Yogyakarta: time to refresh myself

Yogyakarta is a nice comfortable place located under Mount Merapi in Central Java. The place is rich in art and culture. You can visit many ancient Hindu and Buddhist temples, the artistic and historical palace of Keraton Yogyakarta, and the very famous main street in Yogyakarta called Malioboro.

When you are in Malioboro, you will find a relaxing atmosphere among friendly local people and a lot of interesting things to see. Along this street, you’ll see souvenir stands side by side selling knick knacks and traditional foods.

As a food lover, of course I am willing to browse every corner of Yogya to experience new things for my culinary journal. This time I got information from my friend about a small alley near Station Tugu (the starting point of Malioboro St.) where on one side of the alley you can see several coffee stands (warung kopi). At the other side on the pavement, they lay carpet for customers to sit in and enjoy the drink. Heaps of youngsters from different communities come to this place just for chitchat and gathering with their friends.

All warung kopi here have more and less the same menu: nasi kucing (translated: cat rice, because of small portion of rice wrapped in banana leaf), egg satay, and many kind of fried snacks (gorengan). However, the main specialty of these warungs is “kopi (coffee) Joss”. This was the one that I aimed for. They put coffee powder and sugar in a glass, and poured hot water. Then they put burning charcoal in it. I asked they seller why they put burning charcoal in the coffee. He simply said that it makes the taste better. I tried it and I liked it though. The coffee didn’t taste too strong nor too sweet. It’s just nice to sip it and enjoy the night.

At this chance visiting Yogya, I also ate traditional gudeg Yogyakarta. Gudeg is characterized by the dominant sweet taste of the dish. It contains young jackfruit, eggs, sambal krecek (beef skin) and chicken. All are sweetened with sweet soy sauce. To eat it once would be ok for me, but not for everyday (as it is too sweet).

So, to end this writing, I would say that Yogyakarta is really worth to visit. Many tourist destinations have historical, artistic, and educational values to experience. And the foods can be challenging for food lovers to explore. I would certainly recommend anyone to come to Yogyakarta to spend their holiday!

Thanks to Radhika for the Kopi Joss info!

Happy Tiger Year

Chinese New Year 2010

Steam Egg - 蒸蛋 (zhēng dàn)

I remember when I was a kid, often mum or grandma cooked this for our meal. It's tasty and very simple.

Beat an egg. Add salt, pepper, fried onion, sesame oil, a bit of minced meat. Pour water up to double height of the egg surface and mix it well. Add nori seaweed on the top. Steam it.

I use microwave with second low heat for 7 minutes. The bowl needs to be wrapped. The result, texture is very soft and the taste is great.

Salad

Ingredients:
1 cucumber (sliced), 1 red capsicum (sliced), 1 lime (squeezed)
pour sesame oil, salt, pepper, honey, fried garlic
add Thai basil leaves and dried seaweed if you like

Thanks to inspiration that brought this idea to mix whatever ingredients I can get from my fridge and garden

Anchovy Steamed Rice

It seems that I haven't done cooking for ages since I stay here in the mess without kitchen. No more enjoyment of cutting, experimenting with mixing ingredient, and having gathering and eating together with friends :(

Now I only have a rice cooker and a microwave. Well, every night I cook plain rice and get confused what to eat with. Not until I get this idea to make Anchovy Steamed Rice.

Here are stuffs that I pour into my rice cooker:
1. rice
2. water
3. pepper
4. dried Anchovies
5. dried kelp
6. fried onion
7. fried garlic
8. fried peanut

And the result is just amazing. It tastes very good.

*Bon Appétit*

Great City Great Fireworks