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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Now, off for some coffee.
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.
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!
One tip if you want to visit Yogyakarta: rent a car, so it’s easier to drive here and there.
One fine Friday night spent at Majapahit Lounge at The Dharmawangsa with friends and Martini.
And not just a simple Martini. It was a special Martini, shake and mixed in front of guests. Wait until you know what they named their Martinis. From James Bond movies and his Bond Girls! They stated the names and the movies on the menu with the complete description of their ingredients, too.
Last night, I decided to try “Pussy Galore”, inspired by the fictional character from one of the classic Bond movie, “Gold Finger” way back in 1966. Vodka with Peach Liqueur, Cranberry, shaken & served in a chilled martini glass with a lemon twist (that’s the description on the menu, by the way). It was still quite early to have a stronger Martini, so I decided to have a fruity one. Plus, I love peach and cranberry. The cranberry juice lend their color to make the martini looks tempting, and a lemon twist balance out the sweet taste of peach liqueur. The girly (pinkish and peachy color) plus the not to sweet yet refreshing taste made me wish I was in the Bahamas! It was totally refreshing on stifling evening. Me and my best pals decided to nibble as well. We ordered banana fritters with chocolate & cheese on top, served with melted brown sugar sauce and one hot plate full of beef & chicken satays.
Remember how James Bond himself prefers his martinis shaken not stirred? Well, the whole experience of having Bond’s favorite drink was very tempting, indeed.
Ideal meal for this gloomy weather at Crystal Jade Restaurant & Steamboat.
I have to admit that I do enjoy warm meal on any days. What can I say, I am not a salad or sushi kind of gal. That’s why hot pot, also known as steamboat (in countries such as Singapore and Thailand) is one of my favorite. Yesterday, I was invited to try the first ever steamboat restaurant by Crystal Jade in Jakarta. What’s more: they also served dim sum till 5pm.
Crystal Jade offers different sets of steamboats, but I decided to try Set G, which is their Set Steamboat Seafood. For the soup base (yes, you can self-select), I was recommended to try their chicken congee soup base. Not your typical congee, as you won’t see the actual one. The consistency of the congee was not that thick, easy to slurp as it’s lightly salted and smooth. Not to mention, very tasty too! So tasty, I could eat the soup base alone and feel full. But, I don’t want to miss three pieces of live prawns which are a part of the set. When I said live prawn, they’re still alive when served. So they’re really really fresh. The others are cuttlefish, vegetables (napa cabbage & hon-shimeji mushrooms), vermicelli, garoupa fillet, homemade (yes, Crystal Jade takes effort to make their own) cuttlefish ball, bean curd, sweet corn and egg. Even though they’re seafood, but they definitely didn’t taste fishy at all. All these fresh additions made a very flavourful steamboat, indeed! Cooked on a special imported table (named: induction), without fire at sight, I truly believe that steamboat is all about the freshness of the ingredients and the mix of sauces (they have 17 sauces to mix and match).
As I mentioned earlier, other than steamboat, the restaurant also offer a selection of Dim Sum favorites, made by a Hong Kong chef. I ordered the old-time favorite Siew Mai and Steamed Salted Egg Yolk Custard Bun. I’m not surprised why there are queues for Crystal Jade’s dim sum, especially on the weekends. They are delicious. Make sure they’re served hot, especially for the custard bun as I can feel the warm golden colored sauce melt inside my mouth. I love how fluffy the dough is, and I consider this dish as a memorable dim sum dessert at Crystal Jade. Another must try for the closing, are their ice blended drinks (I tried Rosemary: a blend of strawberry, banana & milk) and well loved mango pudding.
Except the yeay factor for the weekday dim sum, as Chinese New Year nearly approaching next month, this is a good spot to have your reunion dinner. Best to have a company of friends and families, judging from their spacious Chinese’ style interior for a more pleasant dining experience.
Crystal Jade Restaurant & Steam Boat Pondok Indah Mall Street Gallery 2nd Floor Jakarta, Indonesia
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