Pia & Pie

So, my Mom just got back from Bali and she didn't come home empty handed, woohoo! Other than the pork jerky and Sate Lilit Bali that she brought, she also bought a box of Pie Susu Bali and Pia Legong. Both of these babies are two of the most popular food and souvenir one can ever find in Bali, and they are also my favorite. 

Pie Susu Bali "Asli Enaaak" is the first brand of pie susu in Bali. It has been active producing batches of the most delicious milk tart since 1989. True, this particular brand of pie susu is a bit expensive compared to the pie susu that I usually buy from my friend, yet price determines the quality of the product. While some pie susu have tasteless crust and funky tasting filling, this pie susu has a stiff and thin savory crust and in the middle of it is a gooey and deliciously sweet mixture of milk and egg that blends nicely with the crust. Pure awesomeness. 

Pie Susu Bali "Asli Enaaak"

I can never get enough of these babies

Want some?

On the one hand, Pia Legong is also a treat for tourists in Bali. You can only get yourself a box of Pia Legong at Ruko Megah No. 15, at Jalan Raya By Pass Ngurah Rai, because it is the only official place where they sell the product. Same like Pie Susu Bali "Asli Enaaak", Pia Legong is more expensive compared to other pia that you can find roaming around the streets of Bali, because the factory only made a limited set of batch each day, so you have to compete with other buyers to get your box of pia.

Pia Legong is famous for its delicious filling and flaky crust. There are three varieties of Pia Legong, which are Chocolate Pia, Cheese Pia, and Mung Bean Pia. My favorite would be the Chocolate Pia, even though the other two tasted as good. I just can't get enough of it!

Pia Legong

A favorite of mine: Chocolate Pia Legong

Cheese Pia Legong

Maamoul from Mecca

For some reason, I am flooded with souvenirs this week. First, was the Roti Abon Gulung from Jayapura. Then, there's the watermelon-flavored soya milk from Ambar. Next, was Dheddy's salted duck eggs from Sidoarjo. And then, there is this Arabian biscuits named Maamoul from a friend of mine who just went for umrah to Mecca.

Maamoul biscuit from Saudi Arabia

Her name is Annisa, but she prefers to be called Caca. She is an AvGeek - an abreviation for Aviation Geek, is a person who loves planes and aircraft - whom I met at the INDODEFENCE Expo & Forum back in 2014. Since the both of us are into aircraft, even when it seems like she masters more knowledge about it more than I do, we get along quite well. 

Last Christmas holiday, she went to Mecca for umrah - a tradition the moslems do where they would visit the Kaaba and perform a series of rituals acts - and she brought back Arabian snacks for yours truly. "Since you love eating so much, here's some treats for you to enjoy," she said. 

The packaging of the biscuit

Maamoul is the name of the Arabian snack. Each box contains 16 mini packaging of the treats. They are round in shape, with simple design of flower and lines on top, and in the middle of it was the dates filling. 

The texture of the food is more like a shortbread instead of biscuits as it was very fragile and crumbly. The shortbread was very plain, mildly sweet and it didn't tasted as buttery as any other shortbread I have ever tasted before, but the sweetness from the dates saved the day. I love how the filling was thick and slightly chewy - it made the whole thing very enjoyable. A cup of Turkish Tea would probably go well with the maamoul. 

The simple design of the shortbread

Look at those thick date filling

P.S. Caca, thank you so much for the Arabian treats! I hope we can meet soon and have a culinary adventure together.