The Updates and New Year Greetings
Posted: December 30, 2013 Filed under: Bandung, Blogging, Melbourne | Tags: happy new year, new year 2014 Leave a commentI never feel burdened to make blog posting as I’m doing this to sum up my most favorite things all at once : writing, tea and foods. But I realize that I am a little bit off lately for some reasons…
I have been told by my coffee geek bf that once I come back home, many things would be different. I would have less time to do everything that I use to do in Melbourne. And it is going on right now, I can’t believe it.. I hate to say this but I need to write something behind the minimum updates, the postponed blog posts and the late replies I made. These past 1,5 months have been awesome yet awkward for me. I love to be back and close to my love ones (of course) here in Bandung, but I kinda hate the loss feeling. I miss my abundant me time when I lived just by myself and I miss Melbourne already, like so much!
December is much more hectic than what I thought it would be. I have to go to a physiotherapy session twice a week due to my back pain issue, I helped my dad doing some of his projects while taking care of my own project, the Christmas preparation at home that always be hectic every single year and in addition there was a cake expo where my bf’s coffee shop quite suddenly joined and made me spending some whole-days there. I also had my final month and exams of the Tea Master certification this month. I just finished it last week and am so happy for this. Being a Certified Tea Master is the best Christmas and let’s say birthday gift for me this year! Woohoo..!!! All of those things pretty much have successfully kept me occupied.
The year of 2013 has been very awesome and full of surprises and I believe 2014 will also be a great year. I really hope all of you enjoy the holiday season and have a wonderful upcoming year of 2014!
Love,
Neysa behind foodandteatraveller
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Birthday Lunch at Glosis Grill and Bar
Posted: December 30, 2013 Filed under: Bandung, Uncategorized, Western Food | Tags: food blogger, food review, Glosis grill and bar, Glosis grill and bar Bandung, Glosis Grill and Bar Hegarmanah, New Yorker Steak, Smoked pork chop Leave a commentDecember has always been my favorite month of the year for some reasons. It’s my birthday month and no need to mention we also celebrate the festive season of Christmas and New Year too! This 12th month of the year is when I have my final exam and then rewarded by a long holiday until the next year, when abundant yummy foods are available at most of the time and when family and friends come and gather to celebrate the joy of Christmas. For those reasons, how can I not love December?
I just had my silver birthday this December and sometimes I can’t believe I’ve reached this age. I feel like I’m still 22, isn’t that normal or it is just me? HA! I had a small birthday lunch with my family of mom, dad and my brother at Glosis Grill and Bar. This is one of Bandung’s old eatery that survives until today. I chose to have lunch here since Glosis Grill and Bar has pretty much historic childhood memories for the family. Our family is a loyal customer since I was very little and we used to spend many of our Sundays at Glosis back then. Even though many things have changed (they have relocated for several times since their first appearance) but we still want to go back there.
Mushroom Soup
The soup served with tiny bites of croutons and warm yet moist bread roll. I (was) a big fan of Glosis’ mushroom soup as they make it with blended champignon and cream instead of adding sliced mushrooms into cream soup. Honestly I felt a little disappointment as the soup was too watery and not much blended mushroom there.
IDR 23,000 ~ US$ 2.30
Fried Mushroom
I’m not very sure why the starters were mushroom themed until I write this post. The presentation was lovely and inviting, mushrooms also fried perfectly crunchy but it would be nicer if they add more seasoning to it. Seriously the mushrooms were plain but the good things you can savor the freshness of the mushroom, (if that’s what they intend to highlight with the dish?).
IDR 28,000 ~ US$ 2.80
Salmon Lemon Butter
I got excited and delighted to see all the vibrant colors on my plate and couldn’t wait to devour them all! Salmon was grilled to medium as what I requested and I really love how it went well with the lemon butter sauce and salsa. I just feel they need to add a little bit more seasonings for the potato, really.
IDR 82,000 ~ US$ 8.20
Pork Chop
My mom’s all time favorite at Glosis is the Smoked Pork Chop. Pork meat was smoked and seasoned very well, super tender smokeyyy meat combined with the sauce was beyond. I reckoned the smoked pork chop was the star on that day!
IDR 79,000 ~ US$ 7.90
Sirloin Steak
Sirloin steak is actually a very basic menu, sadly the meat was cooked very medium instead of well done as my dad’s request. We were relieved because the staffs did a quick response to change it with well done cooked meat.
IDR 83,000 ~ US$ 8.30
New Yorker Steak
The New Yorker was nice, perfectly medium cooked and also well seasoned. The sauteed mushroom, onion and tomato was lovely too. My brother had a quick movement eating it up!
IDR 88,000 ~ US$ 8.80
The beverages were so-so but I recommend their Mojito selections as they are pretty awesome and would be a good pair for any dishes. A little offs we found during the lunch couldn’t ruin our joy and happiness that day. We still love the place, the ambient, the attentive staffs and hope there will be some improvements to their foods.
Glosis Grill and Bar
Jl. Hegarmanah No. 6
Bandung (022) 203 – 1321
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Ramen 38 Sanpachi Bandung
Posted: December 17, 2013 Filed under: Asian Food, Bandung, Japanese | Tags: Bandung, food review, Japanese ramen in Bandung, Japanese restaurant, ramen, Ramen 38 Sanpachi, ramen 38 sanpachi bandung 2 CommentsRamen madness is now everywhere as there are so many new ramen shops all around the city. Those who live in Bandung must be pleased by the opening of Ramen 38 Sanpachi. This ramen shop is highly said as one of the top list when one’s craving for a bowl of ramen in Bandung. The Ramen 38 Sanpachi restaurant joints have been established in Jakarta for quite a long time but I have never tried it before. The new branch in Bandung has just opened in the beginning of this year and I’m curious to prove all of the chirps I heard about it.
Mapo Tofu
I always consider spices as a really good appetite enhancer and mapo tofu seems gonna do it right. The dish came in a regular-sized plate that fits for 2 or maximum 3 persons. The soft silken tofu cubes were generously added with acceptable amount of minced beef. The only con of mapo tofu was the mild spiciness since I really expected it would come in much more spicier level.
Yakisoba
Fried Japanese noodle-a.k.a Yakisoba was my bf’s choice for his main. I’m going to roll all of the essential aspect in Yakisoba : noodle texture, ticked! generous toppings, ticked! overflowing bonito (dried fish flakes), ticked! We both love the Yakisoba and not to mention the seasoning also so balance.
My typical kinda drinks in Japanese restaurant, hot or cold Ocha.
Ajitsuke Tamago
A perfectly cooked Ajitsuke Tamago is somehow really crucial for me when it comes to eating ramen. I was really pleased to see the Ajitama from Ramen 38 perfectly cooked, still runny, very inviting that I couldn’t resist to devour it fast. I love the Ajitama but it would be nicer if the egg was marinated a little bit longer so it’d be more flavorsome.
IDR – 10,000
Tonkatsu Ramen
The best part of this bowl was actually the noodle itself! It’s chewy and delightful, similar to the one from Ramen Ya in Melbourne that I really love. The broth was alright at first, it’s flavorful, thick and well seasoned but I found it became too filling and potentially sickening. It’s just too rich that you couldn’t eat too much. I was a little bit surprised to see the sliced Charsu being solitaire without any friends or pair. 🙂
Ogura and Vanilla Ice Cream
In a Japanese Restaurant, I normally hope they have a scrumptious Ogura ice cream rather than a falling apart red beans in grainy milky ice. It didn’t taste good to be honest but fortunately the Vanilla ice cream really covered our disappointment by its goodness.
IDR – 20,000
Overall impression, the foods were quite good even it’s considered a little bit pricy compared to the size. They have a quick and friendly service and comfy ambient.
Before leaving, we also got free treats as an additional dessert, two cubes fruity jelly. The jellies served cold and the fruity flavors rather freshened up the thick mouthfeel. A sweet treat is always sweet! 
Ramen 38 / Ramen Sanpachi is located at Mayfair Building, Jl. Sukajadi 228, Bandung
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Eastern Restaurant – Bandung
Posted: March 11, 2013 Filed under: Asian Food, Bandung, Chinese Food | Tags: Bandung, chinese food, food, food blog, food review, restaurant review, restaurants, soft shell crab, tea Leave a commentIf you are going to Bandung and looking for a modern, cozy ambience Chinese food that truly serve good foods in reasonable prices, you should go to Eastern Restaurant. This restaurant exactly has gained a good reputation in my city and can be categorized as one of the everyone’s favorite restaurant.
Before going any further I apologize for the bad quality pictures for this post. This was a sudden dinner when I didn’t bring any appropriate device to capture good pictures. All I had was an iPad combined with the dim lighting in the Restaurant, well not a very amusing combination though. 😀
It was on Sunday evening, about 1 hour before the mall closed and I had a family dinner at Eastern Restaurant Bandung. The restaurant is located inside Istana Plaza shopping mall, a family mall in a very strategic location in town. For the good foods and other qualities they have, no wonder that you will have to queue for quite a long time during week-end to get a table. Actually it always almost packed by customers during week-days as well.
Sup Burung Dara (Dove Soup)
My favorite entree ever at Eastern is the Sup Burung Dara (Dove Soup), served in a bamboo cylinder “bowl”. It was a minced dove meat and broth steamed in a bamboo bowl. This was very tasty with a strong savory broth taste. When you chew the meat, you will find a very tender meat combined with crunchy minced radish. This is so perfect to be enjoyed in Bandung’s cold rainy weather. Recommended!
IDR 22,000 / US$ 2.20
Soft Shell Crab with Salted Egg Yolk
My mom’s favorite here is the Soft Shell crab with Salted Egg Yolk and I think we always order this menu in our every visit here. I love the soft shell crab here as they make it perfectly crunchy and dampened by the generous egg yolk sauce. Just perfect to my liking! My mom is a soft shell crab lover and she always loves the soft shell crab here over the ones she has ever tried from other restaurants.
IDR 54,000 / US$ 5.40 (Small portion size)
Pocai saus 2 Telur
We need veggies to complete a Chinese food dinner right? Our choice that night was the Pocai with two kinds of egg sauce (egg and salted egg). In the past they made it with century egg as well but as the health issue about arose, they stopped using it. Too bad that I love century egg so much. 😀 They cooked the pocai in thick sauce style, cracked the egg and added chuks of fried salted egg.
IDR 40,000 / US$ 4.00 (Small portion size)
Fried Chicken with Singapore Sauce
We also ordered one of their new chicken menu which is Fried Chicken with Singapore Sauce. It was a perfectly crunchy-savory fried chicken with a sour and spicy chili sauce.
IDR 48,000 / US$ 4.80
Besides the a la carte Chinese Food, you can also have Suki, All You Can Eat and Dim Sum here. I never ordered any beverages other than the Chinese tea. They have Ti Guan Yin, Oolong, Chrysant and Jasmine tea that you can choose.
Notes :
- The pricing might not accurate (my bad) but I set all of them to the maximum so the real prices are more likely to be exact or below what I mentioned here
- All of the menus (except the Dove Soup) we ordered were the small size portion which fits for 2-3 persons
8,8/10
Eastern Restaurant – Istana Plaza
Jl. Pasirkaliki 121 – 123
Bandung – Indonesia
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Kwetiaw Sapi A-Gap 88 Bandung
Posted: March 3, 2013 Filed under: Asian Food, Bandung, Chinese Food | Tags: Bandung, chinese food, food, food blog, food blogger, food review, restaurant review 3 CommentsA fast and absolutely yummy solution when you are starving at night in Bandung. This is a reliable place to eat at night as this place opens until 11 pm daily. Guaranteed, they serve foods that can make your tummy happy. Kwetiaw Sapi A-Gap 88 (A-Gap 88 Beef Kway teow) cooks the dishes in Pontianak’s style (Chinese-Pontianak. Pontianak is the capital city for West Kalimantan). They do make every dish so yummy and this is even approved and admitted by the real Pontianak people as my mom’s family are originated from there. By the history of taking our relatives and friends here, no one ever complain or disappointed eating here.
This humble restaurant located in Chinese district in my city and you will feel the atmosphere obviously once you get here. I am happy that during my short escape back home, I had the opportunity to dine and eat all of my favorite ones here.
Kway teow Bun
All of the kway teow dishes here cooked with sliced beef, beef meatball, tendon, veggies, bean sprouts, beef’s innards such as tripe, intestine and liver. If you don’t like the innards, ask the waiter to have your kway teow without them. Actually I do really love beef’s innards if only I don’t need to be mindful of my cholesterol level. :p The dish is like fried kway teow but they make it a little bit soggy. The kway teow tastes very firm yet chewy. Just nice, yeah nothing else.
Kway teow Goreng (Fried Kway teow)
The same combinations are used in this one and the difference is only the they cook it.
Bihun Siram (Rice Vermicelli with thick sauce-style)
This one is fried egg coated rice vermicelli in a round pancake like shape. The crispy fried vermicelli then poured by thick sauce with same combination fillings. Bihun siram is my most favorite dish in this place. The fun part is when you cut down the vermicelli and eat it up, you will feel the crispy yet soggy savory fried vermicelli. Just heaven!
All of them are priced IDR 22,000 – US$ 2.10 each, so it’s totally worth the price as you will be served promptly as well. I think it’s appropriate to say Kway Teow A=Gap 88 is the best one in town even you compare with any other more fancier restaurants. Recommended 🙂
Rate : 8.8/10
Kwetiaw A-Gap 88
Jalan Astana Anyar no. 11
Bandung – Indonesia
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Mie Djogja Pak Karso dan Ayam Penyet Surabaya
Posted: February 21, 2013 Filed under: Asian Food, Bandung, Indonesian Food | Tags: east java food, food, food blog, food blogger, food review, Indonesia, Indonesian food, indonesian traditional food, kuliner Bandung, restaurant review, restaurants Leave a commentNo matter what, home is home. The same as food, the place of origin is everything. As you can find the best Indonesian food only in Indonesia.
I am so happy, in the last minute of my holiday, I could revisit this small humble restaurant with my family. Located in a quite packed area, Mie Djogja Pak Karso and Ayam Penyet Surabaya has never failed me even once. I dedicate the best Mie Jawa (Javanese style noodle) and Ayam – Bebek Penyet (relish crushed above fried Chicken and Duck ) in town to them. This is one of my favorite place for a late dinner as they open the shop until 10.30 pm. Such a pleasant temptation, don’t ya think? 🙂
Mie Godhog
As our every single visit, mie godhog (Javanese style boiled noodle) is one of the must have on the list. This one is my parents’ favorite. They used thick noodle which is similar to Japanese udon noodle. The noodle served in thick savory chicken broth, generous chicken pieces, cabbage, tomato, egg plus sprinkled by celery, leeks and fried shallot. You can request the spiciness level if you want it not spicy-medium spicy-very spicy. This is a great companion during a rainy or cool night in Bandung.
IDR – 18,000 / US$ 1.80
Mie Goreng Jawa
My brother had Mie Goreng Jawa (Javanese style fried noole), which was thick noodle fried with chicken pieces, cabbage, tomato, leeks and fried shallot. This noodle was dominated by sweet-savory taste from sweet soy sauce and served on a sheet of banana leaf.
IDR – 19,000 / US$ 1.90
Tempe Penyet
The next one was Tempe Penyet (Relish crushed above fried tempeh). I reckon they coated the tempeh with seasoned flour before frying it. That’s why the tempeh is salty and savory plus the awesome super spicy relish made it yummier. Be patient, I will talk about the relish later 😛
IDR – 9,000 / US$ 0.90
Tahu Goreng
Another snack beside Tempe Penyet was Tahu Goreng (Fried tofu). Tahu goreng is a very common daily dish for Indonesian as a great companion to be eaten with steamed rice. But there is something different with the tahu goreng here, same with Tempe Penyet, they coated the tofu with the same thing before frying it. The fried tofu was crunchy, salty and interestingly hollowed. Hollowed? Yes, as when you bite it, you’ll realize that the tofu is not solid as there is a hollow inside. Interesting!
IDR – 9,000 / US$ 0.90
Paket Ayam Goreng
At that night, unfortunately the Bebek Penyet (Relish crushed above fried duck) was sold out so I ordered Ayam Penyet instead. Served on a plate layered with a sheet of banana leaf, I had one piece of fried chicken, one fried tofu, one fried tempe, rice and veggies (cabbage, chickpea and cucumber). Their relish is so spicy, made by red chili, garlic, shallot stir fried with oil. I am sure besides of all the yummy seasonings, the relish has significant role to enhance the whole taste.
IDR – 22,000 / US$ 2.20
Good service, affordable prices that are suitable even for students and delicious foods are all you can get here. I am not a luxurious or fancy restaurant minded person that I mainly prioritize food’s taste above other aspects. This place is fully recommended and I bet you won’t regret once giving a try!
The currency used is Indonesian Rupiah that can be converted generally to US$ as : US$ 1 = IDR 10.000
Rate : 8,8/10
Mie Jogja Pak Karso & Ayam Penyet Surabaya
Jalan ABC no. 103 (Banceuy)
Bandung, West Java – Indonesia
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The Very First Birthday!
Posted: February 7, 2013 Filed under: Bandung, Melbourne | Tags: birthday, blog birthday, first birthday, food, food blog, food blogger, writing 4 CommentsToday is my blog very first birthday! Yeayy!
I feel happy and excited about this. Call me ridiculous or what.. I remember how I was so excited yet doubtful to start writing about foods last year. As I do write about other things on my personal blog then finally I decided to really do something regarding to what I really love doing. This is worth doing and loving.
Admitting that in this first year, I am not productive enough on this food blogging thing, well I know it. I missed and let a month empty without any post when I was busy and sometimes I just posted few posts a month etc. Later I realized that doing blog is not either easy or paltry. It does really take consistency, commitment and courage. This is similar as planting, if you want to grow it well, you have to water, fertilize and take care of it carefully. Some people consider I do such an unimportant and useless thing. But who cares? I don’t write for those who don’t want to read and just being so critical.
I know my blog is not that good (yet) but I would like to say thanks to those who keep encouraging me doing this, who keep supporting me, giving comments and critiques. Thank you so much to those food bloggers around! I learned a lot, I acknowledged by your blogs and get interacted with new blogger friends. What an interesting new world to dive in!
I love what I do and I want to do it still. 🙂 I do, really looking forward for upcoming birthdays to come next years!
Love as much as I love foods,
Neysa Valeria 🙂
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Chinese Stir-Fried Beef
Posted: December 26, 2012 Filed under: Asian Food, Bandung, Chinese Food, Melbourne | Tags: Bandung, chinese food, chinese stir fried beed, chinese stir fried beed recipe, food blog, food blogger, homemade cooking, homemade food 4 CommentsFamily is where my heart belongs. Always have and always will. This morning I received a text from my dad in Indonesia that my mother’s big family start coming to my city as tomorrow one of my cousin will be married. What a beatify moment for our big family! I do really want to attend the wedding. I love the hectic atmosphere when one close relative carry out a marriage and every family member will be involved in the bee hives rhythm. I miss home and this situation makes me miss it even more.
Since I am so far away from my home and family, I try to raise up the “back home taste” this afternoon by cooking stir fry beef. I was born in a Chinese descent family but since my great grand parents generation, they already lived in Indonesia. No wonder Chinese food is one of the most frequent menu served on our table. My mother is a great cook and she loves cooking various menu of Chinese foods for the family. One of the most often dish is the stir fry beef with onion. This is easy and quick to be cooked yet tasty as well. I can say this is one of me and my brother favorite dish too.
Ingredients:
- 1 beef steak fillet
- 1 Tablespoon of cooking wine
- 1 Table spoon of Hoisin Sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon of pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of sesame oil
- Onion (chopped)
- 1,5 Tablespoon of olive/vegetable oil
Step by Step:
- First of all, mix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl (cooking wine, Hoisin sauce, Oyster sauce, pepper, salt and sesame oil)
- Cut the beef steak into your preference size of pieces. I like to have it big while my mom used to cut the beef small and thin.
- Chop the onion into 4 wedges and cut it into thinner pieces (I only used 1 wedges)
- Heat the pan for a moment then add olive/vegetable oil over the pan
- Add the chopped onion and stir until it smells
- Put the beef and cook for approximately 1 minute
- Pour the sauce mix and stir until it perfectly cooked and browned
I had this stir fry beef 15 minute recipe for my lunch and felt simply happy. Food can bring back memories and comfort you. For me, this home style dish is such a comfort food that successfully warmed my day. Easy, simple and tasty! You can combine this with vegetable if you like and have it with freshly cooked rice.
foodandteatraveller 