Peaches and "vla" on a Vanilla Cake

When Natasha - 5 Star Foodie mentioned that she is hosting a "makeover" for Peaches and Cream a week ago, it got my attention and I would love to participate but then there's a hesitation because it's not easy to find fresh peaches. Anyway, I was glad when Natasha said it's ok to use canned peaches so... this is what I baked in order to participate the Peaches and Cream.

FYI, I didn't use cream for the base of the peaches on the top of the cake because I'm trying to avoid cream intake, instead I changed the cream with vla (trans: Vla is a Dutch word for cornstarch pudding - custard, the word "vla" is commonly use here in Indonesia).

Vanilla Cake
Ingredients:
100 gr butter
8 egg yolks
65 gr sugar
30 gr flour
20 gr maizena (corn starch)
1/2 tsp vanilla powder

Directions:
- In a bowl beat the butter until smooth
- In another bowl beat egg yolks and sugar until creamy
- Add flour and maizena, mix it until well blended
- Slowly pour the batter into the bowl of butter - mix it slowly
- Pour it to a round pan (diameter of 30 cm)
- Bake in the oven, temperature of 180 C for 20 minutes
- Remove from the pan, leave it to cool

For the toppings:
1. Vla

Ingredients:
350 ml milk
75 gr sugar
25 gr maizena - corn starch
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg yolk - beaten
1/2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp rum

Directions:
- Boil milk, sugar, maizena and salt together in a saucepan - mix it slowly
- When it's boiled, add the beaten egg yolk - mix it smoothly
- Take the saucepan from the heat, add butter - mix it
- Let it cool, then add the rum - mix it well

2. A can of peaches (I used Del Monte)
3. The glaze
I used one sachet of instant glaze called "Tortenguss" from Belbake - follow the sachet instruction. (Note: you can replace the glaze with jelly).
Vanilla cakes with peaches and vla:
- Spread the vla on the vanilla cake
- Put the peaches on the vla
- Pour the glaze on the peaches cake
- Chill it for about 25 to 30 minutes before serving

Da Niang Dumpling, Jakarta

Do you love eating dumplings? I do... It's one of my favorite food :)

So glad that around my area there's a yummy restaurant for dumplings named Da Niang or also known as Wu Da Niang.
Da Niang Dumpling restaurant is a Chinese style fast food chain with a concept of western style fast food from China. It has more than 200 franchised restaurants all over China including one in Jakarta and also one in Sydney.

Sui Kiau 3 Rasa - Babi Jamur, Tunas Bambu
Triple Tastes Dumpling - Pork, Mushroom, Bamboo Shoot
10 pcs Rp. 38.000

Sui Kiau Vegetable
10 pcs Rp. 38.000

Sui Kiau Goreng Sapi Australia & Daun Ketumbar
Coriander Australian Beef Fried Dumpling
10 pcs Rp. 48.000
Very tasty!

Those dumplings are so delicious especially dipped into the special chili sauce.

Bacang Babi
Pork Gluten Rice with salted egg yolk
Rp. 22.000

A bit disappointment because the part of pork was mostly the fat.

Jamur Kuping Putih dgn Kurma Merah
White Fungus Red Dates
Rp. 20.000

A refreshing dessert, the white fungus were so crunchy and the red dates were sweet with a little sour taste at the end of the seeds.

Jamur Kuping Putih dgn Biji Teratai
White Fungus Lotus Seed
Rp. 20.000

Lei Sha Wan
Lei Sha Ball with black sesame
Rp. 18.000
I love the chewy texture.

Soy bean milk with white sugar syrup.
Interestingly it has a smokey flavor.

Wu Da Niang Dumpling Restaurant
Mal Taman Anggrek Level 2 Block E,
Jl Letjen S Parman Kav 21
Jakarta Barat, Indonesia

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.

Pickled Chinese Mustard Greens with Tofu

I have always love everything that tasted sweet and sour :) I just think it's a very perfect combination of those two taste. I like sweet taste because it related to happiness - we do look for sweet food when we feel sad, right? And you know what, there's old german saying, "Sauer macht lustig" which means sour (acid food) makes (you) happy. Ah.... perfect!

A nice dish of sweet and sour taste, sweet from the sweet soybean sauce and sour from the pickled Chinese mustard greens.

Ingredients:
250 gr Pickled Chinese Mustard Greens (gai choy) - need to wash it first because cut into slices
300 gr white tofu - cut into dices, fried deep into hot oil, drain
2.5 cm ginger - sliced
1 onion - sliced
2 red chilies - sliced
2 tbsp sweet soybean sauce (or to taste)
1 tbsp vegetable oil for cooking

Preparations:
- Heat up the oil in a pan, sautee the onion until soft
- Add ginger and red chillies, stir a bit
- Add pickled mustard greens, sautee until soft
- Add sweet soy sauce, stir fry
- Add the fried tofu
- Ready to serve :)

Note:
- No need to add salt because the pickled Chinese mustard greens is very salty and sour.
- Make sure to wash the pickled Chinese mustard greens first especially if you but it at wet market because it's dirty and salty. By washing it a couple of times, it might reduce the saltiness.

Seribu Rasa Restaurant, Jakarta

I had a scrumptious lunch at Seribu Rasa restaurant. A new restaurant which is under the management of Penang Bistro (Penang Bistro is one of my favorite restaurants in town). As I noticed, a lot of government officials love to eat here.

Yup... I've been eating at many nice restaurants lately (for those who love to read my street food posts, don't worry, street food will still be posted here). I hope this is actually not a sign of stress because frankly speaking, I do love to indulge myself with food when I got stress *grin*

Back again about this restaurant.... The meaning of "Seribu rasa " is thousands flavors which I think it implemented very good to the rich taste of the Southeast Asia variety dishes offered in this restaurant.

Seribu Rasa restaurant's building is divided into three buildings with a parking lot in the basement. It's very interesting to see each buildings with its different Indonesian architectures of traditional ethnic houses.

The front view of the Seribu Rasa restaurant.
You can see directly below the the parking lot under the building.

As soon as you step in the restaurant (the second building),
you can directly smell the jasmine flower's scent, very lovely.

Between each building, there're a fountain and also fish ponds.

Private room in the first front building.

Private room in the back (the third building) with a roof that is reminiscent of old Javanese houses (Joglo).

Inside.

Appetizer:

Selat Popia (Kue Pie Tie) - Rp. 25.000 (USD 2.5)

Deep fried crispy cup filled with mix of sauteed vegetables, seafood, chicken and mushroom.

Main dishes:

Fried chicken with mango sauce - Rp. 46.000 (USD 4.6)

Crispy fried chicken dressed with thin slices of young mango, fresh chopped shallots and also mango sauce. It's my favorite dish :)

Dried scallop string bean - Rp. 44.000 (USD 4.4)
String bean sauteed with dried scallop chili sauce.

Crispy fried squid - Rp. 43.000 (USD 4.3)
Deep fried battered squid served with spicy tangy dipping sauce.

Taucho Tahu Udang - Rp. 43.000 (USD 4.3)

Beancurd, prawns and petai (stinky beans) sauteed in taucho (fermented bean paste) sauce and red green chilis.

Desserts:

Top: Es Dawet Ndoro Putri - Rp. 28.000 (USD 2.8)

Cendol and red beans with brown sugar and creamy coconut milk, topped with a dollop of durian (stinky fruit) puree.

Bottom: Es campur seribu rasa - Rp. 24.000 (USD 2.4)

Black cincau (jelly), young coconut, avocado, pineapple, merah delima with crushed ice and fragrant mango syrup.

Ketan Hitam Mangga Gincu Rp. 28.000 (USD 2.8)
Black glutinous rice and cubed mango with coconut milk.

FYI, Seribu Rasa restaurant is serving only lunch (11 a.m. to 3 p.m.) and dinner (6 p.m. to 10 p.m.), the restaurant is closed in between.

Seribu Rasa Restaurant
Jl. Haji Agus Salim 128, Menteng,
Jakarta Pusat, Indonesia.
Tel: (62-21) 392 8892

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.

Idul Fitri royal icing cookies

Tomorrow is the Hari Raya Idul Fitri or Lebaran, also known as "Eid ul-Fitr" - a celebration day for the Muslim people for breaking the one whole month fasting period.

I'm not a Muslim but living in a country with the largest population of Muslim in the world, it definitely makes me feel as I'm also celebrating it especially because we are having one week holiday. Jakarta will be empty (in fact, it's already quite empty the streets) because most people are returning to their hometown to celebrate this festive with their family.

My neighbor asked me to make some royal icing cookies with the Idul Fitri celebration theme.

Here is the result :)

Wishing to all my Muslim friends:

"Selamat Hari Raya Idul Fitri 1430 Hijriah
Minal Aidzin Wal Faidzin
Mohon Maaf Lahir dan Bathin"

Bebek Bengil (Dirty Duck Diner), Jakarta

If you happen to Ubud - Bali, then one of places that you need to visit for food is Bebek Bengil which means Dirty Duck (trans: Bebek = Duck, Bengil (Balinese) = Dirty). The "Bebek Bengil - Dirty Duck Diner" restaurant has opened since 1990 and has it own rice field inside. Surrounded by rice fields and a marvelous garden where you can eat at one of the huts by the rice fields.

In case, you don't have the chance to visit Bebek Bengil in Ubud - Bali, then you might can try its branch in Jakarta which just newly opened this year. Last week, I had a delectable lunch there :)

Bebek Bengil restaurant's entrance in Jakarta

Inside garden

You can sit outside,

or inside (with air conditioner).

The story why they named their restaurant as "Dirty Duck Diner" is because when they were building the restaurant, they were confused to name their restaurant. They wanted a Balinese name that translate well into English, but they couldn't find a perfect name until one monsoon morning, when the restaurant was almost finish built, suddenly a group of ducks from the rice filed, walked straight quacking and squawking into the restaurant. The ducks made a total mess and left muddy footprints all over the place. Their first guests... the dirty ducks! That's where the name came from :)

When you order the food, do not miss to order their specialty - the original crispy duck Bebek Bengil! It's so crispy that you can even eat the bones.

It's served with balsamic shallots pickles with bird eye chilies and sweet chilly sauce mixed with shrimp paste and tomato.

Bebek Bengil Rp. 72.000 (USD 7.2)
Half a Duck steamed in Indonesian spices and deep fried for a crispy finish.

Served with steamed rice and Balinese vegetables

or creamy mashed potatoes and salad with astringent dressing.

For dessert, I tried the Black Russian Pie. A divine pie that I would like to have again someday :)

Black Russian Pie Rp. 41.000 (USD 4.1)
Mixed with vodka, Kahlua and topped with chocolate.

All the prices are subject to Tax & Service Charge.

Bebek Bengil (Dirty duck Diner)

Jakarta:
The Ubud Building
Jl. H. Agus Salim No. 132, Menteng
Jakarta Pusat 10310
Tel: (62-21) 391 8016

Bali:
Jl. Hanoman, Padang Tegal
Ubud - Bali 80571
Tel: (62-361) 975489

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.

Bunga Rampai Restaurant

Yesterday, I had lunch with my mom and her friends at Bunga Rampai Restaurant.

Bunga Rampai restaurant has opened since 2007 and very well known for high society expatriates and ambassadorial gatherings because it's a fine dining restaurant providing Indonesian cuisine in an old Dutch colonial house.

The name of Bunga Rampai is taken from the Indonesian term of traditional Indonesian flower arrangement with assorted flowers i.e: jasmine, rose and frangipani/plumeria.

You can definitely really feel the Dutch colonial ambiance inside the restaurant.

The main dining area.

It's a nice place for photo shooting.

Lovely chinaware.

There're left and right wings of the restaurant.

Now about the Food & Drinks.

First, we started with the drinks.

Above (Left to Right): Water Equil (Rp. 25.000), Banana Smoothies (Rp. 45.000), Strawberry Smoothies (Rp. 45.000)

Bottom (Left to Right): Strawberry Juice (Rp. 35.000), Menteng Frost - Oreo, Fresh Milk, Vanilla ice cream, coffee (Rp. 38.500), Special juice - Melon and Oranges (Rp. 45.000)

And then appetizer:

Kembang Pacar (Rp. 75.000)

Deep fried prawn are served in hand wrapped spring roll and served with sweet and sour sauce.

Pempek Sutera Palembang (Rp. 45.000)

A popular fish cake from Palembang - South Sumatra, this deep fried delicacy is complemented diced cucumber, dried shrimp and a palm sugar vinaigrette dressing.

Followed with the main course.

Left: Nasi Bakar - Burnt Rice with mushroom, corn, salty fish and Indonesian basil leaves (Rp. 66.000)
Right: Nasi Merah - Brown Rice (Rp. 16.500)

Condiments for the Nasi Bakar:
Deep fried beef with grated old coconut

Sweet soybean cake on skewers.

Konro Bakar (Rp. 106.500)

These beef back ribs has been lovingly prepared in a sweet soy and coriander sauce. The meat was very tender.

Rendang MalinKundang (Rp. 68.500)

Original beef marinated with coconut and herbs.

Sate BungaRampai (Rp. 183.500)

These satay are the MOST expensive satay that I've ever eaten in my life! I'm not joking! With the same price of it (or even less), you can already eat a delicious and satisfying buffet dinner at a 5 stars hotel. The satay (total only of 4 skewers on a plate) are assorted meat (chicken, beef) and seafood (fish, prawn) . Seriously, there's nothing special of the taste.

A close up picture of the fish on lemongrass skewer.

Teratai (Rp. 60.500)

Sautéed pakcoy with tofu and prawn. Very salty for my taste buds!

Ayam Kremes (Rp. 70.000)

Deep fried chicken with grated old coconut. It tasted mediocre.

Kangkung Balacan (Rp. 49.500)

Morning glory sautéed with spicy paced red chili, tomato and finely ground dry shrimp. Supposedly tasty but turned out tasteless.

Kerapu Goreng saus asam jawa (Rp. 103.000)

Deep fried grouper fish served with traditional Javanese sauce. It tasted pretty good.

At the end... Dessert:

Home made ice cream (Rp.22.000/scoop)

All prices are subject to 10% government tax & 5% service charge
Currency: 1 USD = Rp. 10.000

Overall, I quite like the ambiance of this restaurant but not really fond for the food and seriously, I think the prices are just extremely too expensive for the kind of food and taste that are being served. Absolutely, this is not a place for people with Indonesian average income ;)

Bunga Rampai Restaurant
Address:
Jl. Cik Di Tiro No. 35, Menteng
Jakarta Pusat, Indonesia
Tel. (62-21) 3192 6224 /25

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.