• Eat a lot

    YOLO, things in life are meant to be savoured

  • Beans

    Drink coffee not only can boost your awareness, but also your mood

  • Fruits

    You wanna stay healthy? eat fruits.

Selasa, 26 September 2017

NASI GORENG YANG CHOW (Recipe)

Pegel uga ya nulis bahasa enggres mulu, kalo kata anak alay keminggris HAHAHA. Tapi penting lho menggunakan bahasa inggris sebenarnya kalo nulis blog. Hey, yang pakai internet dan baca blog itu bukan cuma orang Indo kan ya. Jadi wajar kalo banyak blogger ngetop Indo yang blognya full english, karena memang lingkup audience mereka tidak cuma selebar daun kelor. I also plan to do that with my blog anytime soon.

Ever since i moved to The Netherlands i had been cooking fried rice with instant flavouring from various brands. This time i tried something else, chinese style fried rice called yang chow. GUESS WHAT, i don't find nor use any instant spices. Quite the turn-out, it's easy to cook.


Please enjoy the music as well..


INGREDIENTS
a) Rice about 2 plates (kept in fridge for an hour or so)
b) Some Shrimp (you can change with chicken)
c) 2 Eggs
d) Chili flakes (or rawit chops)
e) 2 Spoons of Oyster sauce
f) 2 Spoons of Fish sauce 
g) Half carrot (julliene then make small dices)
h) Some other veggies you want
i) Little sugar, salt and pepper
j) Minceg garlic, 3 cloves should suffice

INSTRUCTION
a) Scramble the egg but don't burn it.
b) Put in the minced garlic and stir-fry, add the shrimp and carrot dice until it's all cooked.
c) Add the chili flakes, then the rice, try to stir it all together.
d) Add spoons of oyster sauce and fish sauce. Mix it well with the rice and everything else.
e) Add the salt, sugar and pepper as you like. Try the fried rice, if you like it, then you're done.


There you go Yang Chow Fried Rice, this kind of fried rice is typically colorless but very tasty and savoury. If you feel like it's not salty enough, add more fish sauce or salt. Please cook and enjoy. Share this recipe with your loved ones!

Minggu, 24 September 2017

SAMBAL TERONG GOGAGA (Recipe)

If you're an avid lover of spicy food like me, trust me, you would appreciate this post HAHA. As an Indonesian, one of the hardest thing about living away from home country is the inability to find excessively spicy foods. Lucky me to live in beautiful country like The Netherlands, they have tulips, windmills, chocomel AND RAWIT CHILIS. Not the same rawit that you'd find in Indonesia, but i found it therapuetic somehow.


So what do you know about Indonesian sambal? Sambal terasi, sambal tomat, sambal bawang, sambal hjau perhaps .. All of them are my favourite, but i would rather share my recipee on a peculiar sambal now. Speak of the devil, SAMBAL TERONG or Eggplant Sambal. It is greasy, it is spicy, and it is delish.





INGREDIENTS
a) Eggplants (1 piece)
b) 3 Big red chilis (add some more if you use more eggplant)
c) 12 Rawit chilis (add some more if you use more eggplant)
d) 1 piece of tomato
e) 2 cloves of garlic
f) 5 cloves or red onion
g) Dried Shrimp (ebi) or Terasi
h) A little water
i) A little red sugar
j) A little salt and sugar

INSTRUCTION
a) Grind or blend some of the ingredients using blender. Ingredients as follow: big red chilis, rawit chilis, red onion, tomato, garlic, little water.
b) Cut the eggplant and fry them until it gets a little brown, put them aside.
c) Heat some oils, stir fry the blended compound. Let it boil for a moment.
d) Put in the eggplant. Stir until the eggplant looks mushy and cooked enough.
e) Add a little sugar, salt and dried shrimp. Check the taste, if you like it then it's good like that. If you think you can add some more salt or sugar, please do.
f) Sambal terong is ready to be served.

Voila isn't that easy? If it's your first time trying to cook this, be careful with the steps and ingredients. The dried shrimp is just to give some ethnic scent on it, so you can let it go if you cannot find it. Please try this recipe out and share it with your loved ones, if you have question just let me know. 


Selasa, 25 Juli 2017

Gyu-Kaku Surabaya

Dulu nih ya waktu Gyu Kaku buka gerai pertama nya di Indonesia, tepatnya di Jakarta, pernah aku dapat undangan untuk acara opening nya. Sayangnya waktu itu belum sempat ke sana dan cobain karena posisi lagi di Solo. And after many many sunshines, they opened several spot in Surabaya too! Sekalian lah pas ke Surabaya akhirnya aku cobain datang sendiri ke gerainya di Galaxy Mall Surabaya. Tau gak sih, lokasi nya sebelahan sama Shaburi. Jadi kudu kuat iman, karena salah-salah bisa nyasar ke Shaburi untuk makan shabu nya yang aduhai itu. OK OK Sekarang waktunya buat bahas Gyu Kaku nya haha. 

My favorite shot came from iphone instead
Nah ini musik nya untuk nemenin baca post kali ini..


So is this a visit by invitation?

No, I told you I got an invitation for their first store but I couldn't make it. This time I came on my own volition because, indeed, I had been missing Japanese grill since I moved to The Netherlands. Japanese grills are very expensive in Holland and frankly I could barely find any restaurant like this in there. 

Getting table was easy

I was quite surprised to see many vacant tables at Gyu Kaku in Galaxy Mall Surabaya, I came around 7 in the evening which was supposed to be prime-time for dinner but I got my strategically located table right away. Couldn't be happier. Only after around 8 p.m. hungry crowds started to come and fill the empty tables. 

Although they have buffet packages, Gyu Kaku is not really all-you-can-eat Japanese grill because they still have a la carte menu. so if you feel like eating only a little you can prefer to get a la carte menu instead. By the way, me and my friend took the buffet menu because we were quite famished. If you take buffet, then 90minutes time limit will apply. They have 2 kinds of buffet packages.

(a) Standart Buffet 228k/per person
(b) Premium Buffet 398k/per person

There are enough delicacies to make you kenyang bego

I always take the cheapest option when it comes to buffet! I'd say if a restaurant satisfied me with the minimum money I could spend, they really did a great job. So I took the standart buffet, the difference was in the premium buffet you would get wagyu beef and tongue as well. Standart buffet allows you to have the tongue actually if you want to add 70k more per pack.

The flesh
Of course meat is their strong word here, that's what they are selling the most. My standart buffet permitted me 10 kinds of meat including 7 kinds of beef and 3 of chicken. Apparently I only tried 9 of them, I missed the 'Basil Chicken with Cheese' but so be it. I was happy enough with all that I have tried. Out of those I have tried, some of them did steal my heart you know. 

Dragon Karubi

Comes in big cut
This meat was pretty highlighted in the menu, so I ordered 3 portions at a time. Turns out it's a big cut of fat covered meat, so if you don't really like fatty meat you should avoid this one. I shouldn't eat too many fat but I finished all of it anyway haha. And because this one comes in very big cut, you will end up cutting it into smaller pieces. That way, it would be easier to eat.

Cut with scissor

Negi Karubi


You will have either Karubi and Negi Karubi, the difference is, Negi Karubi will come with some leeks on a separated plate. The meats are the same, but why I liked Negi better was because the leek gave fresher sensation when you eat it. It tasted really good when you mix the grilled Karubi, the spicy tare sauce and the leek. UH I CANNOT.

Suki Shabu

Thinnest meat out of all
Probably this is the most familiar flesh out of this buffet because this kind of meat is also used in the shabu-shabu. But don't simply compare this one to any shabu meat you have tried out there, this one is certainly comes from quality meat! The downside is, if you grill this for too long, it would get burnt.

Chicken with Spicy Sambal

Sorry didn't shoot the chili
They have a lot of chilies coming with this chicken, trust me, if you love hot spicy foods then this is for you. Or at least you can have the chilies with other meats. The chicken itself was a little bit under-marinated I guess, it was pretty tasteless if not accompanied with any sauce, unlike other meats.

More of these for only 228k per person

Gyu Kaku's meats in the standart buffet were amazing enough for me, but it's not all. The package also comes with various side dishes. I tried some of them and I would say I picked the right menus.

Chicken Karage


Karage has been quite famous as side dish ya in Japanese chain restaurants. Most of the times I like it, so I ordered this as well in Gyu Kaku. It tasted good! One portion comes with 4 pieces of karage so don't be afraid not to be able to finish it. 

Kimchi

The best kimchi in my life
Even if you don't like kimchi, you have to order it when you eat in Gyu Kaku. It's a buffet after all. I swear they have very good kimchi, it isn't like other kimchi, it tastes very decent in term of spiciness, sourness and after-taste flavour.

Miso Soup
My apology I didn't take the picture of it, but it was also my favorite side dish in Gyu Kaku. It comes in big portion and the taste is very decent as well. It would neutralize the bitter sensation and delicate after taste of grilled meats.

Pudding
Standart Buffet gets two kind of desserts, the pudding and vanilla ice cream. I would suggest you take the pudding, it isn't like your home-made pudding. It're very soft almost like mousse, softer than royal pudding. It felt almost like bubur sumsum but way fancier hahaha.

Conclusion
Well done Gyu Kaku Indonesia, I think your foods nailed it! My tummy was happy and I paid a fair price for all of it. I would give an 8 score for this Japanese grill restaurant, I only hope that restaurant staffs can be a little less chatty. Also they can give more attention to all customers. Bisou bisou.


Kamis, 20 Juli 2017

Homecoming (Part 2)

As strange as it can be, ternyata judul 2 post terakhir ku sama kaya title film Spiderman yang paling baru ya. Nggak sengaja deh bener, emang mau nulis tentang kepulangan gitu kan ceritanya. So kalian udah tau kenapa aku memutuskan untuk pulang kampung ke Sragen, Indonesia. I will now tell you what foods I have had these past 10 days. 

Selama 10 hari terakhir, tepatnya sejak tanggal 10 Juli 2016 aku sudah makan dong di Indonesia. Yaiyalah kalo nggak makan bisa mati loh hahaha. Nah ini beberapa my top picks selama beberapa hari kemarin, masih belum makan semua makanan kesukaan tapi gpp, masih ada beberapa minggu lagi kok. 

1. Marutama Ramen (Skor 9/10) 
Chicken Tamago Ramen (spicy) 77k
YASSS YAS, Marutama Ramen ini menurutku punya salah satu ramen terbaik di Jakarta. I remember back in January their ramen was one of a few last delicacies I had in Jakarta. So did when I came back to Jakarta last week, I wanted to eat this so bad. My friends asked me why i didn't crave any Indonesian foods, in fact I did. But I was in Jakarta so I took chance to eat this ramen.  And my tummy was happy, it tasted just as good as the first time I ate it. Their chicken broth was original and savoury, the noodle was chewy and tasty, more importantly their egg was still as soft as baby's butt! 

Oh iya hampir lupa. Kaya biasa, baca Gogagaforfood lebih enak kalo sambil denger musik. Silahkan diplay...




2. Sumber Bestik Solo (9/10)

Resoles Kuah 30k
There are numerous of amazing foods in this one restaurant, yes I know, but Resoles Kuah is forever my muse. I worship this food! First, this resoles itself is an amazing story with its fried egg covered minced-meats. Then Sumber Bestik adds another spell with its super delicious kecap broth. OHH I cannot tell you how I enjoy these combination each time I get there. Some veggies like letuce, tomato, potato and carrots are also there to help me feel less guilty for eating so many fats haha.

3. Bakso Mblenger Solo (Skor 6/10)

Bakso Beranak
Since I heard that one of my friends opened new Bakso stall, this place came up to my to-visit list right away when I arrived in Solo. Had their Bakso Beranak, so basically this consists of super big hollow-in-the-middle bakso, then there are some smaller bakso keju, bakso telur and bakso biasa in it. I admire its bakso keju and bakso telur indeed, but their super big bakso was a little bit less favourable, the texture was too soft, it's like there's no texture of bakso/ meat at all. The broth was savoury enough and trust me, sambel would heal any wound! Haha So you can see I added many many sambel on my bakso.

4. Makan Taichan Solo (Skor 8/10)

Paket Sate Taichann 20k
Another friend opened a Sate Taichan stall yeay so happy, my friends are the best hahaha. Out of some sate taichan that I have tried in some cities, this taichan is one of the best. You know they have this savoury sprinkles to pour on their sate. Imagine usual sate taichan you know are salty enough, this one is saltier, so it gives balance to the super hot sambal. So far I like this one just fine. I only feel weird for its brown skin sate, because usually the skin sate are white in other taichan. Apparently their sate kulit is a little bit sweet already, I suspect they use kecap before making it sate. Nice variation though.




5. Bakmi Toprak Yu Nani Kartopuran (Skor 9/10)

Bakmi Toprak 18k
As you already know there are 2 best stalls in Solo for bakmi toprak, this is one of them. Yess it still tastes as good as usual. The broth was less savoury but I could always add some salt, and the best part is that they have these rawits on the table where you can have as much as  you want. LOVE IT.

So there are some of my best picks, also with Ayam Geprek actually but I forgot to take picture. Here is another music to make you re-read this post haha. Thank you.


Sabtu, 01 Juli 2017

Homecoming (Part 1)


Shoot! Ternyata udah berbulan-bulan sejak terakhir kali saya post tulisan di blog ini. My apology. Juga untuk konten yang seharusnya food blog, berubah jadi sharing tentang scholarship dan study plan saya. Kali ini masih tentang sharing my personal thoughts, which is still not any restaurant reviews, but I hope you enjoy it.


Maastricht oh Maastricht, yes, it’s the city where I have been living for past five/six months. Some people do not consider Maastricht as a city, it’s too small to be called a city, they say. But still it’s a city that I think is vibrant enough to live at. It has the centrum, suburbs and of course a fancy university (Maastricht University)

I do love this place, it is a decent place to stay. But then people start yapping about why I go home, if I, indeed, enjoy my time in Maastricht that much?

Am I lonely in this town?
Don’t insult me wkwk, in fact I am quite an introvert. Trust me being alone is a blessing in disguise. There is this Maastricht Syndrome which is so famous among new people around here. Maastricht Syndrome is associated with loneliness of new expats or foreign students here feel due to boredom of living in this city. Shops do close around five or six in the afternoon, and all you can do after that is going to bar or restaurants. Luckily I was surrounded by people who were willing and able to help me get through my early period in Maastricht.


My biggest reason is obviously my survival instinct. I am broke or you may call it bokek. Living in Netherlands is costly, especially if you decide to use the bus all the time to subtitute a few hundred meters walking. I’m not a royal highness, I go to Albert Heijn everyday and I go broke. It is no kidding that foreign students should save out of secondhand stuffs from fleamarket or horrible home-cooks haha. So, since I have this two months holiday I decided to book an Etihad flight to Indonesia.


Another reason is the temprature. You see, Europe is not all icy and snow. During summer it can get very hot like above 33-35 degrees celcius. While some may think it’s a perfect sunny day to unroll the sandwiches in the park, I would rather be naked at home all day. It can be very frustrating for me, also considering that I do not have air conditioner nor car here.

The first day of Ramadhan

Mon dieu, don't get me wrong though. I am still very in love with this continent, for a sentimental reasons. Apparently these last few days have been quite nice in Maastricht, it's been raining and the temprature goes down a little. 


I also love the fact that Maastricht is quite a destination for people who love to shop. There are bunch of shops to visit or to shop haha. At least you can always pretend to be neuveau riche and do window shopping at De Bijenkorf. You can find almost everything in this city, including the famous chain of JumboHEMAAlbert Heijn and many many others.


The foods are not the best in my life, indeed, but they're amazing. Trust me, some Peking Roast Duck, Unagi Rice or Ramen here are very very good. I wish I had enough money to eat at those restaurants three times a day, ninety times a month. But I don't, I cook sometimes and eat kebabs too hahaha.




Last but not least, I love to roam the streets of Maastricht, especially those on the city center. Maastricht is not all techie and modern like other Dutch cities, it even doesn't have starbucks hahahahaha. Buuuut it is a lovely city in Netherlands where you can feel like you're not really in Netherlands, the buildings have character from either Dutch, Belgian and German touch. It is also convenient if you need a little escape, you just ride a train for 30 mins and you're already in the neighboring countries like Belgium or Germany. If you just want a selfie standing at the border of Netherlands and Belgium, you can bike your way for about 20-30 minutes. Like I said, it's an amazing place to stay, but I cannot wait to feel the taste of what's to come. I mean Rendang, Nasi Padang, Ajam Geprek, Nasi Gudeg, Soto and everything else woohoo!