Panini @ 30k Feet

It might be not a proper Panini, but it certainly taste great. On board Mandala flight RI592, bound for Bali. It is actually still few hours from lunch time, but since I decided to find some stuff to fill my stomach, just in case I won't have a heavy lunch later. So, I ordered a Panini and a cup of Coffee. The stewardess served my coffee while saying "We are heating the Panini". I paid my food and waiting for the food to come.


Moment later, a Panini wrapped in white paper bag was served on the table. It is hot, so I carefully take a peek to the white bread. Carefully, I took the bread out of its wrapping. It smell nothing. From the mark on top, I see that it is being baked with some kind of Panini Press, but it lack of burnt mark. Between the bread, I can see a slice of cheese, and green pesto sauce.

I took a first bite, and happy with the taste of the Panini, chicken and pesto touching my tongue. The chicken fillet is chewy, match the oily pesto sauce. The chicken rolled, then cut, forming 3 thin circle slices of patty-like chicken. The bread is firm, not hard like ordinary aircraft's bread.

I finish my meal, slowly sipping my cup of coffee that began to cool down. It is an ordinary 3-in-1 coffee, nothing worth to tell about. But the whole meals last me few hours until I finally enjoy a good food of Bali

Dining in the Garage? Why Not?

It is not a garage used to park your car (even though I don’t mind dining in one with good food and view). Gourmet Garage, the establishment in Kemang Street, always tickling my curiosity. What kind of restaurant it is that, 3 times I came here; I can’t get a parking space!

So finally, on a day near a long holiday, when Jakarta is deserted by its people, we run from our office to this establishment. As expected, the parking space is empty. I can even choose my parking spot this time :D.

From the menu, we learn that Gourmet Garage is actually formed by 3 restaurants: Jbay, Hiro and Saba. Each of them serves a different menu, from Western to Japanese cuisine. On the first floor is a supermarket, and on 2nd floor is the dining area, where the restaurants located. We pick on a spot near the window in a separate room.

Done with ordering, we look around. In this room, there are several tables, occupied by local and foreigner, busy chit chatting, eating, or waiting for their friends. The roof of this place is constructed by steel bar, visible and painted in black to strengthen the garage environment.

Our lunch started with a plate of Nachos, topped with Jalapeno, cream cheese, salsa and guacamole sauce. The sauce combination gave a very nice sour, hot, creamy, as well as sweet. Very refreshing.


Not long before we finish the Nacho’s, our main course was served: 2 large J Bay Sandwich, and Blue Cheese Burger. The Sandwich is served with French fries and coleslaw. Although taste nice, but nothing special worth to write here. The blue cheese burger on the other hand, leaves some memorable salty taste. The blue cheese and streaky bacon, you get the idea of why it tastes so salty.



I took the last sip of my latte as we pay our bill. To end our lunch, we walk in the supermarket downstairs to get some ingredients for the planned weekend cooking session.

For The Love of Gyoza

Try serving a full plate of moist- neat pleated-oily-good smell of gyoza in front of us. Believe me, for less than 10 minutes you’ll find clean plate without any favor to wash. In Chinese dishes, we recognize similar dishes called Guo Tie, another long time favourites. My friend told me once, the difference between gyoza and guo tie was the filling. If guo tie consists more meat, then gyoza should reserved more vegetables. You can find another guo tie recipes from here.

I still remember my gyoza served with jigoku ramen at Ramen 38, a specialty ramen restaurant in Jakarta. Dipped in vinegar, ginger, and soy sauce, the smell and taste successfully hit me off . Later on, another free flyer gyoza recipes hanging on supermarket rack. I was mumbling to myself, why not? Fortunately when browsing through my finger food book, the recipes was also there so I tried to compare both and practice the combination. Here they are :

Prep Time : 30 min
Cooking Time : 15 min
Makes 35 - 45

250 gr pork mince
250 gr finely shredded and lightly blanched Chinese cabbage with the excess water squeeze out
60 gr fresh leek (or japanese chives: daun bawang wakegi)
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh ginger
¼ cup (60 ml) soy sauce (i used konbu-tsuyu --> see next pic)
1 tbsp rice wine
1 tsp sugar
35 – 45 gow gee wrappers (here you can find the gyoza wrappers in large hypermarket or japanese supermarket)
2 tsp ra-yu (japanese chilli & sesame oil)

Dipping Sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp black chinese vinegar
1 tsp ra-yu

1. Place the pork mince, chinese cabbage, leek/chives, and ginger in larger bowl and mix together. Add the soy sauce, rice wine, sugar, ra-yu, and salt (if necessary-remember: soy sauce is salty enough) to the mixture and mix together very well.
2. Place a gow gee wrapper flat in the palm of your hand, then using your other hand place 2 tsp of the filling mixture into the centre of the wrapper. With wet fingers, bring the sides together to form a half moon shape and pinch the seam firmly to seal it in a pleat. Press one side of the dumplings onto a flat surface to create a flat bottom. This will make the dumplings easier to pan-fry.
3. Heat the oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the gyoza to the pan in batches and cook for 1-2 minutes on the flat side without moving, so that the gyoza become brown and crisp on that side. Gradually add 100 ml water to the pan and put the lid on. Steam for 3-5 minutes. Empty the pan and wipe it dry between batches.
4. To make the dipping sauce, combine all the ingredients in a small bowl. Serve with gyoza.

Our Tips :

1. Meat vs vegetables at least 1 : 1. You may add more vegetables if you wish (1 : 1,5)
2. You can make the filling a day before assembling the dumplings. Keep it on the freezer and it will lasts up to 3 months.
3. Blanching the cabbage also make it very watery. My mom suggest to chopped without blanch to minimize the excess water.
4. Be careful on timing to avoid overcook wrappers.

Good luck and have a nice practice!

Farfalle with Prosciutto and Parmesan

This simple pasta dish makes the most of two of Italy’s most famous ingredients – prosciutto, a salt cured ham, and the rich, grainy parmesan. As both of these ingredients are salty, particular care should be taken when seasoning this dish.

Yes, it is a simple dish, and offers impressive combination between rich creme fraiche and flavor of parmesan, so why not dare to try? If you lack of prosciutto, try streaky bacon and smoked ham for substitution.

I have practice this recipe few weeks ago to explore the taste and share a good lunch (although the zabaglione recipe failed, sorry Scal). Rather than liquid cooking cream used for carbonara or alfredo sauce, cream fraiche gives lighter after taste. Pick some rich or fresh starters like bruschetta with parma ham, chorizo tapas, or tomato and balsamic salad.


Prep time 20 min
Cooking time 20 min
Serves 2 – 3
(Recipe in half, original was doubled)

3 tbsp olive oil
200 gr farfalle (pasta bows)
1 large onion, thinly sliced
100 gr mushroom buttons (champignon will be fine), thinly sliced
1 large zucchini (courgettes), cut into batons
1 clove garlic, chopped
75-100 gr prosciutto (I used streaky bacon+smoked ham), cut into strips
150 ml crème fraiche
50 gr parmesan, grated
Fresh basil leaves, to garnish

1. Bring a large pan two-thirds full of water to boil. Add a good pinch of salt and add farfalle to the bubbling water. Stir with a fork and cook according to manufacturer’s instructions until the pasta is al-dente. Pour immediately into a colander then refresh under plenty of cold running water. Leave to drain until needed.

2. Heat a pan over high heat and add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add the onion, garlic, mushroom, zucchini, and fry for about 2 minutes, or until the vegetables are lightly coloured. Reduce the heat, add the prosciutto strips and fry for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the crème fraiche and heat the mixture for another 1-2 minutes. Stir in the grated parmesan and season to taste with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

3. Add the pasta to the pan, stir to combine and cook briefly to ensure the pasta is heated through. Serve immediately with the fresh basil leaves sprinkled over the pasta.

Happy meal, everyone :)

Raise and Fall: Lusciously Classic Italian Tiramisu

Hello, I’m back now. And pleased to report no such satisfaction rebound once you complete the lesson you have started. All the hassles began with Le Cordon Blue recipe book series when we were looking for simply pasta and suddenly hooked on this tiramisu picture. How could you not fall for quick preparation time, and all you have to do is mixing, dipping, and chilling. So simple, eh? You bet, but there are always tricky step on every recipes.

On 1st attempt we mixed the whipped cream for quite a long time without really understanding the meaning of “stiff peaks”. There goes the blow out, cream separated into water and the whole mixture become crumbly. Oh well, no further choice, we’d have to taste it anyway since making a new one was far beyond expectations. Few hours chilling, and we scoop our spoon onto. Hmm, the taste was less awful than its appearance. Coffee, kahlua, sugar, cheese and broken cream were blended together.

On 2nd attempt, fear of another failure, I tried to beat the cream carefully and still have no idea of stiff peaks forming. Only when the cream began to rise I stopped the mixer and start fold the mixture at once. The result? It became very soft even after chilling. A big grin decorated our faces, now we have tiramisu ice cream instead the real one. Oh, who cares, the taste was still finger lickin’ good anyway.

The 3rd revenge took place last couple week after long pause. Still unsatisfied and wondering how to deal with “stiff peaks” after googling on trial and error suggestion from many recipes tested. Differences between raise and fall were as thin as hair. You just have to managed your eyes and dip your finger into the cream to make sure the stiff peaks have forming. And, your experience never lied then.

Now we have passed the exam and happy with the results. This classic recipe was definitely superior and indulged everyone, and we still promise to make another tiramisu. For our pleasures, or never ending satisfaction to create a good and fancy one.

Classic Italian Tiramisu
(From Le Cordon Bleu Home Collection: Italian)

Layer of sponge biscuits soaked in coffee and kahlua, rich mascarpone cream and a generous dusting of cocoa powder have contributed to the enormous success of this dessert today

Prep time 35 min + chilling
Total cooking time : nil
Serves 4-6

3 egg yolks
120 gr (4 oz) caster sugar
180 gr (5 ¾ oz) mascarpone
300 ml (10 fl oz) cream, for whipping
3 tbsp kahlua
500 ml (16 fl 0z) strong coffee (espresso required), cooled
36 sponge finger biscuits
cocoa powder, for dusting

1. Beat the egg yolks with sugar until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is light. Add the mascarpone and mix well. Beat the cream into stiff peaks and gently fold into mascarpone mixture, then spread a thin layer of the mascarpone cream over the base of a deep 35 cm (14 inch) oval dish.

2. Add kahlua to the coffee. Dip the sponge fingers into the coffee, soaking them well. Depending on the freshness of the biscuits they may require more or less soaking, but be careful not too oversoak. Arrange a layer of sponge fingers close together in the dish – you may need to break them to fit the shape of your dish. Cover with another layer of the mascarpone cream, then another layer of sponge fingers, arranging them in the opposite direction to the first layer. Repeat the layers finishing with mascarpone cream. Smooth the top and keep chilled until ready to serve. Generously dust with cocoa powder just before sevring. Tiramisu is best made several hours in advance so that the flavours have time to blend before serving.



Our tips:

1. The recipe measurement was proven, so better stick to the recipe in details.
2. The whipped cream must be cold enough when mixed to avoid splitting. Better chilled first, but not frozen.
3. Be very careful when whipping the cream and forming “stiff peaks”. You just have to learn to notice, dip your finger to taste it. When you beat too much the cream will split into water and cream.
4. Some recipes would suggest non dairy cream or powder one for anti failure potion.
5. Do not tempted to use instant coffee. Have an extra worth miles by using fine espresso.
6. Do not dip the sponge finger too long otherwise your mixture will be very watery.
7. We use around 24 sponge fingers for the whole recipes.
8. Better serve the tiramisu next day ahead or at least chilled for 12hrs to acquire better taste.
9. Classic tiramisu usually served in glass, or thin dish. If you expect to make the fancy one like those pattiseries used to, search another recipe using gelatin for hardener.

Enjoy your luscious tiramisu!

Pondan Brownies Mix

I once made a very successful brownies, so long ago that I now forgot how it taste, let alone how it made. It was made with flour and melted chocolate, not with one ready mix flour that we use now.

In hope to recall the memory of the brownies, we bake the Pondan Brownies mix. Instruction is simple, should took less than 5 minutes to prepare, although it forgot to mention that, transferring the mix from mixing bowl to the baking pan took at least 5 good minutes.


Before putting it into pre-heated oven, we grated some cheddar, and put a generous amount of almond chunk on top. We maybe set a wrong temperature of the oven that the brownies feels so dry afterwards. It taste just sweet enough, slightly lack of chocolate. Well, at least it is good enough to satisfy the crave for brownies... until I found my good ol' recipe.