Fried Nian Giao (Kue Keranjang Goreng)

Today is Chinese New Year and this year is the year of Ox according to the Chinese zodiac. One of the food during Chinese New Year is Nian Giao (Kue Keranjang in Indonesian language, some called it also Dodol) which is made from glutinous rice flour with brown sugar. It has a soft chewy sticky texture. Even though this Nian Gao can be found all year around, the best time to eat it is during Chinese New Year.

People usually will eat Nian Giao just as it is, but there are many ways to serve it. One of the best ways to serve Nian Giao is to fry it in eggs and sliced shallots which I made this morning for my breakfast. I had my fried Nian Giao with a cup of Chinese tea. 

Tukang Kue Pancong (Bandros)

Before the Working From Home was implemented because of the Covid-19 pandemic, I usually would see this Tukang Kue Pancong with his cart on the street every morning on the way to my working place. He started to make and sell the kue Pancong from 6.00 am until the latest 10.00 am. Most of the time, at 9.30 am, he would stop to make it because the batter already gone.

Kue Pancong (some people also known it as Bandros) is an Indonesian traditional snack from West Java that is made of  rice flour and coconut milk.

The special mold pan to make the Kue Pancong.

The very simple ingredients which are only rice flour, coconut, water and salt.

Besides the special mold pan, it also needs a special hook.

This is how the tukang kue pancong used the hook.

Drizzle with some sugar on the top of warm Kue Pancong. 

It tasted yummy!

Tukang Tahu Bulat (Round Tofu)

"Tahu Bulat... Tahu Bulat... Digoreng dadakan... Lima ratusan... Gurih gurih nyoi...." This is the advertisement played by a tape-recorder on the pick-up car which means Round Tofu, fried on the spot, five hundred (the price of one tofu), tasty tasty nyoi...

The round tofu being fried.

Beside the round tofu, there's also otak-otak (similar to fish cake).

1 piece = Rp. 500.

This is the pick-up car for selling the round tofu and fish cake.

Aerogreens salad.

My ex-student who is majoring in agriculture at a university in Canada, has just started to have his own company named Aerogreens. He explained to me that Aerogreens is Indonesia's first Vertical Aeroponics farm, which means is they grow their plants in a controlled environment, to bring out the sweetness and buttery texture of their vegetables. At Aerogreens, aside from just producing our own vegetables, they make salads as well.

All their vegetables at Aerogreens are harvested fresh to order, so nothing is stored in the fridge before hand. It's pesticide free

So, here I had a try one of the salads from Aerogreens.

Pesto Chicken Salad - Rp. 50.000

The signature lettuce, grilled chicken pesto, homemade garlic croutons, topped off with garlic herb dressing.

For those who want to order, you can contact this number: +62 (812) 1219-0395

Xi Bo Ba

About a week ago, I was so thirsty and really need a cold drink because it was a bright sunny day and the weather was very hot. I saw the Xi Bo Ba store and decided to buy it. The store was empty. No customer at all. Maybe because of the Covid19, so mostly people buy Xi Bo Ba through online service.

Brown Sugar Boba Fresh Milk - Rp. 19.000

The milk on the top is creamy and the flavor of brown sugar is nice but the boba (tapioca pearls) are too sweet and soft. This drink is quite cloying for me.

Current rate:

1 USD = Rp. 14.900

Location:

Xi Bo Ba

Tanjung Duren Raya No.359A

West Jakarta

Phone: 0822-1053-3344

Disclaimer: The review and opinion expressed here are purely according to my personal taste. There's a possibility that the taste of the food might change later on, which could affect the review and opinion here. I also affirm that no monetary or non-monetary compensation has been received from this restaurant for writing this review.