Challenge: Spicy Food

Who loves spicy food? I do I do I do
I loooove spicy food. I am pretty proud with my spicy food endurance level. Most Asians have a better endurance level. However, my husband who is half Asian and half white has weak endurance level against spicy food. 

So I have been force feeding him with spicy food little by little to increase his endurance level. I am proud to say he is a lot better than he used to be. 

Once in a while, I would challenge myself to a new spicy dish. Either Ramen with various level of spiciness, cassava chips from certain brand that also comes in levels, fire ramyeon, etc.

Fire Ramyeon

cup Fire Ramyeon

Our recent challenge was Fire Ramyeon from Korea. There are 2 types of packages; cup and the usual one. The cup one is slightly spicier than the usual one. So make sure to try the cup one if you wanna see how much you can endure the spiciness. 

I am sorry for the bad quality of our video. I am not a professional vlogger. I put this on video so my friends can see it, especially my co-workers who have asked me to do this.

Nasi Goreng Mafia

Our second challenge was spicy Nasi Goreng Mafia's food. I ordered Nasgor Berandal level 1 for him and Nasgor Preman level 2 for me. This time I didn't take video of it. As none has requested yet. 

In total, Nasi Goreng Mafia has 5 different level of spiciness from level 1 the least spicy to level 5 the most spicy.

Nasi Goreng Mafia's Menu

Nasgor Berandal Level 1

 After trying a few spoons of this nasi goreng, husband had to run to nearby store to buy yoghurt and milk. As you know dairy product is the best one to soothe down the burnt from spicy food. When he got back, he brought 3 yoghurts and pack of cheese (fake cheese that he usually hates but he said it is crucial for this fight). 

Getting ready with 3 bottles of yoghurt

 To my amusement, he kept continue eating the nasi goreng until half of the portion. I thought he already gave up after the first couple of bites. I have counted every bite of nasi goreng, he would jug a couple swallow of yoghurt. He seems suffering from all the burnt. 

A gift for all his effort

To celebrate his own achievement on eating spicy food. He made himself egg sandwich with fake cheese, mayonnaise, and mustard. He ate it all with the remaining yoghurts. 

On a side note, Nasi Goreng Mafia is pretty spicy even if it was just level 1 or 2. I could not imagine those who would eat level 4 or 5. I have tried only until level 3. 

Tell us what should we try next for our next challenge?

Culinary Trip: 8 Best Foods to Eat in Seoul, Korea

Korea, the land of a morning calm, offers a huge variety of culinary from the cheap street food to a decadent Korean cuisine. Believe me, if you visit Korea, this trip is the one that you don't wanna miss out the most.

Korea has always been a country that has a great awareness toward healthy delicious food and it is always down to perfection thanks to their love of beautiful plating. The combination of colors on the plate, the arrangement of the food, the decoration of the restaurant, the unique gimmick they are selling, are the main reasons why you don't wanna miss out on their cuisines.

These are our list of places to go and foods to eat;

1. Bindaetteok at Gwangjang Market

This might not be that famous around tourists and visitors, but I am certain that everyone should at least try to come to Gwangjang market once. There are so many food stalls in this market. Lots of these stalls sell sundae (blood sausage), bindaetteok (mung bean pancake), tteokpokki, odeng, sausages, varieties of jeon (pancake) from small to big one, etc.
We ordered bindaetteok and tteokpokki. It was the best decision ever for the bindaetteok. The tteokpokki was nice, but the one in Hongdae was probably better. However the bindaetteok was super duper yummy. Dip it to the onion dip and yummmm!!!!

Tteokpokki

Bindaetteok

the wall was full of hand writings

 2. Korean Temple Food

 I don't wanna say too much for this one as I am planning to write another post just for this one. Yes it is that good!!!

Menu in Balwoo Temple Restaurant

 3. Shamcheongdong Heotteok

This is one of the best street food in Korea or in anywhere really. Best for cold days, because you will eat it when it is still hot or warm. There are 2 types of heotteok these days; the sweet one filled with brown sugar and nuts and the vegetarian one filled with japchae (buckwheat/rice vermicelli) and vegetables brush it with the apple sauce like shown on the picture.

Yache Heotteok or Veg.Heotteok

This particular one we got from Samcheongdong Heotteok in Insa-dong. It is kinda hidden from plain eyes. So you need to follow direction to go there.

Follow this map; Samcheongdong Heotteok

4. Beverages

Korea has a lot of varieties of beverages. Most of them are healthy beverages. Of course I wasn't just talking about makgeoli (rice wine) or soju. There are actually more than 10 healthy beverages you need to try, especially on summer. Bellow on the picture is my favorite one, Omija Cha.

Here is the list of 20 Korean best drinks; Korean Drinks

5. Tteokpoki and Odeng in Hongdae

I forgot the name of this place. It was a cute cafe in Hongdae area. We were kinda confused on how to order food because you need to order from a machine and give the ticket to the chef. After a while, a guy helped us out.  We ordered 2 cheese tteokpokki for my husband and my friend and I ordered Odeng soup. It was really good, spicy but yummy. The rest of the banchan (side dishes) and drinks are free. Definitely cheap and delicious.

6. Home food at PARC

 PARC has a really cute concept. The exterior looks like a house but don't let it fool you. The interior looks like a greek house with waitress wearing navy uniform. Almost feel like we are in Greece near the doc. This restaurant was famous for its home cooked meal. They have different menu each time. If you are coming to this place and by any chance you got the same menu like we did, I recommended the Grilled Salted dry Mackerel plate. 

Aussie Beef Bulgogi Plate, my plate

Grilled Salted dry Mackerel plate, husband's plate. I could not get enough of this.

Here is their review and address on Trip Advisor: Parc

7. Ramyeon and Fried Rice

We went to this restaurant on accident. We barely remember the name of the place. But you can find it in Myeongdong, they are located in 2nd floor near the chicken restaurant. I thought I was going to regret this choice. We were going to go to the chicken restaurant on the 2nd floor but we went to the wrong restaurant opposite the chicken restaurant. Turned out it was the best decision. This was such a guilty pleasure meal, comfort meal, especially on cold nights.

8. Pizza from Pizzeria D'Buzza

We found this place while walking around near my friend's office looking for a place to eat. We decided to eat in PARC then. But we came back the next day to try this restaurant. This place is close to Ittaewon and you can take the subway till Hangangjin Station. It has a glowing review on Trip Advisor too.

Fried Shrimp, my plate

However, I was not happy with my order. I prefer a clean fried shrimp without the head and feet. It was annoying to try to separate the shrimp for its head and feet.

Buffalo Cheese Pizza, husband's plate

Husband claimed that this was one of the best pizza he has ever eaten (including the one in New York). He is a hardcore pizza lover. So I trust his judgement despite of me not being able to consume cheese or any dairy products. He said this pizza has authentic Italian taste. He has been bragging about this pizza a lot to anyone whose not fortunate enough talking about pizza with him ;-p

I would recommend these places to anyone visiting Seoul. Most of these places are not easily found. You have to follow the map and direction to go there. But rest assure, it is all worth the effort.

Enjoy your vacation in Seoul and Stay Awesome!!!

Dessert: 10 Best Places for Dessert in Jakarta

Is there any sugar addict here? Not a big fan of dessert? Maybe you will be after all these list of places with yummy desserts. It won't be on this list if it is not outstanding (to my picky standard). Dessert in the Hotel buffet is not on the list. But there are some hotel buffet that has outstanding desserts too. Honorary mentions: Hotel Mulia and Hotel Ritz Carlton Mega Kuningan.

These are the list;

1. Cacaote
Address:  

Jl. Senopati No. 80, Senopati, Jakarta

Recommended:

Dark Chocolate and Hazelnut Cake (45K Rupiah)

Dark Chocolate with enough sweet for those who has sugar rush needs. ;-p

Beautiful decoration on the cake, crunchy popcorn on the side. Yummmmm

Zomato Review 4.1/5

2. Djournal / Collette&Lola
Address: Grand Indonesia, West Mall, Level GF and Level 3A/4

This is one of my husband's favorite coffee place. He actually made friend with the expert Barista from Europe who worked there. Seems like they share huge love for coffee. Djournal also served desserts from Collette&Lola from level 4. I prefer to eat the dessert here as it won't be as crowded as the new Collette&Lola in level 4 Grand Indonesia.

Recommended:

Chocolate Pecan Pie

Sweet cake with crunchy nutty topping.
Zomato Review 4.0/5

3. Popolamama
Address: Grand Indonesia, Food District, Level 3A/4

This is actually a pasta related food restaurants. Their desserts are limited. But I have to put it on the list as their 'Hazelnut Dark Chocolate' taste really really really good.
Recommended: Who am I kidding!? It has to be the Hazelnut Dark Chocolate

Ahhhhhh yummmm... I want some of this again. The smooth chocolate glazed, crumbly chocolate cake inside, and nutty hazelnut creates a heavenly taste on my mouth.

Zomato Review 3.8/5

4. Ganesha Ek Sanskriti
Address: Center Park Building, BRI II, Lantai 9, Jl. Jenderal Sudirman

Not to many people know that Indian has a lot of variety of sweets and desserts. It might not look as fancy as European pastry, but it sure doesn't disappoint my taste bud. Surely different style and different decoration on the desserts too, yet as delicious as the fancy pastry.
Recommended: Try the mix Sweets Combo

I forgot the name of these desserts. I only remember Ladoo, the round one on the right bottom. 
Zomato Review 3.9/5

5. Chureria
Address: Grand Indonesia, West Mall, Level UG

Recommended: Churros Classic with Dark Chocolate dip is my go to menu. But everything with churros won't be a let down. Oh btw, I think they serve the best churros in Indonesia.
Try their Churros Filling, 3 different fillings on 1 plate (coffee, peanut butter, chocolate)

Churros Filling

Churros Fondue

If only they served the hot fondue instead of the cold one. This fondue will be even better.
Zomato Review 3.9/5

6. J-Co Donut
Every where.
I got to say, I prefer J-Co compare to the other 2 competitors. J-Co has more variety for flavors. Their beverages taste great too.
Since Cronut (Croissant Donut) became trend in Indonesia, their cronut has been my all time favorite.

Recommended:

Chocolava

My favorite flavor; Chocolava. Crunchy and not to sweet, also has a salty croissant pastry flavor.

Tira Miss U

Zomato Review 3.7/5

7. Bakerzin
Address: Plaza Senayan Level 2

Recommended:
Ahhh tooo many to mention. Love their Blackforrest Macaroon. Can't find this flavor anywhere else. Trust me, I tried.

Napoleon Cake, husband's all time favorite

Zomato Review 4.0/5

8. Monolog
Address: Plaza Senayan, parking lot

I like this all day breakfast place. They have several awesome breakfast menus and they opened really early too. 

Recommended:

I forgot the name of this menu. But this chewy nutty donut was really yummy. There is also Oreo Chocolate cake. Unfortunately I forgot where did the picture go. I might ate the cake before taking any picture.

Zomato Review 4.0

9. Jittlada
Address: Senayan City, Level LG

There might not be chocolate nor milk involved on their dessert, but Thailand dessert is definitely not any less than other desserts too.

Recommended:

Mango and Sticky Rice with Coconut Milk Topping

Classic yet almost always sold out. Unfortunately this is seasonal dessert. We can only get it during mango season.

Durian Ice Cream

Zomato Review 3.7/5

10. T.W.G Tea Salon&Boutique
Address: Plaza Senayan, Level 1

TWG is a fancy place for high tea. Their place decoration always looks fancy and high class. So did their dessert.

Recommended:
Macaroon Series
No picture yet. Will be uploaded soon.

Zomato Review 4.2/5

Weekend Trip to Bandung with Best Friend

2 months ago on New Year, me and my best friend decided to go on a trip to Bandung. We are usually more of a suitcase traveler, but this time we wanted to try backpack travel style. I organized the hotel and my friend organized the transportation.


Transportation;

We decided to go to Bandung with Baraya Travel from Slipi Petamburan, Jakarta. It only cost us Rp.85.000/person/one way

Accomodation;

First I looked for the place on AirBnB website. We found one that we like. Chez Bon Backpacker Hostel in Braga owned by Pak Bondan, the famous 'maknyus' guy from TV. Then I check pegipegi.com as it turned out the price is cheaper to book using pegipegi.com

Also I found out that we can use a voucher code (that I found from a nice Kaskus agan-agan) and get more discount.

1st Day, tired but happy and excited 

almost empty room

Cost: Rp. 100.000/person/night

It was a bunk bed style and separate room for boys and girls. Our room was pretty big with 8 bunk beds. There were 2 other people when we came in and later on the 2nd day, one bule girl joined us, the rest of the other 2 girls left. It almost feel like we stayed there only the 2 of us most of the time. We stayed there for 3 days 2 nights.

Destinations:

Didn't have a chance to try this Bandros Bus 

FO in Riau

Secret Garden FO in Riau

OTW to Alun-Alun

Alun-Alun, that boy photobombing us

Braga Huiz, a cafe right next to our hostel, took this one on the last day

Outside view from Braga Huiz using Camera 360

Culinary;

I am pretty sure this is what you have been waiting for.

 We were on our way to Ceker Setan Restaurant. We came way too early and they were not open yet. So, we decided to walk around the area and we found this small stall of Seblak. It is as if the Seblak tried calling us to drop by and try it. So, we did and it was sshhhh spicy. Too bad it was way too soupy for me and weak taste of garlic, too spicy, and less salty. So, this one despite how nice looking it was, was a let down.

Ceker Setan Restaurant, a must visit!!!!

Crunchy Ceker Rujak, Crunchy Chicken Feet with Sweet Soury Dip

This was really really good. Love how crunchy it was and yet the spices soaked in nicely in the ceker and the crunchy part. Dip it or not, it was still yummy!!

 We got lost so many times trying to find this Qoedavan store. Their address on the website is slightly misleading. If you wanna look for it, make sure you look for it from Dipati Ukur area, close by UNPAD and look for a sign that says "Tahu Yun Yi", they haven't change the old sign.

In Qoedavan store, you can find a lot of variety of Bandung snacks; mochi ice cream (The best..seriously the best mochi ice cream I have ever tried for only 5k rupiah/each), macaroni, chips or keripik setan, etc

I bought 2 of the macaronies and soon it was all gone. I ordered 2 bigger portions from their BBM and had it deliver to Jakarta also soon it was all gone. Imagine how good it was!!

Instant Seblak

Mie Lidi, childhood favorite snacks

Braga Permai's famous Nasi Goreng Rendang

 Okay! I am a big fan of Nasi Goreng. I love it so much. This is one is like, I met my crush. Seriously good blend of spices and bits of rendang meat inside. Couldn't finished the big portion, took it to the hostel and warm it up for the next morning and it was still delicious. Recommended!!!

I bought this nasi goreng for dinner in Braga Permai. Braga Permai is a historical restaurant that has been there for a very long time. A lot of go there whether they are simply local people spending night out or tourist with a high curiosity for Braga's Colonial Looking Buildings.

Check out their website for more information on their delicious menu.

Braga Huiz's Spagheti Cheese something

We went to Braga Huiz located next door to our hostel on the 2nd night and the morning before we are leaving for Jakarta. They have a unique Colonial interior with a cozy seating arrangement. Most of their foods are probably something that you will find easily in Jakarta with slightly cheaper price.

Location: Jalan Braga No.47, Bandung, Jawa Barat 40111, Indonesia
+62 22 4260791

I ordered this Soft Omelette with Crispy Potato from Braga Huiz

Dessert; Ice Cream Chocolate

I forgot where did I get this picture.

Oleh-oleh for a friend.

The highlight of our trip to Bandung was the food culinary. Everything is super duper cheap in Bandung. Mochi Ice Cream that will cost us 15k rupiah in Jakarta only cost us 5k rupiah/each. We ate like almost 5 of these delicious yummy cold mochi ice cream. The plate full of ceker cost only 35k rupiah, I think. Even in a nice looking restaurant like Braga Permai and Braga Huiz, everything is slightly cheaper than the price in Jakarta.

I forgot how much we spent for shopping and food, but I remember it was all worth it. Definitely going back for more of the mochi, ceker, macaroni, nasi goreng, FO(s), etc.