ASIAN FOOD

Ayam Taliwang

2010-11-21T12:16:00.002+07:00

A tour of Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara, will not be complete without tasting the local Taliwang Chicken — Ayam Taliwang — to explore the mystery of its flavor. This typical Lombok dish is a favorite among both locals and visitors to the island. In Mataram, the provincial capital, it can be found at various eateries from sidewalk food stalls to restaurants in star-rated hotels. At first glance, Taliwang Chicken looks almost like the common grilled or fried chicken, simply covered with a spicy relish. Only after tasting it can we discern the difference.

The meat is well done and very soft in texture. Both hot and sweet, it has the aroma of terasi (fermented shrimp paste), which prompts us to savor every mouthful.

“It tastes hot and deeply piquant,” said I Made Putra, a resident of Denpasar, Bali, who was enjoying Taliwang Chicken for lunch at Lesehan Taliwang Irama, a Mataram restaurant where guests eat lesehan-style, sitting on floor mats. “It’s my first visit here. A friend told me (about it) and he’s right — the chicken has a unique flavor.”

The name of the dish is derived from Karang Taliwang, a subdistrict in Mataram where the recipe for this regional specialty has its roots. The late H. Abdul Hamid is recognized for creating the Ayam Taliwang recipe in 1970. Lesehan Taliwang Irama — situated on Jl. Ade Irma Suryani in Karang Taliwang, Cakranegara, Mataram — was set up in 1997 by Hamid’s son, H. Mahmudin, who has since managed the business.

“The ingredients for this chicken are only chili, garlic and terasi, but the method of preparation and the proportions of these condiments are different. My father concocted the spice sauce in the 1970s and first opened a chicken stall near the Cakranegara shopping center back then,” Mahmudin said.

He recalled the hard times he experienced when helping his father start the eatery business, particularly because potential customers were as yet unaware of the difference between Ayam Taliwang and grilled or fried chicken.

According to Mahmudin, Taliwang Chicken became known for the first time as a typical food of the area in the 1980s, when a state minister toured Mataram.

“My father got an order for 100 portions from the state minister. Since then, visiting government officials have always sought Taliwang Chicken for their dinners,” he said.

As the unique dish had its beginnings in Karang Taliwang, Mahmudin was struck by the idea of using this name, and established his lesehan restaurant in 1997.

Today, Lesehan Taliwang Irama employs at least 35 people from the area. The emergence of bird flu across Indonesia had reduced his turnover for a while, but the chicken business is now reviving with no incidence of the epidemic inWest Nusa Tenggara so far.

As to the mystery of Taliwang Chicken’s delectable flavor, Mahmudin said this concerned the choice of meat as well as the cooking process.

Mahmudin only uses three-month-old free-range chickens, because the meat becomes tough if the chicken is older and “breaks” if it is younger.

After the fowl is cleaned and grilled until it is half done, the meat is tenderized with a pestle and dipped into hot cooking oil for several seconds. It is immersed into the spicy sauce before it is grilled or fried until well done.

But don’t expect an answer to a request for the special sauce’s recipe.

“It’s a trade secret,” remarked Mahmudin. He gave the same response when a number of students from Surabaya, East Java, visited his lesehan and asked for the recipe.

“A journalist from Japan once also wanted the recipe for his article. I just gave him a general instruction,” he added. In face, Mahmudin prepares the sauce and condiments for the dish himself while his cooks finish the chicken, thus maintaining the authentic flavor of the original.

The restaurant’s long existence, in addition to various suggestions from customers, have resulted in Taliwang Irama’s expanded menu, which includes sea- and freshwater fish prepared with the same sauce.

In spite of his established restaurant business, Mahmudin has not considered opening branches outside Lombok.

“It’s simple: Ayam Taliwang carries the unique flavor of Lombok, so let people from other regions come here to try Lombok’s specialty. They will also get an impression of the place,” he said.

The fame of this mouth-watering chicken in the country has even resulted in the production of Taliwang-flavored instant noodles. This worries Mahmudin, who was not contacted by the noodle-maker for permission to capitalize on his family recipe.

“It’s about time for me to form a Taliwang Chicken sellers’ association. This is a formula unique to Taliwang, (so) how can a (mass) product claim to have the same flavor?” he said.

With his plan to trademark his recipe, Mahmudin hoped that the West Nusa Tenggara provincial administration would assist in the nationwide promotion of the Lombok dish.

“A lot of food stalls and hotel restaurants serve Taliwang dishes, but these are known only by word of mouth, rather than through government promotion of regional highlights,” he pointed out.

Taliwang Chicken is even more appetizing when accompanied with local side dishes such as plecing (water spinach with tomato-chili relish) and beberuk (eggplant in chili sauce). Priced at Rp 15,000-25,000 for a full portion, Ayam Taliwang can be found in nearly all eateries in Mataram.

Panca Nugraha

Opor Ayam

2010-11-21T12:11:00.002+07:00

Ingredients:

1 chicken (1 to 1½ kg)
8 tablespoons groundnut oil
1 large onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 teaspoon trassi
200 ml water
1 dessertspoon goela Djawa
300 ml Coconut milk
pepper, salt & kecap manis

Preparation:

Divide the chicken into 4 equal portions, wash and dry. Rub in pepper and salt.
Dice the onion and crush the garlic.
Crush or grate the kemiri nuts and mix with the coriander, cumin, laos and turmeric.

In a thick bottomed pan, heat the oil and fry the chicken on all sides to a golden colour. Reduce the heat slightly and add the onions and garlic, stir until the onion is cooked and nicely browned. Add the bumbu's and fry for a further 2 minutes then add the trassi and fry for a further minute.
Now add the water and goela Djawa to the pan. Bring to the boil and cover the pan with a lid and simmer the chicken on a low heat for a further 30 minutes until well done.
Remove lid and add the coconut milk and, leaving the lid of the pan, reduce the sauce to about half. Bring to taste with pepper, salt or kecap manis.

Rujak Cingur

2010-11-21T12:05:00.002+07:00

Rujak Cingur is snack food that becomes a typical Surabaya's food, that consisted of several kinds fruits slices like cucumber, bengkoang, young mangoes, pineapples and kedondong, it is added with rice cake, tofu, fermented soybean cake, bendoyo or krai (a kind of cucumber boiled) and cingur as well as vegetables (sprout, leafy vegetable& long peanuts) and was mixed with sauce or the spice that is made from the prawns fermented, chili, fried peanuts, fried onion & salt. It has called as rujak cingur because the whim spice that being used were prawns fermented and the slice of cingur, whereas rujak generally without using these ingredients. It can be served with pincuk from bananas leaves (the bananas leaves) or plate which was usually accompanied with chips.

Rawon

2010-11-21T12:04:00.000+07:00

Ingredients:

300 gr. beef brisket, cut into 2 cm cube
2 bay leaves
4 kaffir's lime leaves
1 stalk lemongrass, bruised
2 cm galangal (laos), bruised
salt and pepper to taste
6 glasses of water (1.5 liters)
2 Tbs. vegetable oil

Spice Paste Ingredients:

4 small shallots
2 cloves garlic
4 candlenuts
3 kluwek, take out the nut meat only
2 red chilies

Garnish:

100 gr. short beansprouts
Basil leaves

Sate KOMO from Indonesia

2010-11-21T11:38:00.000+07:00

INGREDIENTS

3 pounds beef round or sirloin, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1 1/4 cups grated coconut
2 1/2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark soy sauce
1 to 2 tablespoons seeded, finely chopped red or green bird chilies (see note)
6 wooden or bamboo skewers, soaked in hot water for 10 minutes

PREPARATION

1.: In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients, mixing well. Set aside at room temperature to marinate for 15 minutes.
2.: Preheat the broiler or a grill. Slide the beef cubes onto the skewers, using 4 to 5 cubes per skewer. Press the beef into the marinade to get as much of the coconut as possible to cling to the meat. Grill, turning once, until browned and cooked to the desired doneness, 3 to 6 minutes per side. Serve immediately.

Watching the brain pick junk food over healthy food

2009-05-02T22:53:00.002+07:00

Last year, we covered research that examined how well people's dietary intentions lined up with what they actually ate. It turns out that a significant portion of those with good intentions—those planning to eat healthy—end up eating unhealthy junk food instead. Of course, over half the study participants had no intention of ever trying to eat a healthy snack in the first place.

New research from a team at CalTech, published in the current edition of Science, has now examined the brains of self-proclaimed dieters as they are forced to make a decision about what foods to eat. The researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to look at a few specific areas of the participant's brain. The areas under study are hypothesized to play a key role in making decisions that balance tastiness and healthiness of various food choices.

The experiment was carried out in three parts. In the first two parts, each subject was shown fifty different foods and asked to rate them first on how good they thought each would taste and how healthy they felt each was. From these two measurements, the researchers picked an "index" food, one that rated right in the middle of both taste and healthiness for that participant. The subject was then shown each of the fifty foods again, but asked to rate how much they would like to eat it relative to their "index" food item, using a five point scale.

The team hypothesized that value decisions—the amount one would like to eat a given food item—would arise in an area of the brain known as the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). They also hypothesized that this raw value signal would be modulated by the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), with the DLPFC providing a degree of self-control.

Since all three tests were carried out inside an fMRI machine, the researchers were able to monitor the blood-oxygen levels in specific areas of the brain; this signal is used as a proxy for brain activity. They were able to identify two distinct groups of individuals: those who exhibited a high level of self-control, and those who exhibited a low level of self-control.

The authors expected that, for the 19 participants who were identified as self controllers, decisions on which foods to eat were made on the basis of both taste and health. Those in the low self-control group (18 in total) made their decisions on the basis of taste alone.

Analysis of the fMRI data suggested the authors' hypothesis was correct. Those who made good decisions and employed self-control exhibited more activity in the DLPFC region of the brain, where as the amount of activity in the vmPFC was similar in both groups. According to the lead author of the paper Todd Hare, "the vmPFC works during every decision. The DLPFC, on the other hand, is more active when you're employing self-control."

Based on their findings, the authors speculate on the evolution of our brains and the nature of self-control. They argue that the vmPFC originally evolved to predict or forecast the "short-term value of stimuli," and that humans gained the ability to examine the long-term considerations as structures such as the DLPFC evolved to modulate the short-term desire signal. While the experiments were limited to diet choices, the authors state that understanding the origins of self-control can have implications for areas as diverse as addiction science, economic policy, and even into determining whether someone is in full command of their decision-making facilities under the eyes of the law.

Asia Will Drive Coca-Cola's Growth

2007-08-06T20:23:00.001+07:00

AP Interview: Asia Will Be Biggest Driver of Growth for Coca-Cola, CEO Says SINGAPORE (AP) -- Asia will be the biggest driver of Coca-Cola's growth over the next 10 years, the head of the world's biggest beverage company said Sunday, adding that the company had lost out by not investing enough in the region in the past.

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"Asia is at the core," Neville Isdell, the chairman and chief executive of the Atlanta, Georgia-based Coca-Cola Co., said in an interview with The Associated Press.

"Because we haven't been making sufficient investments, we have underperformed the opportunities that are present in Asia," he said in Singapore on the sidelines of the two-day World Economic Forum on East Asia conference, which brought together some of the world's most influential industry leaders.

Isdell's comments come on the heels of Coca-Cola's upbeat financial results for the first quarter of 2007, when its profits jumped 14 percent.

The company said its worldwide unit-case volume sales grew 6 percent -- the highest rate since 2002.

Isdell said Coca-Cola has invested more than $1 billion over the last 12 months in Asia, particularly in the Philippines, China, India and Indonesia.

"There is no question that the biggest driver of our growth over this century, and over the next 10 years, is Asia. It's a very simple equation. It's where people are, and it's where the economic growth is, and it's clearly where we are focused," Isdell said.

"If you are not a major player in Asia you will not be a successful global company," he said.

The company's market share in Asia's non-alcoholic, ready-to-drink beverage market is currently "in the teens" and will become much higher in the next five years, Isdell said, without elaborating.

"We believe we will be the engine of growth for the industry," he said.

In a wide-ranging interview, Isdell talked about the acquisition strategy of Coca-Cola, which purchased Vitaminwater maker Glaceau earlier this month for $4.1 billion. He said Vitaminwater would be available in Asia in the next few years.

He refused to say if Coca-Cola is thinking of buying Scottish mineral water maker Highland Spring, which some analysts have valued at $1 billion.

"We know Highland Spring is certainly not worth a billion, and certainly not worth half a billion," said Isdell.

But "we look at everything that is out there," he said, adding that acquisition will be a core strategy of Coca-Cola's expansion.

"We believe if we want to get to a critical mass in a hurry, we will go the acquisition route. The way we phrase it is, 'build-buy equation all the time.'"

Isdell acknowledged that the soft drinks industry in India has been set back by five years due to recent allegations that water used in soft drinks was contaminated with pesticide. Tests later showed the allegations to be unfounded.

"But today we believe we have recovered," Isdell said, noting that Coca-Cola registered a double-digit growth in India in the first quarter.

Isdell also spoke about Coca-Cola's corporate social responsibility, saying it is making efforts to ensure conservation of water, the basic ingredient of their product.

Coca-Cola has 275 rain-harvesting projects in India, and another 25 will be started this year, he said.

Creating a modern food zone

2007-08-06T20:08:00.000+07:00

As Thailand aims to become the "Kitchen of the World", the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER) master plan will have a willing market for its goal of turning our northern states into a premier food production centre for the Southeast Asian region.

The master plan targets to increase agricultural exports for the northern region to RM48.1 billion from RM32 billion per annum in 2005 and the average farmers' income to above RM1,500 per month from less than RM500 by 2012, in line with its objectives of poverty eradication and economic growth.

According to statistics recently released by the National Productivity Council in the 2006 Productivity Report, it states that the food processing sector accounted for only 3% or over RM17 billion of Malaysia's RM588.9 billion total manufacturing output last year.

This pales in comparison to Thailand, which is the fifth largest exporter of food products worldwide, with its food export expected to grow by 10.3% to a total of 607.1 billion baht (RM69.24 billion) this year.

One reason identified for the poor performance is that Malaysia has not fully leveraged or capitalised on the fact that it has one of the most bio-diverse ecosystems in the world. However, this is poised to change once the initiatives targeted to boost the agriculture industry are set into motion.

Achieving food security
Food security has always been a national policy objective for the country since the 1950s, but we have not been successful in reaching self-sufficiency goals.

For instance, self-sufficiency ratios of rice stood at 72.4% last year. Malaysia is also faced with a widening food trade deficit, whereby the RM7.4 billion deficit in 2005 is expected to jump more than 30% to RM11 billion by 2010.

At present, despite food export performance having doubled over the last decade, the country is still a net importer of food products with annual imports of RM18 billion as of last year.

The deficit is in part due to inefficient agricultural methods, resulting in paddy yields of between three and five tonnes per hectare of land, compared to the regional benchmark of eight tonnes per hectare.

As a result, we are still reliant on imports from countries like Vietnam and Thailand to meet the needs of our domestic market. In fact, Malaysia alone accounts for 9% of Vietnam's rice exports in 2006.

This dependence on international markets is risky due to the instability of the global rice market and negative repercussions of the liberalisation of the agricultural trade from free trade agreements.

Hence, the NCER initiatives will play an integral role in addressing these problems, principally by introducing modern agriculture methods, expanding agro-based processing activities, introducing new crops and facilitating the use of technology and best practices.

Effecting a mindset change
Implementation of the NCER master plan will not be without its challenges. While implementation efficacy is vital to its success, observers point out that nothing less than a paradigm shift among the people is needed to help it take off.

One of the biggest hurdles that the NCER initiatives will face is the issue of private land ownership, and how to educate a rural society that holds strongly to tradition on the benefits of new technologies and commercial farming.

To lessen the resistance to change, landowners will not be asked to sell their land, but instead will be encouraged to appoint a professional company to manage their land in return for a fixed monthly salary and profit-sharing from the produce.

Much like what's already being done in other countries, these professional agriculture companies will then be tasked to negotiate long-term contracts with major supermarket chains for the supply of agriculture produce, which will result in better income for the farming community.

Diversifying the agriculture business
In addition to introducing best practices and technologies to achieve better productivity, there are also plans to promote the growth of new crops such as climatic fruits, corn, potatoes and herbs.

As an alternative agriculture downstream sector, biotechnology has enabled the use of agriculture produce for higher value non-food purposes such as corn for biofuel and bioplastics; and potatoes for biodegradable packaging.

Incentives will also be put into place to encourage farmers to become entrepreneurs for food-based downstream products to create an additional income stream from the commercial sale of items like canned foods and preserves.

To jump-start some of these initiatives, start-up grants and RM100 million in venture capital will be made available to facilitate 'agri-preneurship', while soft loans will also be given out for purchase of equipment and key inputs.

Augmenting these measures, fiscal incentives — like pioneer status and investment tax allowances — are also planned to encourage and attract large corporations to partner the local community in commercial scale farming.

Improving infrastructure and education
Walking the talk, Sime Darby Bhd, the architect of the master plan, is investing in a seed academy that will be based in Perlis.

The research facility will focus on producing seeds of varieties with higher yields, that are pest resistant and have better suitability to local soil.

On top of seed research, the facility will also conduct research on downstream areas and bio-prospecting to identify new high value uses for agriculture produce.

Hand in hand with this research based push, after years of having to make do with below par infrastructure, the government intends to fund the implementation of better water management system and irrigation practices.

This is a key initiative as improved irrigation systems are expected to increase paddy yield per hectare of land as it will eliminate the problems that some farmers face who rely on the goodwill of their neighbours for access to water.

It is important to note that NCER, in the quest to raise living standards and quality of farming, will not be trampling on the land.

Much of the land in the NCER remains unused or under-utilised, with 51.9% of it now being gazetted as environmentally sensitive areas.

Only 3,500 hectares is earmarked to be re-designated for agricultural usage under the master plan. Obviously the focus is on quality and production excellence.

Hakka food combines the best of South Asian and Indian cooking

2007-08-04T06:09:00.000+07:00

Welcome to a new column by Toronto resident Rakshande Italia called Desi Dialogues. Desi Dialogues is a bi-weekly, light-hearted column that delves into the lives of the 600,000 South Asians that call the GTA their home. The term desi is derived from an ancient Sanskrit language, which means countrymen, and refers to people from the Indian subcontinent – India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
The column will discuss, debate, dissect and explore interesting stories about this vibrant community and its people in all aspects of their lives - be it their social and cultural lives or their quest for education. It will also explore their unique health practices such as yoga or the delicious foods these communities bring to Toronto. No aspect is too small to discuss at Desi Dialogues, and we hope that the column will not only talk to our ethnic communities but will also entertain our mainstream readers wishing to get a fresh look at this important community - predicted to be the largest ethnic group here by 2017, according to Statistics Canada.
We would love to hear what you have to say. Please send your feedback to rakshande.italia@gmail.com

My husband Ronnie says I must have been a “Chinese rice farmer or positively, 100 per cent, a Chinese restaurant owner,” in my previous birth. When I say, “That’s not true,” he immediately poses the question I hate to answer: “How else can you explain the way you go out of your way seeking Chinese food?
Frankly, I don’t have any answer to that. Except to blame my mother, who craved it when she was pregnant with me, eating only Chinese food for nine long months, as the spicy cuisine we South Asians savour wasn’t on her menu then.
Ronnie, unfortunately, had to see me experiencing similar Chinese cravings during my own pregnancy. The only difference was, I’d crave masala noodles – spicy noodles made in India for South Asian palates. Every day, I’d eat at least two of them, which hubby dutifully made for me, afraid he was supposed to “give in” during those precarious, hormone-filled times.
But my dad wasn’t so lucky. The instant-noodles culture wasn’t around 35 years ago, so every night, after my mom closed her clinic, poor dad would drive his doctor wife 40 kilometres to a quaint Chinese joint where she’d savour the shark fin soup made by Uncle Kong. (I always wondered how that soup didn’t make her feel queasy.)
My father would religiously order his orange and red spicy, saucy noodles, not authentic Chinese, but which falls under a South Asian classification, colloquially referred to as Indian Chinese, and better known in Toronto as Hakka Chinese.
Hakka cuisine has evolved over centuries, as the Hakka community, from China’s Canton province, migrated to India and cleverly innovated according to South Asians’ spicy palate. Once again, as 700,000 South Asians flood Toronto, Hakka joints that cater to this huge influx have grown exponentially, springing up in places such as Scarborough, on the Danforth and Toronto’s suburban neighbourhoods.
If you step into one of these restaurants, you can experience an interesting mix-and-match cuisine of spicy Indian ingredients such as green chilies, coriander leaves, red chili powder, expertly blended with tangy Chinese sauces, all stir-fried in one big wok to make a unique dish that’s partly Indian and partly Chinese.
Don’t ask me what that means. Suffice to say that the fusion style is so popular that it even finds a place in books and Internet sites as “Indian cuisine”.
Also, don’t expect to bask in a typical Chinese ambience, either through quaint Chinese musical chimes or Chinese lanterns. The chances are you’d be flooded with Bollywood music instead. In fact, some Chinese chefs even speak the Indian Hindi language, while their restaurant menus feature Indian starters such as pakoras (spicy meat\vegetable meatballs) and desserts such as kulfi (Indian ice cream).
And every Hakka restaurant worth its salt will sport a Manchurian chicken or the chili chicken on its menu. A hot favourite with South Asians, and prized possession for hotel owners, these recipes are ferociously guarded, with even junior chefs not being privy to its secret ingredients.
You see, with increased competition, poaching of good chefs has become common practice, and each restaurant wants to draw in crowds based on its own variation of these favourite dishes.
One last reminder: Don’t ask the chefs to “make it spicy” if you’ve never eaten it before. As one Hakka restaurant owner says, “A white man’s version of spicy is very different from a South Asian asking for the same.”
As for my mother, her Chinese cravings subsidized, but not her love for this food. Blame Uncle Kong, the chef whose restaurant we frequented, and who by then had become mom’s patient, frequenting our house – big wok in hand, drumming up some excellent Chinese meals.
Four years ago, my mom visited Toronto. After staying for five months and exhausting all the Canadian foods, she decided she couldn’t leave Toronto without savouring her Indian-Chinese.
So in -40 C, on a cold January night, just days before her back-to-India trip, we hunted down the first Hakka Chinese restaurant we could find and just ate – like pigs.
UP NEXT: Did you know that Toronto is home to almost 6,000 Zoroastrians, followers of the world’s oldest monotheistic religion, which has only 120,000 members left around the world? The spirited movement refuses to say it is dwindling. Interestingly, the GTA has the second largest concentration of Zoroastrians outside of India. As this tiny community celebrates its new year on Aug. 20, Desi Dialogues looks at this incredible community and its growing quest to retain an identity in Canada.

Western Food in Japan

2007-08-03T02:01:00.000+07:00

In an orange shirt, green-plaid pants, and black-and-white bucks, Hirashika Koji is a Crayola splotch of color in the gray-suited McDonald's lunch crowd.

He dresses to stand out from the throng, but Japan's health experts would say the showbiz manager's looks are all too typical. He's a bit jowly, as he'll admit, and when he leans back in his chair, his shirt strains against a burgeoning little belly.

Japanese men like Mr. Koji have been packing on the pounds. Today the Health and Welfare Ministry says 1 in 3 males in their 30s is overweight. Whole police departments are dieting, and even Sumo wrestlers have been asked to stop dipping into the cookie jar quite so often.

For a nation weaned on grilled fish and white rice, this is unusual - Sumo aside, chubby Japanese men don't loom large in the national self-image. But wealth, post-World War II policy, and international influences have changed the way Japanese eat.

Along with rising crime and unemployment, male waistlines are a small but rapidly expanding sign of how Japan is becoming less a set of islands unto itself, and more like the world's other industrial nations.

After centuries of a refined, lean cuisine based on rice, soybeans, pickles, and fish, the Japanese have embraced Italian pastas, rich French sauces, and fiery Mexican tacos. Even small-town restaurants offer dishes such as curry rice (beef in a rich, not-so-spicy sauce) or hot cakes.

Japan has been assimilating Western food for centuries: ``Pan,'' the word for bread, was borrowed from Portuguese traders who arrived in the 16th century. But the influx of Western food has jumped dramatically in recent years.

The number of convenience stores, which stock Oreos, Ritz crackers, ice cream, potato chips, and the like, has quadrupled since 1985. And fast-food chains have proliferated, catering to those with a hankering for mayonnaise-topped pizza (a local specialty), fried chicken, or a hambaagaa, as burgers are known here.

McDonald's quick expansion is one measure of the appetite for fast food. In 1993 the US chain had 1,043 stores. By 1997, it had 2,439. This pleases Koji, the flashy dresser, who eats at the US chain about three times a week. ``It's cheap, it's fast, and I like the taste,'' he says, though he - and the Health Ministry - worry about how fatty some of the food is. ``Young people don't eat much tofu, seafood, or green vegetables anymore,'' the ministry frets in a report, adding that they don't exercise enough either. (Women, it notes, haven't gained much weight at all over the last few decades.) But men have become cause for concern. Seven prefectures, or states, have announced their men in blue are requiring increasingly larger uniforms.

The forces are taking this seriously. Some stations have installed body-fat scales. In southern Fukuoka prefecture, where almost half the officers were issued warnings, the officials organized weight-loss competitions. ``It turned out to be a success,'' says spokesman Kazuo Inoue, ``[but] we're still working on this.''

If young Japanese have forsaken tofu for teriyaki burgers, government policy bears some responsibility. After the war, food shortages and the large number of orphans led teachers to organize free lunches for students who had none. The Ministry of Education got involved, leading to school-lunch laws designed to promote the physical and mental development of Japan's children.

But the food - some of it made with wheat from US postwar aid programs - was very Western. Students ate omelets, hamburgers, or sandwiches. ``Because many Japanese adults grew up this way, they have no hesitation to feed their children the same way,'' says nutritionist Daisuke Futami, who teaches at a college outside Tokyo.

As Japan rebuilt after the war, its people were able to afford better quality food in greater quantities. Mr. Futami estimates that Japanese today eat five times the amount of meat and animal fat that they did in the 1940s. On Japanese streets, the generational difference in diet is clear: Young people are taller than their parents and often tower over grandparents.

"Japanese people are getting bigger in general," says Takeshi Hayashi of the Japan Sumo Association. His wrestlers weigh an average of 338 pounds - 50 pounds heavier than they were in 1975. Fans are complaining that the wrestlers are getting too big and it's bad for the sport: The games are no longer as exciting or as drawn out. ``We haven't ordered them to diet,'' says Mr. Hayashi, ``but we've warned them informally.''

Wasabi

2007-08-03T01:49:00.001+07:00

Wasabi is Japanese horseradish. It is most famous in form of a green paste used as condiment for sashimi (raw seafood) and sushi. However, wasabi is also used for many other Japanese dishes.

Wasabi is a root vegetable that is grated into a green paste. In supermarkets, wasabi is widely available as a paste or in powder form. Wasabi powder has to be mixed with water to become a paste. Wasabi has a strong, hot flavour which dissipates within a few seconds and leaves no burning aftertaste in one's mouth.

wasabi paste

Many "wasabi" powder and paste products that are available in supermarkets (and even some restaurants) contain only very little or no real wasabi at all and are made of coloured horseradish instead. This is due to the fact that cultivation of real wasabi is relatively difficult and expensive.

Udon - Japanese Noodles

2007-08-03T01:48:00.001+07:00

Udon - Japanese Noodles

Udon are thick Japanese noodles. There are several ways to prepare Udon. This recipe shows three of them:

Kitsune Udon: Fox Udon
Tanuki Udon: Japanese racoon Udon
Tsukimi Udon: "Viewing moon" Udon (the yolk of an egg represents the moon)

Ingredients:

* Udon*
* Noodle soup*: e.g. Ninben Tsuyu no moto
* Kitsune Udon:
o Naruto*: Fish sausage with a pink pattern when cut
o Atsuage*: baked tofu. You can use the triangular atsuage bags that are used for Inari Sushi; but put them first in boiling water for a moment to reduce their strong taste a little bit.
o Leek or green onion
* Tanuki Udon:
o Naruto*
o Tenkatsu: crispy pieces that are left when deep frying tenpura. If not available, you can cut some leek, mix it with tenpura batter and deep fry it.
o Leek or green onion
* Tsukimi Udon:
o One egg per person
o Naruto*
o Leek or green onion

* This ingredient may not be available in Western supermarkets, but you should be able to find it in Japanese grocery stores that exist in most large European and American cities.

Preparation:

Noodles

1. Boil Udon and boil some water in another pan (about 400ml per person, depends on the size of the bowl in which you will serve the noudles).
2.
Cut naruto (about 7mm thin) and leek/green onion.
3. Put Udon into sieve and rinse it with hot water.
4. Add noudle sauce into prepared hot water. Consult the bottle label about the proportion.With "Ninben Tsuyu no moto" sauce the proportion sauce-water is 1:8.
5. Put the hot Sauce into a bowl and add Udon into it. (Use one bowl per person)

Kitsune Udon

6. Decorate Udon with atsuage, cut leek and naruto.

Tanuki Udon

7. Put the deep fried pieces (Rests of Tenpura deep frying), naruto and cut leek onto the noudles.

Tsukimi Udon

8. Put the york, cut leek and naruto onto the noudles.

Serving and eating:

Noodle eating directions: Keep the distance between your mouth and the bowl quite small, and lead the noodles with the chopsticks step by step into your mouth producing sipping noises.

General information:

Noodles (Soba, Udon, and Ramen) are very popular in Japan. Noodle restaurants can be found everywhere.

Tempura

2007-08-03T01:46:00.000+07:00

Tempura - Seafood and vegetables deep fried in tempura batter

Tempura was brought to Japan by the Potuguese. Today Tempura is a very popular Japanese food, and as well one of the best known outside of Japan.

Ingredients:

Tempura batter mix*

Tempura dipping sauce*

Prawn: raw and large

Seafood: almost everything is possible

Vegetables: pumpkin, carot, sweet potatoe, eggplant, and more

Mushrooms

and much more to try.

* This ingredient may not be available in Western supermarkets, but you should be able to find it in Japanese grocery stores that exist in most large European and American cities.

Preparation:

Prawn: Remove the head and the shell. Make little cuts on the inside of the curved prawn since they look nicer if their posture is straight.

Cut the vegetables in about 1cm thick pieces.

You can use whole mushrooms.

Mixtures: Cut various ingredients in small pieces and mix them together, eg. green onion, prawn and carots.

Mix Tempura flour with the amount of water described on the package. Do not mix it completely, but leave some small lumps in it.

Cover all the ingredients completely with the batter.
Mix also the mixtures made of the small cut ingredients with batter, and try to deep fry it together. Don't let them fall apart in all the pieces.

Deep fry at 180 degrees celsius. Be careful, and do not use wet ingredients because the water would react strongly with the hot oil, which may harm your skin or eyes.

When the Tempura pieces are beautifully golden, take them out, and try to remove as much oil as possible.

Serving and eating:

There are a few different ways to serve Tempura. Here are two of them:

Serve the Tempura pieces on a plate, and prepare some bowls with Tempura dipping sauce.

Tendon (Tempura Donburi): Put the pieces in Tempura dipping sauce, remove them, and put them on top of cooked rice in a bowl. (One bowl per person)

Susi

2007-08-03T01:44:00.000+07:00

Sushi is the most famous Japanese dish outside of Japan, and one of the most popular dishes among the Japanese themselves who usually enjoy sushi on special occasions.

During the Edo period, "sushi" refered to pickled fish conserved in vinegar. Nowadays sushi can be defined as a dish containing rice which has been prepared with sushi vinegar. There are many different types of sushi. Some popular ones are:

	Nigiri Small rice balls with fish, etc. on top. There are countless varieties of nigirizushi, some of the most common ones being tuna, shrimp, eel, squid, octopus and fried egg.
	Gunkan Small cups made of sushi rice and dried seaweed filled with seafood, etc. There are countless varieties of gunkanzushi, some of the most common ones being sea urchin and various kinds of fish eggs.
	Norimaki Sushi rice and seafood, etc. rolled in dried seaweed sheets. There are countless varieties of sushi rolls differing in ingredients and thickness. Sushi rolls prepared "inside out" are very popular outside of Japan, but rarely found in Japan.
	Temaki Temakizushi (literally: hand rolls) are cones made of nori seaweed and filled with sushi rice, seafood and vegetables.
	Oshizushi Oshizushi is pressed sushi, in which the fish is pressed onto the sushi rice in a wooden box. The picture shows trout oshizushi in form of a popular ekiben (train station lunch box).
	Inari Inarizushi is a simple and inexpensive type of sushi, in which sushi rice is filled into aburaage (deep fried tofu) bags.
	Chirashi Chirashizushi is a dish in which seafood, mushroom and vegetables are spread over sushi rice.

Note that "sushi" becomes "zushi" in word combinations in which "sushi" is the second word, e.g. nigirizushi.

Domburi

2007-08-03T01:42:00.000+07:00

Domburi is a general term for "bowl". However, it is also the name of a popular Japanese dish: a bowl of cooked rice with some other food put on top of it.

There exist a variety of domburi dishes, differing in the toppings. Some of the most popular domburi dishes are listed below:

	Oyakodon (Oyako Domburi) Mother and Child Domburi The name of this popular domburi dish comes from its two main ingredients, chicken and egg. Very rarely, a domburi with salmon and ikura (salmon eggs) may also be called Oyakodon.
	Katsudon (Tonkatsu Domburi) Pork Cutlet Domburi Katsudon is served with tonkatsu (deep fried breaded pork cutlet), egg and onions on top of the rice.
	Gyudon (Gyuniku Domburi) Beef Domburi Gyudon is very popular as an inexpensive type of fast food served at chain stores across the country. It tastes particularly good when mixed with a raw egg.
	Tendon (Tempura Domburi) Tempura Domburi Tempura are deep fried pieces of battered seafood and vegetables. Various tempura pieces are dipped into a soya based sauce before served on top of the rice.
	Unadon (Unagi Domburi) Eel Domburi The eel is grilled and prepared in a thick soya based sauce before served on top of the cooked rice.
	Chukadon (Chuka Domburi) Chinese Style Domburi The topping of Chukadon consists of vegetables, seafood and meat in a thickened Chinese style sauce.
	Tekkadon (Tekka Domburi) Tuna Domburi The topping of Tekkadon is raw tuna (maguro). It is served with strips of nori seaweed and sometimes ground yamaimo.

Besides the domburi dishes introduced above, there are many more domburi varieties.

Japanese Ramen Noodles

2007-08-03T01:38:00.000+07:00

Instant ramen noodles are popular in the world, but ramen eaten in Japan are different from instant noodles. Chukamen (raw Chinese noodles) are used to make ramen. Even though Chinese noodles are used in ramen dishes, ramen is a typical Japanese food. There are so many ramen shops in Japan, and ramen is a kind of Japanese fast food.

Making a delicious ramen isn't easy if you are making the soup from scratch. The taste of ramen mainly depends on the soup, and it requires skills to make delicious soup. Ramen chefs usually train for a long time to learn to make ramen soup. Each ramen shop has its own way to make soup, and there are so many different ways. Chicken born, pork born, dried sardines (niboshi), and/or kombu are used to make soup stock for ramen. Vegetables, such as ginger, negi, garlic, or/and mushrooms are also added.

Categorized by the flavor, there are mainly four kinds of ramen: shio ramen (salt flavored soup), shoyu ramen (soy sauce flavored soup), tonkotsu ramen (pork bone soup), miso ramen (miso flavored soup). Tonkotsu ramen soup is creamy white, and miso ramen soup is brown.

Common ramen toppings are negi (leek), shinachiku (seasoned bamboo shoots), nori (dried seaweed), yakibuta (pork ham), boiled egg, and so on.

To make ramen at home, buying packages of ramen noodles is an easy way. They are usually sold with small packages of ramen soup. ANA super Japanese Supermarket sells Japanese ramen packages online. If you can't get packages of ramen noodles, here are easy ramen recipes.

Quick Shoyu Ramen Recipe

Salt Flavored Corn Ramen Recipe Japanese Cuisine Photo Gallery / More Japanese Recipes

RENDANG, KIND OF MINANGKABAU CULINARY

2007-07-19T06:41:00.001+07:00

RENDANG RECIPE
Rendang is cow meat simmered in spices and coconut milk. You’ll find rendang in Padang restaurants or food stall. There are two kind of rending, dry rendang and kalio (wet rendang). The cooking process of dry rending was longer than wet rendang.
The characteristic of wet rending are its souce more liquid and its color is yellow-brown, not yet brown-black like dry rendang. Rendang have unique characteristic, its taste deliciously oily and salty, sweet, and hot which balanced, and spicier.There are no cooking standard or standard recipes of rendang, so the taste can be differ among food stall or restaurants. The variants of taste depend on condiment and spices which used. Commonly, spices used in rendang recipes are red chili, red onion, garlic, galangal, ginger, turmeric, turmeric leaves, bay leaves, lemongrass, candlenuts, salt, sugar and kandis sour fruit. If you can not mixed spices above, you can buy instant rendang spices in supermarkets. See rendang recipes.
Article source :Kompas, this article is part of an article written by Prof. DR. Made Astawan, “Makan Rendang Dapat Protein dan Mineral!”, edited and translated by reog.

RUJAK CINGUR-INDONESIA VEGETABLES/FRUIT SALAD

2007-07-19T06:38:00.000+07:00

In Indonesia vegetables/fruit salad commonly named RUJAK. This fruit salad is pungent, because it has a lot of chili. There are many variants of rujak. One of them is Rujak Cingur. Rujak Cingur is vegetables or fruit salad with slices of beef snout. Rujak cingur usually add with petis, sauce condiment of the fermented fish or shrimp. So not only hot, but the smell is sting your nose :). Even the smell is sting but the taste is delicious!!! :)

SERABI, SWEET JAVANESE? CAKE

2007-07-19T06:33:00.000+07:00

Serabi or Surabi or Srabi is one of most popular Javanese? cake. The taste is sweet. Serabi is made from rice powder, santan (milk squeezed from coconut), sugar, salt, and pandanus leaf as an aroma.

One of serabi producer is Handayani. Her serabi is known as Serabi Notokusuman. Her serabi is sweet entire part of cake, but crispy in the top.

The tastes of serabi notokusuman have not changed since it first made. One piece of serabi have a price amounted Rp. 1,000 or about USD 0, 15. The fixed taste and cheap of price, made this serabi do not leave by customer, in fact the customer are increasing day by day. Not only from Solo city who brought serabi, but also people from other city.To get serabi, customers have to come to the serabi homemade, which open at 4 pm till 6 p.m. To fulfill what customer needed, her food stall also opened in Jongke Market. Beside Solo, serabi notokusuman can find in Yogyakarta, Klaten, Salatiga, Bekasi, Serpong, and Semarang. That entire food stall manages by Handayani’s sister.

Family Business only
For family whose manage, there is no recipe which hiding. If somebody offers a franchising, it could not be done. Her big families have a commitment that serabi business is only for the family.

Serabi business still stay alive after 82 years from started. This business started by Hoo Geng Kok, grandmother of Handayani. Her grandmother start sell apem (another Javanese? cake). One day Hoo Geng Kok ordered by her customer to put in santan (milk squeezed from coconut) in the middle of apem. While cooking, Hoo Geng Kok adds more santan in the border of cake, so serabi had created.

At the beginning, people call Hoo Geng Kok’s serabi as Serabi Inggris. From day to day, because her foods stall is located in Notokusuman village, Hoo Geng Kok’s serabi known as Serabi Notokusuman. Nowadays, her business is role by forth generation.

At 1961, serabi business was role by her second daughter. At this moment serabi made in variation, example; put it chocolate taste and egg. Chocolate serabi put in chocolate sprinkle on its top, egg serabi made from santan which mix with egg.

Source: KOMPAS, written by Sri Rejeki, edited and translated by reog.

Free SMS !

2007-07-14T17:47:00.000+07:00

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Lesehan Food: Yogyakarta, Central Java

2007-07-14T17:46:00.000+07:00

Yogyakarta is not only considered the cultural heart of Java, it is an epicureans delight with literally hundreds of restorans and warungs from which you can choose the delicious foods of Indonesia.

The city is also famous for its Lesehan food. Late afternoon, crudely constructed open front tents are erected, and by nightfall, the tempting odours of spicy fresh chicken and fish waft through the air. Such delights as Gudeg Yogya (jackfruit cooked in coconut milk and served with boiled rice and chicken), and Burung Darah (pigeon cooked to your liking and highly spiced) will tempt you.

Usually around 9pm when the shops generally close and the street vendors cover their stalls for the night, straw mats are laid out on the pavement where small tables are placed for the customers to sit and eat the delights of their choice. These places are great to acquaint yourself with the friendly locals and be entertained by the wandering minstrels who walk from place to place. The eating and the conversation go on into the early hours of the morning.

Mexican food in Legian Bali

2007-07-14T17:41:00.000+07:00

Mexican food is one of those things, that people get a craving for once in a while. Whether its the salsa, the tortillas or the fajitas, there’s something about it that just hits the spot.

Poco Loco is one of the famous Mexican restaurants in Bali. Located on Jl. Padma Utara in Legian, this place has been around for years. The location, size of the place and brightly colored wooden furniture, indicate that this place is aimed at Australian families. Tonight was no exception.

Friday evening I went over with a friend, who recommended the burritos. Like a good little sheep, I ordered the chicken burrito for 58,000rp. Looking through the menu I could see the main courses, which included fajitas, chicmichangas, tacos, tostadas, steaks etc. were a bit more pricey than the nasi campur I’m used to. When my burrito showed up, it was obvious
i’d got my money’s worth. The burrito was stuffed with chicken, a side of beans, melted cheese and rice accompanied. Salsa capped of the lot, which a touch of sour cream. Good job I worked out today, otherwise I’d be packing some extra calories.

Poco Loco is good for large groups, families and people who want to make noise and let their hair down. Its not a fancy restaurant.

Poco Loco
Jl. Padma Utara,
Legian.
(0361) 756.079

Famous dishes from Bali: Bebek betutu

2007-07-14T17:35:00.000+07:00

Bebek betutu (roast duck) is one of the most famous dishes in Bali. Balinese people themselves may cook it for a special occasion and its not really an everyday dish. Some restaurants in Bali offer bebek betutu, with the request you order a day in advance, due to the preparation time.

Balinese Roast Duck

Ingredients

• 1 duck, whole
• 18 shallots, peeled
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled
• 3 stalks lemon grass
• 5 kaffir lime leaves
• 6 candlenuts
• 2″ ginger, peeled
• 3″ fresh turmeric, peeled
• 3″ kencur, peeled
• 5 Thai chilies
• 1 tsp. black peppercorns
• 1 tsp. coriander seeds
• 2 tsp. shrimp paste
• 1 1/2 tbsp. salt
• 3 tbsp. oil
• banana leaves

Instructions

Place the shallots, garlic, lemon grass, candlenuts, ginger, turmeric, kencur, chilies, peppercorns, coriander seeds, shrimp paste, salt and oil in a blender or food processor and grind into a paste. Wipe the duck dry and rub mixture on the outside. Put remainder mixture into the duck cavity. Close the opening of the duck with a satay skewer. Wrap the duck in banana leaves. Wrap this with aluminum foil and puncture several holes in the bottom. Steam the duck for 50 minutes. Put the duck in a roasting pan and roast at 350f until done.

The flavor of this excellent duck will be even better if the final roasting is done over a slow charcoal fire rather than in the oven; be sure to turn the duck several times if cooking over charcoal.

Make 4-6 servings.

The Food of Yogyakarta: Central Java, Indonesia

2007-07-14T17:34:00.000+07:00

As most of you know, I am a Yogyakarta man at heart and as such love the variety of food available there. Oddly enough though, the food I most often eat in Yogyakarta is Nasi Padang!.

Yogyakarta's traditional dish is Gudeg Yogya and can be purchased just about anywhere and at anytime of the day. Sampling the variety of foods available in the area or island you visit is exciting and especially for your palette. When I first went to Yogyakarta I tried all the traditional dishes in the first six months!. But when in Yogya it is the street food that is the most delicious. Every night after the shops close out come the street vendors and it is great to sit on mats and get to know the locals whilst munching away on some delicious tucker.

Herman Saksono who has a great blog and worth checking out, has complied a list of the delicious foods available in this beautiful city:

1. Nasi Gudeg

This is probably one of the most popular dish in Jogja. A plate of warm rice is served with a variety of dishes including chicken, boiled egg, tofu, and tempe cooked in thick coconut sauce, very sweet and slightly spicy. Very Jogja and a must taste. For added flavour, gudeg rice is served with Sambel Goreng Krecek which is very spicy and hot.

2. Nasi Langgi

Another unique food. This dish is basically a serving of warm rice with Empal (Fried Beef), Abon (Preserved and Sweetened Beef), Perkedel )Potato Cake), Rolled Omelette and Sambal. Wrapped with banana leaves using special type of wrapping method this dish gives you the ultimate culinary experience.

3. Mie Goreng Jawa (Javanese Fried Noodles)

Tired of Chinese style Fried Noodles? Give Javanese Soft-Fried Noodles a try. Unlike Chinese Fried Noodles with its fish and pork flavour, Javanese Fried Noodles is lighter but sweeter with dominant shallot flavour.

4. Ayam Goreng Kalasan (Kalasan Fried Chicken)

This popular dish is also known as Ayam Goreng Mbok Berek (Mbok Berek's Fried Chicken). Garlic and coriander flavored and served with the crunchy kremes-kremes. Another must taste food if you visit Jogja.

5. Soto
Light and appetising this type of soup is perfect as breakfast. Often served with Tempe, Perkedel and Liver Satay. Add a few drops of lime juice for extra flavor.

6. Kipo Kotagede

This infamous snack can only found in Kotagede, the original capital of Ancient Mataram Kingdom. This bite-size delicacy is made of grated coconut, sweetened with coconut sugar, wrapped with pandan-green colored tapioca dough and baked under warm coals.

7. Bakpia Pathuk

Another popular delicacy. Originated by Chinese settlers, Bakpia is basically a baked sweet green bean wrapped with special wrapping. There are another variant of this snack where the green bean is substituted with black bean. Both are very tasty.

8. Jadah Kaliurang

Don't miss this if you are visiting Kaliurang. A sweet and spicy flavored Tempe sandwiched with cake made of rice and ketan. Unique and filling!

9. Wedang Ronde

Often served at night this warm ginger flavored drink is mixed with peanuts, tapioca cake, and kolang-kaling. Great for extra warmth at night.

10. Wedang Bajigur

Although bajigur is a Javanese swear word don't let this stop you from tasting this warm drink. This unusual drink is made of sweet coconut milk with mild ginger flavor mixed with breads and preserved fruit.

Bubur Candil ( Glutinous Rice Ball Porridge)

2007-07-14T17:25:00.000+07:00

Ingredients:
• 200 grams glutinous rice flour
• 175 cc + 750 cc water
• 200 grams brown sugar
• 3 pandan leaves
• 2 tablespoon rice flour and 1 table spoon glutinous rice flour, diluted with some water.
salt

Coconut Milk Sauce:
• 250 cc thick coconut milk from ½ coconut, cooked with ¼ teaspoon salt

Preparations:
• Mix glutinous rice flour and salt. Pour 175 cc water a little at a time, kneading constantly until the dough can be shaped. Make balls with a 1 cm diameter and set aside. Sprinkle with a little wheat flour, to prevent the balls from sticking together
• Heat 750 cc water with brown sugar and pandan leaves until the sugar is dissolved, sieve and bring to boil again.
• Put in glutinous rice flour balls and cook until the balls float and are done. Thicken with rice flour and glutinous rice flour liquid. Stir until all is done.
• Serve in bowls, pour coconut milk sauce on top.

Fruit in Indonesia

2007-07-11T11:36:00.001+07:00

Indonesian markets abound with many types of tropical fruit. These are an important part of the Indonesian diet, either eaten on their own, made into desserts, or even savoury dishes (ie, rujak).

Many of these fruits are indigenous to Indonesia (Mangosteen) or the Malay archipelago in general (Rambutan), others have been imported from other tropical countries, although the origin of many of these fruits is disputed.

Banana and Coconut are particularly important, not only to Indonesian cuisine, but also in other uses, such as timber, bedding, roofing, oil, plates and packaging , etc.

Banana - Pisang
Coconut - Kelapa
Carambola
Duku-Duku
Durian-Durian
Jackfruit - Nangka / Gudeg
Kaffir lime -Jeruk Obat / Jeruk Limau
Lime - Jeruk Nipis
Longan - Kelengkeng
Lychee
Mango - Mangga
Mangosteen - Manggis
Orange - Jeruk Manis
Pineapple - Nanas
Pomelo - Jeruk Bali
Rambutan-Rambutan
Snake Fruit - Salak
Star Fruit - Belimbing
Soursop - Sirsak
Otaheite apple - Kedongdong
Guava
Water apple - Jambu air
Watermelon - Semangka
Papaya - Pepaya

>>>en.wikipedia.org

Latok

2007-07-11T11:33:00.000+07:00

The Latok group is a small cluster of dramatic rock peaks in the Panmah Muztagh, part of the central Karakoram mountain range. They lie just to the east of the Ogre group, dominated by Baintha Brakk. To the immediate south of the Latok group lies the Baintha Lukpar Glacier, a small tributary of the Biafo Glacier, one of the main glaciers of the Karakoram. On the north side of the group lies the Choktoi Glacier.

The group comprises four main summits, each listed here with its relative position in the group, elevation^[1], and first ascent date:

Latok I, north-central, 7,145 m, climbed 1979
Latok II, west, 7,108 m, climbed 1977
Latok III, east, 6,949 m, climbed 1979
Latok IV, southeast, 6,456 m, climbed 1980

All of the summits are notable for their extreme technical difficulty, and they have been the scene of some of the hardest climbing done at high altitude anywhere in the world.

Latok II
Elevation	7,108 m (23,320 ft)^[1]
Location	Northern Areas, Pakistan
Range	Panmah Muztagh, Karakoram
Coordinates	35.9200° N 75.8025° E
First ascent	1977 by E. Alimonta, T. Mase, R. Valentini^[3]
Easiest route	Southeast Buttress

Latok I was first climbed in 1979 by a Japanese expedition led by Naoki Takada; the first summit party comprised Sin'e Matsumi, Tsuneo Shigehiro, Yu Watanabe, and they were followed three days later by Hideo Muto, Jun'ichi Oku, and Kota Endo. They started from the Baintha Lukpar Glacier and climbed a buttress to reach the East Ridge.

The steep North Ridge of Latok I, 2,500 m (8,200 ft) high, is a notorious unclimbed route: it was first attempted, and almost successfully climbed, by the noted American climbers Jim Donini, Michael Kennedy, George Lowe, and Jeff Lowe. The lightweight style of this climb was widely admired, despite the lack of a summit. Many unsuccessful attempts have followed.^[4]

Latok III
Elevation	6,949 m (22,798 ft)^[1]
Location	Northern Areas, Pakistan
Range	Panmah Muztagh, Karakoram
Coordinates	35.9204° N 75.8396° E
First ascent	July 15, 1979 by Yoji Teranishi, Kazushige Takami, Sakae Mori^[2]
Easiest route	Southwest Ridge

Latok II saw its first ascent in 1977, by an Italian group led by Arturo Bergameschi. (This was the first successful ascent in the group.) They climbed the southeast face of the peak, and E. Alimonta, T. Mase, and R. Valentini made the summit.^[3]

A notable recent ascent of Latok II came in 1997, when a very strong team composed of Alexander Huber, Thomas Huber, Toni Gutsch, and Conrad Anker climbed the sheer West Face of the peak. They described this aptly as putting "El Capitan on top of Denali": a 1,000 m (3,280 ft) vertical rock wall with a base at 6,100 m (20,000 ft) elevation. The total vertical for the climb was 2,200 m (7,200 ft).^[5]

The first ascent of Latok III came in 1979, when a Japanese team under the leadership of Yoji Teranishi climbed the Southwest Ridge route. They climbed the Southwest Ridge, and the summit party were Teranishi, Kazushige Takami, and Sakae Mori.^[2] The second ascent, via the same route, came in 1988, by an Italian party. This was in fact the first repeat ascent of any peak in the group.

>>>en.wikipedia.org

Teh Talua

2007-07-11T11:32:00.000+07:00

Teh Talua or Teh Telor is a beverage from West Sumatra that is popular throughout the region. Its ingredients (in addition to boiling water) are tea, sugar, egg yolk and calamondin.

A traditional method of preparing this drink is: stir the egg yolk and 2 spoons of sugar in a glass, until a batter has developed. Pour 1 spoon of boiling water onto the tea powder. Pour the tea into the batter and stir. Add calamondin according to taste.

Chendol

2007-07-11T11:31:00.001+07:00

Chendol or cendol is a traditional dessert originating from Java, Indonesia, but also popular in Malaysia, Singapore and Southern Thailand. The dessert's basic ingredients consist of shaved ice, coconut milk, starch noodles with green food coloring (usually sourced from the pandan leaf) and palm sugar. Red beans, glutinous rice, grass jelly and creamed corn are optional additions. Chendol has become a quintessential part of cuisine among the multi-racial population in South-East Asia and is often sold by vendors at roadsides, hawker centres and food courts.

Chendol vendors are also a common sight in Indonesian cities. In the Javanese language, chendol refers to the jelly-like part of the beverage, while the combination of chendol, palm sugar and coconut milk is called dawet.

In Malaysia, chendol is usually sold on the roadside by Indian Muslim vendors. It is common dessert fare in Singapore popularly found in dessert stalls, hawker centres, coffeeshops & food-courts, & served by vendors of various ethnic background. The first Indian Muslim vendors learnt the skills of making the chendol from the Javanese in Indonesia and brought the recipe and preparation methods with them to Malaysia & Singapore. Chendol is also popular as a snack, particularly after Friday prayers among Muslims.

Uduk

2007-07-11T11:29:00.000+07:00

Uduk is Indonesian style of steamed rice, which is more specifically originated from Jakarta the capital of Indonesia. It is made by mixing steamed rice with coconut milk, nutmeg powder, cinnamon, galingale root, lemongrass and ginger. Often served with raw cucumber,raw lettuce, raw tomatoes,lime,fried sambal, fried tofu, fried tempeh,fried chicken, beef and offal, which are previously boiled in spicy broth.

There is a similar dish in Malaysia called nasi lemak.

Nasi goreng

2007-07-11T11:27:00.002+07:00

Nasi goreng is an Indonesian and Malaysian version of fried rice - that is what it means in both languages.

The main difference compared to fried rice is that it is cooked with sweet soy sauce (kecap manis). It is often accompanied by additional items such as a fried egg, fried chicken, satay, or krupuk (fried crackers / chips made of shrimp or vegetables). When accompanied by a fried egg it is known as nasi goreng special. The dish is also very popular in Singapore.

In Western countries, Chinese and Indian restaurants and takeaways sometimes offer Nasi goreng, but some use curry seasoning. True Nasi goreng does not include curry, and aficionados will select those outlets that do not use curry. In the Netherlands, it is said that during the time of the Dutch East Indies, Nasi goreng originated as an adaptation of the local Indonesian cuisine, with spices selected to suit the Dutch taste. In this sense it qualifies equally as Dutch cuisine and Indonesian cuisine.

Gudeg

2007-07-11T11:27:00.001+07:00

Gudeg is a traditional food from Central Java and Yogyakarta, Indonesia which is made from young Nangka (jack fruit) among other things, boiled for several hours with palm sugar and some spices, thus it tastes sweet. It is also called Green Jack Fruit Sweet Stew.

Gado-gado

2007-07-11T11:17:00.000+07:00

Gado-gado is a traditional dish in Indonesian cuisine, and comprises a vegetable salad served with a peanut sauce dressing. It is widely served in hotels and restaurants in Indonesia, and in Indonesian restaurants in other countries, although some opine that the mass-production nature of commercial catering, where food is cooked in bulk at the beginning of the day, has ruined the quality of the dish.

Vegetable salad

The exact composition of the vegetable salad varies, but usually comprises some mixture of

shredded or chopped green vegetables such as cabbage, cauliflower, green beans, watercress, and bean sprouts;
other sliced vegetables such as carrots and cucumber;
peas;
tomatoes;
tofu;
sliced boiled potatoes; and
peeled and sliced boiled eggs.

With the exceptions of the eggs and the potatoes, the salad may be served raw, although optionally one may blanch some of the vegetables such as the cabbage and the cauliflower. Some cooks prefer to steam the vegetables. In some areas of Indonesia, they also mix in small amounts of cooked noodles.

[edit] Peanut sauce dressing

What distinguishes gado-gado from a plain vegetable salad is the peanut sauce dressing, which is poured on top of the vegetable salad before serving. The composition of this peanut sauce varies as well. One may use a commercial Indonesian peanut sauce or satay sauce, or make the sauce oneself. For making the sauce, the common primary ingredients are:

ground fried peanuts with most of the oil drained off (for which some substitute peanut butter and peanut oil)
garlic
coconout sugar/palm sugar (can be substituted for brown sugar)
red chili sauce, cayenne pepper, or red curry powder
lemon or lime juice

to which some add:

fish paste
soy sauce

>>>en.wikipedia.org

Menyantap Kalbi Gui Bak Pangeran

2007-07-11T11:04:00.000+07:00

Jakarta - Ternyata makanan Korea sama menarik dan menggemaskan seperti wajah bintang film Korea, Bae Yong-jun, Choi Ji-woo atau Joo Ji Hoon. Semuanya disajikan segar dan tampilan cantik penuh warna. Kalbi, bulgogi hingga bibimbab pun dalam beberapa menit kami cicipi sambil menonton tayangan film drama Korea yang apik!

Menyebut nama Korea, saya langsung ingat serial film TV Korea Jewel in the Palace yang menampilkan kuliner istana Korea yang sangat tinggi. Peranan dayang Dae Jang Geum dalam meracik makanan di dapur istana menjadi episode-episode yang sangat menggagumkan. Meskipun tak sampai kegandrungan serial 'Winter Sonata' tetapi wajah Bae Yong-jun dan Choi Ji-woo, sempat saya kenal lewat berbagai media karena populernya film tersebut. Siang itu saya memasuki Han Gang Authentic Korean Restaurant & Grill, teriakan 'Masishoyooo' - selamat datang dari para pramusaji mengiringi saya duduk di deretan kursi yang ada di tengah resto. Sengaja saya memilih meja santap di bagian tengah karena ingin menikmati tayangan film drama Korea yang dari layar datar di tengah restoran.

Restoran yang dibuka setahun lalu ini dikelola langsung oleh Ny. Rosaria H.J Park. 'Karena saya senang memasak maka semua saya awasi langsung termasuk para juru masak', demikian cerita nyonya Korea yang fasih berbahasa Indonesia dan sangat ramah. Banchan (dibaca 'pancan') merupakan beragam sajian sebagai pembuka. Semuanya ditaruh dalam piring dan mangkuk kecil. Ada kimchi sawi putih, kimchi mentimun hijau, gorengan ubi, bayam tumis, keong rebus (sora), telur ungkep daging, dan geranchin (telur kukus, mirip chawan mushi). Beragam sajian dalam porsi kecil merupakan ciri khas hidangan Korea yang mengiringi sajian utama. Maka dalam sekejap mejapun penuh dengan makanan. Kimchinya terasa sangat segar, kres..kres..rasa renyah sawi putihnya. Ini karena kimchi dibuat sendiri sehingga selalu segar.

Seperti terlihat dalam daftar menu, sajian BBQ (kalbi) merupakan sajian andalan Han Gang. Bukan hanya iga sapi, tetapi ada juga lidah sapi atau paha sapi. Bahkan tersedia Konci Gui - BBQ ikan konci khas Korea (yang bentuknya mirip ikan salem). Setelah bolak-balik melihat daftar menu, sayapun memilih Kalbi Gui, Dolsot Bibimba, Japchae dan sup wakame. Pramusajipun segera menyiapkan tungku yang ada di bagian tengah meja untuk memasak kalbi gui. Kalau di resto Jepang dan Korea lain, dipakai kompor gas portable maka di Han Gang dipakai tungku dengan bara api arang. Cara tradisional Korea dalam membuat Kalbi ini ternyata memberi efek pada daging iga yang dipanggang. (Jangan khawatir terkena asap bakaran iga karena pramusaji akan berhati-hati menutup tungku sehingga tak ada asap mengepul). Daging iga yang disayat tipis tetap dengan tulangnya berwarna kecokelatan, dengan serpihan karamel kecokelatan di sisinya. Ny. Rosaria pun mengajari saya menyantap kalbi ini. Kalbi disajikan disajikan dengan sepiring selada, kenip (daun wijen), irisan bawang putih dan cabai hijau plus sepiring kecil sambal. Dengan sumpit, sehelai daun selada ditaruh di tangan, diberi sehelai daun kenip, seiris bawang putih dan cabai hijau plus sedikit sambal. Dilipat dan langsung 'disuapkan' ke mulut saya. Ya, persis sama dengan adegan Chae kyoung - sang puteri mahkota saat menyuapkan kalbi ke mulut Pangeran Lee Shin - sang putera mahkota dalam film 'Princess Hours'. Ternyata paduan segar daun selada, harumnya daun kenip dengan daging iga panggang benar-benar istimewa. Renyah, segar dengan rasa gurih manis daging. Daun kenip ini mampu meredam aroma tajam bawang putih. ( Hmm...pantas saja Pangeran Shin ketagihan makanan yang tak pernah disajikan di istana ini!).

Dolsot Bibimbab, nasi dengan paduan sayuran dan telur plus bumbu cabai merah ini disajikan dalam mangkuk panas. Setelah diaduk oleh pramusaji, nasi berwarna oranye ini ternyata tak pedas menggigit tetapi justru gurih harum dan nasinya pun sangat pulen! Suun yang mulur lembut dalam sajian Japchae sangat menggoda lidah saya. Mi dari tepung kentang ini memang mirip tumis suun. Diberi irisan kecil daging sapi, wortel, daun bawang plus taburan biji wijen. Aroma bawang putih, minyak wijen dan kecap asin membuat suun yang lentur ini makin enak saja. Sup wakame dengan kuah bening disajikan dalam mangkuk sedang. Porsinya cukup besar sehingga saya kewalahan menghabiskan. Padahal menurut Ny. Rosaria, wakame mengandung antioksidan tinggi yang bisa membuat kulit mulus bak bintang film Korea. Wah! Sebagai penutup sayapun menikmati Citroen Honey, jus jeruk Korea yang disajikan dengan madu. Manis-manis asam dan segar! Nah, kalau mau merasakan sentuhan istimewa home cooking khas nyonya Korea yang serba segar dan enak, boleh saja singgah di resto yang ada di kawasan selatan Jakarta. Perut bukan saja kenyang tapi siapa tahu Anda ketemu selebriti yang banyak datang ke tempat ini plus bintang film Korea yang selalu menemani Anda lewat flat TV!

Han Gang Authentic Korean Restaurant & Grill
Jalan Woltermongonsisi no.99
Jakarta Selatan
Telp: 021-7278-7802
Jam buka : 11.00 - 23.00 WIB (Senin-Minggu)
Harga : Rp. 50.000,00 - Rp. 130.000,00 per porsi (dev/Odi)

>>>www.detikfood.com

'Mati' Karena Cokelat

2007-07-11T10:58:00.000+07:00

Jakarta - Cokelat? Hmm...saya termasuk penggemar beratnya. Cokelat yang diolah menjadi cake dengan tekstur lembut, mengelus lidah. Warnanya cokelat kehitaman, tak menarik, tetapi rasanya sangat legit menggigit. Saat dinikmati dengan strawberry blended ice ternyata enak-enak saja. Apalagi saat mencicipi ada 'kejutan' yang bikin jantung berdegup kencang!

Pertama kali saya mengenal nama Death By Chocolate di sebuah toko cokelat di Australia. Toko yang menjual home made cokelat itu memang membuat saya kalap. Semua cokelat bisa dicicipi dan variasi rasanya sangat banyak. Bahkan saya sempat menempelkan hidung di kaca penyekat dapurnya karena ingin mengendus terus aroma cokelat yang wangi. Dari truffle, candy hingga aneka cake cokelat. Belakangan saya menemukan Death By Chocolate merupakan nama cake cokelat yang banyak dipakai hampir di semua toko kue. Cakenya merupakan butter cake yang memakai paduan cooking chocolate 50% dan cokelat bubuk. Cake dilapisi dan disiram dengan chocolate ganache. Ya, pastilah rasanya cokelat banget! Ini yang mungkin membuat orang 'mati' keenakan dan ketagihan.

Menjelang senja saat menyusuri jalan Pangrango, dari Pia Apple Pie lurus mencari jalan pulang selepas berkeliling Bogor, tiba-tiba kami melihat papan nama kecil 'DBC'. Nah, ini dia 'Death By Chocolate' yang disebut-sebut teman saya di Bogor. Saya dan teman-teman tak membuang waktu, langsung mampir ke kafe yang bertempat di sebuah rumah tua di Jl. Ceremai. Nama lengkap toko ini 'Death By Chocolate & Spageti' dan bukan cabang dari 'Death By Chocolate' (dari Death By Chocolate International Limited, New Zealand) yang ada di Pondok Indah Mall. Suasana kafe nyaris sepi, dan nuansa warna cokelat kehitaman yang mendominasi ruangan membuat kesan magis. Ditambah lagi, relung-relung jendela dibuat setengah lingkaran, batu kali di dinding dicat hitam, kursi dan meja memakai warna hitam dan cahaya lampu minyak di meja membuat kesan makin 'seram'. Lha, mau makan cokelat kok kayak mau layat di kuburan. Memang itulah kesan 'death' yang diterjemahkan sebagai suasana mati atau 'kematian'. Untung saja, masih ada ruang tengah yang terang benderang. Karena takut dengan suasana seram, kami pindah ke ruangan yang terang.

Sesuai dengan namanya 'Death By Chocolate' (DBC), maka yang menjadi unggulan menunya adalah cake cokelat dan spaghetti bakar. Cake cokelat ditawarkan dalam berbagai ukuran sedangkan untuk spaghetti bakar tersedia Spinach Fritata, Tomato, Ground Beef, Chicken Mushroom, Tuna, Smoked Chicken, Sausage dan Seafood. Sebagai pelengkap ada sup ravioli, red kidney beans, sosis, salad dan omelet. Spaghetti juga ditawarkan dalam beragam saus seperti carbonara, bolognese, marinara, octopus dan spicy. Sedangkan minuman cokelat unggulannya adalah Hot by Chocolate, Cool By Chocolate dan Euphoria by Chocolate. Tentu saja kami memesan DBC yang kecil dan spaghetti bakar daging cincang untuk memuaskan rasa ingin tahu.

Sebelum memesan sang pramusaji menawari kami mencicipi kue DBC yang ada di dapur di sisi kiri kafe. Lewat jendela dengan relung setengah lingkaran dan gelap, tiba-tiba muncul seorang staf memakai jubah dengan capuchon cokelat tua, nyaris menutupi seluruh mukanya persis seperti di film horor. Hiii...! Teman saya nyaris menjerit karena kaget! Ya, siapa tak kaget, yang diharapkan sepotong kue cokelat yang muncul pria misterius. Mungkin suasana misterius yang inilah yang ingin disejajarkan dengan nama 'death'. Dugaan saya terbukti karena cake DBC berbentuk oval disajikan dengan alas kertas aluminium, diberi batu nisan dari cokelat. Penampilannya mirip dengan kuburan. Kuburan cokelat! Saat sampai di lidah, tekstur kue lembut tak beda dengan brownies biasa. Rasa cokelatnya pekat kuat dan sama kuat tonjokannya dengan rasa manis legit menggigit! Saya duga ini dari compound dark chocolate yang menjadi bahan utama. Untung saja rasa manis yang tak saya sukai tertutup dengan strawberry blended ice yang asam-asam segar. Coba kalau dinikmati dengan secangkir cokelat panas yang juga manis, jangan-jangan saya jadi makin manis! Spaghetti bakar yang ditawarkan tak lain adalah schotel dengan bahan spaghetti, susu, keju, telur, daging cincang dan bumbu. Rasa gurihnya tak terlalu kuat (mungkin tak memakai krim atau kurang keju) dan cenderung 'datar'. Karena perut kami sudah terasa penuh maka spaghetti bakar terpaksa kami bungkus untuk dibawa pulang.

Kafe ini rasanya pas kalau dikunjungi di malam Jum'at terutama buat mereka yang suka hal-hal magis misterius. Tapi, buat mereka yang ingin berdua-duaan dalam gelap, kue DBC yang pekat manis bisa jadi teman yang pas. Tak perlu takut, cahaya temaram dari lilin tidak akan membuat wajah terlihat jelas apalagi jika sampai berlelehan air mata. Paling tidak jika ke Bogor, ada satu tempat nongkrong baru buat penggemar cokelat!

Death By Chocolate & Spageti
Jl. Ceremai 22, Bogor
Telp: 0251-377725
Jam buka :07.00 - 24.00
Harga: spaghetti bakar: Rp. 12.000 - Rp. 19.000; spaghetti : Rp. 25.000 - Rp. 30.000; cake DBC : Rp. 28.000 (dev/Odi)

>>>www.detikfood.com

Melacak Kelezatan Tahun 1920

2007-07-11T10:49:00.000+07:00

Jakarta - Singgah di Warong ini bagai memasuki lorong waktu menuju kejayaan Batavia 80 tahun silam. Bukan hanya suasana ceria sebuah warung tetapi detil-detil sejarah membingkai sajian santapan serba prima. Dari dapur Shanghai, dapur seorang nyonya Betawi hingga dapur seorang peranakan dari Jawa Tengah. Semuanya menyatu dalam kelezatan yang unik dan penuh rasa.

Warong Shanghai Blue 1920 yang dibuka 9 bulan silam ini terletak di Jalan Kebon Sirih, persisi di sudut kanan Jl. Sabang. Bangunan resto (dulu Apotik Gambir) terlihat tak terlalu mencolok. Menapaki pintu masuk yang langsung ke area resto, langsung terekam suasana tempo doeloe yang kuat. Jajaran poster film era 20 an menghiasi dinding. Deretan stoples-stoples tinggi berisi aneka kue kering ada di sisi kanan dan meja kursi dengan detil bunga-bunga berwarna biru muda, merah, hijau memantulkan gaya Shanghai Art Deco. Tentu saja gambar poster wanita Cina dengan cheongsam memperkuat aroma Shanghai di tahun 1920. Lampu yang temaram dan hiasan beragam benda etnik yang antik memperkuat suasana masa silam yang penuh kharisma.

Resto ini didirikan untuk mengenang Warong Shanghai Sunda Kelapa yang populer di era 20 an. Warung yang didirikan oleh Siti Zaenab yang menikah dengan seorang peranakan Cina, Chan Mo Sang yang nenek moyangnya berasal dari Shanghai. Warung yang menjual makanan Babah dan Betawi ini menjadi toko serba ada yang melayani semua keperluan pelaut yang singgah di Sunda Kelapa. Beberapa barang yang ada di warung (yang tutup di tahun 1940) ini kemudian menjadi bagian dari Warong Shanghai Blue ini. Seperti kursi cukur, hiasan dinding, mesin sol sepatu, pintu, dll. Apa saja kelezatan yang ditawarkan oleh Warong ini?

Dari buku menu yang besar, dituturkan sekilas tentang sejarah Warong Shanghai di masa silam dan makanan yang ditawarkan dibagi menjadi 3 kelompok. Menu Babah Betawi, racikan Mpok Siti Zaenab, menu babah Jawa, paduan kuliner Cina dan Jawa serta menu Shanghai 1920 yang mengungkap kuliner Shanghai yang ternama di era 20 an. Membaca nama-nama makanannya membuat kami penasaran. Dari dapur babah Betawi ada nasi Uduk Bebek, Soto Tangkar, Rijstafel Soenda Kelapa dan Ikan Goreng Moelet garing Boembon. Setelah bolak-balik memeriksa daftar menu, kami memutuskan untuk mencicipi menu Shanghai 1920, kami ingin mengenang keindahan Shanghai di era 20 an melalui kelezatan makanannya.

Mekwei-mekwei wo ai ni 'Rose Rose I love U' sebuah lagu pop Shanghai di tahun 20 an yang menjadi inspirasi racikan mocktail yang menjadi minuman pembuka kami. Disajikan dalam tall glass, mocktail ini berisi cincangan strawberry dan jeruk engan air soda yang manis asam menggigit. Cukup segar dinikmati di siang hari. Seafood yang menjadi ciri utama sajian Shanghai tak kami lewatkan. Sebagai pembuka 'Lion Head Soup', sup berkuah asam pedas segar dengan isi bola-bola adonan udang kepiting dan jamur yang berukuran besar. Mulus dan gurih saat digigit, serasi dengan kuahnya yang segar. Cincangan daging ikan yang dibungkus dengan kulit tahu, digulung kecil dengan simpul di ujung menjadi sasaran kami berikutnya. Kulitnya sangat renyah gurih, daging ikannya lembut apalagi saat dicelup saus soya yang sedikit legit. Benar-benar pas sebagai pembuka.

Bebek Panggang Shanghai dan Ikan Goreng dengan paprika menjadi pilihan sajian utama. Potongan bebek berwarna cokelat disajikan dalam piring oval yang dialasi potongan kulit pangsit goreng. Kulit luar bebek panggang ini terasa renyah gurih, sementara dagingnya terasa sangat lembut tanpa jejak aroma anyir. Setelah dicelup dengan saus cabai yang asam segar rasanya sempurna. Sementara ikan bawal hitam yang digoreng kering, sangat terasa kesegarannya, gurih lekat. Dengan siraman saus berupa irisan paprika, ebi dan cabai merah kering membentuk paduan rasa yang seimbang. Diiringi suapan nasi gurh dan nasi ulam yang ditaruh dalam wadah berupa patung kayu unik kedua sajian itupun tandas. Melengkapi menu Shanghai, Es Shanghai Blue 1920 menjadi penutup santap siang kami. Es campur andalan Chan Mo Sang ini memiliki 8 jenis isi; nanas, kacang merah, biji mutiara, kolang-kaling, cincau, tapai ketan putih, leci dan anggur yang ditimbun es serut dan disiram sirop berwarna biru. Hmm...sebuah ending yang pas, manis asam dan segar.

Meskipun terlihat mungil, di lantai 3 resto ini ada Opium Room. Ya, sebuah private room yang mewakili sebuah ruang untuk menghisap candu. Ditata dengan warna merah biru, lengkap dengan pajangan ranjang dan pipa penghisap candu, tamu bisa menggelar acara pribadi. Wah, kamipun berjanji akan kembali untuk mencicipi menu Betawi racikan Mpok Siti, mungkin di suatu akhir pekan sambil menikmati alunan musik jazz. Hmm... Anda mau bergabung mencicipi kelezatan dalam lorong waktu?

Warong Shanghai Blue 1920
Jalan Kebon Sirih Raya 79
Jakarta Pusat
Telpon : 021 391-8690
Jam Buka : 11.00 - 23.00 WIB
Harga: Rp. 28.000,00 - Rp. 78.000,00 per porsi (dev/Odi)

>>>www.detikfood.com

Ice Cream Topping

2007-07-11T10:43:00.000+07:00

Jakarta - Saus buah merupakan penyeimbang rasa untuk dessert yang manis. Bisa es krim, puding dingin, puding panas atau crepe. Pilih buah yang masak pohon dan bagus mutunya agar rasa saus makin enak.

Bahan:
Strawberry Sauce:
30 ml air
200 g gula pasir
200 g strawberry, blender hingga halus
Mango Sauce:
20 ml air
150 g gula pasir
300 g daging buah mangga, blender hingga halus

Cara membuat:

Rebus air dan gula hingga mendidih dan gula larut.

Masukkan buah, masak hingga kental dan lembut.

Setelah dingin. Sajikan saus ini dengan es krim, puding, atau crepe.

Baca juga:

>>>www.detikfood.com

Pesta Seafood di Bandar Djakarta

2007-07-11T10:40:00.000+07:00

Jakarta - Ingin pesta seafood sambil menikmati pemandangan laut? Datang saja ke Bandar Djakarta! Aneka hidangan seafood dari kepiting, lobster, beragam jenis udang, hingga ikan pecah kulit yang serba segar ada di sini. Uniknya dengan konsep 'Bandar Tua Tempo Doeloe', semua hidangan bisa dipilih sendiri dan dimasak dengan racikan saus spesial ala Bandar Djakarta. Rasanya? hmm...dijamin lezat dan unik!!

Di suatu Jumat sore, saya dan beberapa teman berencana untuk bersantap malam bersama sekaligus refreshing di akhir pekan. Di tengah kemacetan, tercetuslah ide dari seorang teman yang rupanya sedang 'demam' seafood ini untuk makan di Bandar Djakarta. Lokasinya memang terbilang cukup jauh dari kantor kami yang berada di bilangan Jakarta Selatan. Tetapi bayangan seafood, terutama kepiting telur lada hitam yang gemuk menggoda telah terpatri di benak kami. Tanpa buang waktu kami pun langsung menembus kemacetan lalu-lintas Mampang - Ancol yang terbilang jauh dan super macet.

Setelah berkutat di tengah kemacetan, akhirnya tiba juga kami di pintu timur, Taman Impian Jaya Ancol. Baru beberapa meter mobil meluncur terlihatlah bangunan kayu yang cukup antik dengan sentuhan modern lampu neon berwarna biru bertuliskan Bandar Djakarta. Di bagian depan restoran ini terdapat lobby dengan tempat duduk di sisi kiri dan kanannya. Sedangkan bagian dalamnya sendiri ternyata hanya berupa sekat yang memisahkan antara pintu masuk dan area terbuka dimana pengunjung bersantap. Meja dan kursi kayu disusun di bawah naungan tenda putih yang mengesankan, disertai lampu-lampu kecil berwarna-warni menambah mewah suasana pantai. Untuk area terbuka sendiri, dibagi menjadi dua bagian. Bagi pengunjung yang ingin makan langsung beratapkan langit, tersedia deretan meja di tepi laut disertai angin sepoi-sepoi. Sedangkan yang lebih suka beratapkan tenda, tersedia tempat yang tak kalah luasnya. Jika Anda tidak tahan tiupan angin, Bandar Djakarta pun menyediakan ruangan tertutup khusus di bagian sayap kiri bangunan.

Setelah disambut oleh salah satu pelayan dengan ramah, kami pun memutuskan untuk duduk di meja tepi pantai beratapkan langit malam. Diterangi oleh cahaya dari lampu-lampu kuning kecil yang ternyata memberi efek suasana pantai yang romantis. Tak heran jika terlihat banyak pasangan yang sedang asik bersantap di tepi pantai. Untuk menu minuman sendiri, ternyata Bandar Djakarta memiliki koleksi yang cukup komplit termasuk bar yang berada tak jauh dari tempat kami duduk. Selain itu minumannya pun diberi nama khas Jakarta, seperti Nyai Dasima, Kemesraan, Goyang Dombret, dan Bandar D Coco. Sang pelayan merekomendasikan Moctail Bandar D Coco yang favorit kepada kami. Sementara saya memesan Bandar D Coco, kedua teman saya memutuskan untuk memesan Moctail Goyang Dombret dan Banana Smoothie. Sambil menunggu minuman, kami pun dipersilahkan untuk menuju 'Pasar Ikan Bandar Djakarta' untuk memilih sendiri aneka hidangan laut yang akan kami santap. Ya, konsep 'Bandar Tua Tempo Doeloe' restoran inilah yang dituangkan pada area yang disebut "Pasar Ikan Bandar Djakarta." Tidak seperti pasar ikan pada umumnya, disini hidangan laut tersebut ditempatkan di dalam cooler box berdasarkan jenisnya. Berbagai jenis ikan dari bawal, baronang, kerang (tahu, dara, hijau), kepiting jantan, kepitung telur, udang galah, hingga lobster yang masih hidup tersedia di 'Pasar Ikan' tersebut. Seorang pelayan menemani kami memilih seafood segar kemudian menimbang dan mencatat order memasaknya. Saus yang ditawarkan; saus Jali, Saus Teluk dan Saus Bandar. Kami pun akhirnya memutuskan untuk memesan ikan pecah kulit untuk di goreng, udang api yang dimasak bawang garing, kepiting telor lada hitam, dan seporsi kepiting jantan dimasak ala saus Bandar Djakarta.

Ketika kembali ke meja, ternyata minuman yang kami pesan telah tersaji dengan cantik di meja. Moctail D Coco sendiri dihidangkan dalam batok kelapa utuh dan diberi hiasan bunga yang cantik. Isinya berupa daging kelapa muda yang diblender plus sirup dan es krim vanila. Sedangkan Moctail Goyang Dombret yang seperti nama lagu dangdut ini ternyata berupa paduan strawbery, melon, dan susu putih. Rasanya sendiri cukup membuat lidah bergoyang hmm.... Sambil menunggu makanan datang, kami pun bersantai dengan nyaman diterpa tiupan angin pantai. Dengan pemandangan menghadap Putri Duyung Cottage dan perahu-perahu cantik berwarna-warni yang disewakan untuk berkeliling. Rasanya suasana ini akan makin pas untuk acara kumpul-kumpul apalagi diiringi live music, yang hadir tiap hari pukul 19.00. Tak lama menunggu, hidangan kami pun datang satu persatu. Ikan pecah kulit ini sebenarnya sempat membuat kami penasaran, karena merupakan andalan resto ini. Ikan yang kulitnye berbercak-bercak ini disayat kedua sisi dagingnya lalu digoreng kering. Duri ikan ini hanya ada di tengah dan berdaging tebal. Rasanya? Rasanya sangat gurih dan renyah plus menebarkan aroma wangi ikan segar. Sedangkan udang goreng berupa udang api yang digoreng kering, disajikan dengan taburan bawang putih cincang goreng yang sangat royal. Hmm... aromanya sangat wangi menggelitik. Rasanya? Gurih abis dan kres-kres renyah, sehingga sampai bagian kepalapun bisa dikunyah. Kepiting saus Bandar Djakarta, tampil dalam saus kemerahan, rasanya pedas menggigit dengan sedikit jejak rasa manis dan asam. Sangat seimbang dengan rasa gurih kepiting. Sedangkan kepiting lada hitam tak terlalu 'galak' bumbunya sehingga tak memebuat kami terengah-engah kepedasan!

Ternyata selain suasana dan tempat yang oke, Bandar Djakarta tidak mematok harga yang mahal. Hal tersebut cukup membuat kami terkejut, mengingat tempat dan kualitas makanan yang disajikannya. Untuk segelas Bandar D Coco, Banana Smoothie dan Goyang Dombret masing-masing dihargai Rp 20.000,- per gelas. Sedangkan untuk ikan pecah kulit Rp 5.500,- / 100gr, kepiting telor Rp 7000,- / 100gr, dan Rp 8000,- / 100gr untuk udang api. Hmm... cukup murah bukan? Jika ingin mengadakan acara keluarga, Bandar Djakarta juga menyediakan tempat dan beragam menu paket dengan kapasitas tempat hingga 1000 orang. Nah, tunggu apa lagi? Yukk, pesta seafood di Bandar Djakarta!

Bandar Djakarta
Pintu Timur Taman Impian Jaya Ancol
Jakarta 14430
Ala carte: Rp. 12.000/kg - Rp. 630.000/kg
Telp: 021-645 5472, 645 6554
Fax : 021-647 14562

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Kentang Sambal Ebi

2007-07-11T10:38:00.000+07:00

Jakarta - Lauk kentang yang pedas-pedas gurih renyah ini bisa disimpan beberapa hari. Cocok sebagai pelengkap nasi tumpeng. Pakai kentang tes agak kentang benar-benar garing, renyah dan gurih.

Bahan:
1 kg kentang tes
1 sdm air kapur sirih
minyak goreng
100 g ebi yang bagus, rendam air hangat hingga mengembang, tiriskan, haluskan, sangrai hingga kering
4 sdm bawang merah goreng
Haluskan:
100 g cabai merah
8 butir bawang merah
4 siung bawang putih
6 butir kemiri
50 g gula merah, sisir halus
2 sdm gula pasir
1 sdt garam

Cara membuat:

Kupas kentang, iris sebesar batang korek api.

Rendam kentang dalam air yang dibubuhi sedikit garam dan air kapur sirih. Tiriskan hingga agak kering.

Goreng dalam minyak panas dan banyak hingga kuning kecokelatan dan kering. Angkat dan tiriskan.

Panaskan 4 sdm minyak, tumis bumbu halus hingga matang dan mendidih.

Masukkan kentang, ebi dan bawang merha goreng. Aduk cepat hingga rata dan kering.

Angkat, dinginkan.

Untuk 800 gram
(ind/)

Baca juga:

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Sambal Cumi

2007-07-11T10:30:00.000+07:00

Jakarta - Sambal cumi ini sangat pas untuk teman nasi pulen hangat di saat bersantap sahur. Tambahkan irisan cabai merah atau cabai rawit merah jika suka rasa lebih pedas. Daun kemnagi juga boleh ditambahkan agar aroma sambal makin sedap dan rasanya makin enak!

Bahan:
2 sdm minyak sayur
1 buah tomat merah, cincang
1 lembar daun jeruk purut
1 lembar daun salam
250 g cumi-cumi ukuran sedang yang sudah bersih, iris tipis
250 ml santan
1 sdm air jeruk nipis
Bumbu, haluskan:
6 butir bawang merah
3 siung bawang putih
5 buah cabai merah
1 sdt serai iris halus
1/2 sdt terasi goreng
1 sdt gula pasir
1 sdt garam

Cara membuat:

Tumis bumbu halus hingga harum.

Masukkan tomat, daun jeruk, dan daun salam. Aduk hingga mendidih.

Masukkan cumi, aduk hingga kaku.

Tuangi santan, beri air jeruk dan masak dengan api kecil hingga kuah mengental.

Angkat, sajikan hangat.

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