(Suppose to be) Dragon Roll

We're not really in the mood for sushi actually. I strolled through old photos, among them are the Sushi Photo Session several years back. Then it came, a very inviting dragon roll. Tempted, I propose to make one to Kiko, which she agreed.

Rice were prepared as usual, but the Prawn was not. The recipe books make it easy to straighten a prawn for Tempura: using a toothpick. We only find out latter that toothpick was too short. Nevertheless, out of 10 prawn, we manage to fry 3-4 prawn, straight enough to be rolled in sushi. The rest of it goes with a traditional chili sauce :D.

Kiko laugh when I told my idea of using half tobiko, half sesame to cover the reversed sushi. "Martabak?", she said, referring to traditional food, where we can order different fillings for each half. I wasn't moved, and goes through with the plan....


OK, it wasn't look like a proper Dragon Roll. The prawn wasn't long enough for its tail and head to pops beyond the sushi. But as we chew it in, the taste made us happy enough. The white sesame is not a perfect match, black sesame might do better. The prawn, fried with a ready-made tempura flour, was great.

We still have another plate of Gyoza after that, plus some tempura prawn....

Scarcity of Nori

It might not makes the headline on the news, but the scarcity of Nori sheet last January has made us a little bit panic on one evening. We have Salmon and Chu Toro Sashimi freshly cut from our favorite sushi shop, and fresh Tobiko in hand, all might be wasted without Nori.

But this Japanese food are proven to be the most versatile food. Using a small leftover sushi, we made a small hand-rolled, topped with mix of Tobiko and Mayonnaise. When all Nori has been used, we made Nigiri Sushi - not the best Nigiri, but well, practice make perfect.


Kiko even make a hearted-shape Nigiri sushi, from the rice leftover :D. At the end of the day, we happily finish the plate.

Happy Jive Birthday!

Still remember when was your first time cooking took place?
(S) Kiko made me a Lasagna, which is great. Here is the pic :D. I wish she will make another one when her mood is right :D
(K) Err, early June 08 i think. We made garlic bread and he wrote the posting instead, but i guess we did another cooking at my home. (and still can't remember what it was)


By who's idea?
(S) Well.... I took the credit for it.......
(K) Scal, of course. I'm a moody amateur cook, only cooking when i really want or craving for something or get tempted by mouth watering pictures and recipe. Which can happen only once or twice a year if you're lucky.

How was it? The process and the result?
(S) Satisfactory... could be beginner's luck
(K) The garlic bread suprisingly turns good with tips acquired from online recipe. And another dishes were the same. There were recipes we tried up to 3 times because we did not get in the line, but there also one time test and we've made it. Most of our dishes tastes acceptable, but we still have to learn for better presentation.

Why blogging? What's the meaning behind the name?
(S) Why not?
(K) At the beginning we wanted to make a documentation about coffee review, one of his interest but turns out we agreed more on cooking since it's more easier. The name just pop out that way. Jive means dancing cheerfully, we guess that we wanted to make cooking as a fun activities together, as well as we loved foods themselves.

Who's taking the pictures?
(S) Mostly me, but there are some pictures which I can't take myself, particularly when I'm rolling a sushi or tossing pizza dough :D
(K) Scal. I'm not very patient to do that while cooking :D


What's your most remembering cooking?
(S) Two in one Tomato Soup, and the Tiramisu
(K) Scal's tomato soup. A lot of laugh and a remarkable taste.

What was your favourite cooking?
(S) Spaghetti, Fettuccine, Farfalle, Lasagna, Penne, Fusili.... did I miss anything? Oh, and pizza!
(K) I used to love wok dishes and few casseroles but now i discover my fond of Italian cooking, the tiramisu and those kind of pasta, ugh and pizza. And Japanese also. (too many my dear)

What was things you wish to cook but not yet?
(S) At the moment it is the traditional Dutch snacks, for tea time, and some fancy coffee, maybe when I have my own espresso machine. One that came into mind is Stroopwaffel. And I put Black Forest on Kiko's list :p.
(K) I want to cook steak and apple crumble pie. Our cooking time reduce since 09 i guess...

What's the funny thing crossed your mind when you do the cooking?
(S) What would it turns out? Edible? Side effect?
(K) Ummm, can i answer that later? :P

What’s Your Cooking Personality? (take this quiz http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/16/whats-your-cooking-personality/)

(S) 2 (a) and 2 (c), so its a tie. But at least I'm not competitive :D
(K) I have 3 (d) and 2 (b), so can i describe myself as "methodical competitive" (oh well, that sounds preppy)

b) Methodical: Talented cooks who rely heavily on recipes. The methodical cook has refined tastes and manners. Their creations always look exactly like the picture in the cookbook.

**my comment: i'd always curious about chemical reaction includes food, that's why i like to explore and experimenting recipes. i used to compare few recipe available and search for any special ingredients which i think might bring extra value to the dish. my enjoyment involves adjusting ingredients composition like: "you think 250gr flour vs 100gr sugar will be too sweet or not?" after that, modified and practice! so yes, i rely on MY own modified recipes based on experienced, but no, my creation did not look exactly in the picture. i still have to learn more and more :)

d) Competitive: The Iron Chef of the neighborhood, competitive cooks have dominant personalities and are intense perfectionists who love to impress their guests.

**my comment: i'm not the iron chef (yet) but looking at my other habits when doing something else perhaps yes, i (tend) to intense perfectionist especially when dealing about best material you can have. And quite hard to negotiate about that :p

What's your plan next for JiveKitchen?
(S) More cooking posting. We haven't been cooking so often lately, so most of our posting is about the food we ate somewhere.
(K) I'd love to re-design the layout and content if possible. We were dreaming of compact and user friendly menus which accessible by everyone. And, i wish i could have more time to post any food activities we had. By the way, you think we should suggest JiveKitch to tweet? :p

** this quiz was made to celebrate one year of Jive Kitchen **
** Lots of fat, spice, and fun **

Kiko's Birthday @ Java Bleu

Among international cuisine patronage in Jakarta, Java Bleu is no stranger. Owned and manned by French Chef Antoine Audran, he and his restaurant specialize on French Cuisine. Kiko has been here before, when they were still at their old place, few blocks from the current one. She was enthusiastic when telling the story about this place, so I welcome her invitation to celebrate her birthday.

The air is warm inside. An Asian couple sat in the table close to the door, and few westerners occupy a table across the room, which left us to choose among 3 empty tables. "That one is quite hot, it is close to the kitchen", the waiters said when we point to a white table for 2. The table at the center is too big for us, so we choose another table close to the door instead. Once we're seated, the waiters move a blackboard to face us. That's the menu.


We were quite undecided for some time, but thankfully the waitress was very helpful and good at describing the menu, except for one. We made our order, few starters, main course and drinks. A little disappointment came when ordering a cup of coffee. They only have espresso and latte, but hey, it is French restaurant, not Italian.

Still my disappointment with the coffee when it came flat. But not for long, as our appetizer was served: Mushroom soup with bread, and Quiche Lorraine. The soup is great; the blended mushroom adds taste and the chopped mushroom complete the texture. The quiche is perfect, with generous amount of ham.

The same waitress offered to serve our main course once the soup finished. Pork Sausage and Ox Tongue both served with mashed potatoes and vegetables. The Ox Tongue was cooked with Red Wine, which unfortunately dominate the food. The mashed potatoes worth a note, though.

Finish with the meals, the waiters turns the blackboard to us again, offering desserts. We ordered Chocolate Melt, which looks like a muffin. It is topped with a scoop of ice cream and icing sugar. Overall, it wasn't too sweet, just nice to end the dinner.


But the night is not over yet. The Asian couple and westerner are still there, apparently enjoying the night as we did. I ordered another drinks, we have a lot of chat about her recent trip, until they are closing.

We parted at her office, after saying: Happy Birthday My Dear..... *Hugs

Java Bleu
Kompleks Golden Plaza Blok E 24
Jalan Fatmawati No.15, Jakarta Selatan
Ph: (021) 750 79 02
Fax: (021) 765 02 12

Bandung Getaway

Most of us, the Jakartans, might be bored when people mention and telling stories about Bandung, the cozy and hype city near 130 km away. But for me who seldom make the visit, going for a trip to this city mostly lift up a content feeling, quoting my friend: “Returning to Jakarta after staying in Bandung is like returning to your spouse after a romantic affair. Me and Jakarta have a somewhat abusive but comfortable relationship, while Bandung serves as a calm and serene part time lover who’s always there whenever I need calming down.”

If i had to choose, terms of being calm and serene are enjoying shady afternoon in open air space with greeny vistas and forget everything but now. A cup of warm drinks and any sweet or savory desserts will be perfect for mood booster. (No noisy crowds and annoying waiters are important, too). Curling with books or magz, just doing nothing but enjoying fresh air, or draw some sketches, everything will be priceless then.

“What I like doing best is nothing. It means just going along,
listening to all the things you can't hear, and not bothering." – AA Milne

However, those thing won’t be complete if you can't have proper foods, all comfortable foods that may turn your straight upper lips into broad smiles. And to locate each of the seller always become our problem since there are too many places to visit but ours only have tiny and tight times: so little time, so much to do. Two days in a row are very ambitious but at least we could make decent visit to (almost) we’ve been planning for. Here we go:

1. Lapo Siagian, Location: Next to Telkom Bld, Jl. H. Hasan 19 A, Ph. (022) 253 4478
Bataknese version of roast pork. Thin slice of crunchy and crusty pork belly with smoky hint. Rough but tender, stiff but juicy it gives you full sensation from the beginning you taste it until you realize you’re chewing the last bite. Served with crushed green chili and lemon juice, the sour and spicy taste enriched the whole serving. Heavenly!

2. Kopi Selasar, Location: Jl. Bukit Pakar Timur No. 100, Bandung (www.selasarsunaryo.com)
All this time, i've been told by my friends whose keep talking how comfy this place are. Years and years waiting, now my turn has come: I'd visited this place finally! A perfect place for afternoon tea: under lush tree with greeny hill view, slightly windy, and raining for one moment. Smells of grass and dirt accompanied perfect dessert: banana with cinnamon sauce and vanilla ice cream served with ginger tea and hot choco. Strong buttery taste from cinnamon sauce combined with chewy bananas, gave the complete mouthful taste. Playing cards is prohibited here since the owner thinks it is not a productive activity.

3. Ceu' Mar, Location: End of Jl.Cikapundung
Local honest and popular street food used to sell to newspaper boys in midnight. Now Ceu Mar rent (or owned?) a kiosk while she is still sitting and counting every plate and dishes everyone had taken. Our recommendation: tempe goreng tepung (fried tempe), cincang kambing (diced lamb stewed with curry spice), empal (shredded boiled beef and fried), tumis buncis (stir fry string bean), and most of all her home made hot chili sauce which make you crave for more.

4. Martabak Nikmat Andir, Location: Jl. Jend Sudirman 415, opposite Andir market.
This place become our "must visit" place everytime we are here. Their sweet martabak with corn and cheese filling is the best you can have. Since we offered our friend to bring any while visiting her, banana and cheese filling is on the next favorite list. Fluffy and sweet, the one you cannot resist.

5. GOR Pajajaran, Jl. Pajajaran – Bandung
A siesta place with many street vendors displaying mouth watering dishes from dimsum, roast pork, ambo kueh (local Bandung traditional snacks with pork meat and brown sauce), noodles, traditional cake, congee, and the list may go on. Choices of our breakfast: fish congee with roast pork and char siu, famous fluffy fried cakwe from Lie Tjay Tat, continued with misoa soup suggested by Tante Liana. Next, hop on her kiosk to take away all time favourite dishes : pepes bandeng (steam milk fish with local spice wrapped in banana leaf, pepes telor asin (steam duck egg wrapped in banana leaf), and sambal ulek (raw belacan chili and tomato). New dishes has arrived: abon cakalang (spicy tuna floss) and gadon daging (steam minced beef wrapped in banana leaf).



6. RM. Linggarjati, Location: Jl. Balong Gede No. 1, Alun Alun – Bandung
The best avocado juice in town. Served with mocca syrup and crushed ice, you still can find bite few avocado meat in luscious silky texture. Famous for their mie babat (noodles and beef tripe), but my favourite only their avocado juice.

7. PT Rasa, Location: Jl. Tamblong
Recommendation: avocado and banana ice cream, poffertjes, and some cakes (forgot the name)

8. Bakmi Rica, Location Jl. Kejaksaan No. 7, Bandung
Delicious spicy pork noodle, perfect for dessert and snacks. Free roaming either take away or dine in, the flavor goes well in any temperature you're still every bite you chew. Suggestion: better served with no soup when reheat.

9. Batagor Kingsley, Location Jl. Veteran
Famous long time batagor seller in town and the taste consistent until now. Those street food stall in front of this place gives more temptation from durian ice cream to es sekoteng, from mie kocok to keripik.

10. Toko kue Sweetheart, Jl. Bawean No. 4, Bandung
Their cakes always sweet and delicious. All time favorite: nougat cake roll (mocca cake with peanuts and rhum flavor), swiss cake roll (chocolate cake with custard cream and rhum), picnic roll (similar to sausage brood), kaas roll (cheese cake with shredded cheddar filling). The rhum flavor gives extra sensation to the whole cake serving.

What a lovely and happy belly trip, which he said: "too much of good things might kill you."