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