The best remedy...

...for when you get a dose of Jakarta Belly.

Available in a pharmacy near you!

Brushing up on my Bahasa Indonesia...

A couple of months ago, the kind people at Tuttle Publishing sent me some books to review on learning bahasa indonesia and yes, I'm only getting around to posting about it now. But, you know, holidays happened, before that there was end of school year and well one thing after another meant that I didn't get around to giving the books my full attention until just recently. They sent me three books on learning the language that is spoken throughout the Indonesian archipelago. Of course, remembering that each island then has it's own dialect or dialects. For example, when I was in Flores I spent most of my holiday trying to tune into bahasa manggarai and pick up words as that is the language widely spoken in Manggarai province but then cross over into Bajawa or Maumere and you will find the dialect is completely different. This is what makes Indonesia such a fascinating country. You would be hard pushed to find another like it with it's vast range of dialects, traditions, dances and ethnicities. Thankfully, there is the main language of Bahasa Indonesia taught in schools so that across the archipelago there is a common language. It also means that coming to Indonesia you only have to learn this language in order to make your way from island to island. Phew!

Anyway back to the books...

The first book, Mini Indonesian Dictionary I found to be the most helpful. Small enough to fit into the palm of your hand and of course your handbag means it is easy to bring everywhere with you and use when you are stuck for a word you don't know. There are a whopping 12,000 words in it which pretty much means that when you are out and about you are certainly going to be able to locate words you need. In my opinion, when learning a language it is always handy to have a dictionary but carrying around a big thick one is never going to be fun. This mini dictionary really gives you a great resource at a quarter of the size.

The second book, Making Out in Indonesian, I found to be a tad more controversial. This book basically keys you in to street slang in Indonesia and at times, not necessarily slang that you might want to be using! There is some risqué language in here so if you are a tad on the conventional side this might not be the book for you. However, if you are curious to have a look at how people in this part of the world curse, flirt and basically strip down their language, then this will be the book for you.

Last but not least, there was Indonesian Slang. This was probably my favourite read out of all the books. The title is quite deceiving in that you think it might just be a book on Indonesian slang words. It is but it's also so much more because it takes these slang words or expressions and gives you the background to how these expressions came about into daily use. It places these expressions in historical context too so as well as learning some of the language you are also getting a history and geography lesson about Indonesia too. Perfect! I love covering lots of subjects at once. Language is such a beautiful thing and our ability to communicate and use words is our most powerful tool. I, personally, find it fascinating to see how languages have come about and changed and modernised to keep up with daily life. This book will give you some very pertinent insights into Indonesia and its' language.

A big thank you to Mike at Tuttle Publishers for sending me the books and letting me review them for my blog. So, what are you waiting for? Go learn some Bahasa Indonesia!

Urban Remedy Indonesia

So in an attempt to reboot my system, I decided to embark on a three day juice cleanse. I felt blessed to discover a company here in Jakarta called 'Urban Remedy Indonesia' who basically make doing a juice cleanse incredibly easy and convenient. You let them know whether you want to do the one, three or five day cleanse and which date you want to start. They email you the price and transfer details for payment and once you have made your payment they send you confirmation. Then you sit back and wait for the chosen date. In the meantime, they provide fantastic support in the days leading up to your start date by sending you pre-cleanse guides and tips on how to prepare yourself for the cleanse so it's not too much of a shock to your body. In fact they are incredibly supportive throughout even sending you an email on your first day to wish you luck and provide you with words of encouragement. 

On your chosen date, a delivery guy knocks on your door with your supply of cold pressed juices. For each day you are given 6 different juices to drink:

1. Glowing Green

2. Watermelon Mint

3. Tropical Growing Green

4. Spicy Lemonade

5. Beet-it

6. Spiced Almond Milk

The bottles are conveniently numbered and you drink them in the numbered order at certain periods throughout the day. Then in between you drink water or lemon water. 

Today is my first day doing the cleanse and so far I've felt fine. I did wean myself off caffeine a few days before I started the cleanse because I didn't want to be cleansing and dealing with massive headaches from caffeine withdrawal. That definitely helped. The juices themselves are really good and the bottles are huge. I think I have felt incredibly full most of the day. 

I would definitely recommend if you want to do on the inside of your body what most of us would like to do to the whole city of Jakarta, CLEANSE! I am extremely grateful to the service offered by Urban Remedy Indonesia and for their continuous support during my cleanse. I will definitely avail of the service again.

Gluten free might be catching on in Jakarta...

Ok, so you can't imagine my joy when recently during a visit to Ranch market in Lotte shopping avenue I saw perched on the shelf packets of gluten free flour. Healthy food products can be quite expensive here in Jakarta as most of them are imported. At the moment I am trying to make any baked goods, like my waffles, with alternative flours. So far I've worked with coconut flour, banana flour and almond flour. Banana flour was the cheapest but probably the more challenging to work with as it sucks up all the liquid in a recipe very quickly so you have to make sure you add extra. Coconut flour is similar in that it absorbs the liquids very quickly. Almond flour is more stable but is also very expensive. So once in a while when I feel like making a batch of waffles it's good to know that I can use some gluten free flour. When I bought this flour, I was a little dismayed to see that there were no ingredients listed on the packet. Not to be deterred, I emailed Ranch Market and asked them to let me know what was in it. They replied fairly promptly and informed me that there was :

1. Tapioca Starch

2. Rice Flour

3. Potato Flour

4. Corn Starch

This is quite a normal mixture for a gluten free flour as I have seen various websites listing these same ingredients for people interested in making their own versions of the flour.

Once I knew what I was dealing with I was able to set out on making my gluten free lemon poppy seed waffles. They turned out really well. They were very light and airy and didn't feel heavy in your stomach. There was a good crisp to the waffles and they freeze up very well. So, if you need to take care of that gluten intolerant member of your family, now you can, with a little help from Ranch Market.

Pho 24 at Lotte Shopping Avenue

Vietnamese cuisine is not always easy to find in many cities. I became quite partial to this particular cuisine when I was living in Laos. Not only do these two countries share a border but they also share many similar types of dishes. I loved the food in Laos, from the young papaya salad to the raw spring rolls and big steaming bowls of noodles, it was always a delight to experience local food. So, when I can across Pho 24, I figured I should definitely give it a try and see if it brought back memories of my year in Laos. The restaurant itself is very nicely decorated to create a garden theme and there is a huge tree in the middle and lots of vines hanging down the walls. The tables and chairs are reminiscent of garden cane furniture and set a very relaxed feeling to the place.

The menu at Pho 24 is not huge, the main focus being the noodles which are offered with different types of meats. There are some starters and then a selection of drinks. I wanted to taste the homemade ice tea. It was delicious and refreshing and a pleasant change to the regular stuff you are served here which tastes just like it came out of a packet mix. We opted for the raw spring rolls for starters, much healthier than their fried cousins, and delicious when served with a good dipping sauce. These were stuffed with a lot of noodles and I must admit that I would have liked some more veggies and seafood in there. The dipping sauce, however, was good and had a good tangy taste to it. 

Then came my bowl of noodles, with a small plate of condiments. I chose the noodles with thinly sliced beef. The beef was lovely with a nice pink centre and quite tender and there was a decent helping of noodles in there. I was able to spice it up to my liking using my condiments and the different sauces on the table. Sometimes a big bowl of steaming noodles is the perfect warm, comforting meal and just what you need. Finally, I wanted the Vietnamese drip coffee. I loved the Lao coffee and used to drink a lot of it when I lived there. It is always served with condensed milk which although ridiculously unhealthy gives the coffee this delicious creamy sweetness that is really hard to replicate with regular milk and sugar. The coffee here recaptured that memory perfectly. It was delicious, strong and had the condensed milk on the bottom so that once you stirred it all up it became that beautiful milky brown colour (which always reminds me of the colour of the Mekong River!) If you haven't experienced Vietnamese cuisine it really is time you have it a try!

Interior

Interior

Homemade ice tea

Raw spring rolls

Beef noodles

Condiments

Vietnamese drip coffee

Jittlada at Lotte Shopping Avenue

I like Thai cuisine. It just seems to have this wonderful array of flavours that you don't get in other cuisines. So, it was only fitting to have some dinner at Jittlada in Lotte Shopping Avenue. The decor is simple and they have seating inside and outside (but still in the mall) so we sat outside as it was quieter and gives the perfect opportunity for some people watching. The menu is vast and there is a great selection of your typical favourites. We decided on the mango salad to start with followed by eggplant and tofu, green beef curry and chicken satay.

The mango salad was delicious, spicy, tangy and a nice big serving. It kicked off the meal with a big zing. Then came the eggplant, which was soft and full of flavour with small bits of tofu, the satay was very generous. There were huge chunks of chicken and a delicious peanut dipping sauce to accompany it. Finally, we got the green curry, this was perhaps the smallest serving, with only a few pieces of beef. I would have liked a little more because once we divided it between the two of us we only really had a couple of spoonfuls each.

Overall though I was very satisfied with the meal and the delicious flavours that each offering held. If Thai food floats your boat, then drop in here for a meal!

Mango salad 

Eggplant with tofu

Beef green curry

Chicken satay

Trafique Coffee at Kebayoran Baru

Just next door to Next Stop steakhouse is a newly opened cafe called Trafique. It's a beautiful building with an eye catching yellow door. However, it doesn't give away the lovely setting inside that awaits you when you cross the threshold. The cafe is a beautiful large space. There are two floors. The lower one is for the public where you can order coffee and cake and enjoy the green space at the back. If you prefer non smoking then stay inside and get an eyeful of the interesting trinkets and ornaments placed around the space. I particularly like the traffic jam wall art piece and the display of cups and saucers. There is no real food menu at the moment but rather just a selection of cakes on offer and of course the coffee. Trafique have their own brand of coffee that is roasted on site. You might be lucky to arrive when this is in process and have your olfactory senses tantalised by the aroma wafting out the window. The cafe is themed with the name and you will see splashes of red, yellow and green throughout the cafe. They also run courses about coffee in the cafe and have meeting spaces upstairs for rent. 

When I was there it was fairly quiet, only two other tables taken, and that was just after lunch. I ordered a cappuccino and the taste was rich, bitter and strong. The serving was quite small and the coffee was perhaps not as hot as I would have liked it. However, the setting certainly adds to the enjoyment of your cup of joe and provides a relaxing space to catch up on some blogging...