.31 July 2009.

I am using my phone cam a lot lately haha me too lazy ass for using my pocket cam or slr -__-


2 days ago, my mom was trying a new recipe she got from her friend. She doesnt know this recipe's name. I googled it, it turns out that this is Gangan Ikan Patin [if i'm not mistaken]. That day, when i woke up, I think I smelled sayur asem, well appearently, the herbs and spices used are almost the same. It smelled great, but when I tasted it, I assumed it would be a lil bit sour and hot, well it didnt. I think it's because my mom's using rippen [almost rotten I think :P] pineapple, so it tasted really really sweet. The rest was okay, well I am a fish lover :)

Anyway about my mom, she likes to cook in the morning for my family, although I already said to her it's not necessary since everyone's in a rush in the morning, so I think if we eat something's easy and simple like sandwich, It would be more easy for her. But she wont, she insists everyone to eat breakfast, bring some for lunch, and ended it with a cup of chinese tea. And she thinks cooking noodle is more easier than preparing toast. I dont know, maybe me and her have different standarization of 'simple cooking' :D

Anyway, yesterday she made us this one. I dont know what's the name, my mom called it "Ke'a" [Hokkian]. Ke'a is sort of kwetiao, but it has thicker texture, a really thick one actually. This one is kinda simple [refers to mom's simple standard], boil Ke'a with Bean Sprout and Tau Hue for a while, and add some soy sauce, sweet soy sauce, salt and pepper. Served with fried taro, and of course my mom's secret chili sauce signature :P

And yes, it is vegetarian.

And yes again, it tasted damn good.

.Sushi Tengoku, Emporium Pluit Mall.

Few weeks ago, my sister is celebrating her birthday with family in Sushi Tengoku. We ordered lots of dish, I cant shoot all of them since my family is having the same mode with me, glutonny mode ON hehehe...

I remembered we ordered several sushi dish, and still the same with my last visit, it came after a long wait, and it's only so-so. The Volcano Maki [one of the best dish, they claimed] is not that good, I cant even finish it, It tasted kinda yuck, well it's because the topping is a really thick layer of sort-of-mayonnaise-sauce and tobiko. It does not taste good, really -__-

Aside from sushi dish, we also ordered other dish, such as Beef Katsu Curry, Kim Chi Cha Jang [Fried rice with Kim Chi] , Nabeyaki Udon, Tempura Furikake, Onigiri Salmon Shake, etc. The udon tasted like ... well it has no taste actually, I dont know why. Maybe because I'm having some flu that day. The rest was almost good [I said almost].

I found another dish that I like from this restaurant, Onigiri Salmon Shake. It's only a plain onigiri with sliced salmon grill filling, and wrapped with nori. It's type of food you want to eat when you're so bored with array of spiced foods for a whole week. It's simple and has a homy touch within the warm and rice fragrance from it. A very nice choice for a girl who's having flu that day.

I dont remember about how much our dinner costs, I think it's about 500K IDR or more. Well, personally I dont think it's really worth compared with the taste :(

.28 July 2009.

One of all the things i liked from being cinko [pisss, no offence hehehe] is this. Sarsi Soda cap Badak. I dont know the company history, all i know is this thing came from Siantar, it never had any advertisement in any media, it tasted like Root Beer with less soda, it's available only around North Jakarta, and definitely, a must try!


Anyhoo, lately I've been craving for cookies. Especially oatmeal / chocochip cookies. It's kinda funny, because since little actually I dont really like cookies. Maybe I eat nastar, but I say no to cookies. It started when few weeks ago when I watched old episode of Friends, Phoebe is apologizing to Monica by giving a plate of cookies [she claimed she made the best cookies in this world], and since then I've been craving for cookies. Especially the big one that almost as big as your face, with buttery taste inside...hmmm :)

Well, I dont know what's called as a great cookies, but so far I think the best one I ever had [not that I had really much, only a few :) ] is Choco Mania Cookies, it even beated Starbucks' Cookies or Good Time Cookies! It's local brand if I'm not mistaken. I like the firm texture, although it has no tempting fragrance. I think the most tempting cookies in my list is, Triple Magic from Bread Talk. It was consisted of Raisin, Cranberry, Orange Peal, Almond, Oatmeal, Brown Sugar and the last [and my favourite] is Cinnamon. I found myself buying this cookies at least one in 2 weeks [well, cookies is seriously not recommended on my diet :( ] The cinnamon smell is really really really divine.

My sister prefers Cookies from Starbucks, I personally dont think it really tasted. good. Yeah the texture was okay, the taste was okay, and the smell was okay too. Everything's okay, but okay is not tempted me [man, I'm gonna be a teacher with too high standard one day...] to eat more.

I havent got any chance to visit Famous Amos, maybe later. I forgot how their cookies tasted, hopefully it's still good :)

Anyway my weekend is kinda lost from track. The diet track, of course -__- Started the day with good breakfast, full of fiber and vitamin. And also a cup of Gui Lin Gao, I'm totally Lau A Ma heh? :P
Ended the day with lots of meat. Bah!

.25 July 2009.

Whew i've been wanting to post some photos, especially about food, since few weeks ago. But I am too lazy :P

Anyway, my sister [and the family, of course] has been officially put a label on me : Lau A Ma. It's a hokkian for Old Grandmother. yeah, rite. And why did this happen? Apparently, my addiction to old recipe is the reason, especially the one with loose texture. And uh yes, my attitude in enjoying food. I always ask my mom to heat the food for me, heat it till the last second before I dig in to that. My mom always called me Lau A Ma each time I ask her to do it :)) Well, you can not eat porridge when it's already cold right? Or fried rice, what's the enjoyable value you can get from, if it's already cold?

About old recipe, yeah I know I'm into it. I found myself absolutely blessful when I can eat Steamed Fish with Herb and Spices [and please, served it with soy sauce and chili!], Steamed Chopped Pork with Egg [with all that oily bouillon? how can you pass that?], Fish Porridge [with lots of ginger of course], Mun Tofu[chopped tofu], Cold Tofu [served with chopped Pi Than, and lots of things i dont know for sure, but absolutely beautiful and tasty], ahh I love steamed food.

Anyhoo, one of steamed food that I like is this.
This is my mom's Nasi Tim or Steamed Rice with Pork and Mushroom, and of course served with Lo Kio. Lo Kio is sort of garlic family. My mom only made it 1-2 times in a year, so when you can try my mom's Nasi Tim, that means you're lucky :P

So, that's it for today. I'll put more pictures later.

.Conversation.

I'm kinda tired of meaningless correspondence. Sometimes meeting a new person is fun, sometimes it doesnt. As a single fighter for God-knows-how-long-I-had, I think I already achieved the worst shit ever happened in a single life. Nope, i was wrong.

I did pass some shitty Valentine's Days, which everyone filled with love expression all around them.
I did pass few lonely Birthdays without anyone for cherishing the day.
I did pass the deepest dark-and-empty hole ever created in a human kind's heart.

I passed them, and I proudly survived.
Not only survived, I deal with them.

Before my 20s, I confess, I did not deal with them.

I saw Valentine's Day as a advertising propaganda by chocolate and flowers factory. I did believe everyday is Valentine's Day, but I learned that if there's a day celebrated for remind us to pay a little attention for someone we loved, why not?

I saw Birthday as a really important thing in my life, as my whole current year's happiness was cummulated on that day. But I learned that life's lessons was more than happiness, it was cummulative from your happiness, sadness and other's feeling that you had, and how you reacted with all that, that's the lesson.

I saw myself being up and down, mostly down, and found myself in that hole again. But I learned that we should being "Down", for there's "Up" moment in our life. And we will really feel blessed with that moment.

And now, I think I've achieved a great grade for my life's quality. Well, I still dont know how to cook, but I combined it with my bersih2 skill :P I still doesnt look astonishing like Jennifer Aniston or any of the Hollywoood stars, but I keep myself at the best condition I can :) I think I did a great life.

But now, my balanced life is kinda ruined. My fams and friends are seeing me as a too stand alone person. And I am not blaming them for that. Anyhoo, some of them are trying to change that fact. They want to see me more....hmm what's the word for it? bergantung pada orang lain, too be exact. Gosh, even writing this made me giggle, bergantung? I know how to lean with man, but I dont want it right now.

It's like you know you have to eat to continue your life, the food is served on the table, all you have to do is grab your fork and dig in, but you dont want it eventhough the food is really tempting. Have you ever felt the same way with me? I hate to start meaningless basa-basi things [I'm really not good for this type of activity], replying text messages [God know I only want to babi2an on my bed all night long], playing the tarik ulur game [Some people said I'm kinda good at this :P], showing my interest on random topic spoken by other game's player [totally depends on my mood], aghhhh I know even when I'm writing this, I looked like I'm not thanking God for whatever happens in my life -__-

I just...dont ready for grabbing a spoon.
Or maybe i'm ready.
But it's not the right dish.

.Ichiban Sushi, Pluit Village.

Ichiban Sushi has opened their new branch at Pluit Village. I'm not really a fan of Ichiban Sushi, but one of my old friend insisted us to eat there, and the voting result has win his choice T^T

Well, after that visit, i havent changed my opinion about this restaurant. Still so-so for me. At least i've spent some wonderful time with my old friends. And thx so much to CC who took care of the bill :P

.Old Taste, Pluit Village.

So, i found this little stall on Mega Glodok, Pluit Village. They also sell cookies and classic Indonesian biscuits, with modern touch of course. For example, Green Tea nastar, etc [ I completely forgot].

Anyway, I only tried their Curry Puff, Tau Sa Pia, and Siew Pau. Hmmm personally i've tried the better Pia than Old Taste's Pia. But their Curry Puff was good, but I'm not a curry fans, so I cant finish my puff. The Siew Pau was stuffed with meat, hmmm that combination not really that good, cause the pastry tasted too salty. I'd rather the one I had on Cuisine Cuisine, the pastry was not too sweet or salty, with red meat filling which was tasted sweet, It was a really good combination :)

.Issues.

Everyone has his own personal issues. Even myself. My own personal issues are not that hard as others had, for example i can't sleep well if my sheets were distracted [and unfortunately, it happened a lot, since my sister is always using her gasing - circled and spinning - pose for sleep].

But aside from all that not-important aka meaningless issues, sometimes i had a serious one. At least i thought it's a serious thing. But i dont have any skill to say it out loud without sounded silly.
You know, sometimes i met people who have ability to talk about unimportant things with a really good way, so that things looked like soooo important for your life. I wish i am one of them.

Anyway it's just another random talks.

Another rant, my period is coming right now, and it starts make me nervous. and lonely. blah stupid hormones!

.Things.

There's too much things to do.

There's too much things to learn.

There's too much things to think.







...and none of them is understandable yet....
.June 27th, 2009.

.Ba-So, Pluit Village.

Grilled Squid Ball [23K], tasted like otak-otak, dipped into chili sauce, served with salad with some mayo. so-so lah....

.27 June 2009.

Okay, this post is totally random.
Lately, this one has been my favourite breakfast on weekend. My sister likes her toast filled first by Nutella or Skippy and then toasted it. But me, I prefer the plain one. Toast with a tick of Anchor Butter, and served with Knott's Blueberry Jam. The salty Anchor Butter for the best taste. Yeah, this one is definitely a guilty pleasure for my BP.

One of my favourite month in a year is the one when Bakcang started appear in fresh market [it doesnt always the same month, coz i'm using Gregorian and Chinese events like this one using Lunar]. Well, unlike the Bakcang which is full of meat [and sin, of course :| ], another variety that i like is Kicang. Kicang is the sweet type of Bakcang, still made from sticky rice, and sometimes filled by red bean. It can be served in 2 ways, hot and cold. And it usually came with 2 compliments, Srikaya or Sugar. My favourite is Kicang with no filling, served hot [really hot , still fresh from the steaming device :p], and of course, with cold Srikaya, preferable Srikaya Medan, the fresh one especially :) Ah a true bliss :)
My sister made me a chocolate pudding few last weeks. And served with frozen strawberry. Not bad :)
Another thing that I like. Rujak :)

Well, that's it for now.

.Current Thoughts.

My throat is killing me.

My nose is kinda bleeding right now, aside from meler a whole day.

My body is sick.

-__- Sometimes i wish i am in a constantly-healthy-condition. And dont say i dont put any effort to make it happen, i do sports, i do eat healthy food, i do clean my mind from bad thoughts, i just... sick a lot? :|

Another rant, lately i've been swimming a lot. A. lot. means 3-4 times for a week. Well for a lazy bad-ass person like i am, i would say it's kinda amazing :P and also i granted my self for a little treat, i bought a speedo glasses! :P and a new swimsuit of course.

Talking about my current brought items, Jakarta has been totally tempting myself a lot for this month. During Jakarta's birthday, most of the store are giving discount. A really big one. GOSH! I almost kalap seeing that red sign everywhere in mall : SALE.

Well, at least since my gym schedule is my number #1 top priority right now,so i dont shop a lot. hmmm not as much as i used to be in this kinda of time, i think :P haha!

Anyway, my new job is only 1 month ahead. I never been packed for leaving, and left an empty space for someone's next, so it's kinda awkward to do this kinda of thing. sometimes i felt, did i choose the right thing? sometimes i felt, well it's the right thing to do. being randomly up-and-down about one thing, is not the best thing in this world.

Ah what am i gonna say, the words have spoken, and i had my choice. Let's get it done.

.Future.

Saat ini, mungkin saat paling crucial dalam hidup saya sejauh ini. Untuk pertama kalinya, saya memilih resign dari pekerjaan. Nga mudah tentunya, banyak hal yang membuat saya bertanya, berpikir dan mencari pengertian dari semuanya itu.

Dan nga semuanya mendapat jawaban.

Puji Tuhan, berapa hr ini dalam banyak kesempatan, sepertinya banyak hal yang memberikan pandangan baru soal dunia serta etos kerja. Saya belajar banyak. Banyak sekali. Dalam seminggu ini cukup berat rasanya, dari rasa bersalah, sampai rasa marah dan kesal semua sepertinya ada di dalam kepala.


Tuhan, kuatkan saya melewati semua ini.

.Hachi Hachi, Taman Anggrek.

Okay, revisited again and again :P

I only could take 3 shoots on this visit, the food was came in fast queue, and of course with our enthusiasm [aka glutonny mode ON], i didnt have any opportunity to shoot a lot. well anyway, i tried their tobiko [8K] and believe me, with that price, it was a really really great deal. the tobiko was really generous! The Grilled Honey Salmon was okay, although i didnt really taste any honey sauce. And Rainbow Roll, as always, in my must-order list!

Sorry for the photo quality, mind my phone cam :P
The week after that, we went to Hachi Hachi again. This time i went with one purpose, i need to try their fusion sushi. We ordered Deep Fried Salmon Skin [19K, not in the menu if i'm not mistaken], Volcano Roll [27K], Salmon Tower Maki [35K], Sushi Pizza [30K], Unakyu Roll [30K], Dragon Roll [34K], Tuna Sandwich Roll [25K], and others that i didnt remember.

The Volcano Roll - deep fried sushi tower [i dont remember the filling, maybe some cucumber and crab stick], and some chili sauce on the top, was quite in generous portion. it tasted ok, a lil bit too sticky, and i'm not really into deep fried food.

Sushi Pizza - i thought the bun was a bread, nope, they're using rice. Deep fried, and filled with meat, vegetables, etc. Hm...i dont know what to say, i try to eat this with the most elegant way. Bah, it ended with me screwing the sushi -__-

Btw, I found myself was craving more for their Tuna Sandwich Roll, dont know why, maybe because it tasted like cheese burger, but with salmon filling instead of beef. But the best of that night was Salmon Tower Maki, the filling were crab stick and seaweed, and a bit of sliced oranges, tobiko, and salmon on the top of it. I never thought that Salmon and orange would be a perfect combination!

Anyway, i think sushi is one of things-you-dont-wanna-eat-on-your-first-date list. It goes the same way with burger, spaghetti, etc. Sushi [for me] has to be eaten a whole package, in one grab, in one sip, after it served. I think i'm not attractive when i'm eating sushi, not that i am THAT attractive when i'm not eating it anyway :P

.One Thing.

....leads to another thing.

It's like you're dreaming your best dream ever, but you know you'll wake up soon.
It's like you're swimming, but you know you're swimming in a small plastic bag.
It's like you're starting to draw your imagination, but you know you dont have any chalk anymore.



Gosh.
i hate this feeling.

.Another To-Do-List.

1. BELAJAR. especially IT things, i've been stacking some books in my room, without knowing any chance to read any of them :(
2. NABUNG. no doubt on this.
3. MASAK. okay this one is kinda difficult now, but i believe one day i can read this post again and laughing on my lack of cooking skill in my past. Amien on that!
4. GYM. harus lebih semangat!
5. SABAR. my patience has been running out these days, well maybe i dont scream like in hell each time there's problem, but i know that even for a little problem or a little unconvinient thing in my daily life, it can turn my temper go as fast like a F1 car. Although i'm not spilling it out at all. Point #5 could be the most hardest thing to do. I dont express my real emotion much, but since last new year , i put "express your emotion more" in my new year resolution, and i think i run a little to far with that.

ahhh too much things in my head right now. Actually i think the most important thing right now is i should really remember that everything's in God's hand.

okay now it's time to go home, and sleep -__-

.A Little Quote For Him.

a little walk can reminds me of your smile,

a little run can reminds me of your story,

a little rest can reminds me of your thought,







but i dont mind do the marathon, if it's you on the finish line.
*a little note for someone whom i'll fall in love with.

.Shadow.

...when shadow means there's a light beyond.....

.Kota Tua, Jakarta 2009.

.Fall Again.

.Project for Akoer Publisher.
.Jessica Hadiwidjaja + Anthony Alvin, TC Studio 2009.
.MUA : Ina Cahyadi.

and as always, some that i'd rather in BW...


and few beauty shots..

.Existence.

Saya akui, dunia gym adalah baru bagi saya. Sekumpulan perempuan yang tidak saling mengenal saling berbagi ruangan ganti dan mandi, cukup membuka mata saya lagi akan tipe2 perempuan di dunia ini. Maklum, sejak lulus kuliah saya jarang menemukan kenalan baru yang bergender perempuan.
Sewaktu masi sekolah, saya kira ada beberapa tipe perempuan yang hanya ada di dunia film atau buku. Begitu kuliah, saya baru menyadari, ya tokoh2 di dalam dunia film atau buku itu ada, ya karena memang ada contoh konkritnya. how naive i was huh? :P
And anyway, salah satu tipe perempuan itu adalah perempuan ini.

Sebut aja namanya A. dia cantik, putih, rambutnya panjang, tipikal yang rela berdandan 1-2 jam untuk sekedar pergi ke mall, etc. Saya tahu dari teman saya kalau brosur gym tempat saya latihan, memakai dia sebagai model. Dan saya rasa kalian2 ini tahu seberapa indahnya dia.

Tapi dari beberapa kali pertemuan saya dengan dia, saya selalu ingin tertawa. Setiap kali bertemu, saya selalu mendengar dia berkata pada perempuan lain, betapa cantiknya perempuan itu, betapa bagus bodynya, etc. Mungkin kalau cuma 1-2x dia ngomong gituh, saya pikir hanya berbasa basi biasa. Tapi sepertinya memang dia sering ngmg gituh, dan tentu saja jelas selalu di balas dengan pujian balik dr perempuan yang di puji si A, "ah kamu juga cantik kok..", dst. Dan akan selalu di bales dengan dia "ah ndak mungkin, aku kan kurus rata gini..",etc.

Saya mengetahui taktik "merendah untuk dipuji balik", saya akui saya kadang2 pake taktik kaya begini, tapi lucu juga melihat seorang perempuan yang secantik dia memuji seorang perempuan lain yang notabene jelas agak kurang [maap] cantik, untuk sekedar dipuji balik.

Entah kenapa, saya menangkap si A ini butuh pengakuan yang luar biasa banyak dari orang lain, istilahnya pingin exist :P Mungkin pemikiran saya yang terlalu negatif, mungkin dia memang bermaksud baik dan manis mulut saja. Atawa mungkin ini hanya omong kosong seorangprempuan yang emang tidak cantik dan berbody yahud seperti si A :P

Ya anyway moral yang saya pelajari hari ini, merendah untuk dipuji balik itu penting, tapi pilih target yang benar, nanti malahan kesannya butuh eksistensi banget lagi... :)

Ngmg2, saya harus lebih giat cardio lagi nih! -__-