a lot of people here, which is good for me because I need my peace and quiet, and the staff are very friendly. Plus points for treating the locals as polite and as friendly as the foreigners!

If only this place was just a meter away from where I lived, I would definitely come here everyday. 

Jikaa Cofee

Jalan Pantai Berawa, No. 1A

Tibubeneng, Kecamatan Kuta Utara

Kabupaten Badung, Bali - 80361

Contact:

+61 812 1860 0978

Opening Hours: 

MON - SUN: 7.30 Am - 5.30 PM

Instagram

My Go-tos at Crumb & Coaster

Okay, so, Crumb and Coaster has officially become my family’s go to place whenever we feel like fulfilling our needs for good food and aesthetic visuals. For the past month, we’ve been coming back and forth for, like, two or three times already and we always leave with satisfaction. Dad and I finally took Mom to the restaurant for lunch one day, since Dad and I are the ones who usually roam around the streets of Kuta to find new places to eat, and she loved it, thank God!

These were the food we ate a few days apart,

Chicken Schnitzel Sandwich

The tittle says it all. But, what it doesn’t say is that the crew here at Crumb and Coaster are using a chewy and crunchy sour dough instead of a usual bread loaf and that in between those layer of breaded chicken breast and sour dough is a generous pile of colorful and juicy coleslaw. It also came with some House Fries on the side and a portion of ketchup, along with a slice of lime, to go with. This dish truly has a breathtaking visual!

I can assume that the chef are using high quality chicken breast judging from its’ presentation and flavor. The chicken breast were very thick and it was breaded nicely and well fried. I have to admit, it tasted a bit dry, especially combined with the sour dough toast, but the flavor was smacking I ended up finishing everything that was on my plate even though I promised myself not to eat carbs. There wasn’t much seasoning on the chicken and the sour dough, the flavor was very subtle, so adding some ketchup into your sandwich can be a good alternative. Don’t forget to ask for chilly flakes! Add some into your ketchup. It will elevate the whole flavor wheel. 

The coleslaw really helped by adding those wanted juice along the way of munching. There amount of mayonnaise inside the coleslaw was proper for my taste - just a few amount of it because I don’t like my food be all saucy from the mayo - but for those of you mayo lovers out there, if you don’t think there’s enough mayo in your coleslaw, you can definitely ask for more to the waiters and waitresses. 

On the one hand, the House Fries was bomb - thinly cut, fried to perfection (golden brown fries are my jam!), crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside, topped with some fresh parsley, dashed with a pinch of salt and pepper, and the portion served as a side dish was just on point! If you’re a fan of having your french fries with ketchup, like me, I say, “Go for it!”. 

BBQ “Naughty” Pull Pork Burger

This was Dad’s dish. The visual of this naughty burger is as pleasing as my sandwich, but if I have to chose between the two, I would probably go for the burger. 

Constructed out of two amazingly solid, yet chewy, buns with sesame seeds on top, Crumb and Coaster’s signature barbecued pulled pork, homemade coleslaw like the ones I have in my sandwich, and a generous drizzle of melted cheese. It also comes with some House Fries on the sides and a generous serving of ketchup. 

 I tried a bite of the barbecued pull pork and, boy, it was very delicious! The meat was shredded and cooked well, hence the tender and juicy texture, with barbecue sauce making it very flavorful and somewhat caramelized. For me, the amount of barbecue sauce is very overwhelming to the point of sickening when I ate too much of it. But, other than that, this dish right here is a must try! It’s my Dad’s go to meal whenever we come to Crumb and Coaster because he can’t get enough of it. 

You better prepare yourself before you devour this baby. You ought to empty your stomach and get ready to be messy! 

Wagyu Classic Beef Burger

Mom’s choice for lunch was the Wagyu Classic Beef Burger, with the meat cooked at medium well-done. Although the presentation of this burger might be a runner-up compared to the naughty burger that my Dad had, it sure has its’ own persona and charisma that makes one curious regarding how it’s going to taste (and by “one” I meant me). 

A classic burger usually consists of meat patty, lettuce, onion, tomato, and a dollop of sauce in between the meat. Crumb and Coaster might add a little twist to the term “classic” by adding another element that sure bring the whole being of the burger to another level, which is a sunny-side-up. Correction. A sunny-side-up with a runny yolk! Gosh, I might faint from all the food porn imagination I have in my head. If you squash the sunny-side-up with the top part of the bun, I can guarantee you a very satisfying frame of runny egg yolk streaming down your wagyu and onion to the very bottom of the burger tire that would definitely gain hearts from your Instagram follower. I mean, who doesn’t like a good food porn, right? 

My Mom ordered her meat patty to be medium well-done and it was served, thankfully, like her expectation. The outer part of the meat was grayish brown with a bit of charcoal mark imprinted here and there and the inside was only the slightest bit pink in the middle, just like how medium well-done are supposed to  be like. The meat patty was very juicy it dripped until the bottom bun along with the egg yolk!

Falafel Salad Bowl

Ah, my go to meal during my diet days. Consisted of sliced zucchini and a whole other bunch of greens, this salad is the proper go to dish that usually get when I feel like eating fancy without feeling guilty afterwards. Other than just greens, it also had some sliced horse radish and bell pepper in it, as well as four pieces of falafels which I love so much!

Them falafels may be the best falafels I had, so far! They were fried to perfection, golden brown and very crispy, and the texture was not just mushy, yet it had this whole bits of pea in it. Love it! And, although the flavor was very nutty and savory, it helped a lot in digesting the whole other bland leafs as I didn’t use any of the white sauce served because I was afraid that I would gain some extra fat on my bums if I did. 

Cold Beverages

I always go for the smoothie. My favorite, so far, is the Farm Berry Smoothie because it tasted really refreshing, very creamy from the yogurt, and it came with three pieces of blueberry on top. My second favorite is the Inner Strength Smoothie because banana can never go wrong with a handful of peanut butter. 

Now you know some of the things that I love to indulge in at Crumb and Coaster. It’s time for you to find yours!

Crumb and Coaster

Jalan Benesari No. 2E

Opening Hours:

MON - SUN: 7.30AM - 10PM

Contact:

+62 819 9959 6319

Instagram

Raffel's Cheese Steak Sandwich to the Rescue

It seems like my pictures of Raffel's Cheese Steak Sandwich do no justice to the actual product. You readers are gonna have to bare it with me, yes?

So, this evening, I was craving for Subway's sandwich so so bad. The last time I had my share of Subway was when I was at Narita Airport, during my last trip to Japan. I was waiting for Thai Air's locket to open, so that my Mom and I could check in, and I killed time with my custom regular sandwich from Subway. I had Honey Oats buns with bacon, eggs, ham, roast beef, and cheese. Boy, that was one amazing sandwich. No sauce, no veggies, just the simple protein and buns. 

Unfortunately, we don't have any Subways here in Bekasi, nonetheless Indonesia that I know of. I searched through the Go-Jek application of restaurants that have sandwiches on their menu, but when I found one, it doesn't serve the kind of sandwich I wanted. Until, I stumbled upon Raffel's.. 

Yes, Raffel's. I have never had Raffel's before in my 22 years of walking on the planet Earth, but it had the sub sandwich that I wanted, so I decided to give it a try. I ordered a Cheese Steak Sandwich - which is basically a parmesan sub roll filled with roast beef, mozzarella cheese, and mushroom sauce - some Buffalo Chicken Wings and Roast Chicken Salad for Mom. It took almost an hour for my order to arrive and thank God the food was okay as they were still warm and not soggy. 

The bread was soft, which was okay, but I would prefer if it were a bit hard on the outside and chewy on the inside like how bagels are. It was filled with a decent amount of roast beef, which looked nothing like how it was portrayed on the menu - it looked like those teriyaki beef that you can find at Hoka Hoka Bento's menu - but it was delicious, so I'm fine with it. Delicious sweet caramelized onion, combined with the melted mozzarella and the mushroom sauce, made it a nice combination of flavor. The sandwich was delicious. I'm happy with it. 

What startled me was the fact that the sandwich was half a sandwich, because I thought that I would get a foot-long. Turns out, it was only half of it. A bit expensive, the sub sandwich costed me Rp50.000,00, but it was fine. All is good. 

Negeri Paman Sam: The Little Things She Ate

I shall warn you about how random this particular post is, because it is a compilation of the food and snack that I had for ten days during my trip to America. Imagine the amount of food that I ate in a period of ten days. Now, imagine them being squished together in one post. Happy scrolling!

Baked Roll

I ate a lot of bread-related goods in America, starting from Hotdogs that you can find on the streets, Sandwich from Union Station, Georgetown's Kebab, airport Pizza, a slice of Spinach Pie, an ugly roll and bad Burritos, and an Italian dish named Stromboli. They were all very delicious, crusty and floury, and the filling was plentiful. As expected from America. 

A food vendor on the street

Cheap Hotdogs from a food truck near the United Stated Holocaust Memorial Museum

The food court in Union Station

In the midst of grilling grounded beef

Philly Cheesesteaks Sandwich from the Great Steak

Mom's Philly Cheesesteaks Sandwich

Dad's sandwich from Subway

Hammy Sandwich from Pot Belly Sandwich Shop

Taco Bell's Burrito meal set

Burrito was very painful for me to digest

Pulled-pork Sandwich, with Mac&Cheese and Sweet Potato as side dishes

The Kebab that I ate at Georgetown was very delicious! We ordered two plate of dish, which name escaped me, which was served with a wide flatbread and salad. The food here were surprisingly very delicious, not to mention well-present!

What we had for lunch at Grill Kabob in Georgetown

Salad and grilled chicken

A flatbread that came with a small bowl of curry chickpeas

I drool at the sight of this perfectly toasted bread

Beef and Cheese Stromboli

Mom's Spinach Pie

Dad's All-Meat Pizza

Frozen Treats

Ice cream is best to be eaten when it's -3˚ Celsius and windy outside. 

One time, I found a food truck near United States Capitol and decided to buy a pack of Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwich that costed $4 each (which tasted good and fudge-like). And then, another day, I found a pack of Oreo Klondike Bar at Chinatown when it was super windy outside. Frozen treats are simply one of the best food I purchased in America. 

Snack food truck near the Capitol

Good Humor Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwich (what a name)

Enjoying my ice cream with the Capitol as the view

Klondike Oreo for the win!

Look how beautiful this ice cream sandwich is!

It's like a giant Oreo, but with ice cream in between the biscuits instead of the dislikable creme

Tutti Fruity Frozen Yogurt with Almond, Pecans, and Walnuts

Caramel Brownie Sundae Dippindots

Nestle Dibs Crunch

Bite-sized ice cream? Genius!

Asian Dishes

Much to my surprise, there were lots of Chinese restaurant in Washington. The dished tasted great, they were very delicious and stomach-filling. American portion is much bigger than Indonesian portion, making my parents and I able to share a box of rice, veggies, and meat for dinner.

And the best thing from ordering dishes in a Chinese restaurant is that you will get yourself a Fortune Cookie!

Stir-fried Veggetables

A box of rice and two kinds of meat

I had rice, broccoli, and shrimp for lunch once

The best thing from Chinese restaurants, Fortune Cookies!

Miscellaneous Eats

A friend of mine from high school named Michael is currently attending school at America. Before I flew to Washington, we skyped and he told me some food and snacks that I have to try. Cheez-It was one of them. He told me to buy the blue one, but I couldn't find any, so I sticked with the red one. I thought I would like the cheesy snack, but I stand corrected.

100% real cheese? I doubt it. 

Dad's Grilled Ribs

During our stay in Orlando, we didn't spend much on eating at a restaurant. We often spend some dollars to buy groceries, such as bread, ready-to-eat meat, cheese, and snacks. We called it "Sad Eats", because we simply had a sad pile of sandwich for breakfast, lunch, and dinner instead of having a plate of fancy food from a restaurant. But, by buying groceries at a mini market near our hotel, we saved a lot of money from our rather tight budget, so everything went better than expected.

Hotel's breakfast

Our groceries

Making sandwich for our lunch at Disney World

Potato buns with cheese, bacons, and salami

Lunch is served!

Lucky Charm, the most magical cereal on earth!

Breakfast of champions
Instagram photo

Bacon and Cheese Popcorn, genius!

Very salty batch of popcorns

A cup of Hot Chocolate, topped with whipped cream, from Starbucks

McDonald

Because McDonald is America, that's why!

My parents and I, along with Oom Benny and his family, had McDonald for lunch during our trip to the Smithsonian Institute of Air and Space. It was the only restaurant available in the museum after complimentary water fountains. The place were packed with people from all over Washington, but luckily we got ourselves some seats.

Fries, burgers, and sodas were the dishes that we had that day. Those fries were golden brown and very crispy, I would finish another bag if I could. My favorite kind of french fries is when you eat it with chilly sauce. It just brings out the tastiness of the deep-fried potato. On the one hand, the burgers were also delicious. The McDonald here is very different from the one we have in Indonesia. Even if the food are equally unhealthy, American McDonald is more delicious. 

Dat French Fries were so good

The Mighty Simple Quarter Pounder for lunch

Why do unhealthy food have to taste so good?

My Quarter Pounder

Refillable Soda, at your service!

I had me some Minute Maid Orange that tasted weird

And there you have it, the little things I ate within ten days! A lot don't you think?