Tag: foodie

WHILE IN SEOUL (PART ONE)

Just got back from our year end family vacation to Seoul, South Korea. 

I believe I’m not having any jet lag, but I certainly have this weather lag. While in Seoul, the temperature can drop until -5 degrees Celsius (the worst was in Nami Island which was -10), and when we got back to Jakarta, Indonesia, it was 30 degrees Celsius. Imagine that lag! 

It was bloody bright, but bloody hell freezing as well. Truly an experience for me and my family as we’ve never experienced snow before, and we did in Seoul (even though it didn’t fall on us, unfortunately).

Somehow, Seoul reminds me of Paris for its’ language barrier. I don’t speak Koreans, and if I tried to talk to them in English, they’ll reply in Koreans. Like, seriously???? We ended up taking a lot of Metro trains, as we had a lot of trouble explaining our destination to taxi drivers. Fortunately, Metro was an easy ride for us, first timer in Seoul. 

Ordering food was always a challenge as well. Some do have menus in English, but some just don’t. They don’t even have the signage in English. I believe Koreans are proud of their own thing, I mean…come on, K-Pop is literally everywhere, K-Drama, and K-Food. 

Talking about K-Food, I might as well blog about them. I also posted a lot of my journey in Seoul, Korea on my instagram @shintarosvita (please check them out).

For those who love spicy food, trust me…you’ll survive in Seoul as they do have lots of spicy food to offer. Even their K-BBQ is spicy. 

We went to this local K-BBQ in Gangnam Area, named Saemaul Sikdang. They don’t have signage in English, so we did have a trouble finding it. But with the help of Google Maps, we did. A friend recommended me to visit this restaurant. It was not a big restaurant. When we were there, we were the only tourist, so I believe locals love this restaurant so much. FYI, we had to wait in the cold outside the restaurant for 15 minutes before the waitress called us. It wasn’t halal for sure, they only serve pork. Oh yeah, they use charcoal to grill the meat, which gives that special smokey touch. 

Leaving a restaurant in Seoul, especially a local restaurant, means you’ll get left behind with smokey food aroma on your hair and clothes. LOL. Except the barbecue, Bulgogi is also a local favorite. Unlike Bulgogi served dry in Jakarta where I live, they somehow have it with broth.

We had this Bulgogi in Sariwon at COEX Mall. And yes, Koreans do love their garnishes and kimchis. 

They sure love to mix stuff, seriously. We went to Shinsegai Central City and was curious to try this local restaurant which had long waiting lines. It must be that good, since locals were lining up in front of this restaurant (sorry it was in Koreans, so I don’t know the name of the restaurant). 

(Unbelievably) they named this Beef Teppanyaki. They mix the minced beef with rice (bap in Koreans) and vegetables, nothing like the teppanyaki served back home. And again, it was spicy. 

In terms of packaging, Koreans does it best.

Look at that cute coffee cups from Paris Baguette. By the way, Paris Baguette is a local bakery/cafe that can be found almost everywhere in Seoul. In terms of taste, it was OK, I had better coffee. 

In Nami Island (it was one and a half hour drive from our hotel in Gangnam area and off with ferry for another five minutes), it was freezing cold and fortunately, there were hot food sold.

Local food Hotteok aka pancake. It is one of the most popular Korean street snacks and particularly popular in winter. If they weren’t filled with sunflower seeds and nuts, I’d probably like them more as they’re also stuffed with dark brown sugar and cinnamon powder. And yes, they’re charcoal-grilled for that unique smokey flavor. 

Another Nami Island must eat food, is their Chicken Barbecue in a restaurant named Seomhyanggi. Fortunately, they’re not as spicy as I thought, so my boys can eat them. 

Well, that was as local as I can get ….

On my second post, I’ll blog about the international food that they have in Seoul. Stay tune. 

PHOTOS: SHINTA ROSVITA

STORE OPENING: DORÉ BY LeTAO PIK AVENUE

Congratulations for Doré by LeTao 4th store in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Located on PIK Avenue, the biggest mal in Pantai Indah Kapuk, North Jakarta, I believe it’s smaller than their Plaza Indonesia’s store. At the opening event when I attended, there were no seats like the one in Plaza Indonesia. So I guess, this store is just for take-away only.

FYI, Doré is a subsidiary brand of LeTAO, one of the best-selling cheesecake brands in the world. Founded in 1996 and based in Hokkaido, Japan, LeTAO is celebrated around the globe for their delicate and velvety cheesecakes. To produce such, they work meticulously with Japanese pastry chefs which use specific oven imported from Japan. 

In the PIK Avenue store, they showcase their finest ingredients.

Yes, lots of cheese! But for those who are more adventurous, there are more exciting flavors such as, strawberry, coffee and chocolate. 

Since it’s almost Christmas, there are pretty gift boxes and hampers to choose here.

And…if you’re not a cake person, no worries, there are lots of cookies to choose too. Like this Golden Honey Palmier.

These days, you don’t even have to come to the store to purchase them. Go to their website here, order via Whatsapp and they’ll deliver to your doorstep. 

PHOTOS: PINKY MIRROR 

GET AHEAD FOR CHRISTMAS

Yes, it’s already December, my favorite month ever.

Time to spread some joy and gifts, people. While personalized gift is nice, cake and cookies are a showstopping for everyone. 

Browse here for festive cakes & cookies from Huize Van Wely, specially shaped & decorated into holiday essentials for Christmas. Warning: all of them are so instagramable!

Christmas won’t be complete without Santa Claus. This made with marzipan & chocolate, kids will love it.

Chef Alexis Gudimard from Huize Van Wely explained to me that it only took him 15 minutes to decorate the most difficult cake.

Christmas Angel Cake

Choices…choices…. If you want to try them on spot, opt for smaller pastries. 

Exclusively available at Huize Van Wely for Christmas, you can get this at The Papilion, Jakarta, Indonesia. 

PHOTOS: SHINTA ROSVITA

WHAT TO DO IF YOU ONLY HAVE ONE FULL DAY IN YOGYAKARTA?

Last week I had a very short trip to Yogyakarta with my colleagues at work. It was fun, considering the last time I went to Yogyakarta was about 10 years ago. It wasn’t even Yogyakarta, I went to Magelang for Thierry Mugler’s event, back then in my editors’ days. 

I had no expectations at all, so I might say..I was quite surprised with this super short trip. Me and my colleagues decided to do culinary stuff and just chill with no ambitious itinerary. We stayed at Greenhost Boutique Hotel, a small hotel with a seriously instagramable lobby. Even when we arrived at night, it looks cool. This is an eco-friendly hotel, so expect no hand towels, and no hair dryer. If you tried to dry your hair with your own hair dryer, the electricity in your room will go down. And never mind the air conditioner, it wasn’t a cold chilly room. Expect: ‘room temperature’ temperature. 

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But, at least the room is clean, and the pillows are not smelly. 

Since the breakfast is so-so at the hotel, we decided to try ViaVia. Within walking distance from the hotel, it was a small local bakery with decent brunch.

I’ve had better brunch, but I love the ambience in this bakery. 

For lunch, we went to Gudeg Sagan. ‘Wet type’ gudeg which I love so much, with gravy and no msg. And their Beras Kencur is ‘da bomb’. These meals reminded me of my childhood, eating gudeg with my mom in Pasar Cikini, Jakarta. 

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While in Yogyakarta, we didn’t want to miss visiting Lulu Lutfi Labibi’s workshop in Kampung Pekaten. Even though we got lost on our first attempt, it was literally a beautiful kind of lost, as we went through this beautiful village with vintage houses. 

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Lulu is famous for his drapping lurik’s creation, so it was truly a sight for sore eyes visiting his boutique/workshop. And of course, his place is so instagramable! 

To more affordable shopping place, we went to Lemari Lila. In this super tiny but cute boutique, I found a lurik outer for IDR400K only. And good to know, that they only created not more than 12 pieces for one design. So, bumping into others who wore the same thing is less likely. 

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Now, off for some coffee. 

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We went to Ruang Seduh for some decent coffee. They actually have the same coffee shop in Jakarta, which I like better, because they have more snacks and bigger/nicer space. 

For dinner, we decided to go to this nice restaurant that we found accidentally when we strolled down the street back to the hotel. Mediterranea Restaurant, owned by French chef, Camille Massard Combe or well known as Chef Kamil. When we googled it, this restaurant turned out to be number one restaurant in Yogyakarta in trip advisor.

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We were surprised because their prices are just super affordable for such a nice restaurant. They have this small shop which sells jam, bread etc, inside the restaurant, which reminds me a lot of Dean & Deluca. Must try if you’re visiting Yogyakarta. 

For something to bring home, we bought Monggo Chocolate. They do have this brand in Jakarta, but in Yogyakarta, they are cheaper. I love their strawberry chocolate, but for those who are more adventurous, try their rendang or red chili chocolate!

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One tip if you want to visit Yogyakarta: rent a car, so it’s easier to drive here and there. 

See you in another travel posts!

PHOTOS: SHINTA ROSVITA