Cimory's Soya Milk: Watermelon Flavor

Ambar, my chubby and lovable dorm mate, bought me a bottle of Cimory's soya milk. She told me once about how nice and funky-tasting the soy milk and she promised me that she will bring one for me one day. Just yesterday, she kept her promise by bringing me a bottle of the watermelon-flavored soy bean drink. Yes, watermelon. 

Cimory is well known for its' flavorful yogurt drink. With "Sehat itu Enak", or "Healthy is Delicious" literary translated, as its' slogan, Cimory continues to pursue its' mission to introduce healthy and delicious beverages to the local citizen. Just recently, the brand has launched a new product, the soya milk, which available in two flavors: watermelon and original.

You can tell the watermelon scent coming out from the bottle as you open the cap. It was not that strong as it reeks of soy bean like any other soya milk does, but it was clearly there. The color of the milk was soft pink, a bit pale actually, different compared to the pink color that you usually find in strawberry-favored milk.

I took a sip of the drink. It was a bit challenging to distinguish the watermelon flavor at first, but after another sip or two, you will start to get the hang of it. Again, it was not that strong, but it's there. The watermelon flavor lingers in your mouth after you have swallowed the drink. Other than that, it was just plain soy bean milk.

I would give Cimory's watermelon-flavored soya milk a 5 out of 10 for easing the curiosity. I guess I will stick with regular soya milk in the future.

Roti Abon Gulung

My soon-to-be aunt, who is a stewardess in Sriwijaya Air, flew to Jayapura last weekend and brought back two boxes of Roti Abon Gulung, woohoo! I have been wanting this local delicacy for ages and I finally got it, all thanks to her.

Aunty Echy brought a pack, which consists of two boxes of Roti Abon Gulung, while each box is filled with ten pieces of buns with five different toppings and fillings. The buns are available in five kinds, which are: beef floss, chocolate floss, cheese floss, chicken floss, and tuna floss. Each bun is almost as big as my fist, and the amount of the meat floss they used to make this babies are ridiculously generous.

I got a souvenir from Jayapura, woohoo!

Roti Abon Gulung is a rolled bread with meat floss filling. The original Roti Abon Gulung is actually filled with either beef floss or chicken floss and they are bigger in size - each bun shares the same length as my palm and as thick as my fist. But, then, they discovered new toppings and flavors to go with the bread and, thus, the result is the mini bread with a new twist. 

Aunty, you spoil me. 

From left to right: Tuna, chocolate, cheese, chicken, beef

I'm just in love with the buns! The bread is not soft and chewy like those buns that you can get at Bread Talk or Bread Life - they are rather thick and compact, and slightly heavier than most bread. The bread is filled with the meat floss, then rolled and shaped like a square. My favorite would be the beef floss and chicken floss, followed by the tuna floss, then the chocolate floss and, last but not least, the cheese floss.

Beef Floss Bun is my favorite. The bread is soaked with condense milk, then filled with savory and sweet beef floss, and topped with a wee bit of sesame seed and some more floss. You can smell the mouth-watering aroma of the bread teasing you. Combination of flavors explode in your mouth with just one bite. It was sweet and savory at the same time, and also meaty and juicy. The amount of beef floss they used in one bun was very generous compared to other buns that I bought here in Jakarta. Instant fave!

While the chicken floss bun shared the same physical appearance with beef floss bun yet sweeter taste in meat, the tuna floss bun had a strong tuna flavor in it and its' color is slightly softer and dominated by ecru. The chocolate bun and cheese bun were my least favorite, but they still tasted nice. 

Beef Floss Bun

Chicken Floss Bun

Tuna Floss Bun

Chocolate Floss Bun

Cheese Floss Bun

When you go to Jayapura, make sure you get yourself a box of this baby. You will probably miss one hell of delicious delicacy if you don't.


P.S. Aunty Nechy, if you're reading this, thank you so much for the Roti Abon Gulung! Safe flight!

Bintang Carica in Syrup

At Sekolah Tinggi Penerbangan Indonesia, there is this thing called adik asuh (or adoptive junior literary translated), a tradition in the institution where you can adopt a cadet who enrolls after you to be your "younger brother", or "younger sister". Your adoptive junior doesn't have to be in the same major as you are. You can have as many adoptive junior as you want as long as you take care of them, and they take care of you - and by "take care", I mean literary taking care of them, as if you are bonded by blood. 

My adoptive junior named Baruna and his hometown is in Salatiga. He brought me a souvenir from his hometown, which is a local fruit named Carica. "This carica fruit is very popular in my hometown," he said, "the fruit is similar with papaya, but smaller and the local people usually candied them before they sell it to the tourists." Curious about the famous star-shaped fruit, I made him promise to bring back a jar. He nodded in agreement. 

The oh-so-famous Carica

As promised

"Bintang Carica in Syrup" caught my attention the moment the jar was in my hands. Apparently, the shape of a carica is similar to a starfruit, yet chubbier and slightly look more like a quanco. The fruit is sliced and stored in a jar with a combination of water and sugar, hence the super sweet syrup. "Best eaten cold," was written on the jar. Being a good girl, which I am thank you very much, I put the jar into the freezer for an hour before I indulge. 

The sight of the syrupy galore

The texture of carica is far from a papaya as it was chewier and softer. I have to say, the syrup was too sweet for my liking. If only they used less sugar, I think the candied fruit will be one of my favorite treats. But, I believe the syrup can be used to make flavored ice tea, instead of just being thrown away into the trash bin - imagine the flavored tea with carica bits at the bottom of the glass, yum! 

I really like the taste of the fruit, very sweet and chewy. You can just eat it right away, or you can use them to make cold fruity beverages and fruit cake I believe. They are very much enjoyable, and I'll give it an 8 out of 10. 

Want some?

P.S. Baruna, if you're reading this, thank you so much for the souvenir! I hope you like the milk tarts I brought you from Bali. 

Homemade Es Teler

Es Teler is a well known traditional fruit cocktail in Indonesia. You can mostly find this dessert at every Indonesian restaurants. It is very simple to make this fruit cocktail, as you just need to combine various fruits with condensed milk. The basic ingredients to make Es Teler are avocado, coconut meat, cincau (or grass jelly), jackfruit, coconut milk, condensed milk, syrup, and sugar but it's okay if you want to use other ingredients like I did. 

In this post, I will show you a super easy step-by-step tutorial on how to make one for yourself. Do take notes that I didn't include any measuring of the ingredients because I just made the dessert based on my liking. Don't be afraid to experiment!

Ingredients:

- Avocado

- Coconut

- Kolang-kaling

- Syrup

- Condensed milk

- Ice cubes

How to Make:

- slice the avocado into two and scoop out the meat into a bowl

- prepare your coconut by separating the coconut water and the coconut meat into different bowl

First, you cut the upper part of the coconut, then pour the coconut water into a big bowl. Then, cut the coconut into two, and scoop out the meat. 

- prepare your kolang kaling

It doesn't have to be kolang kaling. I used this particular canned fruit because I couldn't find any grass jelly and jackfruit at the Supermarket. It worked just fine, and it tasted delicious as well.

- make your punch 

Simply mix the condensed milk with sugar, water, and syrup. You might want to be careful when you combine the ingredients because you have to taste the punch whether it tasted creamy and sweet, or tasteless because you pour too much water in it. 

When all of the ingredients are all prepared, take out your bowl and put everything in it. Put in the avocado, coconut meat, kolang kaling, the condensed milk mixture, and some ice cubes and voila! your very own Es Teler. Very easy to make, right? 

Reese's NutRageous

Reese's NutRageouss was, and still is, my favorite chocolate bar. I found this gem back in 2012 when I was in Doha, Qatar. Mom, Dad, and I were grocery shopping and the bright orange wrapping immediately caught my attention. How could I not? The chocolate has its' own shelf at the 'Chocolate & Candy' aisle at Family Food Centre. So, I grabbed a couple bar and put them in the grocery cart to take home with me. 

Reese's NutRageous consists of Reese's peanut butter topped with peanuts and caramel, then enveloped with a milk chocolate coating. The chocolate bar was flavorful! The peanut butter gave out this delicious saltiness, while the gooey caramel and the milk chocolate had a strong presence of sweetness - it had that kind of sweetness that can make you nauseous when you have too much of it. I just love the peanuts that made the chocolate bar became even more rich in flavor. But, I have to admit, the chocolate bar had "diabetes" written all over it - and it was too sweet, even for a sweet-tooth like me.