“Everything you see, I owe to spaghetti”
– Sophia Loren
My wife’s delicious spaghetti bolognese for breakfast?
That would be lovely!
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Infographic by: buzzfeed.com ‘s Chris Ritter
Monthly Archives: January 2014
FCK™: KyoChon Indonesia
What I thought initially was that KyoChon maybe a tad too late to enter the Korean-style chicken wings competition. FYI, BonChon and Four Fingers have started here for quite some time with BonChon in particular have set foot firmly in Jakarta. Even so, the descending of KyoChon to Indonesia brings a fresh competition all over again!
That’s exactly what I saw when I finally had the chance to visit its current one and only store in Indonesia at Pacific Place shopping mall. Although awkwardly situated within a rank of restaurants on the fourth floor, KyoChon successfully drew a lot of attention – partly perhaps with its wax statue of Siwon of Super Junior boyband in front of the store.
But let’s not waste the time discussing about pop idols, but instead with the beautiful fried chicken. The chicken got the same treatment like those applied at both BonChon and Four Fingers – no fat, uses canola oil, smeared with sauces, and fried upon order. Of course, what makes KyoChon different than the rest would be the formula and the menu. For instance, BonChon prepares two types of chicken – standard and hot, while KyoChon has more abroad but three here – savory, hot, and honey.
During my last trip, I suggested that three of us should have twenty chicken wings – 10 from the hot Red Series and 10 from the standard series. For those of you who would rather have that KFC formula of chicken and rice with beverage, you can also pick that from the menu but I have to warn you that Korean-style fried chicken differentiates themselves from American fried chicken even from the pricing, thanks mostly to their ‘fried upon order’ standard.
So the serving time becomes longer but what you’ll have in front of you are the freshly fried crispy chicken with brave flavors and healthier. Our chicken we ate there proved that factors too and I enjoyed it all thoroughly.
For comparison, I liked the balanced recipe of BonChon’s spicy wings better than KyoChon’s although it has more of fruity freshness from the sauce and hotter here. As for the standard one, I like it vice versa because as you may already knew, I’m into savory food more than anyone and can stand upon the heat from peppers but not from chillies though. KyoChon’s savory wings were a good treat for me!
Well, KyoChon proves that the competition is far from over and we’ll see more of them coming in shopping malls to fight the bitter war against its worldwide rival BonChon. For us food lovers, it’s actually beneficial because that way we can have more options to satisfy our fried chicken cravings and to enhance our palates.
So which one do you like better?
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KYOCHON
Halal-friendly (cannot be certified – sells beer)
Unsuitable for vegetarians
Address:
Pacific Place – Lvl 4
Jalan Jend. Sudirman Kav. 52-53, Jakarta – Indonesia
Opening Hours: Mall opening hours
Delivery: 500-566
Website: http://www.kyochon-indonesia.com
Facebook: Kyochon Indonesia
Twitter: @kyochon_id
Spend: Around IDR 50,000 – IDR 100,000 for two
Quikskoop™: Ketan Bakar Lembang (Lembang, Indonesia)
So many years ago on almost every weekend, it has always been customary for my family to visit the wet market in Lembang in search for fresh vegetables and fruits. Since early morning, the grocers have displayed fresh carrots, cauliflowers, passion fruits, and many others still dusted with morning dew and so full of colors.
Meanwhile my parents haggle for the price, I took a walk with my siblings around the market to see the process of making fried tempe and oncom, looking for cold beverages, and of course, to have the ketan bakar.
I didn’t know how it was all started and why my parents specifically chose this particular lady who sells ketan bakar among others around her, but it has been proven that hers has always been the best, at least for my family.
Ketan bakar itself came from an soap-shaped glutinous rice, grilled, and then served with sauces such as a sweet peanut sauce, spicy peanut sauce with bird-eye chillies, and serundeng – fried grated coconuts. It has a complex layers of chewiness, sweet and spicy nutty texture, and crispiness from the coconut. When I was a kid, I didn’t like spicy food that much and I always asked her to give more of the sweet peanut sauce.
It has always been a treat for me. How can it not? The ketan bakar got sliced in the middle and all the sauces were put inside, then lastly, showered by serundeng. It’s the Sundanese definition of sandwich right?
Some twenty years later, when visiting Lembang has become a luxury for me who now live in Jakarta, I always give a chance to visit the market once in a while, although it happens only like one or a couple of times within a year.
When I arrived last time, everything was so different. What I once saw as a busy, thriving market now abandoned by many of the grocers and only a few remain there including my parents’ old vegetable grocer and the ketan bakar lady!
I can’t help but feeling a bit sad about what I saw there although the tourism have always been exciting here thanks to Lembang’s proximity with Gunung Tangkubanperahu and other places of interest such as Tahu Tauhid, De Ranch, fresh milk restaurants, and the current hype – Floating Market.
I greeted the lady with a warm smile and she remembered me still although it was probably a year since we last met. What impressed even more aside from her wonderful ketan bakar was that she still remembered my preference of having sweet peanut sauce albeit many many years had passed!
I sat by with my lovely wife and enjoy the ketan bakar which she love so much also and it became a routine for me to feed her the ketan bakar while we’re there. Last time it even became a romantic brunch for us even though only with this simple yet humble dish. I had my second and complement it with a fresh hot milk and my wife with a glass of bandrek susu. With the cool air and how everything feels easy in the countryside, everything that happened there was simply priceless.
“What will happen next with this market?”, I asked her and she said it may be renovated soon but she didn’t know where she will move her ketan bakar stall in the meantime. Of course, it made me sad to hear such thing especially that these hardworking, honest people have been around in this market for many years.
Time may have been cruel to some but from what I saw, she didn’t give that desperate look nor sadness. She chose to lead this way of life and enjoy every moment of it as much as we enjoy her ketan bakar.
Now I can only hope that I will always have a chance to enjoy her ketan bakar for many years to come at her place, not only to seek for good food but also to reflect again whether we have contribute so much to the society so far or not.
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KETAN BAKAR LEMBANG
Halal-friendly
Suitable for vegetarians
Address:
Pasar Lembang, Jalan Raya Bandung-Lembang
Look for the lady according the the picture, among several other ketan bakar sellers.
Opening hours:
Early morning – late afternoon.
Spend: IDR 10,000 – IDR 15,000 / person.
TGA Milestone: 2013 in review
Finally, now that we have entered 2014, herewith I would like to present you with what we have achieved together back in 2013. It has been a really rewarding year indeed. I hope it was for you too!
It’s always a pleasure to share it all with you and here’s to an even greater 2014 and beyond!
Have a great year ahead, mates!
Here’s an excerpt:
The Louvre Museum has 8.5 million visitors per year. This blog was viewed about 150,000 times in 2013. If it were an exhibit at the Louvre Museum, it would take about 6 days for that many people to see it.
Maya’s Musing: Time To Rise (The Foodie Magazine, Dec 2013)
Chef Maya Aldy joins The Foodie Magazine with her recurring column, Maya’s Musings. Maya trained at the French Culinary Institute and her experience in various kitchens in New York, Bali, and Jakarta. She is head chef and part owner of Otel Lobby in South Jakarta. Aside from cooking, Maya lives a very active life, works out, does yoga and marathons. Maya’s Musings will feature her take on easy home-prepared meals and dishes.
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One of the things I miss most about living in New York has always been the gorgeous fleshly baked breads. My favorite place was Sullivan Street Bakery owned by Jim Lahey. Everyday on my way to work, I would walk passed the bakery and would be mesmerized by the smells of the freshly baked bread wafting through the air. I always had to succumb and buy something from them. One of Jim’s breads which I quite fancied was this ‘no knead’ country rustic bread. The bread was fragrant, had a nice crust and was very delicious, and quite popular. As I did my own research, I discovered that it was fairly easy to do and didn’t need any special equipment. I tried it at home and voila! It was the very first bread I learned to bake.
Since moving back to Indonesia, to satiate my cravings for crusty bread, I’ve started to bake my own. The recipe I am passing on to you is one of my easiest, it doesn’t need any special equipment except for a dutch oven or a ceramic covered casserole in which we bake the bread in. Baking the bread in the casserole gives it that thick and crunchy crust, which I love so much. As this is a basic recipe, once you have done it a few times, you can always customize it on your own. You can add walnuts, pecans, and other nuts and even some dried fruits to it. The bread is great eaten on its own but is also goes well with some churned honey-butter, which we serve at Otel Lobby or with some mousses or pate. It is also perfect for sandwiches because of its density and again, the thick crust!
Happy baking!
Love,
Maya
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RECIPE
- 3 cups All-purpose flour
- ½ tea spoon Dry yeast
- 1 ¼ tea spoon Salt
- 1 1/3 cup Water (room temperature)
Optional: Replace 3/4 cup of All-purpose flour with wheat flour
EQUIPMENTS
- Oven with temperature control
- A Dutch oven (braadpan)
- Measuring spoons and cups
- Glass or stainless steel mixing bowl
STEPS
- Put all the ingredients into a mixing bowl.
- Mix the ingredients by hand for around 5 minutes to thicken the dough. Don’t be afraid to add water if needed to keep it a bit moist.
- Keep the dough at least about 12-18 hours inside the bowl but wrapped with damp towel or plastic wrap. Store away from sunlight and in the coolest corner of your kitchen.
- After the dough has risen, it is time to knead and fold. Flour your kitchen counter or table. Gently move the dough from the bowl and flatten it out on your surface.
- Shape the dough so it has four corners and dust it with flour.
- Wrap the dough like an envelope by using the four corners and flip the seam down
OPTIONAL: Dust a bit of wheat flour to make it more colorful after it is baked. - Dust a kitchen towel with flour and wrap the dough inside. Rest it for about 30-45 minutes.
- While at it, set the oven at 225OC and heat the empty Dutch oven inside for around 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes of heating, the dough should also be ready as well. Put the dough inside the Dutch oven while it’s hot. You want it hot so that the Dutch oven will create some steam during the baking process that helps the dough to get the crusty texture.
- Bake it for 30 minutes still at 225OC with the lid on.
- Take the lid off, lower the temperature to 200OC and bake for another 15-20 minutes. Don’t worry about the color, a dark crust would be okay.
- Take it out from the oven and rest the bread for around 20 minutes before you cut it.
- Enjoy the bread while it’s warm!
MAKE YOUR OWN BUTTER
Whisk fresh heavy cream vigorously or use an electric mixer. Once the cream has broken down into butter, add some honey and continue to mix until the honey is well incorporated.
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Featured in THE FOODIE MAGAZINE December 2013 edition
Download it for free here via SCOOP!
Photos by Himawan Sutanto
