Shabu Dinner with Shabuya

Jive Kitchen was invited.

Between packed schedule and unfriendly traffic, couple weeks ago finally we were able to visit and enjoyed Shabuya, restaurant specialized in shabu style with “premium angus beef” tagline. Thanks to goorme.com who gave such invitation for ‘tukang makan’ like us.


Once you step through reception desk, you’ll find white bricks walls dominate the interior while iron décor and hanging lamp accentuate warmth ambience. Most of the tables are spacey, enough for a family of 6 or more to sit comfortably. In fact, eating shabu always become communal ritual in fun way. We were hosted politely to a reserved table near window. Our table can accommodate up to 4 person, and equipped with electric infra red ceramic cook top. I like this kind of cook top due to its capability to provide stable warm temperature for longer cooking period.

Three kinds of Korean style appetizer served nicely in small array. Home made fresh kimchi, today chef selection of golden ball (meaty potato balls), and sweet potato glazed with caramelized sugar and sesame. I like their kimchi because of its fresh taste balance and crunchy bites between watery cabbage, spicy and sour fermented chili. The golden ball, rolled on bread crumb before frying, combine the crunchy texture, softness of potato and crumbly meat at the core.

Before cooking ritual begin, they served us several kind of dipping sauce, vegetables, plate of seafood, and appealing thinly sliced shiny red angus beef. Ponzu shoyu (citrus based sauce) come in larger bowl than usual, while gomatare (sesame dipping sauce) only served when you asked. Table default were chili powder and salt. Pak Kevin, the restaurant manager, hand us plate of triple yakume : crushed garlic, radish, and chopped scallion. He assists us to blend the ponzu with triple yakume to acquired better taste for dipping. The ponzu gets thicker with the mixing and gave bold taste while gomatare taste less nutty than usual. This ponzu sauce was tasty enough, once you realize in next session you tend to dip the beef and vegetables over and over.



At first, we wanted to try the broth without any dipping sauce to acknowledge its original flavor. The broth surprisingly taste good with slightly natural sweet meaty taste come from good quality beef and katsuoboshi broth. Electric stove worked excellent for those who want food texture and broth temperature stays on their peak. Vegetables still crunchy to bite, and meats still lean. In that way, you can enjoy your shabu for longer period without worrying for overcooked meals.

Later, with few drips from ponzu dip we try to continue the exploration for richer taste to come. It works, with the result we tried to dip most things into ponzu sauce. Some of vegetables went well with gomatare dip. Those who wanted hotter splash sensation, there are chopped chili and chili powder to fulfill your needs. We decided to keep eating with lesser dipping and enjoyed meat and vegetables original flavor. Seems nice to have relaxing family dinner here next time.

Shabuya
Central Park Mall 1st floor 113A
Jl. Let. Jend. S. Parman Kav.28
West Jakarta, Indonesia
Phone: +62 (21) 56985585
Opens: 09:00 - 21:30 (Last Order)

Website: http://www.facebook.com/shabuyaindonesia

Twitter: Shabuya_Indo

Olive & Balsamic Vinegar Salad

A more healthier salad, compared to the last one, the Olive & Vinegar Salad doesn't contains any meat or cheese. The olive used is also supposed to be lower in fat than mayo-based salad. Thanks to Ranch Market for the inspiration

I tried 2 different mushroom preparation: raw and cooked with olive oil. Between those 2, a compromise is the best: dip the mushroom in the olive oil, but don't pan-fried it. As the mushroom soak, it will gain more taste.

Next on the dressing. My local groceries runs out of olive oil-based dressing, so I was forced to be creative. Put some olive oil, some balsamic vinegar, pepper, sesame seed, mustard, and there you have a mixture rich of taste. Good enough for me.

So, have another experimentation on salad? Have your own favorite mixture for dressing? List it in the comment, and we will try it out.

Wasabi Mayo Salad Dressing

Have too much Wasabi Tube leftover from the last Sushi cooking? Is it going to expire soon? Don't worry, this recipe will help you to finish it, along with some leftover vegetables in the fridge. In our case, it helps to finish off some Romaine Lettuce, Cherry Tomato, Olives, Carrot, Parmigiano Cheese, Smoke Ham, Almond and Sesame Seeds.

We compared between regular mayonnaise and Kewpie. The regular Mayonnaise come out too salty when mixed with Wasabi. So, we choose the Kewpie which come out better to our taste.

Mixing wasabi and mayonnaise is tricky. The wasabi taste does not come out during mixing, but when you spoon a mouthful of salad later on, the wasabi will kick hard to your nose.

We also put in some bread stick bought at Him Heang in Penang. Those crackers was supposed to be for coffee, but we are too lazy to make our own crouton. If you can get one, it would be great, but you can always bake your own crouton.

Dinner is finished with full stomach, and empty fridge happily

The Energy Food: Baked Mini Potato with Cheese

One afternoon of a sunny day. We were having a late brunch, thanks to the holiday, which make us skip our lunch altogether. However, I planned to do 10k run on the evening, and in need of energy. A LOT OF ENERGY.

Rice is too boring and take time to prepare, plus all the dishes that follows. Potato become my option. To be specific, it would be mini potatoes for 2 reasons: It is bite size, and take shorter to prepare,compared to the bigger potato.

All these steps took less than 15 minutes preparation, and around 30 minutes of baking

1. Wash the potato in running tap water, then cut them in half
2. Pour olive oil in baking pan, and spread evenly. Arrange the halved potatoes on the pan. Don't forget to heat the oven to 180-200 degree. Put some pepper, salt or parsley to your taste
3. Put the potato in the oven, and set a timer for 10 minutes. Sit back, relax, and enjoy your favorite TV show
4. After 10 minutes, take out and stir. Place it back in the oven for another 1-15 minutes. Sit back and continue watching your favorite TV show
5. After 10-15 minutes, take out and place in a serving plate made of ceramics (or something else that oven-save). Grate your favorite cheese on top of the potato. My favorite is Mozzarella to give some nice melt, and cheddar for the salty taste
6. Put the potato and cheese with the serving plate back in the oven. This is the tricky part. You have to watch the cook so that the cheese melt, but not burnt. Sorry, no favorite TV show here
7. Serve with tabasco or mustard. And you will have more than enough energy for your 10k run

Poached Egg

Having encounter this dish several time, it always left me wondering, how can one boil cracked egg, maintaining the egg white in one piece. And my wife, on her quest to someday cook egg benedict, showed me the poached egg over the last weekend.

It is vinegar who does the trick. And she does another trick to make it perfect. Put dash of salt and pepper, and it was a good breakfast for the weekend. The egg white then goes with the toast.

Well done, you're one step closer to your egg benedict :D

Traditional Bistik Ayam

Traditional Bistik Ayam
Originally uploaded by bnc_id

A Traditional Holland Dishes, brought to Indonesia during the Colonial Era. Over time, the dishes was influenced by affluent Javanese, thus result to this traditional food. Now being served by peranakan restaurant across Jakarta, which bring back the old memory of affluent Javanese during colonial era.

Nasi Goreng: Looks Simple to Make....

I used to call it: Dishes for desperate people. Dine out several time with few people, when they have no idea on what to order, they will order this: Nasi Goreng (Fried Rice)

And if you watch the cooking process, you will see why it is a desperate choice.It is very easy to prepare, quick, and despite of come variations, the taste came from 2 key ingredients: rice and soy sauce. Some extra condiments served would be fried egg, diced beef/chicken/lamb, chillies and pickles

Until you make one yourself, then you see that making it is far from easy - at least if you aim for your different Nasi Goreng. Here is some requirement from Kiko:

• The perfect nasi goreng should not sticky. The rice should be in its sandy instead of sticky
• Different soy sauce yields different taste and final color. Yes, there are lots of brand out there, mass market one and specialized one

Don't believe it? Go ahead and make one for yourself

Servings from Moka Pot

The only moka pot I own yields 6 shot of espresso. When I'm staying at home, alone, it definitely too much for one drink. So, I come up with 4 drinks as the day progress

8:30 AM, right after brewing, the first drink is Americano, savoring the best of coffee of the stove. Besides, at this hour, we definitely need some boost to start the day.

10 AM, the brewed coffee is getting colder. It is best to be served with Ice. I was thinking to put in some sugar, but just plain coffee would be as good. And the quality only degraded slightly.

1 PM, after lunch, wondering for some dessert. Throw 2 scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream, and pour in some coffee... I enjoy the Affogato as my dessert. The colder coffee works better with the Ice Cream, without melting it.

3:30 PM, the heaviest hour in a day for work. I took a short break to make Ice Milk Coffee from whatever left from my Moka Pot. The Milk help to cover the degraded coffee

So, what else can you have from 6 servings of Moka Pot?

Tricolor Breakfast

One of the easy quick breakfast to have. The mashed potato and chili sauce can be prepared days in advance. . Grilling the sausage and caramelizing the onion should take less than 15 minutes.

Best served with Tabasco for the sausage, and melted gorgonzola cheese for the mashed potato

Sexy Sushi

Of all the food I have ever photographed, sushi is the only food I never satisfied of. In front of camera lens, sushi crafted with creativity to the detail is like a model on the catwalk, like an expensive bag on store display. It is charming, and never run out of angle.

One of our favorite sushi establishment is Sushi Tengoku. The best thing about this place is, the lightings are perfect for a photo. The black table helped the bright color of sushi material to stand out of the background.

Another lovely restaurant we found is Sakura Restaurant. Set up at different ambiance from Sushi Tengoku, the lightning setup also provide a perfect light to the sushi, with the wooden table background.

Driving further out of town is Umaku, one of the youngest of the pack. This place is not so big, which provide intimate communication between patron and the chef. Of course, the perfect place would be seated at the sushi bar, from which we can see the skill of the chef who craft this sexy food, similar like a make up artist preparing the model.

Thankfully, preparing a sexy sushi is not the luxury of professional chef. Something that is already good will only need little touch to make it perfect. The problem is not on the preparation, but how to have the correct lighting and background to make the perfect photo.

I certainly will never have enough for this food

Vegetables Series: Manado Papaya Buds

Unlike myself, who can eat same vegetables from day to day, week to week,month to month, she will be bored to dead. Fortunately, before that happens, her creativity kicks in. Combining leftovers in the fridge, she cook this Manadonese traditional dishes: Stir Fry Papaya Buds with corn. Is is spicy, hot, salty, slightly bitter, and ultimately refreshing.

This food can be found in almost all of Manado Restaurant in Jakarta. Yet, making it yourself is simple. Just stir fry in particular order: garlic, shallots, corn, chill, boiled Papaya Buds, Lemon Basil, precooked Anchovy. The dishes should be slightly oily, so add some more generous oil if needed.

It took less than 30 minutes to prepare, and 15 minutes to cook. Best eaten with steamed rice

Lovely Evening at the Office with Stroopwaffel

I can't remember anymore who told me about pairing coffee with stroopwafel. But I still remember the first time I tried this pairing. One evening, at Starbucks Coffee, I put the stroopwafel on top of my hot latte. Moments later, my nose was filled with nice smell of caramel, as it melted. The Stroopwafel became softer, nicer to chew. I finish it in on time.

Last week in the office, I decided to recreate the experience. Using black coffee instead of latte, I put the stroopwafel, and those familiar caramel vapor fills up my desk. Only that this time, the black coffee match the sweet taste of stroopwafel better than my previous Starbucks latte.

Gotta do this again someday, and gotta learn to make those stroopwafel someday.

The Taste of Indian Cuisine at Kinara

Ever since the closure of our favorite Indian Restaurant, we've practically missed the real taste of the food. Other restaurant are simply doesn't really get the taste right, or simply too expensive to visit regularly. Until on one Friday evening, when we stumbled to Kinara Restaurant, just inside Sogo Food Hall, Pondok Indah Mall 2.

Since then, we have returned to the place, sitting at the same table, ordering almost the same dishes. Two of our regular dishes are Naranga Choru and Dal Kinara. Despite listed with curry leaves, I missed it completely to the crunchy peanut, perfectly matched the well cooked rice with lemon scent.

While waiting for them to prepare our order, we were served with papadam, Indian crackers rich of spices. The 2 dip sauces served with it helps to neutralize or complement the strong taste.

From the open kitchen, we can see the chefs preparing our order. Besides our regular menu above, this time we ordered Saag Paneer, made from Spinach, Cottage Cheese and Fenugreek. The cheese, which look like tofu, has a bouncy texture with salty taste. Overall, this dishes was a perfect compliment to our dinner.

Kinara Cuisine of India Pondok Indah Mall 2

Sogo Food Hall, LG Level

Jakarta

Website: http://www.kinara.co.id/

Nigiri Sushi Mold

Each time I went for sushi dishes, I'm always full of amazement with how the food presented. It is more than beauty, it is an art of a skillful sushi chef. And it took years to master. It shows dedication towards profession, which me as amateur chef will never have.

Fortunately for me, there are nigiri sushi mold sold in local grocery store. There are various shapes, from standard box shape, heart, round and many more. Sure that this mold won't match the work of a professional chef, but would definitely makes our sushi looks better.

We bought the box-shaped, and made 3 kind of nigiri sushi afterward

Instruction is provided clearly in the packaging. Whatever you want to put at the top should come first into the mold. Then fill in enough rice to cover up to the rim of the mold. The Kani Stick shown in bottom right is a little bit tricky, since the rice need to be pushed to fill in the space between the stick and the mold.

After the mold has been filled, press the lid gently to shape the bottom part. Remove the lid and flip the mold on clean plate, pressing gently to push out the sticky rice. Arrange it on the plate with dash of Wasabi, and you're good to go

We didn't forget our favorite traditional Maki Sushi. Unfortunately, there are no mold yet for this type of sushi, which leave us to satisfy ourself with slightly broken roll. Well... at least the taste does matter

Breakfast Idea: Bacon Egg Sandwich

bacon egg sandwich
Originally uploaded by graceque

Our attempt to finish leftover food seems futile. Each time we open the fridge, those food seems barely dented, if any. Yet, she refuse to give up, and came out with another breakfast food.

Leftover bread is always perfect for sandwich when toasted. The meaty part came from smoked ham, paired with fried egg with streak of mayonnaise.

To balance the sinful food, she put leaf of lettuce. And of course the baked bean, which finally showed some sign of being used.

Hmmpppfff..... great food to start your day....

Breakfast Idea: Horenso Egg Bread

horenso egg bread
Originally uploaded by graceque

Consider this dishes as your stepping stone towards the ultimate egg benedict. The first step is to make the perfect boiled egg.

Although the white part of the egg is perfect, the yellow part is slightly too hard. The yolk still dripped when cut, but not as much as we expected. This made me hunting for egg timer which can be boiled with the egg.

Nevertheless, the other ingredients make the whole dishes enjoyable. The bounciness of enoki, crunchy toasted bread and stringy horenso adds to the pleasure when combined with black pepper.

Bon Apetite....

Breakfast Idea: French Toast

french toast
Originally uploaded by graceque

"What should I do with all the bread?" Kiko said to me one night. "Errr, bread and butter?" I answered with clueless face.

The next morning, she was busy preparing something that smells good: A french toast. "Try it with ground cinnamon and caster sugar", she said.

It is a simple easy to prepare breakfast, energize you with all the carb, as well as protein from the egg

Breakfast Idea: Tuna Parisette Roll

So, one night, Kiko was happily unwrapping a package. Apparently she just had a good shopping session at one of our favorite butcher. And guess what she unwrap. In between the sausage ham and patty: Parisette Roll and Kornspitz.

Next morning I know is that those food was served on dining table, complete with the condiments: Herb Cheese, Tuna Paste and Butter, and side dishes of potato chips, crackers and lettuce.


The Tuna Parisette Roll worth a special mention here. near the end of our breakfast, Kiko decided to finish the Tuna paste. It was a leftover from our breakfast few days ago, and might be rotten in a couple of days. So, she spread it over the Parisette Roll.

The crunchy-ness of the roll match perfectly with sourness of the paste.

Dinner onboard VN783

Boarding on Vietnam Airlines domestic route from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City, I look forward for Vietnamese food such as Gỏi Cuốn, Chao Tom and the refreshing mixed salad, served with the rice vermicelli or the rice paper.But probably they afraid of the strong spices would cause trouble to the passengers' stomach. So, we were served something more neutral, less Vietnamese.

It is fried fish with sweet sauce, served with rice. The slice of Mango is the only item that makes it Vietnamese. The taste is not bad though, it is just less Vietnamese