Wine Tasting @ Asiaeuro Wines & Spirits

Good time at Asiaeuro for a good round of wine tasting.

A nice & conducive setting for such purpose.

Felton Road from New Zealand was good rating no.2 of the evening.The best of the evening. I leave the rest for you to check it out. Reserve de la Comtesse.The backside of Reserve de la Comtesse.Another French wine but not so interesting.A bottle of champagne for a special occasion.It's serious matter now, the wine needs to breathe for a fair evaluation.So does this bottle into another decanter.Thank you to Esther for organising this wine tasting.Make good use of your nose & taste bud for the evening.

Happy time.....One for the road.Some exciting to bite while tasting the wines.Bouncy and succulent sausages.Smoked cheese - aromatic and delicious.

ASIAEURO WINES & SPIRITS SDN BHD

1 & 3 Jalan PJU 3/49

Sunway Damansara

Petaling Jaya

GPS : 3.166901,101.600477

Warung Desa (Jakarta)

Warung Desa is a restaurant chain with two locations in Jakarta. The first branch, the only one I visited, is in Jalan Agus Salim (ex-Sabang) while the second, more recent, is in Tebet. They serve mainly Indonesian food, with some Chinese, Western and Arabian dishes as well. The design is rather modern and the inside is clean, with air-con. It is a big step-up for the usual "Rumah Makan", even though the prices are only slightly higher. The nasi goreng for instance costs only Rp12,000++, and the mie ayam Rp12,000++.

I took the Nasi Kebuli Kambing (Rp40,000++), which sadly tasted very poor: The rice had no flavours, and the lamb was dry, hard-to-chew, and seemingly of low quality. There were many other dishes on the menu, and I thought I might have picked the wrong one, but I later asked a few friends about the place and they confirmed my first impression.

Nasi Kebuli Kambing (Rp40,000++)

Overall: Many positive things in Warung Desa: Clean environment, friendly staff, cheap prices, and an extensive menu. But the most important, the food, was very disappointing. I will not go back personally, and I only recommend it to people who are looking for a place to eat late at night because it is open 24 hours.

Opening hours:

Everyday, 24 hour

Warung Desa Sabang

Jl. H. Agus Salim (Sabang) No. 55

Central Jakarta

Phone number: +62-21 3193 8159

Other location:

Warung Desa Tebet

Jl. Lapangan Ros (KH. Abdullah Syafei) No. 27

Tebet, South Jakarta

Phone number: +62-21 8370 6631

Flexi: +62-21 3231 4059, +62-21 3231 4159

Fun Golf @ Cooling Awana Golf & Country Resort

Every so often, I would have these craving for cream. Whipped cream, cream caramel, mousse, creme brulee, and those creamy chocolate puddings. Yeah, of all things, cream. And every so often, I have the itch to bake, but nothing to lavish or over the top. Simplicity is the best (sometimes, well, uh depends). So Ive been having 2 packets of The 1872 Clipper Tea Co.s Earl Grey tea sachet for the longest time ever; samples from suppliers. Then comes in the idea of incorporating earl grey into some creamy dessert. Ice cream? Creme brulee ? Chose the latter of course. (Also cause I just bought a new blow torch not too long ago) So here we go!

Earl Grey Crme Brule

(makes 4 ramekins)

100ml milk
200ml cream
2 bags earl grey tea sachet
6 egg yolks
60g caster sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Method.

1. Bring milk to a light boil and chuck in the tea sachet. Let it brew for 5 minutes. Cover and let it infuse for a few hours for maximum flavour. Although actually 30 mins should be enough.

2. Pour in cream, sugar, salt and bring to a light boil again. Pour egg yolks in another bowl. Slowly stream in the milk mixture and whisk lightly till combined.

3. Pass mixture through a sieve and discard the tea bags. Pour into individual ramekins and place them on a bigger tray. Pour in hot water into the pan (about 1-1.5cm is enough).

4. Bake in a preheated oven at 140 C for about 30 mins, depending on the size of your ramekins or till it has the slightest wobble in the center. Remove from the oven and let it cool in the room temperature for at least 30 minutes. Then let it chill further in the fridge.

5. Before serving, sprinkle caster sugar on the surface and torch it !

I loved the flavour of earl grey + cream. Im probably going to make an ice cream with it next. tee hee hee

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Plain Cupcakes With Chocolate Chips

Plain Cupcakes With Chocolate Chips

This was requested by my dear son today before he left for

his part time work.

Well, his wish will be granted and it will be waiting for him

to be eaten when he comes back home.

Today, for the whole day I was very free because hubby went to

Sabah for business in the morning and will be back tonight.

Son is doing part time work today and tomorrow.

Daughter is revising her A Levels exam.

Left only me without any important things to do except to bake for them.

170g butter (room temperature)

100g caster sugar

3 eggs (room temperature)

170g self raising flour (shifted twice)

1/2 tsp vanilla essence

80g chocolate chips

Some extra chocolate chips

Line muffin tray with paper cups.

Don't forget to preheat the oven.

Pour the self raising flour, butter, caster sugar and vanilla essence

into the mixing bowl.

Lastly, pour in the eggs.

Beat all at low speed until well combined.

Increased to medium speed and beat until the

batter is pale (around less than 3 minutes).

Pour in the chocolate chips.

Fold in until well combined.

Use ice-cream scoop to scoop the batter to the

paper cupcakes until to 3/4.

Sprinkle some (around 5 to 6 pieces) extra chocolate chips on top of the batter.

Bake at 180 Degree Celsius for less than 30 minutes or

until done or when there is no batter stick to the cake tester.

Once done, take out from the oven and

let the cupcakes cool on wire rack.

My daughter said the texture is perfect.....

not too sweet and not too oily.

Isn't it delicious just by looking at it?

Certainty.

I've never felt so uncertain before. At least, I still have you guys to make me feel anchored.

Red Tomato (Hand-Tossed Pizzas)

Originally owned by a Korean entrepreneur, Red Tomato now belongs to an Indonesian group, with their main location in Plaza Indonesia.

It is a casual dining venue with a menu and theme inspired by Italy, if not authentic Italian. Red Tomato looks like your typical mall restaurant: Bright, fun, and with a lot of marketing behind it.

I tried a few items, including the Italian Seafood Soup (Rp37,000++), the Dancing Pasta (Rp45,000), and the regular Pizza Margharita (Rp39,000). The prices may not seem very high, but the portions are so small, in particular the pizza, that one dish may not be sufficient to feel full. For a 2-course meal, I would say the average bill for one person should be slightly above Rp100,000.

Italian Seafood Soup (Rp37,000++)Pizza Margharita (Rp39,000++)

The taste of the food was decent, except for the pasta which was too heavy on fat. The pizza was ! a bit dr y also, lacking some tomato sauce, but the ingredients were fresh and the dough extra thin.

Overall: Harmless food, in a fun and friendly environment. Red Tomato is the kind of venue that expats don't usually like, but popular with Indonesians. Personally, I'm likely to visit again if I ever need a snack while shopping nearby, but I wouldn't make a long trip to eat there either.

Opening hours:
Everyday, 10am to 10pm

Red Tomato Plaza Indonesia
Plaza Indonesia Lantai LB Unit E 61
Jl. MH Thamrin Kav 28-30
Phone number: +62-21 3190 0386

Email: marketing@redtomato-group.com
Delivery service: 021 348 30 973


Website: http://www.redtomato-group.com

Twitter: @RedTomatoResto
Facebook pages: Red Tomato Indonesia, Red Tomato, RedTomato.PlazaIndonesia
Other locations:

Red Tomato Mall Kelapa Gading 3
Mall Kelapa Gading 3, Lt. Dasar, Food Zone
Jl. Bulevar Kelapa Gading Blok M
Phone number: +62-21 70320919

Red Tomato Taman Anggrek
Mall Taman Anggrek Lt.4 Unit 241
Let. Jend. S. Parman Kav. 21
Phone number: +62-21 5699-8589