Crystal Jade Restaurant

After almost 10 years, finally, I had lunch again at this restaurant.

Tumpengan

Nasi tumpeng is traditionally served to celebrate a special occasion, like a birthday, a marriage or even success at work. Is a type of food which is made of yellow rice (nasi kuning) and is shaped like a cone. The height of the cone symbolizes the greatness of Allah or God, and the food at the base of the cone symbolize nature’s abundance. The yellow tinge in the rice symbolize wealth and high morals.

Nasi kuning is cooked in lightly seasoned coconut milk and turmeric, then shape it into a conical pyramid and place it on a bed of decorated banana leaves. Around the base of the cone, arrange various foods in neat piles: ayam goreng (fried chicken), rendang (beef stew), sambal goreng tempe or kentang (fried tempe or potato), beef abon (shredded meat that has been boiled and fried), telur dadar (shredded egg omelette), cucumber, perkedel kentang (potato cakes), sambal goreng ati ampla (chicken liver and gizzard), and sambal (chili paste).

Normally the host cuts and savors the top of nasi kuning. The touch of oil in the coconut milk gives it a glistening appearance and keeps each grain separate, while turmeric use lends the yellow color to the dish.

Nasi Tumpeng and its side dishes are symbols which have good meanings in Javanese culture.

Source: Dreamcatcher - Yahoo.

Roti Tan Ek Tjoan and Sushi Tei

No diet today, but don't worry... I ate healthy food.

This morning, I saw a tukang roti from Tan Ek Tjoan bakery (an old bakery established in 1930s) across my office. Had a chocolate peanut bread with a cup of coffee for b'fast.

For lunch.... Yay, sushi!!!
A mixed atmosphere during lunch... silence, laughs, gossips, discussions, a harsh arguement (almost got into a fight? *wink*) but then at the end of the luch, a smile on the face and a fully stomach :)

Otak-otak

A yummy snack that you can find easily on the street in Jakarta is Otak-otak (fish cake being grilled over charcoal). Mostly Otak-otak is being sold on a bicycle or motorbike. I know that Otak-otak can be also found in Malaysian and Singaporean.

The ingredients:Fish (mackerel, salmon, threadfin or barramundi)
Thick coconut milkSmall hen eggs or one duck egg
pepper, sugar and salt
Paste SpicesFresh chilies, Lemongrass, Galangal, Roasted Candlenuts, Shrimp paste, Garlic & Shallots.
Banana leaves for wrapping the fish paste.

Gado-gado

Gado-gado according to wikipedia is:
A traditional dish in Indonesian cuisine, and comprises a vegetable salad served with a peanut sauce dressing.

Ingredients:
The exact composition of the vegetable salad varies, but usually comprises some mixture of shredded or chopped green vegetables such as cabbage, cauliflower, green beans, watercress, and bean sprouts;
- other sliced vegetables such as carrots and cucumber;
- peas
- sliced boiled potatoes; and
- peeled and sliced boiled eggs.
With the exceptions of the eggs and the potatoes, the salad may be served raw, although optionally one may blanch some of the vegetables such as the cabbage and the cauliflower. Some cooks prefer to steam the vegetables.

Peanut sauce dressing :
The thing that distinguishes gado-gado from a plain vegetable salad is the peanut sauce dressing, which is poured on top of the vegetable salad before serving. The composition of this peanut sauce varies, as well. Some say to just use a commercial Indonesian peanut sauce or satay sauce. Others say to make the sauce oneself.
For making the sauce, the common primary ingredients are:
- ground fried peanuts with most of the oil drained off (for which some substitute peanut butter and peanut oil)
- garlic
- brown sugar
- tamarind juice

Today, I had gado-gado for lunch.... What's the main reason? It's for the sake of taking pictures, hehehe..

My Daily Lunch

Wondering what I'm having mostly during lunch?

There are a lot of restaurants or food corner that are around my office area, but sometimes I'm too lazy it's just too hot walking under the sun to get food.

Luckily, directly next to my office, there are 4 men selling food.


Yeah.. I'm aware that this is not healthy especially if you see the color of the oil.... almost black!

This one is quite a healthy food...

Most of the time, I will have this very simple nasi goreng aka fried rice :)

Some people named this noodle as bakmi tikus aka rat noodle because we don't know what kind of meat is in there. Scary, huh? hahaha....